What Can I Use to Document My Processes?

I am not surprised that a recurring theme in my posts has been that your existing, critical, processes should be documented. The benefits of Business Process Modeling and Business Process Management are well defined and include:

• Consistent, visual guide of how employees should execute their activities and how they should transact with customers, suppliers and each other.
• Baseline for changes or improvements to how activities are completed. It would be difficult to measure the benefits of new technology initiatives or to evaluate organizational changes without understanding your starting point.
• Processes that are well defined help bridge the gap between IT systems and Business Users, reducing both the time and resource cost of business process improvements and to deployment of technology solutions.

I have used Microsoft Visio extensively in the past, and though I appreciated it’s ease of use and integration with Microsoft Office, as a small business owner, I can also appreciate that users may balk at either the $260 for the Standard or the $560 for the Professional Version. There is however, a 60 day trial to provide the opportunity to understand whether it would work for you. Additionally, an extensive support network and knowledge base exist at the Microsoft Visio Toolbox.

I have previous experience with IDS Scheer ARIS, considered a leader in the BPA market, however, this level of tool is out of reach for most small to mid sized businesses.

There are several free business process modelling options which are much more accessible.

Before you evaluate your options, here is an outline of the standards in place for business process modelling, extracted from IDS Scheer site and from Wikipedia:

• EPC Event-driven process chains (EPCs) are a leading industry standard for modeling business processes. The business-oriented notation enables non-technical users to document and optimize their workflows quickly and easily.
• BPMN Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) is a standard for modeling business processes. The notation is strongly IT-oriented.
• UML Unified Modeling Language (UML) is a leading standard in the software engineering sector. However, UML has a wide range of uses and is not restricted to software modeling.
• BPEL Business Process Execution Language (BPEL) is a technical standard used to describe executable process models. Execution of the business functions is handled by Web services.
• WSDL Web Services Description Language (WSDL) is a standard for describing Web service interfaces. It is used to model the available operations, including the addresses for calling them.
• The XML Process Definition Language (XPDL) is a format standardized by the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC) to interchange Business Process definitions between different workflow products, ie between different modeling tools and management suites. XPDL defines an XML schema for specifying the declarative part of workflow / business process.

The following are modeling software choices which also include Business Process Management or offer upgrades to obtain BPM features:

• Bizagi Process Modeler is touted for its ease of use and drag and drop process diagram features. It supports BPMN and you can import and export to Visio and XML formats. You can also save diagrams as PDF or Word Documents. To access the BPM features you must purchase the Bizagi Xpress, Standard or Enterprise Editions, compared here. The lowest license fee is for one user on the Xpress version for one year at $40 US and you can try it for free for 30 days. There are several training and support options available, including an upgraded site for paid support subscribers.
• Questetra BPM Suite is a full BPM suite that is free for up to 10 active processes. It is installed on your server and users can access it through standard browsers. I did not find their help and support options as extensive as TIBCO and BIZAGI. Their expansion key is available for $100 per month for 100 processes.
• Savvion Process Modeler is not free (though I believe it used to be), but does allow you to evaluate their process modeling product for 30 days. If you are interested in the more extensive capabilities offered by it’s full business suite, it would be a good way to get started with the product. I also had difficulty finding pricing on their site, which may only be available from its resellers.
• TIBCO Business Studio, Supports BPMN, UML and XPML standards and allows for two versions of the same process to be developed, one for the business units and one for IT. You can also import ARIS, Visio and other models into the tool. The support on the site is extensive with Video tutorials, Forums and User Guides. There is a version for Linux and for Windows and the full datasheet for the product can be found here.

While more about BPM than just modeling, and also only available for free for a trial period, I am adding Cordys Process Factory to the list of products to try. As of May 2009, it can be integrated with the Google Apps Premier Edition, which makes it an ideal choice for organizations (like mine) already on that platform. Their enterprise option is only $50 per user per year, and similar to Google Apps, I feel this makes them a good fit for small to mid-sized businesses.

In summary, there are several options to help you get started in documenting your processes. I personally will be experimenting with TIBCO  and Cordys Process Factory and look forward to evaluating each option in future posts.

I will also be building on this post to discuss the options of full Business Process Management for small to mid-sized business, allowing you to take your processes to the next level of automation and efficiency.