“Translation task” is a typical human-related workflow.
Even though computer-“assisted” cases increases, (I think) humans are likely to keep on participating in this task in the foreseeable future.
Well, if I am asked to “draw a Business Flow Diagram for a Japanese/English article writing Process,” what sort of diagram would come to my mind? I wonder. I might be hesitated because the diagram is as simple as the Diagram below.
Figure 1
But, also you can tell just by thinking for a while, I haven’t taken into consideration “sending back” to “W1: Write Document” Task in this Diagram. In other words, this Diagram is based on the assumption that “there is no mistake in the draft in Japanese.” Let me see… Well, I wonder what I need to do to illustrate it more accurately.
Incidentally, if someone says, “Nay! Sending back is implicitly included.” I wouldn’t refute it strongly. Yet, I just want to promote awareness of the fact that there is no way to define such a “Workflow with no sending-back.”
For your information, work units such as T1 or W1 are often called either “Activity” or “Task” according to definitions by an International Standards Body (OMG). A “Task” is defined as an “Activity that cannot be divided further,” and so W1 and T1 in the Diagram above should be called Tasks.
To go back or forward; “Decision”
When if I were a translator, I can’t help accumulating frustrations in thinking, “This original draft in Japanese must be rewritten.” Uncompleted sentences, too poor to read… “I can’t stand this!” I might be on the point of leaving in saying so in disgust. (Really?) In fact, “I can’t translate such sentences. So, I’ve ignored them…” If possible, I hope to avoid such a cold scene, but this type of conversations may happen thousands of times everyday anywhere in the world (no data, though).
Now, as a rule of business, I’m going to draw a “Workflow in which a translator is authorized to make a decision for sending back.”
Figure 2
I see. By getting a translator authorized, fruitless stagnation can be avoided. Well, now we carry out our work according to this rule, and a question strikes me, “why in the world is a translator checking original drafts in Japanese?”
Of course, even without any rule concerning authority, there might be a case in which “aura of fury” forces the author of the original draft in Japanese to submit it again. And yet, if the author is absent or at a remote location, the aura doesn’t reach. (Nay, it just might arrive.)
Better leave it to a specialist
Necessary abilities are different between “writers in Japanese” and “translators.” If there are 10 “writers in Japanese,” they should inspire each other to improve their ability to make Japanese drafts.
So now I examine a case in which “another writer” of drafts in Japanese reviews a draft.
Figure 3
Hm. Quality of drafts in Japanese has improved dramatically. I can concentrate on my translation though I need to confirm the meaning of some sentences just sometimes. I don’t have to shake with rage any more.
However, on a peaceful day, an accident happens. Contents of one of our press releases written in Japanese are evidently untrue to the facts. “I translated the most this month among 3 translators. So I just ignore…,” I am tempted by an evil spirit for an instant. But, my sense of justice comes out of hibernation, and I can’t help unlocking it.
Tons of Loops
Now, I want to examine modification into a “Workflow in which the original draft in Japanese can be rewritten if necessary.” Should I send back the draft to the author or via the reviewer? This decision is unexpectedly quite difficult.
Figure 4Figure 5
The reviewer may feel obligated to know the reasons why the draft is sent back. This is a rare case in the first place. After considering it very carefully, I concluded that the best is a rule which obligates to send back to the author by agreement with the reviewer although it takes time.
After many twists and turns…
The reasoning for “quality improvement of drafts in Japanese” would work out for quality of “translation drafts.” Half a year later, I came to the following Business Process.
Figure 6
Both 10 members in charge of “Japanese version” and 3 translators try to upgrade their skills by learning from others. The quantity of drafts made per week tends to incline! Quality must be improved, too. However, this team still has a challenge…
Want to refer to previous data
“I translated a similar draft, but…,” a translator murmurs. Last month, her favorite PC departed, and she is chagrined at being unable to refer to previous deliverables. Great sorrow, comfortable memories. So now, I’m concentrating on centralized control of data that the team produces.
Groupware handling this sort of thing is likely to be called “BPM software” or “BPM Suite.” If I fix a format called “Process Data” in addition to “Business Flow Diagram (Business Process Diagram),” I seem to be able to manage deliverables. In addition, the current stagnation seems to become visible. By turning tears into courage, I decided to introduce it.(!?) When I think about it now, some translators had attached word processor data to e-mail, while some others had pasted text data on e-mail body. It was, in fact, inefficient.
Task operation control by BPM software
fixed “Process Data” and input/output settings as follows.
Table 1
I minimized required(*) fields in consideration of secretive people who would want to send each other e-mail as they used to do. I ran the software, and it automatically recorded date and time of task completion…Fantastic! I won’t shed a tear anymore!! And, I realized that one of the leader’s tasks “task counting” had come to be unnecessary to do.
In addition, after that…
Translators sometimes get busy. That is when they receive drafts in special fields that they have never treated. They need to accumulate know-how for translation techniques. In contrast, writers in Japanese don’t appear to drop their pace even when they handle different fields. So, I decided to hire home-based part-timers to allocate easy tasks. Of course, I ask them to use BPM software. Regular employees produce finished versions from drafts that part-timers make. Translators have to take longer time to deliver translation, so I have the client (writers in Japanese) determine whether we allocate some parts to part-timers. Incidentally, I make a change for having the leader, who takes care of less work, check and approve all deliverables. These improvement results are as Image 7. Additional improvements will come soon. A draft in Japanese sometimes has some parts with immediate importance and some others with less importance. Consequently, a new idea strikes me. That is “Process Division.” This enables “multiple-division high-speed production.”
Days of Kaizen (improvement) never end…. (The End)
企業の競争力の源泉は業務プロセスです。企業はビジネスプロセスを変化させ続けなければなりません。そしてまた、企業は変化し続けるビジネスプロセスを把握共有し続けなければなりません。ベテランスタッフの知見にばかり頼るのではなく、BPMNを活用したビジネスプロセス管理（Business Process Management）を推進しては如何でしょうか。
でもあります。2009年現在、BPMN1.2が策定されています。そして近い将来、「Business Process Modeling Notation 1.2」から、「Business Process Model and Notation 2.0」に出世(?)する予定ですが、今のところ気にしないでください。 （編注：気になる・・・）
Even if you don’t understand BPMN now, by the time you finish reading these pages, you will be able to create business processes on your own. This is an introduction for those of you who want to work on improving your business!
So They Say That BPMN Is A Business Process “Notation”
What do you think of when you hear “Notation”? (thinking, thinking…)
One minute of thinking isn’t getting us any closer, so let’s ask our friend Google.
Aha, Wiki Notation!
…Well, maybe. (Please, no stealing.)
A way of stubbornly avoiding HTML tags, by using asterisks (*) and colons (:). (Wiki Notation)
Or, Polish Notation!
…Um, probably not. (Please, no making things up.)
The Polish Notation (and Reverse Polish Notation) was a Polish invention in which 1+2+3 is written as + 1 2 3.
It’s a style that some programmers from the previous century fancied. (Polish Notation)
Anyways, BPMN is also a Notation.
It’s short for Business Process Modeling Notation, and is a way of portraying business processes. Most notably, it defines a “Way to Draw” business processes. Perhaps it would be best if we say, BPMN is a method of drawing business processes.
In other words — unlike HTML, XML, Wiki Notation, Polish Notation, etc. — it isn’t about words and texts.
Tasks Are Rectangles With Rounded Corners
BPMN is a “method of drawing.” Even those of you who can’t suppress a shudder at the mention of XML and Wiki can muster up some curiosity if we say “How to draw.”
So, before we lose you again with words, here is a sample of a business process drawn in BPMN.
Hey, I could draw that!
Yes, it’s that easy. What would take a lot more effort in words, gets across easily this way. No prior knowledge is necessary. And the most important point is… you can understand it intuitively.
By the way, as you can see, individual tasks are round-cornered rectangles, and the business flow goes from left to right. These are part of the BPMN rules.
Apparently There Are Other Notations
You don’t have to use BPMN to draw business flows or processes. Some other famous ones are EPC (Event-driven Process Chain), shown in Figure-3, and Activity Diagrams.
Well, to be honest, “famous” in this case means, the number of business people who know these methods, would approximately equal the number of people who dreamed of getting squished by a dinosaur this morning. (How many is that?)
As you can see from the sample, there is a difference in the style and amount of information, but no great difference in the content and essence; in fact, we could say the only difference is in taste.
However, the fact that BPMN is intuitively understandable is, however small, the reason why it is… an appropriate notation for the discussion of business processes.
It’s Still Young
The history of BPMN is still very short. But it is… a global resource that is managed by one of the largest standardization organizations in the world.
As of 2009, we have BPMN 1.2. In the near future, though, we should be seeing a promotion from “Business Process Modeling Notation 1.2” to “Business Process Model and Notation 2.0.” But you can forget about that for now. (Curious…?)
Even if you don’t understand BPMN now, by the time you finish reading these pages, you will be able to create business processes on your own. This is an introduction for those of you who want to work on improving your business!
The Four Fundamentals of BPMN are: (Fundamentals?)
Draw Oblong Rectangles and label them with company departments (swimlanes)
Line up Round-Cornered Rectangles (tasks)
Connect them with Arrows (sequence flow)
Connect the start to a Single Narrow Circle, and the end to a Single Bold Circle (start/end events)
These are the basics. No need to memorize any terminology. There are other marks (markers) and troublesome Diamond Shapes, but let’s forget them for now.
Maybe we don’t even have to explain the above figure, but just in case:
A press release staff creates a draft,
The leader of the press release team reviews it,
The Legal Department judges it,
A Board executive approves it, and
The initial press release staff releases it.
It ends perfectly, with a completed cycle. It’s a simple one-way path of no options and no return, but it was drawn within a minute! (Really…?)
Learn to draw a point with two or more options, and you’re one step closer to mastering it
If you want to make it possible to go back a step, you have to create a crossroad (split), where you either go forward or go back. When you draw a lot of internal business processes, at some point you come to realize that most crossroads are simple, usually a single choice out of two options. Complicated crossroads are rare. The most common one is “OK or NG.“
The Two Fundamentals of splits are: (More fundamentals?)
Give the regular flow a slash, and (default flow)
Give the optional flow a small diamond (conditional flow)
A small diamond indicates the existence of a condition. You don’t have to clarify these conditions in the diagram. The slash indicates the way a process should proceed in case none of the conditions are met. If you feel like it, you can add comments on the different flows, which makes it easier for others to understand.
With these Fundamentals (Four + Two)… You can draw more than 90% of your company’s business processes. Please, try it out.
By the way, if there are only two choices, you can exchange the slash and small diamond without changing the definition of the business process.
Branching is Complicated!
When you are ready to go into complicated business processes, the first step is branching; in other words, choosing both (or all) flows simultaneously instead of only one.
Choosing all means you want all applicable tasks performed simultaneously under clearly defined roles. In BPMN this is simply illustrated with multiple arrows. For example, in the figure below, A: Hotel Reservation and B: Purchase Travel Ticket are simultaneously executed. (an AND-split)
By the way, business processes are often called workflows, but it’s actually very difficult to define a flow by imagining actually flowing objects . This is especially true when drawing complicated business processes. We suggest imagining a train and tracks, instead of the typical water and river, or car and roads. Trains can detach cars and proceed on different tracks, and they can come back together and proceed again as one long train.
In reality, though, branching the flow into two ways increases possible errors, such as if there is trouble on one of the tracks (Figure 3: There are no available hotel rooms), or if there is a problem with the trains reconnecting (Figure 3: Sum of hotel fee and ticket fee exceed budget).
Whenever possible, you should avoid enabling all (AND-split) or multiple (OR-split) choices, and stick to simple single (XOR split) choices.
Now, Would You Like Some Homework?
Naturally, managing business processes (BPM) is only meaningful if you improve them. For example, let’s take the press release of Figure 2: if the initial drafts are of good quality, and also frequent enough, there’s no problem. But, in other words, this means it is entirely
dependant on the staff in charge.
Let’s rewrite it so that the leader leads the process. (Do I have to?)
By the way, swimlanes are usually labeled with departments, and someone in the appointed department executes the task, but it’s also okay to label them with a specific person or position.
Even if you don’t understand BPMN now, by the time you finish reading these pages, you will be able to create business processes on your own. This is an introduction for those of you who want to work on improving your business!
The Definition of Each Task Directly Generates Data Input Screens!
The evolution of software is a frightening thing, and we have come to an age where we can actually construct a system just by drawing business processes in BPMN. In particular, software products called “BPM suites” automatically generate input/output screens from tasks with rounded corners. In short, when a process flows to a certain task, the person in charge of that task is automatically required to input data.
By the way, BPM suites don’t have a great difference in terms of objectives when compared to “workflow software.” The concept of workflow software is contained within BPM suites, so the difference might be like tuna and fish. (Hm??)
However, because a business process can be defined with pictures and shapes, it is easy to define complicated rules such as loops and splits, and even to change the definition of a process.
How Many Icons Must We Memorize?
There are surprisingly numerous and detailed notation rules in BPMN. However, even BPM suites that proclaim “BPMN Support” often cannot interpret and process 90% of BPMN in practice. Furthermore, what is supported differs among the products.
If you want to pin up business process diagrams on the wall and make them common knowledge, or if you want to define specifications to order a custom-made information system, you might want to learn many of the rules. But if your goal is just to input data into BPM suites, you only have to learn the rules supported by the product you use. Below you will find general summaries of what you can expect in BPM suites, leaving the detailed specification of each product to the vendors.
Activities (5 types of markers)
Many software products only support regular tasks, and none of the icons are supported.
Start/Intermediate/End Events (10 types of markers)
Many software products can start processes upon receipt of incoming emails (Message Start Event). Some can send emails in the middle of (Message Throwing Intermediate Event) and at the end of (Message Throwing End Event) a process. Also, in some products, a pre-defined time can automatically start an event (Timer Intermediate Event) or process (Timer Start Event).
Gateways (5 types of markers)
Many software products support Exclusive-Data splits (XOR), and Parallel splits (AND). Some also support Inclusive splits (OR). Most do not support Exclusive-event splits (Event-based XOR split)
Reasons for Learning BPMN
As we stated earlier, BPMN cannot define how to handle data. Neither can it define the position or authority of members who execute the business processes. BPMN also tolerates ambiguous representations of process flows. To go even further, we would have to say that it is quite possible to draw one business process in multiple ways. Also, in order to define the detailed specification of a business process, you might need to use separate documents. In some cases, you might even want to separately summarize the consideration about risks that a business process could suffer from.
However, BPMN business process diagrams can intuitively communicate business processes to many viewers. Discussions for improvements
Discussions for improvements (illustration of current situation), discussions for improvements (illustration of the situation after improvement), analysis of possible risks
For explanation
New employee training (business manual), reports to stockholders (business flow related to SOX Act)
Furthermore, by using software such as BPM suites, an organization can grasp the actual process status, including the current situation or the results of a particular time period.
For control
Standardization (elimination of individual and arbitrary methods), prevention of dishonesty (task logs)
For productivity improvement
Retention monitoring (faster recovery from errors), improvement of re-usability of deliverables
For personnel evaluation
Measurement of productivity by individual or group, measurement of productivity per time unit
The reasons for learning BPMN differ greatly on the person, but you might want to first consider which of the above goals fits your purpose. Of course, there is no better way than learning together as a team sharing the same goals.
In Conclusion
Finally, our last chapter together. We find it hard to hold back our tears at the thought of you reading thus far; we can hardly see your face. (Not that you could see it in the first place.)
The source of a company’s competence is in its business processes. A company must continuously modify its business processes. And a company must keep on understanding and sharing its ever-changing business processes.
We highly recommend promoting Business Process Management using BPMN, instead of relying too much on the knowledge of long-time employees.
