HOW TO Create a Business Process Model (BPMN)

This tutorial will introduce how to create a business process model.

The Dragon1 modeling language enables you to create business process models at a conceptual, logical, and physical level, at a high level, and in detail. This ensures you can design and model the problems in the current state and solve the problems with solutions in the future state.

Dragon1 has a unique approach to creating business process models. You design a process using input, output events, decisions, activities, tasks, performance indicators, actors, stakeholders, applications, and technology.

Also, you can create a standard formal process model that does not communicate well but is very correct on the theory side. And next, you can use that model to generate a very understandable view for strategic stakeholders, so they are willing to make decisions using this picture.

One of the great things is that you can publish your business process model interactively and dynamically to stakeholders. For instance, if you change the data in the repository, the change is immediately processed in the published visualization, so people never have an outdated version of the truth. You can create a drill-down process model to click through to back-office materials and documentation, like service-level contracts, procedures, or status reports.

Business Process Modeling Examples

The first visualization shows an example business process model. This makes it easier to measure and improve your business process.

Sample Business Process Model with BPMN.

The second visualization makes communicating your business process model with stakeholders easier.

Process Model Artist Impression Example.

Common Entity classes to use in Business Process Models are:

• Input and Output Data
• Start, Stop, and Messaging Events
• Performance Indicators
• Activities
• Tasks
• Stakeholders
• Applications
• Databases
• Technology

If you prefer, you can also use BPMN as a modeling language for process modeling on Dragon1.

Steps in the Tutorial

To create a business process model, you will take the following steps:

• Create a dossier structure
• Enter data
• Create a business process model and a few detailed sub-process models using the data
• Create links between the models
• Create views using the models
• Create links between views
• Create a visualization using the views
• Publish the visualization to the Viewer to have it commented on by stakeholders

Step 1. - Create a Dossier Structure

First, we create a dossier structure to store our data in a cabinet.

To create a dossier structure:

• Go to the Visual Designer
• Create or open a Cabinet
• Select the cabinet in the Explorer treeview
• Create a dossier
• Create four folders in the dossier: Data, Model, View, and Visualization

Step 2. - Enter Data

On Dragon1, you can enter data by dragging shapes to a folder.

To enter data:

• Go to the Visual Designer
• Create or open a Cabinet
• Select a folder
• Insert shapes from the Draw Archifact or Draw Entity dropdown menu (choose TAB Processes)
  • Input and Output Data, Start, Stop, Messaging Events, Performance Indicators, Activities, Tasks, Stakeholders, Applications, Databases, Technology Time, Money.
• Select a shape in the treeview
• Select the shapes' icon on the canvas
• Change the name of the shape at the top right in the text attributes of the Inspector.

Step 3. - Create a Model, using the data

To create a model:

• Go to the Visual Designer
• Create or open a Cabinet
• Select a folder
• Insert models from the menu bar
  • Create models for the business process model for every entity class you have used
  • Process model, Service model, Product model, etc...
• Enter a name for the model
• Optionally choose a type for the model
• Insert shapes like processes and applications for the model by clicking on Draw Archifact or Draw entity, and drag shapes onto the canvas
• You can change the color and size of the shapes
• Draw connections between the shapes using the smart tools of a selected shape.

Step 4. - Create links between models

To create a link between models:

• Select a model in the Explorer treeview
• Select a shape in the model
• Enter a link to another model in the LinkURL field of the text attributes

Step 5. - Create a View using the model

To create a view:

• Go to the Visual Designer
• Create or open a Cabinet
• Select a folder
• Insert views from the menubar
  • Create views for the business process model for each model you created:
  • Functions view, Process view, Applications view, etc...
• Enter a name
• Select the model to use
• Enter a viewing rule for the model data:
  • Rule Event: onload
  • Rule Condition: Class=Process;Name=Sales;Relation=FirstLevel
  • Rule Action: Show(name)

Step 6. - Create links between views

To create a link between views:

• Select a view in the Explorer treeview
• Select a shape in the view
• Enter a link to another view in the LinkURL field of the text attributes

Step 7. - Create a Visualization, using the views

To create a visualization:

• Go to the Visual Designer
• Create or open a Cabinet
• Select a folder
• Insert a visualization from the menubar
• Drag a shape on the canvas. You will use this shape to generate the view data on the canvas.
  • For the business process model, use the shapes mentioned above
• Save the visualization
• Select one of the three view shapes
• Enter the following view rules in the data attributes panel of the Inspector.
  • Rule Event: onload
  • Rule Condition: Class=Process
  • Rule Action: Show(name)

Do this for all three view shapes

With this rule, you will only see the processes from the view data. You can also show the whole view with Rule Condition = *.

Step 8. - Publish the visualization

To publish a visualization:

• Select a visualization in a folder
• Click on the Share button in the menubar
• Enter the correct data in the dialog
• Click on the share button in the dialog
• Go to the Viewer and search for your visualization by its title
• Add a comment to the visualization
• Filter the visualization on certain values

Templates

On Dragon1, you can use visualization templates for business process modeling. Go to the Demo Section and start with a complete business process model template.