Oct 1, 2008

Business Automation - Part 3

Business Processes and Business Automation

Once a business owner acknowledges the need to automate their business, they will need tools to document their current processes, if the business owner is to retain the ‘magic’ which makes their business special. Since the real processes for a small business are often performed by, and in the minds of, employees, the research must include them. Failure to capture this information can cause the automation effort to fail dismally, usually to the delight of employees who view automation as an attempt to replace them.

Once everyone agrees to definitions of the words which come to mind, the business owners and their employees must describe the process they use in as much detail as they can manage, in order to reveal the business rules they already use. We will discuss the business rules portion in detail in the next installment of the series. 

As the owners and employees describe their business process, more words will surface for inclusion in the growing glossary. The moderator (normally, the VAR) must be alert to inconsistencies of usage, since people frequently use the same word in a different way. Allowing lax usage can make developing the glossary more difficult. The target is a glossary on which all the participants agree.

Rules of Grammar Increase Word Count
Business rules must follow this syntax: subject verb  object. Modifiers and qualifiers will also be applied to subject and object. So, the glossary will grow to accommodate them. Try to refrain from creating your own unique language. If you do so, the level of difficulty will rapidly increase.

Word Types and Some Examples
To help development of the glossary, we suggest word types and examples, but the VAR and client must decide what they should use in their description of business rules and processes.

term                       noun concept definition (e.g. order)
Name                      proper noun (explicitly defined, e.g. Nebraska)
Verb                       verb or preposition (e.g. fills in)
Keyword                  modifier, quantifier, or qualifier (e.g. exactly)

Useful Keywords and Expressions
We suggest some Keywords and Expressions that should help in defining rules and conditions. In the list below, the letter ‘n’ or ‘m’ represents a whole number, and the letter ‘p’ or ‘q’ represents a preposition. They could be adopted directly into the glossary.

each	it is prohibited that p	p if and only if q
some	it is necessary that p	not both p and q
at least one	it is impossible that p	neither p nor q
at least n	it is possible that p	p whether or not q
at most one	it is permitted that p	must
at most n	it is not the case that p	must not
exactly one	p and q	always
exactly n	p or q	never
at least n and at most m	p or q but not both	may
more than one	if p then q
it is obligatory that p	q if p

When assembling the list of current business processes, referring to the keywords above may help you to separate conditions that at first appear the same. It will also suggest programmatic statements which will be needed in the development of automation.

Making Sense Out of the Information Gathered
When you and your client reach this point, you will have accomplished a great deal, though it may not seem like it. You will need a tool to determine if you have all the information you need, and to organize that information into a useful format. Originally developed by John Zachman at IBM in the 1980’s, it has become accepted as an integrated framework for managing change in enterprises and the systems that support them. It is appropriately called the ‘Zachman Model,’ and it can be used for enterprises or small companies, and projects - large or small. 

 

The Zachman Model is descriptive in nature and depends on no particular technology. In using the model for the first time, you may discover that your client’s technology is paper, pencil, and filing cabinets. In that case you hope to use more current technology to automate your client’s process, but the discussion with the client takes a new direction when you first capture ALL the elements of their process before discussing a technology. 

There are numerous books written describing the merits and drawbacks to using the Zachman Model, but our purpose here is to give you a basic tool to use with your client to insure that you do no wasted work because of missing information at the Business Model or System Model levels for any Scope of work. 

If you do nothing else with this model than ask your client the questions: what, how, where, when, who, and why for both their Business processes and System processes, you will have cleared up the majority of misunderstandings that develop between the VAR and the client. 

Get Free downloads of a Zachman Model Template, an Example filled in, and a Zachman Worksheet here.

Get a copy of the entire issue of The GoldMine Advisor October 2008 newsletter for  here.

You may contact us (503) 206-0333 or email us at Sales Information to discuss how we can help you improve your business by using these tools.

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