Workflow Modeling: Tools for Process Improvement and Application Development

Workflow Modeling: Tools for Process Improvement and Application Development | Alec Sharp, Patrick McDermott | Fantastic for newcomers and seasoned experts

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Workflow Modeling:...

	Workflow Modeling: Tools for Process Improvement and Application Development Alec Sharp, Patrick McDermott Artech House Publishers, 2001 - 345 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Providing proven techniques for identifying, modeling, & redesigning business processes, & explaining how to implement workflow improvement, this book helps you define requirements for systems development or acquisition.

Excellent Business Process Modeling Book

Everything started with the creation of a two days workshop: Workflow Process Modeling. The authors have continually improved the workshop with participants' feedback and ideas based on their own hands-on consulting work with many organizations. The book is very well structured and it is based on real world experience. The structure is simple with no unnecessary parts that usually fill other books with redundant content. The content is not a mere recount of personal experiences: there are plenty of references to other publications. Plus, you will find good humor in the book that makes it even more readable.

Although the authors declared their work aimed at application development work as a final outcome, the book is focused very much on the business side with emphasis on process workflow. Nowadays the specialization pushes further and further apart the role of a business analyst from the system analyst, while in the past some would refer to these roles as one. This book might not be very useful for a system analyst because it is not very technically oriented. You will not find yourself drown under zillions of diagrams created with a specific software package, but you will get instead a method of how to approach business analysis from a broad, yet practical, perspective. The book does not bother even to talk too much about UML. I found that refreshing and extremely useful. I have been searching for a book that is more like a thought provoking companion rather than a software tool manual and this book fits that description.

Workflow Modeling is a comprehensive book. It does not focus on a particular stage of business analysis. It provides an inventory of areas the professional business process consultant would have to consider and the rationale for each one of them. Some readers might not agree with the little amount of space dedicated to class modeling which is almost inexistent. On the plus side, the authors talk about approach in dealing with project stakeholders, pitfalls, team building and difficulties and what questions to ask in various situations. The authors appreciate the importance of the final delivery, how to map the road between the as-is process to to-be process and understand the structure of the organization. I found many things that were said here very realistic and valuable; I could relate them to my own experience. The book does not say much about class modeling, but it talks a lot about swimlane diagrams and use cases analysis.

You can use Workflow Modeling to design your own work template that suits your style and formation. You can come back , re-read some parts or the whole book (I have done that) and still get something out of it. I recommend the book as a good investment that will not go out of fashion very soon.

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Fantastic for newcomers and seasoned experts

This book is great! It is well written, easy to read, and put together in a logical manner. Everyone that has an interest in improving business processes should take the time to read the book.

For those that are new to the world of process it will be a real eye opener (and a bit of a page turner). For those that are self taught it will save you 20 years of trial and error. For those that are industry experts it serves as a great (and necessary) reminder that if you miss the big picture - your project is off track.

I attended a BPM conference in late 2006 and was amazed at how theoretical and up in the clouds many of the so called experts were. Alec is different, his approach is field tested, practical, and it works.

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Very good for newbies in process improvement field

I enjoyed this book because of:
1) clear, coherent logic
2) it's very practical from cover to cover - everything you need to know before modeling processes you can find here and use it in your work on the very next day
3) the language - it's plain and definitely supports better adoption of the tools described. I also like the authors' delicate humor :)

As a whole - two thumbs up, 5 stars.

Finally a How-To!

Good overall analysis and methodology for approaching process re-design projects. Very practical and well written. Includes strategies for avoiding common pitfalls.

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Good Book for a Foundation

I was recommended this book from BPMN Essentials course I recently took and just finished the book. It has a great deal of examples and suggestions for how to perform process modelling, which I like.

reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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