 |
|
|
 How SIMPROCESS 3.1 compliments UML tools |
|
|
|
Let us help you understand why you need a tool like SIMPROCESS in conjunction with system modeling tools you may already use. What follows is an explanation of SIMPROCESS versus UML-type tools and how you can benefit from using them together to strengthen your modeling and analysis.
Used together, SIMPROCESS and UML tools actually compliment each other bridging the gap from business analysis to systems analysis. SIMPROCESS is used for the business process models, and UML tools are used for the system transactions of data and object models. These tools work together in documenting the operational architecture of a business. They communicate the content very well by using both notations.
UML-based tools such as Rational Rose focus on Systems Modeling to help define requirements, model designs, and develop object-oriented code such as Java. Rational Rose is one of the leading tools on the market for system modeling activities in a software development life cycle, but other capable tools support the UML standard.
UML tools do not fully address the functional/business process modeling requirements. For example Use Cases and Activity Diagrams are the only views UML has for modeling any part of the business process but they still focus on the "system" needs in the models rather than the function or business steps. For example, Use Cases show Actors (usually people) interacting with objects (usually realized as object oriented components such as Java classes). This is fine to understand the system transactions but does not model the full breadth of the business workflow or process. Activity diagrams similarly model activity steps but also focus on objects and transition of states between objects based on changes to the objects in a system transaction.
SIMPROCESS focuses on the functional and business work flow (including manual/physical processes that have nothing to do with the system but need to be understood and modeled in order to build a system to support the business properly) and not just on the system transactions. This is made clear when you look at how activities are described for behavior in a SIMPROCESS model such as delays, splits, joins, batching, unbatching, assembling, etc. These are representative of business activities that people do in carrying out their job; regardless of what interaction they have with the system. In addition, SIMPROCESS looks at the resources, entities, and workflow as a complete dynamic model that allows you visualize how the business works both from manual steps and system interaction. This is important to match up the business transactions with the system transactions.
SIMPROCESS has a more functional and business view and focuses on activity based costing metrics, throughput, bottlenecks, timing, re-work and other business performance metrics irregardless of the system that is supporting the business. This is why the business and functional people prefer SIMPROCESS for the business modeling - it speaks their language. It focuses on the business speak and not all the system modeling notations and methods - which confuses functional people. The dynamic modeling capabilities for business metrics are non-existent in UML modeling tools (and it probably should be that way since they are system analysis, design, and development tools, not process and workflow modeling tools).
There is a clear gap between business analysis and systems analysis. SIMPROCESS focuses on the business analysis and UML tools focus on the systems analysis. Both are clearly needed from business requirement to systems requirements to system design to system development. They work hand in hand not opposed to each other. This is why we are developing SIMPROCESS to UML (Activity Diagrams will be the first capability followed by others in later releases) interfaces. In fact, when you sit down to build the interface between a tool like SIMPROCESS, the differences go from being subtle to clearly evident. There is a LOT of stuff in a SIMPROCESS model that there is not even anything in UML to map it to. What SIMPROCESS focuses on in its notation as compared to UML tools is quite different.
|
|
|
|
