The system structure includes the following functional areas:

1. business process management
2. Electronic archive
3. KPI indicator system

Modeling

Business processes are modeled in the system web interface in a business process card. To do this, the user is offered a set of simple block diagrams:

The resulting graphical diagram of the business process with all the performers and related procedures is displayed in the process card:

Each point (stage) of the business process is assigned a specific set of attributes (details), including the name, indication of performers, document type:

The next step in building the logic of a business process is setting up its details:

Metrics can be collected manually and through business processes.
When the process starts, the responsible user receives the corresponding task:

Changes to existing processes can be made on the fly. It is enough to simply delete or add new blocks to the graphical process model.

Typical processes can be configured for regular execution automatically:

Control and Analytics Dashboards

The manager is provided with consolidated reporting on all company performance indicators:

Process analysis using indicators

A summary of all types of business processes of the company, indicating the number of running instances and their statuses, planned and actual time indicators, is presented in the process execution report:

Also, reporting on process statuses can be displayed graphically. The status of operations (tasks) in the process is marked using color:

The influence of KPIs of employees and departments on general results The company can be seen in the example of such an element as calculated indicators.

Calculated indicators are total values ​​consisting of a number of key indicators using a special formula. For example, to calculate the “Finance” value, the indicators “Sales Volume” and “Marginal Profit” are added up:

The terms of this formula can be flexibly adjusted for each calculated indicator.
The relationship between the calculated indicator and the KPI is shown graphically in the Manager's Dashboard.

The presentation model can be customized for a specific user.

General impression of the system

The “Process Management” solution based on 1C: Enterprise 8 provides an extensive set of tools for building company business processes. There is a graphic editor, tools for monitoring/improving business processes, and custom panels for visually displaying indicators.

KPI here is not just an optional “add-on”, but an element of controlling the company’s process model.

All this is implemented with the scrupulousness inherent in the 1C line products. For example, the construction of each stage of the process chain requires entering a large amount of related data.

ELMA BPM Suite

ELMA is a BPM class system and at the same time a platform for developing modules and solutions aimed at various aspects of business. The ELMA-based KPI module is used to visually display employee performance indicators, which are considered in relation to the company’s strategic goals.

A complete business solution that combines BPM functionality, process metrics, strategy management tools and staff motivation tools is offered in the ELMA BPM Suite.
Let's look at what functionality the developer provides as part of this package.

Modeling

ELMA Designer is a configurator that graphically displays the organizational structure of a company. To do this, the user has at his disposal a whole set of simple geometric shapes and elements.

The Designer also forms the company's strategic goals and KPI indicators assigned to certain employees and departments. Logically connecting with each other, the indicators form a tree of indicators.

Control and Analytics Dashboards

The ELMA system has convenient dashboards with graphs and tables that show the dynamics of changes for both all and selected indicators:

The sum of an employee's indicators reflects his overall performance. This is implemented in such an element of the system as the “Efficiency Matrix”, in addition to key indicators, which includes a means for monitoring the implementation of SMART tasks (priority tasks set for a specified period), the level of performance discipline and the assessment of the manager.

The weight of these parameters, a set of key indicators, the frequency of their recording and other elements of the performance matrix are configured separately for each user/user groups by the system administrator:

SMART tasks are a tool that deserves special attention.
As I said above, it serves to prioritize and strategically significant tasks employees. Already at the stage of formulating the task, it is possible to link it to a specific strategic goal of the company. This emphasizes the importance of the result achieved by the employee for the success of the entire company:

Thus, ELMA logically connects the company’s strategy and SMART objectives, which are one of the components of the employee performance matrix.
All components of the performance matrix in their totality affect the size of the employee’s bonus, being one of effective means staff motivation.

Now let's talk about how goals and indicators are displayed in the web interface.

Process control using KPIs

For each process, you can assign a set of indicators and metrics that will serve as controllers of its execution:

You can configure color indicators for processes, each of which has a specific indicator associated with it.

Processes that are running normally are marked in the Process Monitor green, “lagging behind” or “problematic” - yellow and red, respectively:

Relationship between strategic goals and KPIs

The Goal Map graphically shows the company's activities and strategic goals for the current period. The level of “nesting” of the goal map depends on how ramified the organizational structure of the company is. Each division has its own goals, and they reflect the specifics of its activities:

General impression of the system

ELMA in the BPM Suite delivery option is a complete system for modeling, managing and monitoring business processes.
Product developers pay great attention to taking into account KPI indicators, which is reflected in such system components as performance indicators that are flexibly customized in accordance with the organizational structure, company processes and tied to strategic goals, a performance matrix, and SMART tasks. The dynamics of indicators are reflected using graphics and custom dashboards. All these tools allow you to control the quality of execution of business processes.

Business Studio

A business modeling system for enterprise processes, interesting in its functionality and execution. Developer - domestic IT vendor Group of Companies " Modern technologies management". The range of tasks that Business Studio allows you to solve includes modeling and controlling business processes, designing BSC strategic goals linked to KPI indicators of employees and departments, simulation modeling and analysis of the company’s balance sheet, QMS support.

Modeling

The system supports popular notations for creating business process models: IDEF0, BPMN, EPC, Basic Flowchart, Cross Functional Flowchart. Using block diagrams and other graphic elements, the structure of a business process is modeled:

Process analysis using KPI indicators

The system has a dynamics tracking mechanism called process control:

Control and Analytics Dashboards

The system has convenient dashboards for familiarizing yourself with company indicators:

As well as tools for analyzing related key performance indicators, both our own and company divisions:

The dynamics of changes in these indicators are clearly visible in the corresponding diagrams:

Relationship between strategic indicators and KPIs

The strategic map clearly presents the company’s activities, goals and indicators

However, in order to study the dynamics of certain indicators, it is necessary to go deeper into them. In my opinion, this makes it difficult to form a holistic picture of what is happening in the company

General impression of the system

The Business Studio system has developed functionality for modeling and analyzing business processes using indicators, charts and reports. However, it does not provide tools for managing and improving processes.

ARIS Express 2.4

A program for modeling business processes and enterprise management from the German company Software AG. Available for free download on the developer's website. Does not require programming skills from the user and special knowledge in the field of IT, which is especially important for small companies and students studying the basics of business management.

Despite the fact that the system is free, it includes a full set of tools for describing processes. The main features of the free system are:

Modeling

A convenient environment for modeling business processes using flowcharts (takes into account entities such as events, actions and positions):

Graphical environment for building process logic and hierarchy (process landscape):

Routes for approvals, processing requests and documents are built in accordance with the organizational structure and process model of the company:

The developers of ARIS Express 2.4 did not ignore such an aspect as personnel performance indicators.

Control and Analytics Dashboards

Not included in free delivery. But the version of the ARIS Business Strategy product has dashboards for tracking KPIs and BCS.

Connection of strategic goals with KPIs

In the Whiteboard component (analogous to a regular wall board for writing with a marker), the company's KPI indicators are set in accordance with the competence of an employee or department and strategic goals. Employee performance indicators should be formulated using elements such as KPI Instance (translated as “variants of KPI indicators”).

Impression of the system

ARIS Xpress – free system modeling with a simple and intuitive interface. That is why it is used in teaching students the basics of describing business processes and in small companies. However, it cannot be called a full-fledged BPM system, since it does not have tools for managing, improving and monitoring business processes.

Conclusion

So, KPI accounting tools are an important structural component BPM systems that combine tools for forming a company's strategy and indicators for tracking how effectively this strategy is being implemented.

Each of the integrated BPM+KPI solutions has its own functional specifics. Some of them are universal business solutions that can adapt to the specifics of almost any company, while some are focused on narrow target groups. A number of systems offer the user full-fledged BPM and KPI functionality, while a number of others are, in fact, only process configurators.

One of the tasks of KPI tools in a BPM system is to control the execution of processes. Not all systems presented in the review implement this; there are also differences in implementation methods.

The connection between strategic goals and performance indicators is implemented in different ways.
Brief summaries of the systems considered are given in the table:

System	System type	Mapping Strategic Goals	Employee dashboard	Ability to adjust processes on the fly	Mobile device support

March 02, 2012 10:31

Olga Sitnikova, IT analystDIRECTUM

Today I decided to make a short review of online diagramming tools that are available to any Internet user for free.

So far, it seems natural to me personally that the functionality of online “drawing tools” is poorer than those modeling tools for the distribution and updating of which users spend a certain amount of hard-earned money. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that he is not that much poorer. Let's look at two similar systems: Diagram.ly and yWorks.

Diagram.ly

Diagram.ly gives the impression of a system that tries to provide the user with functionality that is closest to the capabilities of desktop clients (for example, Microsoft Visio). There is almost everything we are used to here:

1. A very wide selection of stencils to work with. With Diagram.ly you can draw a block diagram, some types of UML diagrams, ER diagrams, organization charts, BPMN diagrams, database and network diagrams, as well as telecommunication diagrams, geoinformation diagrams, electrical circuit diagrams and social networks

1. , as well as create prototypes of lightweight interfaces. In fact, perhaps this gives them reason to call themselves “a mini version of Visio, accessible from your favorite browser.”

Rich text formatting options. The text can be written in one of five fonts: Verdana, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Garamond or Courier New.

The font size can be changed in the range from 6 to 60 points. You can change the boldness of the text, write in italics or underline, and change the text alignment. The text, by the way, is entered very simply: by double clicking on the block.

1. In addition to text formatting, there is also object formatting: grouping, ungrouping, moving to the background/foreground, mutual alignment of objects, and changing the orientation of blocks work. You can change the font, background and line color of a block, add a shadow and gradient, and also select an image that occupies the block. 3. Select several ways to display the connector. For the arrow, you can set the type, the curvature of the connection lines, the type of line (only solid or dotted), and the thickness of the line. Works on blocks and page

1. context menu (right mouse button). Each time the user logs in, the user is prompted to view simple tips on working with her. These “tips and tricks” serve as a reference. Although, according to

1. A pleasant surprise for me was that you can work with both XML files created by Diagram.ly and VDX files created by Microsoft Visio.
2. This way, you can edit diagrams that your colleagues have created in Visio even if you don't have your own license for the product. The resulting diagram can be saved in the XML format offered by Diagram.ly, or exported to a raster (PNG or JPG) or vector (SVG) image.

There are also preview options. Firstly, a scalable preview window of the current scheme is always displayed in the lower left corner of the screen.

And secondly, using the “Preview” button on the toolbar you can very easily make a picture that will appear in the next tab and will be ready for printing.

1. Since it is customary to dilute a barrel of honey with a fly in the ointment, I will name some minor shortcomings that I was able to notice in Diagram.ly.
2. There are no example diagrams provided that you can use to create your own artwork. The system is created, apparently, by a group of enthusiasts, and sometimes quite stupid bugs arise in the operation of the system (for example, on the day of writing this I was not able to apply the font change). However, this drawback is more than covered by the presence of Diagram.ly’s own feed in Google Plus

, where you can openly express your wishes and suggestions.

Well, now a new improved version of Diagram.ly is in development with a lightweight, laconic interface, which I like, to be honest, a little more. By the way, it is open for beta testing.

yWorks

yWorks gives the impression of a system that wants to provide the user with a minimally sufficient set of stencils and tools for working with them.

1. Let us note the striking features of the system: At first glance, you can see that the toolbar of this system is not so rich; in it you can perform minimal amount
2. actions (rollback or repeat an action, open, save or print a diagram, work with the clipboard, change the scale or display type of the board).
3. There are not many types of blocks, but enough for drawing, for example, business process diagrams, UML diagrams, ER diagrams and flowcharts. You can also add custom blocks. I didn’t really like the fact that you can only open one group of blocks at a time. So, you will have to remember which group the block is in if you suddenly want to use it again. However, a pleasant fact is that, for example, all artifact objects for a BPMN diagram are hidden behind the same artifact image with the “document” type (the rest are shown by clicking on the small arrow in the lower right corner of the icon). This saves work space.

1. Regarding work formats: only objects with the .Graphml extension can be loaded into the system. You can save diagrams as files without any extension at all (especially since it is not offered), and also export as a raster image in PNG format. It’s nice that when exporting a diagram to a picture, the system offers to configure the export parameters.

1. In the upper left corner there is a preview of the diagram you just drew, with which you can quickly change the part of the diagram that is in this moment displayed on the board (it reminded me of Heroes of Might & Magic).

1. For beginners, the creators of the system have prepared a bonus in the form of the opportunity to look at example diagrams, which I personally think is a very reasonable decision. For many people, relying on a previously created model is a great help in their work.
2. And I specifically left the biggest advantage of this system for last. You can specify a very large number of properties for blocks, for example, quickly change the block type, specify the position of an object on the board and its size with pixel accuracy, set text, background color, borders, and upload an image that will occupy the background.

You can read about the developer company yWorks on its official page.

A little as a conclusion

Slightly summarizing all of the above, I can assume that Diagram.ly will appeal more to young people who are pleased with the great variety of possibilities, a beautiful intuitive interface, high-quality page layout, etc., and people who are very interested in the internal part of the issue will find inspiration in yWorks: properties objects, saving workspace, convenient navigation.

1. ARIS Express http://www.ariscommunity.com/aris-express - a tool for modeling business processes, quite easy to install and use, so that it can be used by both novice users and university students. This product belongs to the ARIS (ARchitecture of Integrated Information Systems) family of modeling tools from IDS Scheer (currently part of Software AG), widely represented on the Russian market, localized several years ago and even provided with Russian language technical support. The ARIS (ARchitecture of Integrated Information Systems) family of products produced by IDS Scheer includes not only tools for modeling business processes and publishing models, but also integrated tools for developing a balanced scorecard system, assessing and optimizing the cost of business processes, their simulation modeling, tools that simplify the implementation of ERP systems, the design of distributed applications and IT infrastructure, as well as tools for monitoring the execution of business processes. Leading analytical companies Gartner Group and Forrester Research classify IDS Scheer as one of the leaders in the global market for business process modeling and analysis tools.

2. Bizagi Process Modeler http://www.bizagi.com/- free software to create process diagrams and documentation in the BPMN standard notation.

3.Business Studio http://www.businessstudio.ru/- a business modeling system from a domestic manufacturer, allowing companies to speed up and simplify the development of their management system and the implementation of a quality management system. Eat free version. Main tasks to be solved:
- Formalization of the strategy and control of its achievement
- Design and optimization of business processes
- Design organizational structure and staffing
- Formation and distribution of regulatory documentation among employees
- Implementation of a quality management system in accordance with ISO standards
- Formation of Technical Specifications and support for the implementation of information systems

4. AllFusion Process Modeler http://www.ca.com/ru/default.aspx- Allows you to describe, analyze and model a data model - a builder of meta-data models. It occupies one of the leading positions in its market segment.
Includes three standard methodologies: IDEF0 (functional modeling), DFD (data flow modeling) and IDEF3 (work flow modeling).

5. IBM WebSphere Business Modeler http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/us/en/modeler..- a comprehensive tool with a convenient user interface designed for modeling and organizing collaboration both production and IT personnel.
-Fast and seamless integration of modeling, workflow and simulation functions.
-Simulation based on data from the warehouse, change reports and real-time performance evaluation tools.
-Monitoring of work processes via the Internet using a standard browser.

6. Review of programs for modeling business processes ELMA http://www.elma-bpm.ru/ - Russian development. The business process management system is based on a simple idea: you are building a model of your company’s business processes using visual diagrams (BPMN notation), upload these descriptions into computer system ELMA, and the program allows you to track the execution of processes in the real practice of the enterprise. There is a free version.
In addition to managing sequential tasks that are beneficial to automate, there is a project management module. Existing system control (including through the KPI management module) and reports creates optimal conditions for working in a team, including remotely (especially valuable for branches).
Electronic document management is connected to all modules of the system and provides storage and classification of documents. This saves significant time and reduces the concept of an “essential worker” to a minimum.
Accounting for clients and access rights has been resolved in the CRM module: an integration function with call centers. For the average user, ELMA can be useful as an alternative to internal corporate mail and a task management tool.

7. Fox Manager Business Processes

Notations– a tool for displaying business processes.

Like a hammer and a hoop, they are useful in skilled hands and useless to those who do not know their purpose. To draw or not to draw business process diagrams? – a question that causes a lot of discussion. However, we believe that circuits are indeed necessary under certain conditions.

Quantity kills quality

When your company consists of several people, when you know everyone by name, diagrams are unlikely to be useful to you.

But as soon as the business grows and most of the employees turn into strangers, work processes need to be recorded and displayed. Otherwise, the company will collapse

Perhaps there is a simple way to improve the company's performance, but you don't know about it because you imagine the company's work only in general outline, without details.

In what cases do you need to draw diagrams?

• if customer complaints become more frequent and you cannot understand at what stage the problems arose. Sometimes it is enough to break the entire work process into separate stages to understand what the problem is, why you miss deadlines and do not comply with agreements;
• if you need detailed technological descriptions for performers. Your programmers, for example, need to accurately describe a process and how it works, presenting an understandable algorithm. Otherwise, the end result will be complete nonsense.

How to use notations

Notations are used by both beginners and those who have ate the dog when describing business processes. The notation is easy to understand. For example, BPMN offers six basic elements of the scheme:

• Action. This element reflects certain part work.
• Event. Shows when something “happened”: for example, an order arrived.
• Gateways. They connect or separate other circuit elements.
• Artifacts. The purpose of this element is to improve the readability of the diagram and provide additional information.
• Streams. Display the operating sequence.
• Lanes and pools. Divide responsibility between tasks.

In a diagram, a process can be represented through a sequence of events, gateways, and actions connected by flows.

Process diagram

All of them will be united by pools reflecting their areas of responsibility. So, an application from a client is an event. Through a flow, work is transferred to action, and you can specify an artifact to make it easier for the reader to understand what is needed at this stage. If there are two options for action, for example, you ordered a product, but it is either in stock or not, use a gateway that will lead to action.

Process diagram without performers

The scheme must be closed by a new event, for example, the delivery of goods to the buyer. All this will be wrapped in a pool with the name of the business process. What's missing from the diagram? Performers. They can be added using tracks.

Process diagram with performers

Let's say you have drawn up an approximate diagram, as described above, and the reasons for the delays in the shipment of goods remain a mystery, shrouded in darkness. Refine the diagram by introducing tasks into it - specific actions assigned to specific people. If there are too many actions, you can use subprocesses - these elements shorten processes by doing too much detailed diagram easy to understand.

Subprocesses are displayed as collapsed elements

Comparison of different notation toolsBPMN

We have described the main elements of BPMN. You can draw processes in this notation in different tools. A comparison of their capabilities is in the table below.

		visio
Price	Free	Paid
Convenience	Difficult to work with complex circuits	Suitable for describing business processes, but an additional library of elements may be needed
Scheme verification	Eat	No
Possibility of unloading	Supports uploading in selected formats	Supports uploading to images

How to use the free program

You can use BPMN for free, just follow the link - and a work area, a process worker, will open in front of you. The notation works directly from the browser; you don’t need to download or install anything on your computer.

On the left you will see icons indicating different types business processes: event, action, etc. Select them with the cursor and draw a diagram. On the right you will see a button with a question mark. There you will find a short background information about how to work with the program. By clicking on the support button and selecting the appropriate section in the menu, you will download a detailed manual describing all the intricacies of using the notation. Like the notation itself, the reference manual is free. You can also subscribe to the BPMN educational newsletter.

This is what the program window looks like

How to draw business process regulations

• identify the problem, which needs to be solved. For example, the dispatch of finished orders is delayed;

• define the start and end of the process. The process cannot end with the transfer of a task to another department of the company, it must always end with the transfer of the product or service to the client, otherwise it does not make sense. Input is a precisely defined customer need. The input and output in the process processor are marked as “event”;
• describe everything what needs to be done for the product or service to reach the client. To begin with, indicate only the order of actions, but do not specify who should do it;
• indicate the sequence of actions, arranging the elements of the diagram in the desired order;
• indicate the performers performing actions. If some actions are performed by the same person, they can be combined into one item to save time;
• detail the diagram, describing how to perform each individual step. This is the most time-consuming of all stages;
• think about monitoring the implementation of the developed scheme. Is it possible to automate it?
• provide for exceptional cases.

As you can see, drawing a diagram is only part of the analytical work, the tip of the process. A large amount of work is done outside the process, when you think about how to establish a sequence of tasks, what stages to break them down into, what emergency cases may arise.