IBM Certification Test 992.2 - Modeling
Table of Contents
Define naming conventions to effectively manage a project
Naming conventions
It's good practice to define a set of standards in order to maintain consistent process models. Process modeling standards provide a common language for the team, which enhances project efficiency and reduces the occurrence of misunderstandings. In particular, you should standardize element names and the level of process detail to use. But, most importantly, ensure that the model is relevant to the business context -- choose names and model relationships as they appear in business operations. Keep in mind that the model represents the business analyst's view so that it can be measured against the business goals. Thus, the model should be agnostic of the IT implementation. Process and tasks should follow a verb object naming convention such as Create Sales Order, and should be concise.
Processes and tasks should not be named for who performs them or for their inputs and outputs; this information is held in the attributes of the process elements. Decisions and choices can simplify the process diagram and they should be stated as a question such as Loan Approved? Finally, scoping is critical to the success of a business process model. You should document the project objectives and goals, identify the relevant stakeholders and ensure they are on board. In addition, you should clearly define the project schedule and plan to monitor and track regular progress.
Best practice
Establish organization standards or guidelines for developing models and naming model elements. This results in greater understanding of the processes throughout the organization even though the models may be created by multiple people. Examples of such standards include:
- Establish naming conventions for each type of modeling object. For example, all process names could have the following format: verb + (adjective/descriptor) + noun (example: Verify Account)
Note that the word Process is not in the name of the process. Likewise, the words Task or Activity are not used in naming activities.
- To help with report outputs, names should be 32 characters or less.
- To help with readability, all words should be capitalized.
- As-Is processes should be suffixed with AI and To-Be processes with TB.
Note: Some practices use the terms Current and Future instead of As-Is and To-Be.
- If an activity is global and used outside of a single process, it should have a prefix to indicate the scope of its use.
- Establish a set of standard nouns, verbs, and acronyms that are used for naming activities. Since many words have similar meanings, setting which words should be used and which should not be used will add to the consistency across models. For example, use the verb complete rather than finish or end.
- Establish standards for versioning methods associated at the process model and artifact level to provide requirement traceability. (Note that the use of Rational® Requisite® Pro can assist in fostering this rigor and discipline.)
The use of an annotation object in the upper-left corner of the diagram can be
used to provide information about the context of the process, its relationship to
other processes, and the process owner.
Related links
- Business Process Management: Modeling through Monitoring Using WebSphere V6.0.2 Products
- WebSphere business process management zone (IBM Developerworks)
- WebSphere Business Modeler certification exam 992 prep, Part 2: Model business processes
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