Identify process improvement opportunities

Websphere Business Modeler v6.1

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IBM Certification Test 992.4 - Analysis and Validation

1. How to Identify process improvement opportunities
   1. Analyzing process simulation results (dynamic analysis)
   2. Simulation scenarios
   3. Related links

How to Identify process improvement opportunities

When you have completed modeling a business process, you can use WebSphere® Business Modeler to simulate the running of the process. Simulating allows you to do the following:

• assess the performance of the process,
• generate statistics, and
• pinpoint potential areas of improvement.

 

There are many ways to identify process improvement opportunities depending on your business objectives.

 

For example, since cost is often a primary "need to know" factor in a business model, knowing what a particular process or resource costs, and what it might cost under different circumstances, is a key process improvement opportunity.  When you model your processes, you want to know what costs are involved in using those resources.

Analyzing process simulation results (dynamic analysis)

To identify process improvement opportunites, analyze the process simulation results.

 

Analyze the results of process simulation runs to extract specific information on the monetary results, time results, and statistics generated from the running of a process simulation.

 

You must create a simulation profile and run a simulation before you can do an analysis of the simulation results.

 

You can analyze the data from a simulation run at three levels of granularity:

• Aggregated analysis
  Aggregated analyses are the most broadly scoped of the dynamic analyses. They use all the data from the entire simulation run for their information. Use these analyses to gain an understanding of the behavior of the process as a whole.
• Process cases analysis
  Process cases analyses use the data from specific process cases to give information. Use these analyses to gain an understanding of a specific case (process flow) within the process.
• Process instance analysis
  Process instance analyses are the most granular of the dynamic analyses. They use data from a single instance of a process case for their information. Use these analyses to gain an understanding of the behavior of a specific token's run through the process.

Analyzing aggregated results Perform aggregated analyses to gain an understanding of the behavior of the simulation run as a whole. Aggregated analyses are the most broadly scoped of the dynamic analyses. They use all the data from the entire simulation run for their information.   You need to run a simulation based on a process that you have modeled before you can do an aggregated analysis.   Parent topic: Analyzing models and simulations Related tasks   Analyzing processes Analyzing process simulation profiles	Analyzing process cases You can perform several types of process case analysis to determine the performance of a simulated process across all of its process instances. Process case analysis provides statistical information that takes into account all process cases and their probabilities of occurrence.   You need to run a simulation based on a process that you have modeled before you can do a process case analysis.   A process case is a form that a process instance can take, in which units of work follow a particular pattern of connections and activities within a branching process flow. Process case analyses show weighted average values for the results of simulated processes, where the average value is weighted for each process case to account for the distribution of process instances to that case relative to other cases.   You can use process cases analysis when you want to examine process-level data that is gathered from all process instances in a simulation, in order to understand how a process performs when it is run a large number of times. Process cases analysis organizes and averages the simulation results generated for each process case, which enables you to investigate variations in performance between different patterns of process flow. As a result of these investigations, you may determine that you need to modify a process model to improve the overall results or the results for one or more cases. In addition to results for each case, process cases analysis also provides weighted average results that take all cases into account.   By comparison, aggregated analysis enables you to examine results for specific elements within a process (aggregated across all process instances in a simulation without consideration of case matching), and process instance analysis enables you to examine results within a specific process instance. Process comparison analysis is related to process cases analysis in that it compares the weighted average results for two distinct simulation runs.   Parent topic: Analyzing models and simulations Related tasks   Analyzing processes Analyzing process simulation profiles	Analyzing process instances Perform process instance analysis to get a detailed understanding of each individual pass through a process during simulation.   Before you carry out a process instance analysis, you must have a set of simulation results that you want to analyze. The first process instance analysis you must carry out is a process instance summary analysis. You can then access the additional process instance analyses from the results page of the summary.   During simulation, every pass through the process creates a process instance, and the data from that pass is recorded for analysis. Use process instance analysis when you want to study the results of a specific process instance. The value of doing this is that it enables you to examine how the process works on a process run level. For example, in simulation of the handling of calls at a call center, you can examine the call with the best or the worst results for elapsed duration or total cost to determine the factors that contributed to those results and to identify potential improvements.   Process instance analysis is the most granular of analysis types and can be used to gain an understanding of how each run through the process occurred during simulation.   Parent topic: Analyzing models and simulations Related tasks   Analyzing processes Analyzing process simulation profiles	Conducting comparative analysis Perform one of the several comparative analyses to find differences and similarities between the results of two different simulation runs.   Perform one of the several comparative analyses to find differences and similarities between the results of two different simulation runs.   Before performing this analysis you must have two simulation results that you want to compare. For the following comparisons, which are intended to highlight differences in how a process performs when simulation settings are changes, both results must come from the same simulation snapshot:   Processes Resources Time Comparison Processes Resources Cost Comparison Processes Classifier Duration Comparison Processes Classifier Cost Comparison   The other comparisons can be carried out against any two results in the same project.   Use processes comparison analysis to highlight differences in simulation results between versions of a modeled process, simulations of different sizes, or among simulations with different decision probabilities. For example, you can use processes comparison analysis to compare the average length of time it takes to complete your as-isprocess versus your proposed to-be processes. When you make changes to a process to optimize cost or throughput performance, you may want to perform several types of comparison analysis to confirm that your intended optimizations are realized, and that there are no unwanted side effects.   The average values presented by the comparison analysis are identical to those presented by the process cases analyses.   Parent topic: Analyzing models and simulations Related tasks   Analyzing processes Analyzing process simulation profiles
Analyzing activity durations The activity duration analysis shows the average time it takes for each activity in a simulation to complete. It also indicates how much of that time is taken waiting for resources to be available. Analyzing activity costs Perform this analysis to gain an understanding of the costs incurred by the activities during a simulation run. Analyzing activity cost per time unit Perform this analysis to compute the average rate of cost for each activity in a simulated process. Analyzing activity statistics Perform this analysis to obtain information on the successful completion of the process activities in the simulation run. Analyzing activity resource allocations The activity resource allocation analysis shows a summary of the resources allocated to each activity during the process simulation run. For each activity, the analysis shows the resources allocated and the average allocation time, cost, and shortages for each resource. Analyzing resource allocation summaries The resource allocation summary analysis provides summary information regarding the usage of resources in fulfilling the resource and roll requirements of the process during simulation. In contrast to other analyses, the information in this analysis does not focus on the activity or process case as the primary category of organization. Instead, it aggregates based on the role and resource requirements that exist in the process as a whole. Analyzing resource usage summaries The resource usage summary analysis provides aggregated summary information for each resource that came into use during a simulation run. In contrast to other analyses, the resource usage summary provides information about resource usage without associating the uses with the activities in the model. Analyzing resource usage Perform a resource usage analysis to see the activities that each resource was allocated to during the simulation run. For each resource, the analysis shows summary information about its time, cost, and shortage durations. The analysis also provides detailed information about every allocation of the resource during the run of the simulation. Analyzing classifier cost and duration Perform this analysis to display information regarding the average cost and duration of an entire classification of activities within the process. Analyzing net present value and internal rate of return Perform the net present value and internal rate of return analysis to calculate the current net present value of a process. When running the analysis you are asked to specify an initial cost, a discount rate, and a payback period. These values are used together with the average profit for the process as a whole, calculated from the simulation results. This analysis also calculates the internal rate of return necessary to produce a net present value of zero by the end of the payback period. Analyzing the break even point Perform a process break even analysis to calculate the number of times a process must run to generate enough profit to recover a fixed cost that you specify. The returned value is based on the average costs and revenue for the process as a whole. Analyzing process resource allocations Perform a process resource allocation analysis to examine how each activity in the process makes use of its resources during the simulation, to help identify resource shortages, and understand how the resources required by an activity contribute to the cost of performing the activity itself. Analyzing process resources Perform a process resource analysis to see a list of the resources used by the process and information about the average allocations of the resources during a process run.   Parent topic: Analyzing process simulation results Related tasks   Analyzing process cases Analyzing process instances Conducting comparative analysis	Analyzing process cases summaries Perform this analysis to display summary information for each of the process cases produced during a simulation. Customizing the columns displayed in summary analysis Customize the summary analysis display to show only the columns with information that you are interested in. Analyzing process durations Perform a process duration analysis to examine the average durations of all process cases in a simulation. Analyzing process activities total times Perform a process activities total time analysis to determine the average total time values for all process instances in a simulation. Analyzing process costs Performing a process cost analysis to examine the average costs, revenues and profits for all process instances in a simulation. Analyzing classifier costs and durations You can complete this analysis to show the costs and durations of activities associated with each classifier value used in a process.   Parent topic: Analyzing process simulation results Related tasks   Analyzing aggregated results Analyzing process instances Conducting comparative analysis Related reference   Process cases summary analysis	Creating a process instance summary analysis You must carry out a process instance summary analysis before you can carry out any analyses on specific process instances. Customizing the columns displayed in summary analysis Customize the summary analysis display to show only the columns with information that you are interested in. Analyzing process instance times Perform a process instance time analysis to display the durations of each of the activities involved in a process instance. Analyzing process instance costs Perform this analysis to display detailed information about the cost and revenue for each activity within a process instance in a simulation. Analyzing process instance resource allocation Perform a process instance resource allocation analysis to obtain detailed information about the resources allocated to activities in a process instance. Analyzing process instance activities free float Perform this analysis to display information about the available free float (slack time) periods associated with activities in a process instance. Analyzing process instance critical paths Perform a process instance critical path analysis to display the path of longest duration within the process instance. Analyzing process instance shortest paths Perform a process instance shortest path analysis to display the path in a process instance that has the shortest duration of all parallel paths.   Parent topic: Analyzing process simulation results Related tasks   Analyzing aggregated results Analyzing process cases Conducting comparative analysis	To do a comparison analysis, complete the following steps: In the Project Tree view, right-click the first simulation result that you want to analyze, and then select Dynamic Analysis > Processes Comparison Analysis and then one of the following choices: Processes Duration Comparison Processes Activities Total Time Comparison Processes Cost Comparison Processes NPV / IRR Comparison Processes Break Even Comparison Processes Resources Time Comparison Processes Resources Cost Comparison Processes Classifier Duration Comparison Processes Classifier Cost Comparison A window opens. Select the second simulation results that you want to compare with the first results you selected and then click OK. Select the type of process instances you want to include in the analysis: Succeeded process instances only Failed process instances only All process instances If you selected the processes NPV / IRR comparison, complete the following steps in the window that appears: Specify the Initial cost of the process, and optionally select a currency. In the Number of process runs per year field, specify the number of times you expect the process to run within a single year. For example, enter 5000 to specify that the calculation will be based on an assumption that the process will running five thousand times each year. In the Number of years field, specify the number of years you want the analysis to cover. For example, enter 2 to determine results based on two years of operation as the payback period. Enter the Annual discount rate. For example, enter 10 to specify a discount rate of ten percent. Click Finish. If you selected the processes break even comparison, complete the following steps in the window that appears: In the Process Volume field, enter the number of times you want to use as the estimated number of times the process will run in a given unit of time. Then, select the unit of time to use from the Time unit drop-down list. For example, if you want to estimate that the process will run 5 times each hour, select Process volume to 5 and Time unit to hour. In the Initial cost field, enter the fixed cost value that you want to recover and select a currency type from the drop-down list. Click Finish. Now, you can view the results of the analysis in the Analysis view. You can also print a report of the results. Processes duration comparison analysis Processes duration comparison analysis compares the average duration and throughput of two processes based on the results of their simulation runs. Processes activities total time comparison analysis Processes activities total time comparison analysis compares the average duration of two processes based on the results of their simulation runs. Processes cost comparison analysis Processes cost comparison analysis compares the average cost and revenue results for two sets of process simulation results. Processes NPV and IRR comparison analysis Processes NPV and IRR comparison analysis compares process net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) analysis results for two process simulations that use the same input parameters. Processes break even comparison analysis Processes break even comparison analysis compares the break even analysis results of two process simulations. Processes resources time comparison analysis Processes resources time comparison analysis compares the average resource allocation durations for two simulation results based on the same simulation snapshot. They can be results from different profiles, or two sets of results from the same profile. Processes resources cost comparison analysis Processes resources cost comparison analysis compares the average resource allocation costs for two simulation results based on the same simulation snapshot. They can be results from different profiles, or two sets of results from the same profile. Processes classifier duration comparison analysis Processes classifier duration comparison analysis compares the average classifier elapsed duration results for two process simulations that use the same input parameters. Processes classifier cost comparison analysis Processes classifier cost comparison analysis compares the average classifier cost results for two process simulations that use the same input parameters.   Parent topic: Analyzing process simulation results Related tasks   Analyzing aggregated results Analyzing process cases Analyzing process instances

Simulation scenarios

The WebSphere® Business Modeler simulation scenarios present illustrative examples of the use simulation in simplified real-world situations. Although the situations presented in the scenarios are simplified, they are reflective of some of the possible techniques and uses for the simulation capabilities. The scenarios are not in any way an exhaustive set of examples of product use, but you can use them to get some ideas of how WebSphere Business Modeler can be used to answer questions about your process models.

Each scenario makes use of a modified version of the ABC sample to generate its data. You can download the scenario model from the Product Library Tutorials and Samples page. The sample model contains the original process, as well processes containing the modifications described in the scenarios.

• Scenario: Scaling a process past its capacity
  In this scenario, simulation is used to identify and address problem areas in a process when the rate of tokens arriving for processing is increased past the current capacity.
• Scenario: Generating cost data for analysis
  In this scenario, simulation is used to identify the cases that contribute a high cost to the process.
• Scenario: Changing resource requirements
  In this scenario, simulation is used to see the effect on overall cost and resource availability when a part of a process is updated to reflect a new company procedure.

Parent topic: Simulating processes

 

 

Related links

• WebSphere Business Modeler certification exam 992 prep, Part 4: Validate and analyze business processes (pdf)