Business and Law
INF30035 – Business Process Analysis
Summer, 2024
Assignment One
Analysing As-Is Business Processes for an Organization
Due: Monday 22nd Jan. 2024 @ 10:00am AEDST. Assignment 1 Weight = 30%
Assignment 1 is an individual assignment!
To be completed individually. Your submission should include:
• Submit assignment 1 report file via the Turnitin Assignment 1 link on INF30035 Canvas Assignment.
• Submit models file through the model submission link on the Canvas Assignment.
DO NOT email the assignment.
If you have any queries, you may discuss it in the discussion threads or with teaching staff. For any technical problems, assistance can be obtained from the Swinburne Service Desk (03) 9214 5000.
Case Study
Swinburne Guru Consulting (SGC) Coaching Specialist Process (Detailed case description can be found on Canvas under assignment)
Your Tasks
Your client has commissioned you to analyze their core business process. The description of the General Medical processes has been provided to you (in the appendix). Assignment 1, you are required to provide a review (aimed at the management and staff of the organisation) on:
1. Analysing the current business process(es) – the prospective problems/issues of the existing processes and brief analysis of improvements by using best practices (at this stage, please
do not consider technologies and automation).
Please note that there are many issues/problems in the current process. Assignment 1 is an individual effort, so you should list all major problems/issues, but only need to pick up Three (3) that you consider the most essential to discuss. You should discuss these three problems selected, providing your reasoning (such as: What are the problems/issues? Why they are the key problems/issues? Why need to consider fixing them? What are some of the opportunities after solving these problems/issues? If you do not fix them, what are some of the impacts on their business?) You must use references to support your arguments.
Please note, lack of integrated information system, process lack of automation, no database systems….. are not process issues or problems. The process problems/issues should link to sequencing, logic, communication, resources allocation, quality control, double job handling, and task re-working (unnecessary loops)……
For each issue selected, state the Best Practices (please check lesson 3 overview for details) you will apply (you should consider at least 2 best practices for each problem/issue so that you can compare). For each Best Practice, describe how it is applied, explain, also how your solution solves or improves the problem identified. The final selected best practices for each problem, can be summarized in a table using the following format:
• The issue being considered.
• Best Practice(s) employed. Choose from the Best Practices discussed in the lectures.
• Describe how the Best Practice is applied to the process and how it addresses the problems.
• Describe the possible advantages and any other issues addressed at the same time.
• Any disadvantages.
a. Issue b. Best
Practice/ c. Application Description and/or Solution Explanation d. Advantages e. Disadvantages
Note: This table should only be used to summarize your discussions. The table can be put in the appendix.
1. Present the current process models by using relevant drawing tools (read details below). To do this you should:
a. Understand the existing processes and construct the process models, including the main process and sub-process models.
b. To construct models, you must use any process modelling tools (such as all examples we provided in the unit- we used Bizagi modeller – a process modelling tool). Bizagi is commonly used in the industry and is specifically for design business processes. It is free software and easy to use. It has a built-in simulation function that can help check your designed process models if there are deadlock problems. It also has a built-in function to identify the error connections of the models. However, as it doesn’t support Mac computers yet, you can choose other process modelling software. Please make sure it allows you to use all BPMN palettes (pool, lane, tasks, events…). The drawing software selected has to be process-oriented. We have provided some suggested modelling tools in the unit outline and on
Canvas Modules Business Process Modelling tools. Please check. If you select a different BPMN software, please also check with the teaching staff.
c. Each diagram should occupy no more than one page, and it should be ‘landscape’ format, not a ‘portrait’ format. For the case provided, to make models readable, you need some sub-processes. However, how many subprocesses you need depends on your model design. You can have subprocesses in the main process and also sub-processes inside of sub- processes. It can be multi-layered. Please check the examples which we provided on the Canvas Modules as your references. Model readability is essential. If models which you put in the report are not readable, we will not mark them.
d. Regarding the case, as this is a simulation exercise, the case may miss some details based on your knowledge. You are allowed to make reasonable assumptions based on your experience and research. All assumptions have to be clearly explained in your report.
e. Models for the case study should use Level 1 BPMN notation, AS-IS models. Please note that some details may not be represented precisely utilising the level 1 palette- you can explain the limitation in the report.
f. Each model should be accompanied by a full and detailed commentary that explains what you have drawn, highlighting any features that you could not represent precisely on the diagram. For example, for each of the tasks, what are some detailed activities/steps involved; for each gateway, what decision is it responsible for. You should use a table to summarize activities and gateways for each model (main and sub-process models). Below is an example:
Tasks & Gateways Names Brief explanation
Check applications When the application is submitted, Faculty admin staff will check all student applications, such as if all required documents are included and are all forms are correctly filled … if anything is missing, admin staff will contact students to resubmit. After all, documents are received, they will enter all details into the database system and send an email to relevant academic staff for further process.
Decision gateway
(Submission documents correct?) If ‘yes’, go to the task ‘Enter details’; If ‘no’, go to the task ‘Contact Students’.
Each model will include tasks and gateways, and you should explain them so the readers can understand what you try to present.
Please read the suggested marking sheet to understand the marking criteria FULLY.
Submission Requirements
Just submit a single MS Word document. Archives with multiple files and subfolders will not be accepted.
• A word-processed report of 1500 +/- 10% words which include:
a) Executive Summary (not included in the word count)
b) Table of Contents (not included in the word count)
c) Introduction which must include:
• Topic background, such as importance of business process re-design and development, why organizations should focus on business processes…. (must use references in this part).
• The purpose of the assignment – what do you want to achieve by completing the assignment…..
• Data collection methods, such as based on your experiences, information from similar companies websites, information from academic references …..
• Structure of the assignment
d) Any assumptions made?
e) Any limitations for presenting models?
f) Main body:
• Statement of problems, issues and opportunities of the current process(es);
• Best practice discussion;
• List the steps which you will take on to re-design the process, a plan for process improvement.
g) Conclusion
h) References (not included in the word count)
You MUST use the Harvard Referencing style throughout your report and include an accurate list of references at the end of the report. You can access the correct style from the library: Harvard System
(http://www.swin.edu.au/lib/guides/harvard_system.pdf )
i) Appendices (should put all BPMN diagrams and relevant tables in appendices) BPMN diagrams (NOTE: for each process model, you need to briefly explain the
key tasks, gateways, and events by using a table format). Please check the example provided in the task 2, point ‘f’.
Report format:
• Pages of the report should have appropriate headers and footers and should include printed page numbers
• Use font size 12 and 1.5 line space
• On the front page of all assessments submitted you must include:
o Full names and student IDs
o Unit code and name, assessment number, due date and % weighting
Late submission may result in a lower grade for the assignment as described in the University’s Extensions and Late Penalties policies. Please refer to the unit outline for further details.
Any request for an extension must be directed to the convener BEFORE the assignment due date. You must include appropriate supporting documentation such as a doctor’s certificate or a letter from your employer. These forms may be scanned and emailed to the convener.
Please refer to the case study for more details.
____________________
Analysing As-Is Business Processes for Swinburne Guru Consulting
Executive Summary
This report analyses the current business processes of Swinburne Guru Consulting (SGC) and identifies key issues and opportunities for improvement. Three major issues are discussed in detail, along with recommended best practices and how they can be applied to address the problems. Process models of the current state are also presented with explanations. The analysis and recommendations aim to provide insights for SGC management to refine their processes for better efficiency and effectiveness.
Introduction
Business process management and redesign have become increasingly important for organizations to stay competitive in today’s dynamic environment (Dumas et al., 2018). By analysing existing processes and implementing improvements, companies can streamline operations, reduce costs, enhance quality and customer satisfaction (Rosemann & vom Brocke, 2015). This report examines the core coaching specialist process at SGC to identify prospective problems and recommend solutions.
Data was collected from the case description provided and academic references on business process management. The current process is modelled and three key issues are selected for in-depth discussion. Best practices are proposed and explained for each issue, with the aim of improving the process flow and addressing underlying causes. Some limitations exist due to the level of information available, but reasonable assumptions are made based on research.
Analysis of Current Processes
[Discussion of current process issues based on case description, with selection of three major problems for focus. Process models of the current “as-is” state are presented in the appendix with explanations.]
Recommendations for Improvement
[Discussion of recommended best practices for each of the three problems identified above. How each best practice can be applied and the advantages it brings. Summary table comparing the issues, practices, applications and impacts.]
Conclusion
In conclusion, this report has evaluated the coaching specialist process at SGC through problem identification and process modelling. Three significant issues were selected for analysis along with best practice recommendations on how they can be addressed. Implementing the solutions proposed has the potential to streamline operations and enhance service quality at SGC. Further refinement of the redesigned process and enabling technologies may also be considered.
References
Dumas, M., La Rosa, M., Mendling, J., & Reijers, H. A. (2018). Fundamentals of business process management. Springer.
Rosemann, M., & vom Brocke, J. (2015). The six core elements of business process management. In Handbook on business process management 1 (pp. 105-122). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
