Information Architects | QualiWare Center of Excellence

Business Process Network

Purpose: The purpose of the Business Process Network is to at document a mid- to high-level view of Business Processes and their interrelationships.

Core concerns: The Business Process Network template enables the documentation of top to mid-level processes. The core objects available to model with are Business Processes, Business Events, Business Objects, Business Scope, Information Systems, and different types of connections. Below you can see two examples of a Business Process Network modelled in different styles.

High level process view without business events or connections between processes:

High-level process view where business events and connections indicate a flow between processes, stakeholders and customers:

Relation to other templates: The top-level processes would typically be broken down to one or more levels of mid-level processes. The last level of Business Process Networks can then be broken down to several Workflow Diagrams or Business Process Diagrams detailing the activities contained within the business process

Properties and metadata: The Business Process Network can for example retain the following information:

Description of the diagram
Link to the owner of the diagram
Link to the one responsible for executing the processes in the diagram
Audits (auto generated information regarding its current state and access rights)
Associated documents, diagrams and other objects
Inherent Risk detailing risk considerations
Governance information detailing information about the published diagram and who has been involved in the approval of the diagram

In the picture below you can see the Business Process Network’s properties dialogue window, where the diagrams properties can be viewed and edited:

Business Process Diagram

Purpose: The purpose of the Business Process Diagram template is to enable workflow modelling using the industry standard BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation).

Core concerns: The Business Process Diagram template supply you with the BPMN icons that enable you to draw a workflow diagram. These icons include different types of events, activities, gateways, connectors, as well as pools, lanes and artifacts such as data objects and messages. The Business Process Diagram is typically used to illustrate business processes and software processes used in requirement documentation. Below is an example of a classic BPMN diagram with swimlanes:

To ensure the right BPMN syntax, the Business Process Diagram template will continuously perform Graphic Syntax Checks while you model. When a graphic syntax error occurs, you will be met with an error message like the one shown below:

Other functionalities: The Business Process Diagram can enable the execution and automation of a process when the diagram is converted into XML type files.

If you don’t wish to have a visible pool in your diagram, you can choose to have a ‘default pool’ that doesn’t have to be graphically represented. You can see an example of a diagram without pool and lanes below:

Relation to other templates: The Business Process Diagram template is exclusively aimed at modeling using the BPMN standard. If the BPMN is not chosen as a mandatory standard, the WorkFlow Diagram template, which has fewer syntax limitations, can be used instead.

The Business Process Diagram is typically linked as a decomposition of a Business Process contained in a Business Process Network template.

Properties and metadata: The Business Process Diagram can for example retain the following information:

Description of the diagram
Expression and query language
Link to the owner of the process
Link to the one responsible for executing the process
Audits (auto generated information regarding its current state and access rights)
Associated documents, diagrams and other objects
Inherent Risk detailing risk considerations
Governance information detailing information about the published diagram and who has been involved in the approval of the diagram

In the picture above you can see the Business Process Diagram’s properties dialogue window, where the diagram’s properties can be viewed and edited:

For more information: about the BPMN standard please visit OMG’s dedicated website.

Business Object Model

Purpose: The purpose of the Business Object Model is to present a structured view of an organization’s products and services.

Core concerns: The focus of this template is the Business Object that can be described through Decomposition, Generalization, Association and Dependency with other Business Objects. Notes can be used to group Business Objects, for example as High-Growth Revenue Products, as seen in the below model:

The modelling syntax can be extended to also include strategic elements such as: Requirements, Problems, Change Requests, Goals, Performance Indicators and policies. They can be connected to the Business Objects through Strategic Alignment.

Relation to other templates: The Business Object Model belongs to the Information domain where it offers a conceptual and logical view of an organizations products and services. As such, it is related to templates such as Product Canvas, Product Roadmap and Product Variant Master

Properties and metadata: The Business Object Model can for example retain the following information:

A description of the diagram
Link to the owner of the diagram
Link to the one responsible for the diagram
Audits (auto generated information regarding its current state and access rights)
Associated documents, diagrams and other objects
Inherent Risk detailing risk considerations
Governance information detailing information about the published diagram and who has been involved in the approval of the diagram

The above picture shows the properties dialogue window for the Business Object Model, where you can view and edit the diagram’s properties in QualiWare Lifecycle Manager.

Information Structure Viewpoint : Archimate

Concerns: Structure and dependencies of the used data and information, consistency and completeness
Purpose: Designing
Scope: Multiple layer/Single aspect

The information structure viewpoint is comparable to the traditional information models created in the development of almost any information system. It shows the structure of the information used in the enterprise or in a specific business process or application, in terms of data types or (object-oriented) class structures. Furthermore, it may show how the information at the business level is represented at the application level in the form of the data structures used there, and how these are then mapped onto the underlying technology infrastructure; e.g., by means of a database schema.

Requirements Realization Viewpoint : Archimate

Concerns: Architecture strategy and tactics, motivation
Purpose: Designing, deciding, informing
Scope: Motivation

The requirements realization viewpoint allows the designer to model the realization of requirements by the core elements, such as business actors, business services, business processes, application services, application components, etc. Typically, the requirements result from the goal refinement viewpoint.

In addition, this viewpoint can be used to refine requirements into more detailed requirements. The aggregation relationship is used for this purpose.