Business Intelligence: A Software Engineer's Perspective V (From Process Management to Mental Models in Knowledge Gaps)

Business Intelligence Series 

An organization's business processes are probably one of its most important assets because they reflect the business model, philosophy and culture, respectively link the material, financial, decisional, informational and communicational flows across the whole organization with implication in efficiency, productivity, consistency, quality, adaptability, agility, control or governance. A common practice in organizations is to document the business-critical processes and manage them accordingly over their lifetime, making sure that the employees understand and respect them, respectively improve them continuously. 

In what concerns the creation of data artifacts, data without the processual context are often meaningless, no matter how much a data professional knows about data structures/models. Processes allow to delimit the flow and boundaries of data, respectively delimit the essential from non-essential. Moreover, it's the knowledge of processes that allows to reengineer the logic behind systems especially when no proper documentation about the logic is available. 

Therefore, the existence of documented processes allows to bridge the knowledge gaps existing on the factual side, and occasionally also on the technical side. In theory, the processes should provide a complete overview of the procedures, rules, policies and responsibilities existing in the organization, respectively how the business operates. However, even if people tend to understand how the world works locally, when broken down into parts, their understanding is systemically flawed, missing the implications of causal relationships that span time with delays, feedback, variable confusion, chaotic behavior, and/or other characteristics borrowed from the vocabulary of complex systems.  

Jay W Forrester [3], Peter M Senge [1], John D Sterman [2] and several other systems-thinking theoreticians stressed the importance of mental models in making-sense about the world especially in setups that reflect the characteristics of complex systems. Mental models frame our experience about the world in congruent mental constructs that are further used to think, understand and navigate the world. They are however tacit, fuzzy, incomplete, imprecisely stated, inaccurate, evolving simplifications with dual character, enabling on one side, while impeding on the other side cognitive processes like sense-making, learning, thinking or decision-making, limiting the range of action to what is familiar and comfortable. 

On one side one of the primary goals of Data Analytics is to provide new insights, while on the other side the new insights fail to be recognized and put into practice because they conflict with existing mental models, limiting employees to familiar ways of thinking and acting. 

Externalizing and sharing mental models allow besides making assumptions explicit and creating a world view also to strategize, make tests and simulations, respectively make sure that the barriers and further constraints don't impact the decisional process. Sange goes further and advances that mental models, especially at management level, offer a competitive advantage, allowing to maintain coherence and direction, people becoming more perceptive and responsive about environmental or circumstance changes.

The whole process isn't about creating a unique congruent mental model, even if several mental models may converge toward one or more holistic models, but of providing different diverse perspectives and enabling people to make leaps in abstraction (by moving from direct observations to generalizations) while blending advocacy and inquiry to promote collaborative learning. Gradually, people and organizations should recognize a shift from mental models dominated by events to mental models that recognize longer-tern patterns of change and the underlying structures producing those patterns [1].

Probably, for many the concept of mental models seems to be still too abstract, respectively that the effort associated with it is unnecessary, or at least questionable on whether it can make a difference. Conversely, being aware of the positive and negative implications the mental models hold, can makes us explore, even if ad-hoc, the roads they open.

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Resources:
[1] Peter M Senge (1990) The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of The Learning Organization
[2] John D Sterman (2000) "Business Dynamics: Systems thinking and modeling for a complex world"
[3] Jay W Forrester (1971) "Counterintuitive Behaviour of Social Systems", Technology Review

Process Management: "Invoice Capture" Process Diagram in Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations

Introduction

Invoice Capture is a Power Apps-based application available in Dynamics 365 CRM and deeply integrated with Dynamics 365 for Finance and Operations (D365 F&O, or simply F&O). The App is designed to provide end-to-end invoice automation of Vendor invoices (see previous post for an overview). The below diagram attempts to depict the corresponding process, typically performed by the AP Clerk role, however there are also steps that are "automated" and thus performed by the System, respectively that can be performed by both actors. In addition, there are optimization and setup activities that are performed by somebody with the Administrator role. 

Invoice Capture process diagram

Disclaimer:
(1) The process diagram focuses on the main flow of data and the main exceptions. Existing and new features in Invoice Capture might change the flow of data, making the whole diagram or parts of it obsolete. Please refer to the standard documentation [1].
(2) The diagram attempts to accommodate all types of Invoices types, however I haven't tested to the full extent the Purchase Order based scenarios.
(3) Once an invoice for the same Vendor, Address and lines was processed several times, the system should be capable in time to correctly process and transfer the Invoice to F&O without AP Clerk's involvement. 

Import/Upload Invoice

The Power App listens on the configured channels (e.g. Outlook, SharePoint, OneDrive) and the incoming documents (including signature images, receipt confirmations or reminders, other attachments) are imported in the App and made available under 'Received files' page. 

Alternatively, the invoices received in hard-paper format can be scanned and be either imported manually in Invoice Capture, respectively over the configured channels. 

Troubleshoot Invoice import

The Power Automate import flows might fail to import a file if any of the documented limitations applies, for example:

• only JPG, JPEG, TIF, TIFF, PDF with a maximum of 20 MB are accepted;
• in Outlook the email landed in other folder than Inbox.

To troubleshoot this, one can try to resend the email, or import the file manually in Invoice capture/ 
Check the documentation, for a complete list of the limitations!

Capture Invoice

Once imported, the files are processed by the OCR service and moved to the ‘Captured invoices’ page if their processing is successful. The extracted metadata is used to create the Invoice record (header, lines, charges, etc.).

Void document

Files that don’t qualify as Invoices (e.g. signature images, attachments) hang in the 'Received files' page and need to be voided by the AP Clerk on a regular basis. The voided files together with duplicates of the files already processes are available in the ‘Captured invoices (Voided)’ view from where can be deleted permanently.

Troubleshoot Invoice processing

It can happen that valid files hang in ‘Received files’ with one of the following statuses:

• 'Cancelled': Use 'Retry' to restart their processing.
• 'Processing': Export/download the file manually and reprocess it, while voiding the previous entry.

The files created via non-standard tools (e.g. PDF files) can lead to incorrect metadata extraction. In other cases, special formatting might impede metadata's extraction. Upon case, one can donate the file to Microsoft and have the AI model trained by them. 

Create Master Data (D365 F&O)

When the Vendor is not available, it needs to be created in F&O from where it will be synchronized in almost real-time to the App. At minimum, it needs to be provided the Vendor Number and Name, though Vendor's creation should be done according to the general policies available in the Organization. 

Similarly for new Products, however the setup must be complete at least for the Legal entity in scope, otherwise Invoice's processing in F&O might stop. See the "Create Product" process diagram. 

The setup for new Expense types (aka Procurement categories in F&O) must follow the standard setup. One can misuse an existing Expense type and do the correction in F&O, however this might lead to further issues if the correction isn't made.

Upon case other entities might be involved (e.g. Unit of Measure4) however they should be considered as part of the general setup for Invoice Capture.

Classify Invoice 

Classifying the invoice involves identifying the Legal entity (LE), assigning the Vendor, respectively providing the Invoice type. If a similar Invoice for the same Vendor was previously processed, the values will be taken as default, though they can be modified accordingly.

A channel can be linked to a LE, and in this case the respective LE is provided as default value. Secondly, a mapping rule can be defined for the LE when a unique keyword is expected to be available in the Address. Otherwise, the AP Clerk can assign the LE manually. 
Please note that the way the permissions were set up in CRM can affect what the members of the AP Clerk can see. E.g. users that have restricted roles in CRM will see only the records associated with the LE they were assigned to. In such cases, somebody else must assign the LE to a record without a LE. 

Similarly, a mapping rule can be defined also for the Vendors when a keyword in Vendor's name is unique.

Currently, there are 3 types of Invoices: 'PO invoice', 'Header-only invoice', respectively 'Cost invoice'. The first two can be used only in combination with a PO, while a Cost invoice is used for expenses for which no PO exists. 

Start Review

Once the Invoice was correctly classified, the AP Clerk can start reviewing the Invoice record generated from the extracted metadata. 

Correct Invoice

The AP Clerk must check the recognized metadata from the Invoice header, line and Charges against the invoice, correct or confirm the values, respectively complete the missing data. The financial dimensions, the Currency, the Item, the Expense type (aka Procurement Category in F&O) and the Unit of Measure. 

Unfortunately, there are complex Invoice layouts that make it challenging for OCR to correctly extract the line-based information. It might be needed to add or remove Lines and Charges individually or completely.

Complete Review

Once the errors and warnings are handled, the AP Clerk can complete the review, however further error may appear as part of the validation routine. 

Troubleshoot Invoice issues 

Besides the mandatory fields, several constraints apply:

• The line total must match the header amount.
• The Quantity and Net amount must have the same sign. Thus, if the amount must be negative, the Quantity must be also negative.
• If not Invoice number is available, use a standard way for defining such values.

Several fields are already marked as mandatory. Consider extending the list with the attributes needed by the business. 

Transfer Invoice 

The Invoice can be transferred to F&O when no errors exist. F&O must be online for this step to be successful. 

Monitor Invoice Capture

Monitoring typically regards the whole process, though three points need special attention: (1) the import of Invoices into Invoice Capture; (2) the Invoices hanging in the 'Received files' area, respectively (3) the Invoices not transferred to F&O.

Ideally, there should be a set of reports and metrics on the CRM side to help in the process. 

Optimize Invoice Capture setup

There are several setup areas that can improve users experience while using Invoice Capture. The initial setup reflects one's knowledge about Invoice Capture, however in time optimizations can be identified especially in what concerns the mapping rules. 

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References:
[1] Microsoft Learn (2023) Invoice capture overview (link)

Process Management: "Manage Problem" Process Diagram in ITIL

Process diagrams for IT methodologies like ITIL can be approached in general at a lower level of detail than business processes (see 'Create Product' process diagram) and thus the text blocks can be left out unless further high-level instructions need to be given. Because they are highly standardized, one can find many examples on the internet as inspiration. On the other hand, the processes need to be adapted to an organization's needs. 

Compared with other similar process diagrams, the diagram attempts (1) to highlight also the interfaces with other processes (e.g. Manage Change, Manage Knowledge, etc.), (2) to assure that the User can cycle through the steps, respectively that there's no infinite loop via the solvability question. 

The following definitions apply:

Change: the addition, modification or removal of anything that could have an effect on a servicel

Incident: unplanned interruption or reduction in quality.

Known Error: problem that has a documented root cause and/or a workaround.

Problem: a cause of one or more incidents.

Resolution: action taken to repair the root cause of an incident/problem or to implement a workaround.

Workaround: reducing/eliminating the impact of an incident/problem for which a full resolution is not yet available.

Process Management: "Create Product" Process Diagram in Dynamics 365 for Finance & Operations

Introduction

A process diagram should provide employees with a bird’s-eye view of the most important steps needed to perform the process it describes. To be useful, the diagram needs to be succinct, complete, accurate and descriptive enough. Unfortunately, one needs to compromise to address all these requirements. Moreover, there are further challenges, like where to set boundaries between activities and subprocesses, or how much information to provide.

Dynamics 365 used to come with a set of standardized process descriptions and diagrams, at least the support for the latter being interrupted. They were useful as overviews, however sometimes they seemed to raise more questions than to clarify. On the other hand, organizations implement only a subset from the functionality available, and thus the process diagrams can vary between organizations. In theory, the implementer or other service providers could help with a standardized set of process diagrams designed for specific industries, though this may involve further challenges.

Therefore, organizations might be forced to start from scratch. Even then, the results might not fulfill the expectations. At least in what process diagrams concern, there seem to be a huge gap between theory and practice. Knowledge representation in its various forms, and the process diagrams are included, can be considered as an art or require more expertise and skills than usual.

Ideally, organizations should have process diagrams for all business-critical processes. A more relaxed approach could focus only on the important processes that need to be performed occasionally, and for which refreshments are necessary. In this category belongs the creation of master data, the creation of Products being maybe the most complex one.

The ‘Create Product’ process was chosen to exemplify how a process diagram could be constructed and explain design choices and further aspects. (Click on the diagram to see the full-size version!)

As can be seen, the diagram starts with two subprocesses often omitted, even if they are quintessential for making sure that the next steps can be executed efficiently. The differentiation between activities and subprocesses was made based on the complexity of the steps and the responsibilities involved. When multiple steps need to be performed by other personas, then this might be a sign that a process or subprocess is involved. When other personas are involved, the blocks have different colors.

Another important aspect is the use of succinct descriptions for each step. The building blocks of the diagrams should be in theory enough, though that’s seldom the case. To fill the gap the employee needs to navigate between the blocks and descriptions, which is usually inefficient. Process management applications provide a better UI, though contents’ navigability can be challenging as well.

Even if the diagram attempts to generalize a Product’s creation, seldom performed activities were left out and can be added after the same model. Optional steps are marked by a decision block reflecting thus the questions a persona needs to answer. They could be left out.

At least in D365 the data can be imported over the Data Management Framework and/or the Excel add-in. Some steps can then be consolidated or split depending on which data entities are used, though the variations in process are small. Ideally, there should be a description of the respective steps (e.g., what data entity applies for each step).

The process doesn’t consider the use of an approval workflow, respectively the newest features.

One might argue that the diagram doesn’t respect maybe some of the conventions existing in Process Management. Some conventions make sense, though also in this area one needs to compromise sometimes.

In what follows are given arguments why the various steps were considered.

Approve Product datasheet

The data needed to create a Product usually comes from several departments (e.g. Sales, Procurement, Inventory Management, Engineering, etc.). Therefore, as for other master data, it’s recommended to have a Product datasheet in which the most important attributes about a product are tracked at the various levels of detail that apply. 

This approach is supposed to fill the gap in the process in which the creation of a product needs to be approved (e.g. somebody needs to confirm that there’s an entitled reason) to eliminate the unnecessary creation of products (incl. duplicates). Also, there are attributes like Name, Description, Unit of Measure or Prices that need further agreement. Moreover, in this way a single persona is responsible for process’ execution, and the approach requires more coordination upfront than within the process. (It’s easier to have a call with all stakeholders to complete the list than trying to involve them in the middle of the process.)

The datasheet should also contain the attributes that might require system’s extension with further setup, and the new values should be marked as such.

Ideally, the datasheet should reflect the data structure of the entities needed by the import mechanism or allow easy conversions to them.

Setup System

Setup changes may reach deep inside several modules, requiring further permissions. Given the sensitive nature of the changes, it’s better for these changes to be performed by the people responsible for the respective areas.

Some changes, including the hypothetical ones, might also require further tests. Therefore, this part of the process should be triggered early enough so the delays are kept to a minimum.  

System’s setup should be ideally documented (e.g. via golden configuration) together with the policies that apply.

Create Product(s)

The Product datasheet will serve as basis for creating the Products during the current and the following steps. The data entry should be just a replication of the data from datasheet without further transformations, which tend to increase the chances for mistakes.

Supposing that D365 is the master system, which usually should be the case, the products can also be created then in third-party systems once the Product number is available, systems in which further restrictions, policies and value mappings may apply.   

Ideally, there should be an automatic interface responsible for data synchronization, otherwise manual effort is involved.

Add language specific names/descriptions

Maintaining both, a Product’s name and descriptions in the various supported languages should be mandatory. The attributes should reflect the level of specificity required.

Assign Product dimensions

The Product sheet should reflect whether the Product requires dimensions, and which are the respective values, respectively the combinations allowed.

Maintain Product categories

Categories’ maintenance is usually performed by other roles and belongs in the Setup System process. This step includes the assignment of Products to a category, respectively the maintenance of further attributes like Main account or Item sales tax group.

Release Product(s)

The product(s) available in the datasheet are released to the Legal entities in scope. This just makes the Products available for further maintenance.

Update Released product(s)

The Product datasheet is used as basis for entering the Legal entity-specific attributes.

Update Default order settings

This step requires updating the attributes that deviate from defaults (e.g. Default Site, Stopped, etc.).

Maintain Product ext. Descriptions

Product external information might be needed for Customers and Vendors to which the Products are sold, respectively from which are purchased. The entries are needed for each Product dimension that applies.

Maintain Trade agreements

Trade agreements allow transparency of the Sales and Procurement prices that apply for a time interval, specific group or other characteristics. Therefore, they should be used when possible.

Maintain Bar codes

Bar codes apply usually for inventory-based products. Multiple bar code types may apply.

Validate Product master data

This step involves a review of the master data just entered, though it can involve an interface to the ‘Monitor Master data’ process, when such a process was defined as part of the Data Management or Governance initiative. The interfaced process could be triggered as part of the initial process or as part of regular checks, especially when the policies changed.

Typically, the validation of the Product master data should be done by other persona after the four-eyes principle.

Having a set of reports with all attributes in scope (aka ‘Product master data reports’) can easily pinpoint where the gaps are. Moreover, the ‘Product master data policies’ could be built within these reports however this is a long shot. If the policies are known, a simple review should be enough.  

Correct Product data

Besides troubleshooting, this step involves reviewing several or all the steps performed before and taking the necessary actions. Ideally, should be available a list of the most frequently met scenarios, respectively of fixes and workarounds.

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Business Process Management: Business Process (Definitions)

"A business process is a collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to the customer. A business process has a goal and is affected by events occurring in the external world or in other processes." (James A Champy & Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"A process is a set of linked activities that take an input and transform it to create an output. Ideally, the transformation that occurs in the process should add value to the input and create an output that is more useful and effective to the recipient either upstream or downstream."

(Henry J Johansson, "Business process reengineering: Breakpoint strategies for market dominance", 1993)

"Major operational activities or processes supported by a source system, such as orders, from which data can be collected for the analytic purposes of the data warehouse. Choosing the business process is the first of four key steps in the design of a dimensional model." (Ralph Kimball & Margy Ross, "The Data Warehouse Toolkit" 2nd Ed., 2002)

"The sequence of activities 'enclosing' the production process. These activities are common to all types of products and services, and include defining the job, negotiation with the customer, and reporting project status." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"The subject areas of a business. The method by which a business is divided up. In a data warehouse, the subject areas become the fact tables." (Gavin Powell, "Beginning Database Design", 2006)

"A structured description of the activities or tasks that have to be done to fulfill a certain business need. The activities or tasks might be manual steps (human interaction) or automated steps (IT steps)." (Nicolai M Josuttis, "SOA in Practice", 2007)

"A structured and measured, managed, and controlled set of interrelated and interacting activities that uses resources to transform inputs into specified outputs." (Nathalíe Galeano, "Competency Concept in VO Breeding Environment", 2008) 

"The codification of rules and practices that constitute a business." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"The defined method for a range of activities that organizations perform. A business process can include anything from the steps needed to make a product to how a supply is ordered or how an invoice is created." (Tony Fisher, "The Data Asset", 2009)

"A structured description of the activities or tasks that have to be done to fulfill a certain business need. The activities or tasks might be manual steps (human interaction) or automated steps (IT steps)." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"An activity as carried out by business people, including the mechanisms involved. This is in the domain of Row Two, the Business Owner’s View. Alternatively, the architect in Row Three sees a system process which is about the data transformations involved in carrying out a business process. In either case, processes can be viewed at a high level or in atomic detail." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"A collection of activities performed to accomplish a clearly defined goal." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"A collection of activities designed to produce a specific output for a particular customer or market." (International Qualifications Board for Business Analysis, "Standard glossary of terms used in Software Engineering", 2011)

"A process that is intended to contribute to the overall value of an enterprise. The complex interactions between people, applications, and technologies designed to create customer value. A process is composed of activities." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A business process is a series of steps required to execute a function that is important to an organization. Business processes include things like taking an order or setting up an account or paying a claim. In process analysis, business processes are the focus of opportunities for improvement. Organizations usually have a set of key processes that require support from other areas, like information technology." (Laura Sebastian-Coleman, "Measuring Data Quality for Ongoing Improvement ", 2012)

 "A holistic management approach for the detection, analysis, modeling, implementation, improvement and governance of the activities within or between enterprises." (Michael Fellmann et al, "Supporting Semantic Verification of Process Models", 2012)

"An activity (or set of activities) that is managed by an organization to produce some result of value to that organization, its customers, its suppliers, and/or its partners." (Graham Witt, "Writing Effective Business Rules", 2012)

"The codification of rules and practices that constitute a business." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"A coordinated set of collaborative and transactional work activities carried out to complete work steps." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"The defined method for a range of activities that organizations perform. A business process can include anything from the steps needed to make a product to how a supply is ordered or how a decision is made." (Jim Davis & Aiman Zeid, "Business Transformation", 2014)

"A set of activities that teams within an organization carry out to accomplish a specific goal." (David K Pham, "From Business Strategy to Information Technology Roadmap", 2016)

"The business activities executed to deliver products or services to external customers. Business process is supported by and consumes IT-services to achieve their objectives." (by Brian Johnson & Leon-Paul de Rouw, "Collaborative Business Design", 2017)

"At its most generic, any set of activities performed by a business that is initiated by an event, transforms information, materials or business commitments, and produces an output. Value chains and large-scale business processes produce outputs that are valued by customers. Other processes generate outputs that are valued by other processes." (Appian)

Process Management: Roles (Definitions)

"A job type defined in terms of a set of responsibilities." (Atul Apte, "Java Connector Architecture: Building Custom Connectors and Adapters", 2002)

"A set of expectations for behavior; describes the extent to which each individual performs activities related to project." (Timothy J  Kloppenborg et al, "Project Leadership", 2003)

"Specified responsibilities that identify a set of related activities to be performed by a designated individual (e.g., a project manager)." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"A definition of the behavior and responsibilities of an individual or set of individuals working together as a team." (Bruce MacIsaac & Per Kroll, "Agility and Discipline Made Easy: Practices from OpenUP and RUP", 2006)

"A defined set of work tasks, dependencies, and responsibilities that can be assigned to an individual as a work package. A role describes a collection of tasks that constitute one component of a process, and would normally be performed by an individual." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"The set of expectations in a social system that define the services individuals or groups are supposed to provide." (Alexander Grashow et al, "The Practice of Adaptive Leadership", 2009)

"The characteristic and expected behaviors of an individual, derived from his or her responsibilities and preferences in providing value to the organization." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"1.Generally, a label assigned to a set of connected behaviors, rights and obligations. 2.In data modeling, the way in which entities of one type relate to entities of another type in a relationship. 3.In data security, a name used to refer to the logical set of related responsibilities assignable to a person or organization, and to parties with these assigned responsibilities." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A defined function to be performed by a project team member, such as testing, filing, inspecting, coding." (Cynthia Stackpole, "PMP® Certification All-in-One For Dummies®", 2011)

"Description of specific skills, qualifications and work profiles in software development. These should be filled by the persons (responsible for these roles) in the project." (Tilo Linz et al, "Software Testing Foundations" 4th Ed., 2014)

"Usual or expected functionality of an actor in the context of an activity or a business process; an actor can have one or several roles. " (Gilbert Raymond & Philippe Desfray, "Modeling Enterprise Architecture with TOGAF", 2014)

"A defined function to be performed by a project team member, such as testing, filing, inspecting, or coding." (Project Management Institute, "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide )", 2017)

"In ITIL, this is a set of responsibilities, activities and authorities granted to a person or team. A role is defined in a process. One person or team may have multiple roles, for example the roles of configuration manager and change manager may be carried out by a single person." (Brian Johnson & Leon-Paul de Rouw, "Collaborative Business Design", 2017)

"A defined function to be performed by a project team member, such as testing, filing, inspecting, coding." (Jeffrey K Pinto, "Project Management: Achieving Competitive Advantage" 5th Ed., 2018)

"A set of responsibilities, activities and authorities granted to a person/team." (ITIL)

Process Management: Baseline (Definitions)

"A documented characterization of the actual results achieved by following a process, which is used as a benchmark for comparing actual process performance against expected process performance." (Sandy Shrum et al, "CMMI: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement", 2003)

"A range of expected results that would normally be achieved by following a defined process. Often expressed in terms of the process control limits defined by the discipline of statistical process control." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"Documented process performance values used as a reference to compare actual and expected process performance." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"A documented characterization of the range of expected results that would normally be achieved by following a specific process under typical circumstances." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"A documented characterization of the results achieved by following a process that is used as a benchmark for comparing actual process performance against expected process performance." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management" 2nd Ed., 2009)

[capability baseline:] "A statistically based description of the performance or results of a process that has been performed repeatedly. Capability baselines can quantify attributes of the process (e.g., effort or duration) or of the product produced by the process (e.g., amount or quality). Control charts used in statistical process control are one form of capability baseline. However, other statistical representations may be more appropriate, depending on the nature of the data being characterized. The purpose of a capability baseline is to predict outcomes and to interpret the results of process performance." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management" 2nd Ed., 2009)

Process Management: (Capability) Maturity Model (Definitions)

[capability maturity model:] "A model that contains the essential elements of effective processes for one or more disciplines and describes an evolutionary improvement path from ad hoc, immature processes to disciplined, mature processes with improved quality and effectiveness." (Sandy Shrum et al, "CMMI®: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement", 2003)

[capability maturity model (CMM):] "A formal document describing the requirements for a 'good' process, using some structure or taxonomy. Process maturity models define how you “ought to” produce a product, and typically require that the process be defined, documented, taught, practiced, measured, improved, and enforced." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"A model to categorize the maturity of an organization by different levels. Most famous are the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) and its successor, the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). Following this approach, many organizations have developed SOA maturity models." (Nicolai M Josuttis, "SOA in Practice", 2007)

"A Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is an evolutionary roadmap for implementing the vital practices from one or more domains of organizational process. It contains the essential elements of effective processes for one or more disciplines. It describes an evolutionary improvement path from an ad hoc, immature process to a disciplined, mature process with improved quality and effectiveness." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management 2nd Ed.", 2009)

"A structured collection of characteristics of effective processes at progressive levels of quality and effectiveness. A maturity model provides a common language and a shared vision for process improvement, a standard for benchmarking, and a framework for prioritizing actions. A maturity model assumes a natural evolutionary path for organizational process improvement." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A framework that describes, for a specific area of interest, a number of levels of sophistication at which activities in this area can be carried out." (Jim Davis & Aiman Zeid, "Business Transformation: A Roadmap for Maximizing Organizational Insights", 2014)

"First introduced by the Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute in 1991 to improve the process of software development. However, their broader applicability was recognized, and the model was expanded in 2000 to apply to enterprise-wide process improvement." (Sally-Anne Pitt, "Internal Audit Quality", 2014)

[Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI):] "A process improvement approach that provides organizations with the essential elements of effective processes, which will improve their performance." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed.", 2015)

[capability maturity model integration (CMMI):] "A process model that captures the organization’s maturity and fosters continuous improvement." (Shon Harris & Fernando Maymi, "CISSP All-in-One Exam Guide" 8th Ed., 2018)

"A set of structured levels that describe how well an organization can reliably and sustainably produce required outcomes." (Yassine Maleh et al, 'Strategic IT Governance and Performance Frameworks in Large Organizations", 2019)

[Capability Maturity Model (CMM):] "A five level staged framework that describes the key elements of an effective software process. The Capability Maturity Model covers best practices for planning, engineering and managing software development and maintenance ." (IQBBA)

[Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI):] "A framework that describes the key elements of an effective product development and maintenance process. The Capability Maturity Model Integration covers best-practices for planning, engineering and managing product development and maintenance. (CMMI)

"A structured collection of elements that describe certain aspects of maturity in an organization, and aid in the definition and understanding of an organization's processes. A maturity model often provides a common language, shared vision and framework for prioritizing improvement actions." (SQA)

"A Maturity Model is a framework that is used as a benchmark for comparison when looking at an organisation's processes." (Experian) [source]

"A means of identifying and/or measuring the maturity of something of interest, such as a Service, Capability, Function, Skill, or Competency." (IF4IT)

Process Management: Affinity Diagram (Definitions)

"A tool used to gather and group ideas; usually depicted as a “tree” diagram." (Clyde M Creveling, "Six Sigma for Technical Processes: An Overview for R Executives, Technical Leaders, and Engineering Managers", 2006)

"A process workflow model (diagram) showing the flow from one activity to the next." (Toby J Teorey, "Database Modeling and Design" 4th Ed., 2010)

"A form of visualization that shows patterns of ideas or data, by grouping them by topic or some attribute they share." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A group creativity technique that allows large numbers of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis." (For Dummies, "PMP Certification All-in-One For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"In UML, a diagram that represents work flows for activities. They include several kinds of symbols connected with arrows to show the direction of the work flow." (Rod Stephens, "Beginning Software Engineering", 2015)

"A technique that allows large numbers of ideas to be classified into groups for review and analysis." (Project Management Institute, "A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK Guide)", 2017)

"A graphical representations of workflows of stepwise activities and actions with support for choice, iteration and concurrency." (IQBBA)

Process Management: Business Processes (Just the Quotes)

"Linking the basic parts are communication, balance or system parts maintained in harmonious relationship with each other and decision making. The system theory include both man-machine and interpersonal relationships. Goals, man, machine, method, and process are woven together into a dynamic unity which reacts." (George R Terry, "Principles of Management", 1960)

"If we view organizations as adaptive, problem-solving structures, then inferences about effectiveness have to be made, not from static measures of output, but on the basis of the processes through which the organization approaches problems. In other words, no single measurement of organizational efficiency or satisfaction - no single time-slice of organizational performance can provide valid indicators of organizational health." (Warren G Bennis, "General Systems Yearbook", 1962)

"Five coordinating mechanisms seem to explain the fundamental ways in which organizations coordinate their work: mutual adjustment, direct supervision, standardization of work processes, standardization of work outputs, and standardization of worker skills." (Henry Mintzberg, "The Structuring of Organizations", 1979)

"At the heart of reengineering is the notion of discontinuous thinking - of recognizing and breaking away from the outdated rules and fundamental assumptions that underlie operations. Unless we change these rules, we are merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We cannot achieve breakthroughs in performance by cutting fat or automating existing processes. Rather, we must challenge old assumptions and shed the old rules that made the business underperform in the first place." (Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate", Magazine, 1990) [source]

"Conventional process structures are fragmented and piecemeal, and they lack the integration necessary to maintain quality and service. They are breeding grounds for tunnel vision, as people tend to substitute the narrow goals of their particular department for the larger goals of the process as a whole. When work is handed off from person to person and unit to unit, delays and errors are inevitable. Accountability blurs, and critical issues fall between the cracks." (Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate", Magazine, 1990) 

"Reengineering triggers changes of many kinds, not just of the business process itself. Job designs, organizational structures, management systems - anything associated with the process - must be refashioned in an integrated way. In other words, reengineering is a tremendous effort that mandates change in many areas of the organization." (Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate", Magazine, 1990) [source]

"A business process is a collection of activities that takes one or more kinds of input and creates an output that is of value to the customer. A business process has a goal and is affected by events occurring in the external world or in other processes." (James A Champy & Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"A process perspective sees not individual tasks in isolation, but the entire collection of tasks that contribute to a desired outcome. Narrow points of view are useless in a process context. It just won't do for each person to be concerned exclusively with his or her own limited responsibility, no matter how well these responsibilities are met. When that occurs, the inevitable result is working at cross–purpose, misunderstanding, and the optimization of the part at the expense of the whole. Process work requires that everyone involved be directed toward a common goal; otherwise, conflicting objectives and parochial agendas impair the effort."  (James A Champy & Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"Reengineering posits a radical new principle: that the design of work must be based not on hierarchical management and the specialization of labor but on end-to-end processes and the creation of value for the customer." (James A Champy & Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"Enterprise Engineering is not a single methodology, but a sophisticated synthesis of the most important and successful of today's change methods. 'Enterprise Engineering' first explains in detail all the critical disciplines (including continuous improvement, radical reinvention of business processes, enterprise redesign, and strategic visioning). It then illustrates how to custom-design the right combination of these change methods for your organization's specific needs." (James Martin, "The Great Transition, 1995)

"Management is a set of processes that can keep a complicated system of people and technology running smoothly. The most important aspects of management include planning, budgeting, organizing, staffing, controlling, and problem solving." (John P Kotter, "Leading Change", 1996) 

"To attain quality, it is well to begin by establishing the 'vision' for the organization, along with policies and goals. Conversion of goals into results (making quality happen) is then done through managerial processes - sequences of activities that produce the intended results." (Joseph M Juran, "How to think about quality", 1999)

"Process makes you more efficient." (Steve Jobs, BusinessWeek, 2004)

"Enterprise architecture is the process of translating business vision and strategy into effective enterprise change by creating, communicating and improving the key requirements, principles and models that describe the enterprise's future state and enable its evolution. The scope of the enterprise architecture includes the people, processes, information and technology of the enterprise, and their relationships to one another and to the external environment. Enterprise architects compose holistic solutions that address the business challenges of the enterprise and support the governance needed to implement them." (Anne Lapkin et al, "Gartner Clarifies the Definition of the Term 'Enterprise Architecture", 2008

"Implementing new systems provides organizations with unique opportunities not only to improve their technologies, but to redefine and improve key business processes. Ultimately, for organizations to consider these new systems successes, the post-legacy environment must ensure that business processes, client end users, and systems work together." (Phil Simon, "Why New Systems Fail: An Insider’s Guide to Successful IT Projects", 2010)

"Organizations often fail to understand that business processes do not exist in a vacuum; they must be viewed against the backdrop of the technology used to enable those processes. Systems and business processes are related in a symbiotic - but not causal - manner." (Phil Simon, "Why New Systems Fail: An Insider’s Guide to Successful IT Projects", 2010)

"Processes take place over time and result in change. However, we’re often constrained to depict processes in static graphics, perhaps even a single image. Luckily, a good static graphic can be just as successful, perhaps even more so, than an animation. Giving the reader the ability to see each 'frame' of time can of f er a valuable perspective." (Felice C Frankel & Angela H DePace, "Visual Strategies", 2012)

"Understanding an organization's current processes and issues is not enough to build an effective data governance program. To gather business, functional, and technical requirements, understanding the future vision of the business or organization is important. This is followed with the development of a visual prototype or logical model, independent of products or technology, to demonstrate the data governance process. This business-driven model results in a definition of enterprise-wide data governance based on key standards and processes. These processes are independent of the applications and of the tools and technologies required to implement them. The business and functional requirements, the discovery of business processes, along with the prototype or model, provide an impetus to address the "hard" issues in the data governance process." (Neera Bhansali, "Data Governance: Creating Value from Information Assets", 2014)

Process Management: Cycle Time (Definitions)

"The amount of time needed to complete an activity." (Dale Furtwengler, "Ten Minute Guide to Performance Appraisals", 2000)

"The speed with which an operation takes place from beginning to end. In product development, cycle time is often the time it takes from concept to product launch." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"The time required to execute a process from start to finish." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"The available time in each workstation to complete tasks in order to process a product. The cycle time often be used to determine the production capacity of the assembly lines." (Hindriyanto D Purnomo, "Metaheuristics Methods for Configuration of Assembly Lines: A Survey", 2014)

"The time interval required to complete a task or function. A cycle starts with the beginning of the first step in a process and ends with the completion of the final step." (Ciara Heavin & Daniel J Power, "Decision Support, Analytics, and Business Intelligence" 3rd Ed., 2017)

"The time that an entity spends in the system, from the beginning to the end of a process." José I Gomar-Madriz et al, "An Analysis of the Traveling Speed in the Traveling Hoist Scheduling Problem for Electroplating Processes", 2020)

"The total process time from beginning to the end in order to complete a cycle of the operation." (Gökçe Ç Ceyhun, "An Assessment for Classification of Distribution Network Design", 2020)

"How frequently an item or product actually is completed by a process, as timed by direct observation. Also, the time it takes an operator to go through all of his or her work elements before repeating them." (Lean Enterprise Institute)

"The time taken to complete an activity." (Microsoft, "Dynamics for Finance and Operations Glossary")

Process Management: Process Reengineering (Definitions)

"Reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed." (Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"The process of analyzing a legacy system and producing a new, more maintainable system." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"Activities that seek to radically change business processes and support systems in an organization." (Joseph Sarkis & R P Sundarraj, "Implementation Management of an E-Commerce-Enabled Enterprise Information System", 2009)

"Activity consisting in rationalizing and streamlining business processes, often associated with the implementation of an Enterprise System" (Andrea Masini, "ERP-Driven Performance Changes and Process Isomorphism", 2009)

"Reengineering involves a major restructuring (or overhaul) of an organization’s key operations. Another term for reengineering is business process redesign. There are certain features that are typical of a reengineered process. This includes: 1) Creating cross-functional teams, 2) Streamlining the business process, 3) Designing multiple versions of a business process and 4) Sharing information and resources." (Richard A Gershon, "Intelligent Networking and Business Process Innovation: A Case Study Analysis of Home Box Office and Dell Computers", 2009)

"The examination and modification of a system to reconstitute it in a new form and the subsequent implementation of the new form." (Teta Stamati, "Migration of Legacy Information Systems", 2009)

"A technique for evaluating how an enterprise (or part of an enterprise) operates. This involves process modeling, specifically with an eye to identifying processes that do not contribute to the enterprise’s profitability." (David C Hay, "Data Model Patterns: A Metadata Map", 2010)

"A methodology in which an organization fundamentally and radically changes its business processes to achieve dramatic improvement." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed, 2011)

"The process of analyzing and radically transforming existing business activities, eliminating or minimizing costs and maximizing value in order to achieve breakthrough levels of performance improvement." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"The radical redesign of an organization's business, where one takes a current process and makes changes to increase its efficiency and create new processes." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"The radical redesign of processes for the purpose of extensive (not gradual) performance improvements." (Joan C Dessinger, "Fundamentals of Performance Improvement" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"the analysis and redesign of workflows and business processes to improve costs and customer service." (Thomas C Wilson, "Value and Capital Management", 2015)

"Using information technology to improve performance and cut costs. Its main premise is to examine the goals of an organization and to redesign work and business processes from the ground up rather than simply automate existing tasks and functions." (William Stallings, "Effective Cybersecurity: A Guide to Using Best Practices and Standards", 2018)

"Involves the analysis and redesign of firms’ processes and workflows to achieve sustainable improvements in quality of response and cost competitiveness." (Debasish Roy, "Critical Success Factors of Analytics and Digital Technologies Adoption in Supply Chain", 2021)

Process Management: Process Reengineering (Just the Quotes)

"At the heart of reengineering is the notion of discontinuous thinking - of recognizing and breaking away from the outdated rules and fundamental assumptions that underlie operations. Unless we change these rules, we are merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. We cannot achieve breakthroughs in performance by cutting fat or automating existing processes. Rather, we must challenge old assumptions and shed the old rules that made the business underperform in the first place." (Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate", Magazine, 1990) [source]

"In reengineering, managers break loose from outmoded business processes and the design principles underlying them and create new ones. [...] Reengineering requires looking at the fundamental processes of the business from a cross-functional perspective. [...] The reengineering team must keep asking Why? and What if? Why do we need to get a manager’s signature on a requisition? Is it a control mechanism or a decision point?" (Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate", Magazine, 1990) [source]

"In short, a reengineering effort strives for dramatic levels of improvement. It must break away from conventional wisdom and the constraints of organizational boundaries and should be broad and cross-functional in scope. It should use information technology not to automate an existing process but to enable a new one." (Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate", Magazine, 1990) [source]

"Reengineering triggers changes of many kinds, not just of the business process itself. Job designs, organizational structures, management systems - anything associated with the process - must be refashioned in an integrated way. In other words, reengineering is a tremendous effort that mandates change in many areas of the organization." (Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate", Magazine, 1990) [source]

"Business process reengineering encompasses the envisioning of new work strategies, the actual process design activity, and the implementation of the change in all its complex technological, human, and organizational dimensions." (Thomas H Davenport, "Need radical innovation and continuous improvement? Integrate process reengineering and TQM", Planning Review 21 (3), 1993)

"Business Process Reengineering seeks radical rather than merely continuous improvement. It escalates the efforts of JIT and TQM to make process orientation a strategic tool and a core competence of the organization. BPR concentrates on core business processes, and uses the specific techniques within the JIT and TQM 'toolboxes' as enablers, while broadening the process vision." (Henry J Johansson, Business process reengineering: Breakpoint strategies for market dominance", 1993)

"Business reengineering isn't about fixing anything. Business reengineering means starting all over, starting from scratch. Business reengineering means putting aside much of the received wisdom of two hundred years of industrial management [...] How people and companies did things yesterday doesn't matter to the business reengineer." (James A Champy & Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"Reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance such as cost, quality, service and speed." (James A Champy & Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"Reengineering posits a radical new principle: that the design of work must be based not on hierarchical management and the specialization of labor but on end-to-end processes and the creation of value for the customer." (James A Champy & Michael M Hammer, "Reengineering the Corporation", 1993)

"Thorough rethinking of all business processes, job definitions, management systems, organizational structure, work flow, and underlying assumptions and beliefs. BPR’s main objective is to break away from old ways of working, and effect radical (not incremental) redesign of processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical areas (such as cost, quality, service, and response time) through the in-depth use of information technology." (Elvira Rolón, "Healthcare Process Development with BPMN", 2010)

Process Management: Just in Time (Definitions)

"A manufacturing method in which product parts and components arrive at the manufacturing facility as needed for production of ordered product, rather than being stockpiled on site. This method requires strong supply chain management." (Steven Haines, "The Product Manager's Desk Reference", 2008)

"A theory in materials management that calls for delivering materials at time of installation only, thus, not having any materials stored on-site." (Christopher Carson et al, "CPM Scheduling for Construction: Best Practices and Guidelines", 2014)

"Information delivered at the time it will be used, not before and not after." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"An inventory scheduling system in which material and parts arrive at a work place when needed, minimizing inventory, waste, and interruptions." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed., 2011)

"An inventory management practice where inventory items are supplied just in time for use to minimize inventory levels." (Rod Stephens, "Beginning Software Engineering", 2015)

"An approach of sequencing the arrival of material to a work center just prior to consumption to avoid large work-in-process inventories." (Gartner)

"Producing or conveying only the items that are needed by the next process when they are needed and in the quantity needed." (Lean Enterprise Institute)

Process Management: Six Sigma (Definitions)

"A disciplined approach to enterprise-wide quality improvement and variation reduction. Technically, it is the denominator of the capability (Cp) index." (Clyde M Creveling, "Six Sigma for Technical Processes: An Overview for R Executives, Technical Leaders, and Engineering Managers", 2006)

"A set of practices originally developed by Motorola to systematically improve process quality by producing output within specification." (Tilak Mitra et al, "SOA Governance", 2008)

"A statistical term meaning six standard deviations from the norm. Used as the name for a quality improvement program that aims at reducing errors to one in a million." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"1.Generally, a rigorous and disciplined statistical analysis methodology to measure and improve a company’s operational performance, practices and systems. 2.In many organizations, simply a measure of quality near perfection. 3.In data quality, a level of quality in which six standard deviations of a population fall within the upper and lower control limits of quality, allowing no more than 3.4 defects per million parts or transactions." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A methodology to manage process variations that cause defects, defined as unacceptable deviation from the mean or target, and to systematically work toward managing variation to prevent those defects." (Linda Volonino & Efraim Turban, "Information Technology for Management" 8th Ed, 2011)

"Quality program developed by Motorola that focuses on achieving a defect rate of fewer than 3.4 defects per million items. (196, 238)" (Leslie G Eldenburg & Susan K Wolcott, "Cost Management" 2nd Ed., 2011)

"A systematic quality improvement process used on both the production and transactional sides of the business to design, manufacture, and market goods and services that customers may desire to purchase." (Joan C Dessinger, "Fundamentals of Performance Improvement" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"A highly structured approach for eliminating defects in any process, whether from manufacturing or transactional processes. It can be applied to a product or a service–oriented process in any organization." (Robert F Smallwood, "Managing Electronic Records: Methods, Best Practices, and Technologies", 2013)

"A business management strategy originally developed by Motorola in the 1980s. It is essentially a business problem-solving methodology that supports process improvements through an understanding of customer needs, identification of causes of quality variations, and disciplined use of data and statistical analysis." (Sally-Anne Pitt, "Internal Audit Quality", 2014)

"An approach from the production environment for managing quality that targets a mere 3.4 errors per million instances as its performance goal." (Boris Otto & Hubert Österle, "Corporate Data Quality", 2015)

"Business management strategy developed by Motorola with the goal of improving business processes." (Adam Gordon, "Official (ISC)2 Guide to the CISSP CBK" 4th Ed., 2015)

"The initiative focused on increasing profits by eliminating variability, defects, and wastes that weaken customer loyalty." (Kijpokin Kasemsap, "Applying Lean Production and Six Sigma in Global Operations", 2016)

"It is series of tools and/or processes to continuously improve workflow processes through its proper measurement. Six sigma is a highly structured and data-driven approach and methodology for reducing waste or non-value added activities and associated costs." (Alan D Smith, "Lean Principles and Optimizing Flow: Interdisciplinary Case Studies of Best Business Practices", 2019)

"Managerial approach focused on a team that aims to improve performance by eliminating waste and defects. Improving performance and reducing process variation leads to the reduction of defects and improved profit, employee morale and product/service quality." (Sorinel Căpușneanu et al, "Throughput Accounting: Decisional Informational Support for Optimizing Entity Profit", 2019)

Process Management: Control Charts (Definitions)

"A toolset used to monitor and control a process for variation over time, which varies with the type of data it monitors." (Clyde M Creveling, "Six Sigma for Technical Processes: An Overview for R Executives, Technical Leaders, and Engineering Managers", 2006)

"A tool set used to monitor and control a process for variation over time. Varies with the type of data it monitors." (Lynne Hambleton, "Treasure Chest of Six Sigma Growth Methods, Tools, and Best Practices", 2007)

"A graphical device for tracking process performance over time." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A control chart is a time sequence graph with additional features that identify data out of expected limits. In a typical individual/moving range statistical process control chart, the upper and lower control limits (UCL and LCL) are three standard deviations from the historical mean of the set of readings. If the measurement remains within the upper and lower controls limits, then the process is in control. In control means that any differences between the readings are affected only by normal or common cause variation (variation inherent in the process being measured). A process is in control when measurement points fall within the upper and lower control limits, and the points graphed on a control chart do not display any non-random patterns." (Laura Sebastian-Coleman, "Measuring Data Quality for Ongoing Improvement ", 2012)

"A graphic display of process data over time and against established control limits, which has a centerline that assists in detecting a trend of plotted values toward either control limit. " (For Dummies, "PMP Certification All-in-One For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2013)

"A statistical process control tool used to monitor a process and determine whether it is statistically controlled. It graphically depicts the average value and the upper and lower control limits (the highest and lowest values) of a process." (SQA)

Process Management: Process model (Definitions)

"A formal, detailed description of a process that covers policies, activities, work products, roles, and responsibilities. Typically contains standards and procedures and identifies methods and tools as well. Contrast with process architecture." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"A formal description of a business process. The definition is performed via a process definition language (PDL), which in most cases is WfMS-dependent." (C Combi & G Pozzi, "Workflow Management Systems for Healthcare Processes", 2008)

"Any description of a process (not necessarily formal), that shows a series of steps aimed at accomplishing some goal." (Harry S Delugach, "Formal Analysis of Workflows in Software Development", 2009)

"A means of representing the interrelated processes of a system at any level of detail with a graphic network of symbols, showing data flows, data stores, data processes, and data sources/destinations. Process modeling techniques are used to represent processes graphically for clearer understanding, communication, and refinement." (Anthony D Giordano, "Data Integration Blueprint and Modeling", 2010)

"Processes models (PM) are processes of the same nature that are classified together into a model. It involves the description and/or prescription of processes by the instantiation of levels to define process procedures and fuzzes." (Oluwole A Olatunji & William D Sher, "The Applications of Building Information Modelling in Facilities Management", 2010)

"(1) A framework wherein processes of the same nature are classified into an overall model, e.g. a test improvement model. (2) A method-independent process description of development processes." (IQBBA, "Standard glossary of terms used in Software Engineering", 2011)

"A model of the functions, activities, and procedures performed in any organization. A business process model may consist of: 1.A context diagram showing the relationship of the overall process to those outside the model’s scope, along with the inputs to and outputs from the overall process, 2.One or more functional decomposition diagram showing how the overall process is made up of contributing processes at lower levels (a “vertical view”), 3.One or more process flow diagrams showing how the outputs of one process serve as the inputs to other process (a “horizontal view”). The process flow may be cross-functional or within a single function, 4.One or more business process model diagrams, each depicting the inputs, outputs, start and end events, component activities, roles, and metrics of a single process, 5.The business definition of each process, and 6.The value chain analysis of the process, identifying relationships to data, organizations, roles, and systems." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"A detailed workflow diagram that expands upon a process map by including detailed descriptions of subprocesses, activities, and tasks including all input, output, decisions, and exceptions, as well as measurements of the resources consumed (such as time, FTEs, material, capital, systems, etc.) during the execution of the process. Supports analysis via drill-down examination and can provide the metrics necessary for use by software capable of process simulation and what-if scenario testing of alternative variables." (Carl F Lehmann, "Strategy and Business Process Management", 2012)

[Process Modeling and Analysis:] "The tools and techniques used to (1) map a workflow diagram illustrating the activities and tasks associated with a business process; (2) add complete detail necessary to identify and measure all the resources consumed during the execution of the processes; (3) measure performance outcomes; (4) simulate changes to activities, tasks, sequences, resources, assumptions, and so on using what-if scenarios to test and recalculate performance outcomes; (5) conclude the best combination of adjustments or changes necessary to optimize performance outcome of the process." (Carl F Lehmann, "Strategy and Business Process Management", 2012)

"A model showing the processes carried out by a system and the data interfaces between those processes; same as a data flow model." (James Robertson et al, "Complete Systems Analysis: The Workbook, the Textbook, the Answers", 2013)

Process Management: Process Improvement (Definitions)

"A program of activities designed to improve the performance and maturity of the organization's processes, and the results of such a program." (Sandy Shrum et al, "CMMI®: Guidelines for Process Integration and Product Improvement", 2003)

"Continuous improvement of work processes to achieve project goals and stakeholder satisfaction efficiently and effectively." (Timothy J  Kloppenborg et al, "Project Leadership", 2003)

"(1) A program of activities designed to improve the performance and maturity of an organization’s processes. (2) The results of such a program." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

"The organized activity of defining, infusing, and improving the processes used by individual projects and organizations to develop software." (Richard D Stutzke, "Estimating Software-Intensive Systems: Projects, Products, and Processes", 2005)

[internal process improvement (IPI):] "An appraisal mode of usage in which organizations appraise internal processes, generally to baseline their process capability, to establish or update a process improvement program, or to measure progress in implementing such a program." (Sally A Miller et al, "People CMM: A Framework for Human Capital Management" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"A business management strategy focusing on quality control testing and optimizing processes through reducing process variance." (Evan Stubbs, "Big Data, Big Innovation", 2014)

[business process improvement (BPI):] "Analyzing and redesigning business processes to streamline them and gain efficiencies, reduce cycle times, and improve auditability and worker productivity." (Robert F Smallwood, "Information Governance: Concepts, Strategies, and Best Practices", 2014)

"A program of activities designed to improve the performance and maturity of the organization’s software processes and the results of such a program." (CMMI)

Process Management: Workflow (Definitions)

"Similar to a business process, a description of the activities or tasks that have to be done to fulfill a certain business need." (Nicolai M Josuttis, "SOA in Practice", 2007)

"A series of granular steps that are put together in proper sequence to execute some bit of logic." (Tony Fisher, "The Data Asset", 2009)

"A set of components and relations between them, used to define a complex process from simple building blocks. Relations may be in the form of data links which allow the output of one component to be used as the input of another, or control links which state some conditions on the execution of a component." (Mark Olive, "SHARE: A European Healthgrid Roadmap", 2009)

"The sequence of steps needed to carry out a business process." (Judith Hurwitz et al, "Service Oriented Architecture For Dummies" 2nd Ed., 2009)

"An ordered series of steps that accomplish some defined purpose according to a set of rules." (Bruce Bukovics, "Pro WF: Windows Workflow in .NET 4", 2010)

"Similar to a business process; a description of the activities or tasks that have to be done to fulfill a certain business need. Some people differentiate between workflows and business processes by stating that business processes describe more generally what has to be done, whereas workflows describe how activities or tasks should be carried out." (David Lyle & John G Schmidt, "Lean Integration", 2010)

"System process to manage the routing and approval of documents and transactions across multiple people and/or departments within an organization. Also, automating a business approval process that will notify the appropriate resources when activities/approvals need to be performed." (Janice M Roehl-Anderson, "IT Best Practices for Financial Managers", 2010)

"A predefined sequence of activities that complete a process." (DAMA International, "The DAMA Dictionary of Data Management", 2011)

"Defines how people and tasks interact to create, update, manage, and deliver content. Workflow helps organizations perform tasks in an efficient and repeatable manner." (Charles Cooper & Ann Rockley, "Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy" 2nd Ed., 2012)

"This is a sequence of task-oriented steps needed to carry out a business process." (Marcia Kaufman et al, "Big Data For Dummies", 2013)

"The specification of actions, actors, sequencing of actions, and completion criteria that, taken together, accomplish a larger task." (O Sami Saydjari, "Engineering Trustworthy Systems: Get Cybersecurity Design Right the First Time", 2018)

Process Management: Plan-Do-Check-Act (Definitions)

"The team first plans ('plan')who needs to know what information, how often they need it, and their preferred information format. Next the team uses ('do') the communications plan. Very quickly and repeatedly, the team should seek feedback ('check') on the quality and completeness of the information being transmitted through the communications plan. Finally the team should act ('act') on the feedback by improving the communications plan." (Timothy J  Kloppenborg et al, "Project Leadership", 2003)

"A basic technique for improving processes, created by Walter Shewhart. Also known as the Shewhart cycle or the Deming cycle (for W. Edwards Deming, who introduced the technique in Japan)." (Danette McGilvray, "Executing Data Quality Projects", 2008)

"Continuous improvement cycle originally developed by Walter Shewhart in the 1930s." (Bill Holtsnider & Brian D Jaffe, "IT Manager's Handbook" 3rd Ed., 2012)

"All refer to the process of improving quality through a defined series of steps." (Laura Sebastian-Coleman, "Measuring Data Quality for Ongoing Improvement", 2012)

"Also Plan, Do, Study, Act the Shewhart Cycle or Deming Cycle. All refer to the process of improving quality through a defined series of steps." (Laura Sebastian-Coleman, "Measuring Data Quality for Ongoing Improvement ", 2012)

"An iterative process for continuous improvement." (Weiss, "Auditing IT Infrastructures for Compliance, 2nd Ed", 2015)

"Plan = design/revise process, Do = implement the plan, Check = measure the process, ACT = plan & implement changes" (ITIL)