Visualization of days in a process model for moth end closing R2R

Hi Ingo,

when you use BPMN diagrams (in ARIS I would recommend using the Enterprise BPMN collaboration diagram), you can use time events. They exist as start, intermediate, and end events; BPMN 2.0 Symbol Reference | Camunda I find this website quite useful for BPMN.

In EPC, the standard configuration is without timer events. However, we also had the necessity for timer events in specific models. For that, we created our own timer event symbol. This is our design for a timer event in EPC: 

I don't quite understand your comment about the Excel... but I hope my answer helps you find what you are looking for :)

Best,

Veronika

Hello Ingo,

my understanding of your request is that your customer is using lanes to group activities to be done on a special day within the month end closing. So the name of the lane is "Day3", "Day4" and so on. To answer your questions:

1. Yes you can do it in ARIS BPMN using the symbol "lane" and name it as you like
2. Yes, it can make sense from a process design perspective, as you can see all activities to be done on a special day at a glance. The BPMN specification allows this, see e.g. page 308 "Lanes are used to organize and categorize Activities within a Pool. The meaning of the Lanes is up to the modeler." For sure it's a little bit unusual because lanes are normally used for roles or organization units, but why not using lanes to organize time controlled activities?
3. The alternative describes Veronika in the post before using BPMN intermediate timer events

Regards

Klemens

Thanks for sharing the BPMN reference link. Maybe we can nudge SAG into this direction for a better method help with visual examples.

Regards, Martin

Hello Ingo,

the model type closest to your customer's excel visualization might be EPC (row display) (cf. ARIS method help) The columns can be configured to set a time grid of days. Then you have matrix of horizontal lanes and f.ex. day columns. When you place a function/activity in a column it "belongs to the day specified.

I have seen it in use for time critical processes like aircraft ground movements and turn-around times in minutes.

Regards, Martin

Hello Ingo,

Martin's way may be fit best but it is ARIS specific and no standard. If you (or your customer) want to stay with BPMN and you do not like horizontal lanes, you can also use vertical lanes in BPMN to model the time. To model responsibilities you can use the RACI attributes.

Regards

Klemens

Hello Klemens,

aren't you overdoing your role as BPMN evangelist a bit?

EPC is a process model as requested, and as a de facto standard older than BPMN.

There was no mention of a preference for horizontal or vertical orientation in the excel visualization.

Regards, Martin

Hello Martin,

aren't you overdoing your role as BPMN evangelist a bit?

Why? Veronika and you recommend EPC, I recommend BPMN, so Ingo has the choice

EPC is a process model as requested, and as a de facto standard older than BPMN.

My understanding was not, that EPC was requested. ARIS was mentioned and ARIS is since years more than EPC. I will not open a discussion about EPC vs. BPMN, but that EPC is older than BPMN is no advantage but the problem of EPC .

Regards

Klemens

Hi process colleagues,

thank you for your detailled answers and don't be too tunneled on notations.

Indeed I want to use BPMN as we already transferred here.

Klemens was right. The days are organized vertically.

Like the table below.

Therefore using lanes would be the same look and feel.

Quite unusual for lanes but allowed as I learned now.

Timer events wouldn't strukture it as this classic calendar view does.

I also found this process calendar feature:

https://ariscommunity.com/users/rakeshjaddu/2013-04-23-process-calendar-aris-business-architect-72

Would that also work?

Is it what Veronika mentioned?

HI everybody!

Any news on this?