TH
We are currently considering the introduction of ARIS Modeler（currently using a trial license of ARIS Advance).
As we consider this implementation, we have some questions regarding its usage.
Background:
In our company, instead of creating models using symbols in the left part of the modeling interface, we intend to use the modeling tables in a manner similar to Business Function Charts (BFC) to generate business models from these tables.
In other words, we want to use the Modeling Tables to create Business Processes.
We have the following questions regarding this:
- Is it possible to download the Modeling Tables as an Excel format ?
- If question 1 is possible, how can we download as Excel file?
- Is it possible to input the Excel file downloaded in question 1 back into ARIS after editing?
- If question 3 is possible, how can this operation be performed?
- If the business processes generated in the Modeling Tables are difficult to read or cannot be generated in the intended format, is there any other method besides directly editing the model to make corrections?
- If changes are made in question 5, will these changes also affect the Modeling Tables?
Best regards,
Hello Toshifumi-san,
I admit I am not familiar with a tabular model type of "Business Function Charts". It would help, if you could post a sample view of the idea. From what I find in Google for this term, I gather that it may be a kind of library of functionalities, which typically would not be translatable to a process.
In general it is not such a good idea fiddling back and forth between Excel and ARIS. If you have an Excel table with your business functions it is easy to upload them into a model through the function "Create objects", which accepts a table (e. g. Excel) of objects via copy and paste. You can do yourself a favour and work with the objects in ARIS after the initial import. Excel is very bad in structural information (usually only flat tables), so after you will have ordered your business functions in order of process execution through logically connecting them in ARIS you have more information than you can easily depict in Excel without introducing heaps of conventions for your Excel table - which means you can do heaps of things wrong in your Excel table and jeopardize your import capability however you built it.
In short: Abandon the idea of modelling processes in Excel, when you have a proper modelling tool like ARIS.
Indeed, your questions descibe the problem: What you would need for exporting to Excel is the identity of the object, so you can match the identity when you do the reverse. Objects in ARIS all have an identity (a technical GUID), so you can even rename objects and they keep their identity. Report scripts could export this identity and match the identities on re-importing. But somehow I am missing the whole point of going through these pains, when you have the most advanced modelling tool on the market at hand and want to maintain the content in Excel.
My recommendation: Further explore the capabilities of ARIS and you will discover the potential. Potentially seek professional advice from an ARIS consultant to get you on track faster.
