20425 - BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND MODELLING

The course addresses the methods and techniques required to analyze, design, implement, automate, and evaluate business processes. Structured along the phases of the Business Process Management (BPM) life cycle, students learn to analyze organizational performance from a process perspective, redesign processes using value-focused techniques, design workflows and implement them in BPM systems, simulate new process designs, and create process analytics applications using dashboards. The course leads students from a) process discovery through conceptual and technical process design, b) through the implementation and management of workflows, c) to the structure of process-aware information systems.

The course illustrates tools, languages and architectures to map and model business processes. Key content are the following: 

• The need to focus on business processes.
• Organizing for process improvements.
• Tools, languages and architectures to map processes.
• Measuring and describing processes.
• Process modeling foundations.
• Improving processes.
• Process benchmarking and process simulation.

• The need to focus on business processes.
• Organizing for process improvements.
• Tools, languages and architectures to map processes.
• Measuring and describing processes.
• Process modeling foundations.
• Improving processes.
• Process benchmarking and process simulation.

Upon completion of this course students will be able to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization from a process perspective, conduct process improvement projets, and determine the role of technology in supporting corporate processes. Business process management is based on the observation that each product or service that a company provides to the market is the outcome of a number of activities performed. Business processes are the key instruments to organize these activities and improve teh understanding of the interrelation. 

• Face-to-face lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Company visits
• Exercises (exercises, database, software etc.)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Individual assignments
• Interactive class activities (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)

This course matches theory with hands-on exercises (either individual assignments or group based) and homework while integrating some core concepts from MIS. The course is delivered as a set of lectures, in-class and homework exercises and a group based research on BPM. Hands on experience on BPM Modeling software tools are experienced with ad-hoc sessions in Bocconi computer labs.

• Attending students are challenged by a real life client organization in a BPM redesign, to be delivered at the end of the course. Company visits are organized and student teams are assisted both by faculty and company tutors.
• Attending students learn and use BPM professional software tools (available on Bocconi computer labs) to deliver their final project.

Summary of evaluation criteria for attending students. Attending students receive an individual evaluation at the end of the course composed as follows:

• Company Process design and management project (teamwork activity, on field) = 50%
• In-class process design and management exercise (teamwork activity) = 10%
• Final exam (individual) = 40%
• Class participation (individual) +1/30 to max 5 students.
• Individual take home exercises (individual, no evaluation).

A “pass course” is issued ONLY in case each one of the above grades is >= 18/30.

Final exam (100% of grade) based on textbooks for non attending students.

Readings and cases provided online by faculty.

• P. HARMON, Business process change, Waltham MA, Usa, Elsevier, 2014, Third Edition.