BPMN Training

Process Modeling with BPMN v3.0 is meant for business analysts, process analysts, business architects, and BPM solution developers.  Developed by Bruce Silver, well-known BPM industry analyst and consultant, it’s been completely redesigned as a single course, delivered in 12 parts, covering all aspects of BPMN modeling:

  • How BPMN is changing the role of process modeling from analysis and requirements-gathering to business-empowered implementation
  • Explanation of foundation concepts like process, activity, orchestration, and choreography
  • The complete notation - pools and lanes, sequence flow and message flow, tasks and subprocesses, gateways, events, and artifacts
  • Flow control patterns with gateways
  • Diagram analysis, process improvement, and simulating BPMN models
  • Repeating activities and multi-pool processes
  • The event types you have to understand: message, timer, error, and terminate - again focusing on specific patterns
  • Eight core exception handling patterns
  • Business transactions and compensation
  • Optimizing resource allocation, throughput, and activity based costing with simulation analysis
  • Validating models and fixing the errors
  • The art of process modeling - tips and best practices for making your models not only valid but as effective as they can be
  • Hierarchical modeling methodology, and organizing complex real-world models

Our approach is hands-on, using Process Modeler for Visio. You'll be using the tool early and often. There are exercises embedded in the video, with explanations in-line, and mail-in exercises with individualized feedback. You can't master BPMN from lecture alone. Successful completion of the mail-in exercises qualifies you for certification from BPMessentials. It usually takes a couple tries to get them right, and certification signifies mastery of the material.
>> More on Certification >>

The training goes beyond the BPMN spec to show you how to do simulation analysis with BPMN.  Simulation is not part of BPMN, but is a common feature of most BPMN tools.  We cover the two most common use cases of simulation analysis in BPM:  cycle time improvement from changing the process model; and optimizing throughput and cost by varying resource allocation.  While the specific methods described leverage features of the Process Modeler for Visio tool, the principles may be used with other modeling tools as well. >> More on Simulation Analysis with BPMN >>

Version 1.0 of the training was launched in February 2007. Version 2.1 (July 2007) added emphasis on best practices and top-down modeling principles, more examples, a preview of BPMN 1.1, and advanced Excel analysis of simulation results. Version 3.0 (March 2008) has been completely redesigned, based on feedback from hundreds of students. Less lecture, more exercises. More time on fundamental topics, like when does an end-to-end process require more than one BPMN process. Lots more exercises - including harder ones, but with hints. A focus on patterns - for flow control, events, exception-handling, repeating activities... - classifying process logic, what each pattern is called, how to draw it, and when to use it. New patterns, including mulitple entry points to a process and non-aborting unsolicited events. Emphasis on hierarchical models, how to draw them, understanding process levels, propagating exceptions across levels, and using choreography in hierarchical models - all critical to managing the complexity of real-world business processes. How to use model validation, what the errors mean, and how to fix them. Most important, the art of process modeling - tips and best practices for making your BPMN models not only valid but clear and expressive, meeting the needs of both business and IT.

The training includes hands-on experience using Process Modeler for Visio from itp commerce.  A time-limited license to the tool is included with the training, and purchasers of the training may upgrade to a permanent license at a substantial discount.   Process Modeler is an add-in to Microsoft Visio, the de facto standard for all types of diagramming. Unlike Visio by itself, this tool stands out by offering features critical to effective process modeling, such as managing and navigating model hierarchies and customizable simulation analysis.
>> More on Process Modeler for Visio >>
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The course is available online/on-demand as Flash video or in a 2-day class - same material, same tool, same exercises and certification. You can even be licensed and authorized to become a trainer yourself.
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  >> Online training >>
  >> Classroom training >>
  >> Becoming a licensed trainer >>