Business Modeling

Book description

As business modeling becomes mainstream, every year more and more companies and government agencies are creating models of their businesses. But creating good business models is not a simple endeavor. Business modeling requires new skills.

Written by two business modeling experts, this book shows you how to make your business modeling efforts successful. It provides in-depth coverage of each of the four distinct business modeling disciplines, helping you master them all and understand how to effectively combine them. It also details best practices for working with subject matter experts. And it shows how to develop models, and then analyze, simulate, and deploy them. This is essential, authoritative information that will put you miles ahead of everyone who continues to approach business modeling haphazardly.
  • Provides in-depth coverage of the four business modeling disciplines: process modeling, motivation modeling, organization modeling, and rules modeling
  • Offers guidance on how to work effectively with subject matter experts and how to run business modeling workshops
  • Details today's best practices for building effective business models, and describes common mistakes that should be avoided
  • Describes standards for each business modeling discipline
  • Explains how to analyze, simulate, and deploy business models
  • Includes examples both from the authors' work with clients and from a single running example that spans the book

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Copyright
  5. Dedication
  6. Preface
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. About the Authors
  9. Chapter 1. Why Business Modeling?
    1. The Rise of Business Modeling
    2. Business Modeling And It Alignment
    3. Business Modeling and Business Transformation
    4. Business Modeling and Managing Change
    5. Business Modeling and Managing Complexity
    6. The Business Value of Business Models
    7. The Rigor of Business Modeling
    8. Case Study
  10. Chapter 2. Modeling Fundamentals
    1. Model Fidelity
    2. Model Validity
    3. Classic Business Models
    4. Four Model Disciplines
    5. Wrong But Useful
    6. Modeling Tools
    7. Model Analysis
    8. Simulation
    9. Traceability
    10. Model Deployment
    11. Business Modeling Standards
    12. Business Modeling and Enterprise Architecture
  11. Chapter 3. Business Motivation Models
    1. Why Model Business Motivation?
    2. Motivation Modeling and Strategy Creation
    3. Goals
    4. Objectives
    5. Desired Results and Courses of Action
    6. Strategies and Tactics
    7. Influencers
    8. Opportunities
    9. Threats
    10. Assessments
    11. Strengths and Weaknesses
    12. Comparing Alternatives
    13. Causal Loop Diagrams
    14. The BMM Standard
    15. Case Study
  12. Chapter 4. Business Organization Models
    1. Why Model Business organizations?
    2. Organizations
    3. Roles
    4. External Organizations and External Roles
    5. Interactions
    6. Influence
    7. White Boxes and Black Boxes
    8. Associations
    9. Creating Good Business Organization Models
    10. Organizations and Business Motivations
    11. Standards
    12. Case Study
  13. Chapter 5. Business Process Models
    1. Why Model Business Processes?
    2. Activities
    3. Sequence Flows
    4. Activity Attributes
    5. Events
    6. Lanes
    7. Gateways
    8. Default Sequence Flows and Conditional Sequence Flows
    9. Subprocesses
    10. Compensation and Other Conditions
    11. Pools
    12. As-is and To-be Processes
    13. Business Motivations and Processes
    14. Business Processes, Organizations, and Interactions
    15. The BPMN Standard
    16. Case Study
  14. Chapter 6. Business Rule Models
    1. Business Rules Shape Behavior
    2. Why Business Rules?
    3. Rules
    4. Business Rule Forms
    5. Noun Concepts
    6. Fact Types
    7. Rule Violations
    8. Enforcement
    9. Business Policies
    10. Business Motivation, Policies, and Rules
    11. Business Organizations and Business Rules
    12. Business Processes, Business Policies, and Business Rules
    13. The SBVR Standard
    14. The Business Value of Business Rules Redux
  15. Chapter 7. Creating a Good Model
    1. Model Value Destruction
    2. Scope Failures
    3. Straight-Through Modeling
    4. Model Complexity
    5. Bad Names
    6. Weak Descriptions
    7. Ugly Models
    8. Failures of Quality
    9. Team Challenges
    10. Incompetent Modelers
  16. Chapter 8. Model-Based Workshops
    1. Facilitated Workshops
    2. Model-based Workshops
    3. Workshop Uses
    4. The Timing of Model-Based Workshops
    5. Model-Based Workshops for Various Business Purposes
    6. Workshop Benefits in Summary
    7. Workshop Focus and Deliverables
    8. The Value of Modeling in Facilitated Workshops
    9. When are Models Created?
    10. Case Study
  17. Chapter 9. Running a Workshop
    1. A Model-Based Workshop Example
    2. Process Details of Model-Based Workshops
    3. Roles in a Model-Based Workshop
    4. Challenging Personalities in a Model-Based Workshop
    5. Creating a Productive Workshop
    6. Workshop Antipatterns
    7. Case Study
  18. Chapter 10. Business Model Analysis
    1. Analysis Techniques
    2. Improvement Analysis
    3. Transformation Analysis
    4. Impact Analysis
    5. Acquisition Analysis
  19. Chapter 11. Business Simulation
    1. Why Simulate?
    2. Simulating a Business Process Model
    3. Simulating a Business Motivation Model
    4. Validating a Simulation
    5. Simulation and Standards
  20. Chapter 12. Executing a Business Model
    1. Business Modeling Life cycle
    2. From Models to Software
    3. Manual Execution
    4. Packaged Execution
    5. Direct Execution
    6. Executing Business Rules
    7. Executing Business Processes
    8. Business Process Monitoring
    9. Business Activity Monitoring
    10. The Future of Business Modeling
  21. Bibliography
  22. Index

Product information

  • Title: Business Modeling
  • Author(s): David M. Bridgeland, Ron Zahavi
  • Release date: December 2008
  • Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
  • ISBN: 9780080920955