COMPOSITE ENTERPRISE PROCESS MODELING (CEPROM)
FRAMEWORK
Setting Up a Process Modeling Center of Excellence using CEProM Framework
Eswar Ganesan
Infosys Labs, Infosys Technologies Limited, Lingampally, Hyderabad, India
Keywords: Process modeling, Enterprise process modeling, Business process management, CEProM framework.
Abstract: Process Modeling is one of the important subject area as well as a practical tool in enterprise wide initiatives
like Business Process Management, Enterprise Business Architecture and Enterprise Modeling. Process
Modeling is both an art and a science which leads to better understanding and improvement of how
products/services of the enterprise are reaching the customers. Though there are various researches already
conducted and reported on process modeling, these researches are disparate in nature and either address a
part of process modeling in detail or provide theoretical background of how to address specific issues rather
than addressing enterprise wide process modeling using a structured framework that assist practitioners. The
research objective is to prescribe a generic framework for enterprise process modeling – Composite
Enterprise Process Modeling (CEProM) Framework with modular parts based on applied research and
practical exposure enabling practitioners to comprehend enterprise process modeling at the large.
1 INTRODUCTION
Process Modeling is one of the important subject
area as well as a practical tool in enterprise wide
initiatives like business process management,
enterprise business architecture and enterprise
modeling. Multiple case studies are reported in
industry standard journals as well as publications
from various organizations regarding the journey of
enterprises in adopting process modeling as a
tool/mechanism for process improvement. Large
scale process modeling exercises are common
among enterprises and are reported to bring process
improvements though these initiatives are associated
with issues while executing such projects (Corina,
2006). Process modeling projects has become
common initiatives in various firms/industries and
there are reported research detailing potential pitfalls
related to process modeling in such initiatives
(Rosemann, 2006).
When business processes are modelled, cutting
across business functions and organization units,
capturing end to end enterprise processes as an
information gathering initiative involving various
stakeholders as well as supporting other relevant
initiatives across the enterpise for a sustained long
term manner, the exercise qualifies as ‘Enterprise
(wide) Process Modeling’ effort. This paper attempt
to provide a practical framework for organizing such
an effort, i.e., setting up a process modeling center
of excellence (CoE). Since enterprise process
modeling initiatives are time, resource and cost
consuming, it is imperative to adopt a practical
framework by practitioners for effectively program
managing such initiatives. The objective of the paper
is “to prescribe a generic framework which helps to
visualize and structure enterprise process modeling
as modular components thus suggesting the ‘parts’
that glue together to become the ‘whole’. This
generic framework shall be termed as CEProM
framework”.The paper is organized as follows:
section 2 details CEProM framework and section 3
provides conclusion and scope for further research.
2 LITERATURE SURVEY AND
CEPROM FRAMEWORK
In one of the previous publication by this author
(Eswar, 2011), a brief introduction of the framework
was provided with. Composite Enterprise Process
Modeling (CEProM) framework is a prescriptive
378
Ganesan E..
COMPOSITE ENTERPRISE PROCESS MODELING (CEPROM) FRAMEWORK - Setting Up a Process Modeling Center of Excellence using CEProM
Framework.
DOI: 10.5220/0003425703780383
In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS-2011), pages 378-383
ISBN: 978-989-8425-56-0
Copyright
c
 2011 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

practical approach with following seven major
components involved: motivation, governance,
modeling & architecture definition, tool
administration, library management, stakeholder
management and training. Such a framework with
detailed sub components shall help enterprises to
approach enterprise process modeling as a service in
a structured manner. A Delphi study on the current
issues and future challenges of process modeling list
the following as overall top 10 process modeling
challenges: value of process modeling, model-driven
process execution, standardization, business-IT
alignment, service orientation, training, model
management, buy-in, ease of use and collaborative
modeling. The authors also list few areas like value
of process modeling, expectations management,
training, process architecture and adoption as areas
of interest to practitioners but do not appear as yet
on the radar screen of BPM scholars (Marta, 2009).
From this we can infer that a practitioner viewpoint
for process modeling along with a framework shall
be useful to address such issues in large scale
process modeling. A formal framework is presented
for enterprise and business process modeling with
four major components namely, objectives and
goals, roles and actors, actions and processes and
responsibilities and constraints that allow business
analysts to capture enterprise knowledge in a way
that is both intuitive and mathematically formal
(Koubarakis et al, 2002). An attempt to provide an
integrated framework for enterprise process
modeling suggesting that enterprise process
modeling is the most important element in the
design of next-generation ERP systems. The authors
also list four needs that support the case for an
integrated process modeling framework namely,
need for a theory base, need for modeling and
implementing distributed computing, need for new
process redesign semantics and need to link business
and engineering processes (Nikunj et al, 2004). An
exhaustive review of business process modeling
techniques reported in literature and a framework for
classifying business process modelling techniques
according to their purpose is detailed. The author
classifies around 12 process modeling techniques
and provides a framework which lists the strength
and weakness of these techniques from user
perspective and modeller perspective (Ruth Sara,
2003). Process modeling is a powerful tool in
enterprise management and leads to effective
knowledge management. The authors go on to list a
reference model for new product development and
concludes with some general guidelines for detailing
level of granularity of business process models, use
of formal modeling techniques, use of reference
models and use of distribution techniques for
business process models (Brane & Peter, 2002). A
framework for selecting business process modeling
methods based on modeling objectives is presented
which can serve as the basis for evaluating modeling
methods and generating selection procedures
(Wenhong et al, 1999). Michael Rosemann, includes
“process management” as one of the
transformational services that a chief services officer
has to manage as part of “service-oriented
enterprise” (SOE) which is similar to service-
oriented architecture (SOA) that drives redesign of
IT landscapes (Rosemann, 2010). In another
BPTrends article, Michael Rosemann communicate
that managers newly in charge of the setup and
delivery of the enterprise-wide BPM capabilities in
an organization often struggle with the identification
of the activities as being part of their role. The
author lists a set of 15 distinct BPM services out of
which process modeling is one major service.
Process modeling as a service includes ownership of
the BPM methodology as well as related services
including training in the adopted methodology,
development of procedural models, methodological
upgrades, and the provision of conventions and
advanced practices. The author communicate that
process modeling is often the bread-and-butter
service of a BPM group, and it will demand
substantial scalability and expertise. It is interesting
to note that strategic alignment and library
management of business processes are part of this 15
services listed (Rosemann, 2008). Zhiqiang Yan et
al, stating that large organizations often run
hundreds or even thousands of business processes
and managing such large collections of business
processes is a challenging task, present a framework
consisting of a management model and a reference
architecture that assist in managing large collections
of business process models. Also based on a survey,
the authors conclude that the field of business
process model repositories is an important and active
field in research and practice, but that complete
repositories are not yet available and that existing
repositories focus on traditional functionality rather
than exploiting full potential of information
management tools (Zhiqiang et al, 2009). A
framework for classifying business process
modeling techniques so as to increase BPR projects
success rate is reported and business process
modeling techniques are classified according to
three dimensions namely, level of change, modeling
perspective and modeling purpose (Leila et al,
2007).
COMPOSITE ENTERPRISE PROCESS MODELING (CEPROM) FRAMEWORK - Setting Up a Process Modeling
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Table 1: CEProM Framework Components and Sub-components.
CEProM Components Definition Applicable Techniques for
addressing components
Deliverables related to the
components
1.0 Motivation - Details “why” enterprise process modeling CoE is established
1.1 Vision Long term goals for CoE Business Motivation Model Vision Statement
1.2 Mission Short term (3/6/9 months)
achievable goals
Business Motivation Model Mission Statement(s)
1.3 Objectives Quantified goals for CoE which
are to be tracked for success
Business Motivation Model;
Balanced Scorecard
List of Objectives for CoE
1.4 Performance
measures (KPIs)
Success measures taking into
consideration various aspects
Balanced Scorecard;
Performance measure definition
techniques
List of KPIs, measurement
approach & data collection
1.5 Service Definition Define a service portfolio for
process modeling CoE
Brainstorming, understanding
of organization initiatives
List of services/catalogue that are
to be provided to various
stakeholders
2.0 Governance for process modeling - Ensures what all decisions are to be made and who will make those decisions
2.1 Governance/
Decision Setup
Framework
Classify decisions based on impact
& define implementation criteria
Customized Governance
Templates enabling decision
making for situations
An evolving Governance
Framework and guidelines/
templates/ checklists
2.2 Maturity Model Classify state of affairs of process
modeling into various stages
Brainstorming A five (thumb rule) stage
maturity framework which can
be tracked effectively
2.3 Operating Model
for enterprise process
modeling
Define roles and responsibilities
for stakeholders, mechanism of
execution – centralized
/distributed, in house or
outsourced etc; overall project
management
Project management techniques
and stakeholder workshops/
brainstorming
Project Management Charter;
RACI matrix; operating model
(centralized team, distributed
team, business/domain
involvement etc) detailed
2.4 Budget and cost
management
Mechanism to track budget and
cost incurred for sustaining CoE
Project budget and cost
management techniques
Rate Cards, estimation model,
time and effort estimates for
projects/services part of CoE
2.5 Alignment with
other enterprise
initiatives
Ensure the CoE supports
initiatives for which it is part of
including BPM, EBA & EM, IS
development, six sigma, lean and
other quality assurance programs
Stakeholder workshops,
understand Organization
Roadmap/ initiatives,
understand services part of such
initiatives; establish governance
for alignment
Define services that are
specialized for specific
initiatives; Also detail
downstream utilization of
process models for process
improvement
3.0 Modeling & Architecture Definition - Core Component of CoE – “modeling” of business processes; information gathering and
modeling of business processes for organizational decision making
3.1 Define Process
Modeling
Methodology adopted
Structured methodology that
define how process modeling is to
be conducted; communicate how
to represent mega, major and
minor processes, global and local
processes, process variations,
information gathering approach,
process hierarchy/ granularity
definition etc
Brainstorming on pros/cons of a
particular process modeling
methodology (EPC, BPMN,
etc) based on end user
requirements; enable
representation of processes –
define process variations,
global/local process details,
checklist for information
gathering related to processes;
business rules defined to
represent process modeling
scenarios
Process Modeling methodology
document, conceptual meta
model for process modeling
detailed along with properties,
modeling elicitation mechanism
defined and business rules for
process modeling as a document
3.2 Define Process
Architecture Blueprint
Details the high level enterprise
business processes – value stream,
value chain and other major
enterprise processes
Value Chain and Value Stream
definition and Enterprise Mega
process finalization through
workshops with stakeholders
Frozen top level enterprise
business processes; it can include
various ways to view the
mega/major processes
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Table 1: CEProM Framework Components and Sub-components. (cont.)
3.3Process Modeling
in practice
How process modeller gathers
information, models them to
represent reality and update
process repository post validation.
This also involves how effectively
minor details of process model like
verb/ noun usage, event/result
inclusion etc are captured
Templates/ checklists for:
Process modeling elicitation
mechanism, modeling in a tool
or other environment available
and validation from
stakeholders
Scope for the particular business
process modeling scenario,
process model itself along with
other essential associated
information
3.4 Quality of process
models and
methodology
Details how exactly the process
modeller ensures process quality is
adhered as per modeling
methodology
Defined process modeling
quality checklist
Process modeling quality
assurance checklist and modified
business process models
4.0 Tool Administration - Selection of modeling tool, administering and managing tool for effective process modeling
4.1 Tool Selection
Criteria
Structured approach to understand
the pros/cons of market available
enterprise process modeling tool,
evaluate and select them
Expert Interviews, Product
Vendor presentation and
discussion, internal
stakeholder workshops
List of criteria for tool selection,
evaluation of market available
tools based on their product
capability viz a viz motivation for
CoE
4.2 Tool Deployment,
Availability and
Access
Details how the tool is deployed
(globally or locally, with
appropriate security etc), available
and accessible for various
stakeholders
Infrastructure management
practices, best practices
communicated by product
vendor and adhere to current
enterprise IS policies
Policies, guidelines and standard
operating procedure for tool
administration; this document is
to be kept live throughout the
program
4.3 Platform
management – users
and stakeholder
administration
Define user groups – with admin,
write, edit, modify etc properties
and maintain users/ stakeholders
Infrastructure management
practices, best practices
communicated by product
vendor and adhere to current
enterprise IS policies
Policies, guidelines and standard
operating procedure for tool
administration; this document is
to be kept live throughout the
program
4.4 Tool Operation
(data import/export)
and data quality
management
Deals with the ‘model
management’ for the repository of
process models – how to organize,
import/ export data, ensure quality
of data and other operating
features like create new model,
create sub model, backup policies
etc
Infrastructure management
practices, best practices
communicated by product
vendor and adhere to current
enterprise IS policies; this part
should take care of modeling
community requirements
Policies, guidelines and standard
operating procedure for tool
administration; this document is
to be kept live throughout the
program
5.0 Library Management - Details how process model artefacts are maintained and made available to various stakeholders; this is a
crucial since number of process models can range from few hundreds to thousands for an enterprise
5.1 Structure and
availability of process
repository
Details how the process model
repository shall be structured
(hierarchically, link/delink of
process models etc) and how it
shall be taken to stakeholders –
html repository/ internal portals etc
Utilize html publication
feature available from the tool
adopted, brainstorm with
stakeholders to understand
various mechanisms of process
repository availability needs
HTML repository of business
processes – most of the market
available tools enable html
publication of process models but
it needs heavy customization
according to user requirements
5.2 Features of
process repository
(search/view/ browse)
Details what are all the features
that can be part of business process
repository which augments user
requirements
Brainstorm with stakeholders
and modeling community to
check for various features;
understand product capability
to exploit things
Include features like search, view,
browse and related options for
process repository. Include
advanced search and related
features as well.
5.3 Business process
glossary creation and
maintenance
Details creating glossary for
process terms that are used in the
enterprise and ensure all relevant
process related documents,
artefacts and details are available
at one place
Conduct workshops and
explore tool options to create a
longlist of business glossaries;
include all relevant
terminologies used related to
process/domain
List of process related terms
along with definitions; include all
relevant internal as well as
external links that shall enable
better business process
understanding
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Table 1: CEProM Framework Components and Sub-components. (cont.)
5.4 Content
management and
feedback
Ensure process library is
maintained for variety of
stakeholders as well as the
different “views” and analysis out
of the repository objects are
available; include feedback for
users at the large
Create “views” of looking at
business processes from
various business process
stakeholder viewpoints –
conduct workshop to elicit
information
Up-to-date maintenance of
process repository and
documents; provide various
views for users to appreciate
processes; add feedback
mechanism to modify details
regarding models
6.0 Stakeholder Management - Details practices adopted for stakeholder management – from top management to process model
user community; this is a crucial step to ensure smooth functioning of the CoE
6.1 Buy-in from
Stakeholders
Ensure buy-in for enterprise
process modeling from CxO
community, middle management,
operational management and
other stakeholders including
enterprise architecture team,
compliance team, six sigma,
BPM team, vendors, product
team, process modeller
community etc
Communicate Value of process
modeling to stakeholders
through case studies and
exhibits, use effective
communication mechanism and
workshops to drive success
factors, ensure top management
help to percolate process
modeling
Stakeholder buy-in and
understanding of concerns and
requirements of stakeholder
community; create effective
communication/ marketing
mechanism so as to reach wider
users across the enterprise
6.2 Communication
and engagement of
stakeholders
Details how exactly the CoE is to
be positioned in the minds of
stakeholders and how effectively
the benefits can be reaped.
Without usage of downstream
applications of process models,
the entire effort goes vain
Weekly, fortnightly, monthly
and quarterly meetings with
stakeholders, newsletters,
workshops, stalls in
organization meets,
communication of successful
case studies and process
journeys
Case studies, Value proposition
communication, involvement of
users to communicate their
benefits attained, newsletters,
team space communication and
other collaborative mechanisms
6.3 Time and effort
management -
Elicitation of process
details
This predominantly relates to
stakeholders who are information
providers/ domain experts/
Subject Matter Experts from
whom process details are to be
elicited. This is crucial for
success of CoE to engage them
appropriately
Project Management,
Communication of estimates in
terms of cost and time with
stakeholders, scope definition,
information elicitation and
iterative methods to ensure
process models represent
reality
Effective time and cost
estimation framework, process
model complexity analysis
framework, elicitation checklists
and involvement of all
stakeholders part of particular
process modeling project
6.4 Time and effort
management -
Validation of process
details
This step assures quality through
validation of process models
through business process domain
community, process owners and
middle level managers
Validation – ensuring process
models elicited are available in
various formats –
PowerPoint/Word/html for
review and validation;
workshops and meetings
Validation of process models
that are made available and
update them in repository; this
step is important to keep up-to-
date process models in the
repository based on iterations
7.0 Training - Details how proper training to various stakeholders involved in CoE can be handled effectively
7.1 Training of
stakeholders on
process modeling
This predominantly relates to
stakeholders who are information
providers/ domain experts/ SME
from whom details are to be
elicited. These experts are to be
trained on finer aspects of
modeling
Training workshops, Training
materials – online and offline
materials preparation which
details scope, modeling
methodology and other relevant
details
Training materials for various
stakeholders involved and these
documents are to be kept alive
7.2 Modeller commu-
nity training and
expertise
Involves additional training on
eliciting information, expert
training on modeling
methodology and tool
Expert training sessions,
sessions detailing scenarios/
case studies and internal or
external certifications
Expert/advanced training
materials for process modeller
community and for training new
comers on modeling
7.3 Document manage-
ment related to process
modeling training
Ensure all these training
documents are made available to
stakeholders involved in
modeling CoE
Collaborative mechanisms,
online training tools, document
management tools
Up-to-date live training
documents to give overview of
the process modeling CoE
adopted in the enterprise
2.1 CEPROM Framework and
Modular Components
Based on the literature survey, we infer that there are
suggested frameworks for BPM and services that are
part of BPM. Though there are frameworks for PM
as a whole, there is little research on the subject of
establishing a framework based structured approach
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for enterprise process modeling on its own. As
discussed earlier, the suggestive framework for
enterprise process modeling, CEProM, includes 7
major components and sub-components. Refer Table
1 above for complete details. This framework shall
help enterprises to define modular components
under each of the seven components with clear
deliverables. Modular view of enterprise process
modeling leads to manageable chunks of work since
it is from experience of the author through various
consulting assignments that enterprise process
modeling faces with multiple challenges and
program managing becomes difficult as the scope
widens.
3 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE
RESEARCH
CEProM is a suggestive framework and readers are
advised that since the requirement for each
enterprise might vary depending upon the business
scenarios as well as need for the CoE and there can
be additions/modifications to the components and
sub components of the framework. CEProM
framework provided here is a high level overview
which aims to help practitioners and academics to
view enterprise process modeling as a separate
service in its entirety which in turn is a core element
of initiatives like BPM, EBA or EM. Future research
shall aim to extend CEProM framework
communicating intricate details of each of the seven
major components along with examples and
challenges for each of these components through
practical implementation at enterprises.
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