DITA meets BPMN

DITA MEETS BPMNBy France Baril

PROLOG

“Ce qui se conçoit bien s’énonce clairement et les mots pour le dire viennent aisément.”

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

What is well understood is clearly told, and the words to say it flow with ease.

CONTEXT TIMES 2

GLOBAL CORPORATE KNOWLEDGE IMMEDIATE PROJECT

Support work activities(Know how)

Support decision making(Know why)

Increase findability(Gotta find it first!)

Existing PIPP product New processes New system that

Stores documents Assigns tasks to users Allows users to perform

tasks Allows users to forward

tasks Tracks case history

SMEs know about exceptions…

MEETING WITH A SME

DOCUMENT A SYSTEM…

With many operations, rules and exceptions:

It manages tasks of all team members It manages documents The mailroom has to send all documents

to the scanning unit The scanning unit has to classify all

documents in the system, nobody else can scan/add metadata to documents

DOCUMENT A SYSTEM…

With many operations, rules and exceptions:

It manages tasks of all team members It manages documents The mailroom has to send all documents to the scanning

unit The scanning unit has to classify all documents in the

system, nobody else can scan/add metadata to documents Self-employed claimants are managed differently

There is an entire process to identify how much income replacement they get, that’s really complex because they don’t make a consistent wage, also if they have been in business for less than 5 years…

DOCUMENT A SYSTEM…You’ll see, there are so many operations, rules and exceptions:

It manages tasks of all team members It manages documents The mailroom has to send all documents to the scanning unit The scanning unit has to classify all documents, nobody else can scan documents Can you say that self-employed are managed differently

There is an entire process to identify how much income replacement they get, that’s really complex because they don’t make a consistent, also if they have been in business for less than 5 years…

When claimant is eligible to PCA, meet to fill PCA form, and explain PIPP and PA When claimant is eligible to IRI, meet to fill IRI form, and explain PIPP and IRI When claimant is eligible to Dependant Care, meet to make evaluation For minors there are extra forms for the legal guardian If the claimant has a criminal record, they may not receive the full amount If the claimant has a second accident, the cases need to be merged into a single claim There are 12 types of entitlements and they all have different eligibility rules, forms and life cycles Some entitlements require that service providers like chiropractors and athletic therapist be registered within the system The case manager may fill the forms, but the claimant may also fill and mail them Some types of claims don’t need to be assigned to a case manager Supervisors have to approve a claim over X$ If some who has income replacement is over 65 and has been receiving compensation for more than 5 years, there are some If a person was taking care of sick family members or kids and can no longer fulfill that role… The case manager has to call a new claimant within 48 business hours, else… Every year, retirement benefits has to be indexed, but not … Claimants can appeal a decision, there is a process for handling appeals If the organization or the claimant doesn’t agree with the appealed decision, they can appeal to another court instance If the organization of the claimant doesn’t’ agree with the second appeal decision, they may appeal it to a different court instance To get compensations, the claimant must be a state resident There are rules that define who may be considered a resident If the claimant was injured on the road at work, they may instead get compensated by the worker’s board, In that case… There are entitlements that apply to the loss of an animal, rules… To open a fraud investigation, you must send a request to the SIU. Investigations are not done through the system, but the reports need to be stored there If the claimant gives the document to the case manager, the case manager has to forward them to either the mailroom or the scanning unit If the claimant’s injuries occur out of province, then the out-of-province unit has to get involved Grief counseling is not normally for the claimant, it’s for its family, although if the claimant loses a person or an animal, they may also get grief counseling

WHAT IS IT?

I want it all!

BIG PICTURE AND DETAILS

WITH DITA WE WANT, BUT IT’S HARD TO:

Understand how/why people use the system you document Create topics that make sense on their own Create topics that make sense globally Build context that linearity used to bring

Build meaningful relationships Don’t rewrite the entire context in each topic

Optimize reuse Work as a well orchestrated team

I write this topics You write this topic We don’t duplicate We don’t let important elements through the cracks

BPMN CAN HELP TO…

Identify the sequence of operations Who does what when? What comes before or after what?

Identify when each actor enters/exits the system Start + end point What they need to perform between these points

Identify reusable sub-processes Separate tasks from the business decisions/rules

But maintain the link between the 2 Split business and system tasks

BPMN: A SIMPLE SEQUENCE

Start Activities End

BPMN: EVENTS

Message

BPMN: PROCESSES, ACTORS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Call xxx-xxxx

Cla

ima

nt

CC

A

gent

Make

a

claim

Regis

ter

FNO

L

Call: FNOL

Mail: Info package

Accident

Send forms

…

In IC2, enter…

Call close

BPMN: PROCESSES, ACTORS AND COMMUNICATIONS

Call xxx-xxxx

Cla

ima

nt

CC

A

gent

Make

a

claim

Regis

ter

FNO

L

In IC2, enter…

Call

Mail: Info package

Send forms

Accident

…

Call close

Mailr

oo

mMail: forms

In IC2, scan… IC2 task: evaluate case

THE 5 STEPS FROM METHOD AND STYLE

1. Define the process scopeFrom road accident to end of compensations

2. Draw the happy path (high level)Make claim. Is eligible. Receive compensation. End.

3. Add exceptions to top level happy pathIs not eligible.

4. Expand sub-processes to show detailsTo make claim: call, fill and send forms…

5. Add message flowsOrg. receives form from claimant; org. sends payment to claimant.

by Bruce Silver

BPMN DIAGRAM IS ALL ABOUT WHEN… Not about how to do it.

About what happens before what. It tells when to apply my know how.

Not about making decisions About when decisions are made. About what happens when decisions are

made.

BUT…

Users need to know HOW TO USE THE SYSTEM

Users need to MAKE DECISIONS Users need to HOW TO FILL FORMS

We’ll add them IN CONTEXT

Call xxx-xxxx

Cla

ima

nt

CC

A

gent

Make

a

claim

Regis

ter

FNO

L

In IC2, enter…

Call

Mail: Info package

Send forms

Accident

…

Call close

Mailr

oo

mMail: forms


GRAPH: HOW TO USE THE SYSTEM

GRAPH: HOW TO MAKE DECISIONS

Review file for

eligibility

Case

m

anager

Revie

w

case IC2 Notification:

Files received

Is eligible?

Decision letterNo

Yes…

Decision:Eligibility Happy

path

Alternate path

DECISIONS & BUSINESS RULESDetermine eligibility

Decision model, methodology from

Barbara von Halle and Larry Goldberg

Road injuryManitoba resident•Proof - Birth date

•Proof - Identity•Proof - Perm. address•Proof - Entitlement to be in Canada

Proof – Birth date

•Valid Canadian passport•Secure Certificate of Indian Status issued by the Government of Canada•Permanent resident card issued by Immigration…

Proof – Identity

•Proof - Legal name•Signature•Photograph

Proof – P. addr.

…

Proof – Entitlem.

…

…Business rules

Conditions

Conclusions Conclusions

Facts

HOW TO FILL FORMS

Call xxx-xxxx

Cla

ima

nt

CC

A

gent

Make

a

claim

Regis

ter

FNO

L

In IC2, enter…

Call

Mail: Info package

Send forms

Accident

…

Call close

Mailr

oo

mMail: forms


Forms: Init.Pack

(HOW TO FILL GUI)

PROCESSES & AUDIENCES POOLS & LANES!

Call xxx-xxxx

Cla

ima

nt

CC

A

gent

Make

a

claim

Regis

ter

FNO

L

In IC2, enter…

Call

Mail: Info package

Send forms

Accident

…

Call close

Mailr

oo

mMail: forms


Forms: Init.Pack

IA on managing corporation knowledge

THE LONG TERM PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT TIMES 2









WHY BPMN?

To better connect information with business: Close to user’s everyday job and context

Provides business knowledge that leads to business intelligence Know how Know why Understand impacts on the system as a

whole

EASIER THAN REL. TABLES

With diagrams: It’s harder to forget to add or remove links. The domino effects of change are easier to

identify. It’s easy to get back into context.

After 2 years; even if you missed the 1st round.

As with relationship tables: I can have different rel. for different contexts

COMPLETE WITH MAPS/REL. TABLES

For links that are not as well represented History of business rules Decisions about forms

Contact/No contact Adult/Minor

Hierarchy of roles

EASIER MAINTENANCE

Change decision rules Change processes Change system

Change to system fields and/or look Change to process

Increase agility, limit domino effect.

STICK WITH DITA/DOC. BEST PRACTICES

Separate different information types Focus on tasks first

(BPMN = process = task)

Writers on system project

IMMEDIATE OBJECTIVES

CONTEXT TIMES 2









SPLIT TASKS EFFICIENTLY

Identify where tasks start and end Limit overlaps Don’t let info slip into the cracks Limit rewrite (pseudo topics)

Work on terminology and language after the message for each topic is clear

WHERE TO REUSE?

With the global picture and the happy path,we found repetitions: Requests for calculation Requests for health evaluations Mailroom/Scanning unit job Send decision letters from templates Opening and closing a task in the system Recurrent business rules/decisions

SCOPE/MANAGE THE PROJECT

Pools and linked objects = How much work Get more predictable timeline Adapt resources Identify risk

Where information is confused or incomplete

WHERE EXACTLY IS MY OUTPUT?

BPMN GRAPHS AND DITA TOPICS

BPMN DITA

Pools & Lanes Topics per persona

Activity Step/substep

Event Info/step-result

Objects (decisions, forms) Info/related-link

REGISTER FNOL, AN EXAMPLE

Context A client calls for FNOL.

1. In IC2:a) Click FNOL.

Result: IC2 displays Page X.

b) Fill page X and click Next.Info: Field list and descriptions.Result: IC2 displays Summary page.

Result: The initial forms are mailed to the claimant.

CC

A

gent

Regis

ter

FNO

L

Call: FNOL

In IC2, enter…

Call close

REGISTER FNOL, ANOTHER OPTION

ContextA client calls for FNOL.

1. In IC2, enter the FNOL information.

Enter FNOL information in IC2

Result: The initial forms are mailed to the

claimant.


1. Click FNOL.Result: IC2 displays Page X.

2. Fill page X and click Next.Info: Field list and descriptions.Result: IC2 displays Summary Page.

CC

A

gent

Regis

ter

FNO

L

Call: FNOL

In IC2, enter…

Call close

AND LETS NOT FORGET…

ContextA client calls for FNOL.

1. In IC2, enter the FNOL information.


Result: The initial forms are mailed to the claimant.

Related forms

Initial FNOL package

Related tasks

Enter FNOL info in IC2

Troubleshooting

IC2: Status list not available in FNOL

IC2: Browser back button kicked me out

CONCLUSION

AND MAYBE, WE CAN HELP BAS

BPMN DITA

BAs need to understand the present to improve processes for the future

SO…

“Ce qui se conçoit bien s’énonce clairement et les mots pour le dire viennent aisément.”

Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux

What is well understood is clearly told, and the words to say it flow with ease.

Documents

DITA meets BPMN