Before identifying requirements for an information technology solution to support a

6/2/2021 Business Process Modeling

https://learn.umgc.edu/d2l/le/content/579502/viewContent/21849985/View 1/1

Business Process Modeling

Before identifying requirements for an information technology solution to support a

process, it is critical to understand how a process is conducted currently—this is often

referred to as the “as-is” process. Frequently, people within a process only understand

their part of the process and even within the same group of users, the process may not be

consistently (or correctly) followed. An important first step is to gather representatives of

the process stakeholders to define collectively the current process. This information can

be gathered through stakeholder interviews and/or a face-to-face session where

individuals are together and map out the process on paper throughout the room. In

addition to understanding what is performed in each step, it is important to understand

why. For example, does the information need to be provided to another area in the

organization to enable a related process to be performed?

Once the current process is documented and understood, it’s time to focus on the best

way to perform the series of steps needed to perform a task—this is referred to as the “to-

be” process. Otherwise, it’s possible to implement a technology solution that only

succeeds in performing a bad process faster rather than actually gaining the

improvements desired to help achieve the organization’s strategy. The section Business

Processes provides a simple example of a before (as-is) process and then an improved (to-

be) process for purchasing textbooks at a college bookstore.

Understanding how a process can best be accomplished lays the foundation for defining

requirements for a technology solution. Failure to clearly define all requirements can

result in a solution that is incomplete. This results in a waste of resources and won’t result

in the expected benefits.

© 2021 University of Maryland Global Campus

All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity

of information located at external sites.

Learning Resource