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FIT2006 Business process modelling and workflow - Semester 1 , 2008

Unit leader :

Damminda Alahakoon

Lecturer(s) :

Clayton

  • Damminda Alahakoon

Tutors(s) :

Clayton

  • Daswin De Silva
  • Jeewanee Bamunusinghe Arachchige

Introduction

Unit synopsis

With increased globalization, companies are facing stiffer competition and successful companies cannot afford to harbour inefficiencies if they are to be competitive. Furthermore, customers are becoming more demanding. Business processes must be designed to ensure that they are effective and meet customer requirements. A well-designed process will improve efficiency and deliver greater productivity. This unit will survey the analytical tools that can be used to model, analyse, understand and design business processes. Students will also gain hands-on experience in using simulation software as a tool for analyzing business processes.

Upon completion of this unit students should have acquired:

  • An understanding of business organizations, their functional structure and the advantage of considering the process oriented view of organizations.
  • A thorough knowledge of business processes, their structure and how proceses fit in to the overall organization objectives.
  • Knowledge of the analytical tools that can be used to model, analyze, understand, and design business processes.
  • Skills to use simulation software as a tool for analyzing business processes.
  • Learning outcomes

    Knowledge and Understanding

    (a) To acquire the Knowledge and Understanding of:

    • Role of processes in organisations
    • Process management lifecycle
    • Process modelling and process modelling techniques
    • Process simulation techniques
    • Workflow and process implementation
    • Process measurement and benchmarking
    • Popular and leading edge modelling, simulation, workflow and measurement tools

    Attitudes, Values and Beliefs

    (b) To develop the following Attitudes, Values and Beliefs:

    • Recognise the value of process orientation within an organisation
    • Adopt a critical approach to process design and management in a business context
    • Appreciate the value of modelling and simulation as effective process design tools
    • Appreciate that a designed business process is not an implemented business process (i.e. appreciate the limitations of process modelling and the necessity of implementation methodologies and techniques)
    • Appreciate the risks and benefits of the influence of IT infrastructure on process design

    Practical Skills

    {c) To develop the following Practical Skills:

    • Create process models
    • Perform process simulation
    • Select an appropriate process design methodology
    • Assess process performance
    • Analyse appropriateness of process-based KPIs
    • Use Popular and leading edge modelling, simulation, workflow and measurement tools }

    Relationships, Communication and TeamWork

    (d) In addition, it is expected that the following Relationships, Communication and Team Work skills will be developed and enhanced:

    • Document and communicate a process model
    • Work in a team during process design and management
    • Communicate during, and coordinate the process management life cycle

    Workload

    Unit relationships

    Prerequisites

    Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed 24 points at 1st year level from the faculty of IT or Business Economics

    Relationships

    FIT2006 is a core unit in the the Bachelor of Business Information Systems Degree.

    It is a prerequisite Before attempting this unit you must have satisfactorily completed

    24 points at 1st year level from the faculty of IT or Business Economics

    You may not study this unit and

    ETC2490

    BUS3502

    in your degree.

    Continuous improvement

    Monash is committed to ‘Excellence in education' and strives for the highest possible quality in teaching and learning. To monitor how successful we are in providing quality teaching and learning Monash regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. Two of the formal ways that you are invited to provide feedback are through Unit Evaluations and through Monquest Teaching Evaluations.

    One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through Unit Evaluation Surveys. It is Monash policy for every unit offered to be evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys as they are an important avenue for students to "have their say". The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.

    Student Evaluations

    The Faculty of IT administers the Unit Evaluation surveys online through the my.monash portal, although for some smaller classes there may be alternative evaluations conducted in class.

    If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to http://www.monash.edu.au/unit-evaluation-reports/

    Over the past few years the Faculty of Information Technology has made a number of improvements to its courses as a result of unit evaluation feedback. Some of these include systematic analysis and planning of unit improvements, and consistent assignment return guidelines.

    Monquest Teaching Evaluation surveys may be used by some of your academic staff this semester. They are administered by the Centre for Higher Education Quality (CHEQ) and may be completed in class with a facilitator or on-line through the my.monash portal. The data provided to lecturers is completely anonymous. Monquest surveys provide academic staff with evidence of the effectiveness of their teaching and identify areas for improvement. Individual Monquest reports are confidential, however, you can see the summary results of Monquest evaluations for 2006 at http://www.adm.monash.edu.au/cheq/evaluations/monquest/profiles/index.html

    Unit staff - contact details

    Unit leader

    Dr Damminda Alahakoon
    Senior Lecturer
    Phone +61 3 990 59662

    Contact hours : Tuesday 12.30 - 2.30 pm appointments by email

    Lecturer(s) :

    Dr Damminda Alahakoon
    Senior Lecturer
    Phone +61 3 990 59662

    Contact hours : Tuesday 12.30 - 2.30 pm appointments by email

    Tutor(s) :

    Daswin De Silva
    Jeewanee Bamunusinghe Arachchige

    Additional communication information

    Dr Damminda Alahakoon

    Office: Room 132A, Building 63

    Phone: 9905 9662

    Email:damminda.alahakoon@infotech.monash.edu.au

     

    Teaching and learning method

    Please check your MUSO site for information

    Tutorial allocation

    On-campus students should register for tutorials/laboratories using Allocate+.

    Communication, participation and feedback

    Monash aims to provide a learning environment in which students receive a range of ongoing feedback throughout their studies. You will receive feedback on your work and progress in this unit. This may take the form of group feedback, individual feedback, peer feedback, self-comparison, verbal and written feedback, discussions (on line and in class) as well as more formal feedback related to assignment marks and grades. You are encouraged to draw on a variety of feedback to enhance your learning.

    It is essential that you take action immediately if you realise that you have a problem that is affecting your study. Semesters are short, so we can help you best if you let us know as soon as problems arise. Regardless of whether the problem is related directly to your progress in the unit, if it is likely to interfere with your progress you should discuss it with your lecturer or a Community Service counsellor as soon as possible.

    Unit Schedule

    Week Topic References/Readings Key dates
    1 Introduction to Business Process Design Prescribed text (M. Laguna and J. Marklund, Business Process Modeling, Simulation, and Design, Prentice Hall, 2005), chapter 1  
    2 Introduction to Business Process management Prescribed text, chapter 2  
    3 Simulating Business Process Design Prescribed text, chapter 3  
    4 Tools for Process Analysis and Design Prescribed text, chapter 4  
    Mid semester break
    5 Managing Process Flows Prescribed text, chapter 5  
    6 Introduction to Statistical Modeling and Queuing Prescribed text, chapter 6  
    7 Business Process Simulation 1 Prescribed text, chapter 6 & 7  
    8 Business Process Simulation 2 Prescribed text, chapter 7 & 8  
    9 Business Process Simulation 3 Prescribed text, chapter 8  
    10 Analyzing Process Input Prescribed text, chapter 9  
    11 Analyzing Process Output Prescribed text, chapter 9  
    12 Optimizing Process Performance Prescribed text, chapter 10  
    13 Revision    

    Unit Resources

    Prescribed text(s) and readings

    Prescribed:

    Laguna, M., Marklund, J. (2005), Business Process Modeling, Simulation and Design, Pearson Prentice Hall.

    Recommended:

    To Be Announced

    Text books are available from the Monash University Book Shops. Availability from other suppliers cannot be assured. The Bookshop orders texts in specifically for this unit. You are advised to purchase your text book early.

    Recommended text(s) and readings

    Prescribed:

    To Be Announced.

    Recommended:

    To Be Announced

    Required software and/or hardware

    Extend 6

    Equipment and consumables required or provided

    Students studying off-campus are required to have the minimum system configuration specified by the Faculty as a condition of accepting admission, and regular Internet access. On-campus students, and those studying at supported study locations may use the facilities available in the computing labs. Information about computer use for students is available from the ITS Student Resource Guide in the Monash University Handbook. You will need to allocate up to n hours per week for use of a computer, including time for newsgroups/discussion groups.

    Study resources

    Study resources we will provide for your study are:

    Weekly detailed lecture notes outlining the learning objectives, discussion of the content, required readings and  exercises;

    Weekly tutorial or laboratory tasks and exercises with sample solutions provided one to two weeks later;

     Assignment specifications and sample solutions;

    A sample examination and suggested solutio;

    This Unit Guide outlining the administrative information for the unit;

     The unit web site on MUSO, where resources outlined above will be made available.

    Library access

    The Monash University Library site contains details about borrowing rights and catalogue searching. To learn more about the library and the various resources available, please go to http://www.lib.monash.edu.au.  Be sure to obtain a copy of the Library Guide, and if necessary, the instructions for remote access from the library website.

    Monash University Studies Online (MUSO)

    All unit and lecture materials are available through MUSO (Monash University Studies Online). Blackboard is the primary application used to deliver your unit resources. Some units will be piloted in Moodle.

    You can access MUSO and Blackboard via the portal (http://my.monash.edu.au).

    Click on the Study and enrolment tab, then Blackboard under the MUSO learning systems.

    In order for your Blackboard unit(s) to function correctly, your computer needs to be correctly configured.

    For example :

    • Blackboard supported browser
    • Supported Java runtime environment

    For more information, please visit

    http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/downloadables-student.html

    You can contact the MUSO Support by: Phone: (+61 3) 9903 1268

    For further contact information including operational hours, please visit

    http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/students/contact.html

    Further information can be obtained from the MUSO support site:

    http://www.monash.edu.au/muso/support/index.html

    If your unit is piloted in Moodle, you will see a link from your Blackboard unit to Moodle at http://moodle.med.monash.edu.au.
    From the Faculty of Information Technology category, click on the link for your unit.

    Assessment

    Unit assessment policy

    Assignment tasks

    • Assignment Task

      Title : Assignment 1 - Case study , Assignment2 - Modeling and Simulation with Extend

      Description :

      Weighting : Assignment 1-15%, Assignment 2 - 15%

      Criteria for assessment :

      Will be provided with each assignment

      Due date : Assignment 1-week 7, Assignment 2 - week12

    Examinations

    • Examination

      Weighting : 70%

      Length : 2 hours

      Type ( open/closed book ) : Closed book

    Assignment submission

    Assignments will be submitted as hard copy reports. The assignment submission details will be provided with the individual assignments as well as posted on the unit website.

    Assignment coversheets

    Assignment should be submitted with an assignment coversheet. Assignment coversheets can be found via the "Student assignment coversheets" ( http://infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/assignments/ ) page on the faculty website.

    For electronic online assignment submissions via MUSO/blackboard,  coversheets are provided within those systems

    University and Faculty policy on assessment

    Due dates and extensions

    The due dates for the submission of assignments are given in the previous section. Please make every effort to submit work by the due dates. It is your responsibility to structure your study program around assignment deadlines, family, work and other commitments. Factors such as normal work pressures, vacations, etc. are seldom regarded as appropriate reasons for granting extensions. Students are advised to NOT assume that granting of an extension is a matter of course.

    Late assignment

    Assignments received after the due date will be subject to a penalty 5% per day including weekends. Assignments received later than one week (seven days) after the due date will not normally be accepted.

    Return dates

    Students can expect assignments to be returned within two weeks of the submission date or after receipt, whichever is later.

    Assessment for the unit as a whole is in accordance with the provisions of the Monash University Education Policy at http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/assessment/

    We will aim to have assignment results made available to you within two weeks after assignment receipt.

    Plagiarism, cheating and collusion

    Plagiarism and cheating are regarded as very serious offences. In cases where cheating  has been confirmed, students have been severely penalised, from losing all marks for an assignment, to facing disciplinary action at the Faculty level. While we would wish that all our students adhere to sound ethical conduct and honesty, I will ask you to acquaint yourself with Student Rights and Responsibilities (http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/about/committees-groups/facboard/policies/studrights.html) and the Faculty regulations that apply to students detected cheating as these will be applied in all detected cases.

    In this University, cheating means seeking to obtain an unfair advantage in any examination or any other written or practical work to be submitted or completed by a student for assessment. It includes the use, or attempted use, of any means to gain an unfair advantage for any assessable work in the unit, where the means is contrary to the instructions for such work. 

    When you submit an individual assessment item, such as a program, a report, an essay, assignment or other piece of work, under your name you are understood to be stating that this is your own work. If a submission is identical with, or similar to, someone else's work, an assumption of cheating may arise. If you are planning on working with another student, it is acceptable to undertake research together, and discuss problems, but it is not acceptable to jointly develop or share solutions unless this is specified by your lecturer. 

    Intentionally providing students with your solutions to assignments is classified as "assisting to cheat" and students who do this may be subject to disciplinary action. You should take reasonable care that your solution is not accidentally or deliberately obtained by other students. For example, do not leave copies of your work in progress on the hard drives of shared computers, and do not show your work to other students. If you believe this may have happened, please be sure to contact your lecturer as soon as possible.

    Cheating also includes taking into an examination any material contrary to the regulations, including any bilingual dictionary, whether or not with the intention of using it to obtain an advantage.

    Plagiarism involves the false representation of another person's ideas, or findings, as your own by either copying material or paraphrasing without citing sources. It is both professional and ethical to reference clearly the ideas and information that you have used from another writer. If the source is not identified, then you have plagiarised work of the other author. Plagiarism is a form of dishonesty that is insulting to the reader and grossly unfair to your student colleagues.

    Register of counselling about plagiarism

    The university requires faculties to keep a simple and confidential register to record counselling to students about plagiarism (e.g. warnings). The register is accessible to Associate Deans Teaching (or nominees) and, where requested, students concerned have access to their own details in the register. The register is to serve as a record of counselling about the nature of plagiarism, not as a record of allegations; and no provision of appeals in relation to the register is necessary or applicable.

    Non-discriminatory language

    The Faculty of Information Technology is committed to the use of non-discriminatory language in all forms of communication. Discriminatory language is that which refers in abusive terms to gender, race, age, sexual orientation, citizenship or nationality, ethnic or language background, physical or mental ability, or political or religious views, or which stereotypes groups in an adverse manner. This is not meant to preclude or inhibit legitimate academic debate on any issue; however, the language used in such debate should be non-discriminatory and sensitive to these matters. It is important to avoid the use of discriminatory language in your communications and written work. The most common form of discriminatory language in academic work tends to be in the area of gender inclusiveness. You are, therefore, requested to check for this and to ensure your work and communications are non-discriminatory in all respects.

    Students with disabilities

    Students with disabilities that may disadvantage them in assessment should seek advice from one of the following before completing assessment tasks and examinations:

    Deferred assessment and special consideration

    Deferred assessment (not to be confused with an extension for submission of an assignment) may be granted in cases of extenuating personal circumstances such as serious personal illness or bereavement. Information and forms for Special Consideration and deferred assessment applications are available at http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html. Contact the Faculty's Student Services staff at your campus for further information and advice.