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 introduce students to 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 analysing business processes.
Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:
(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:
(b.) Additional requirements (all students):
FIT5131 or FIT9004 or FIT9017 or a least one quantitative unit such as mathematics or statistics at undergraduate level
Poh Lim
Leong Hing Tam
Peter Huynh
Monash is committed to excellence in education and regularly seeks feedback from students, employers and staff. One of the key formal ways students have to provide feedback is through the Student Evaluation of Teaching and Units (SETU) survey. The University’s student evaluation policy requires that every unit is evaluated each year. Students are strongly encouraged to complete the surveys. The feedback is anonymous and provides the Faculty with evidence of aspects that students are satisfied and areas for improvement.
For more information on Monash’s educational strategy, see:
www.monash.edu.au/about/monash-directions/ and on student evaluations, see: www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/quality/student-evaluation-policy.html
Previous feedback has highlighted the following strengths in this unit:
Student suggestions for improvements to this unit include:
If you wish to view how previous students rated this unit, please go to
https://emuapps.monash.edu.au/unitevaluations/index.jsp
| Week | Activities | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Register for a FIT5160 tutorial - these start in week 2. | No formal assessment or activities are undertaken in week 0 |
| 1 | Introduction to business processes and modelling | No tutorial this week |
| 2 | Process Improvements and BPR | |
| 3 | Business Process Management | |
| 4 | Business Process Simulation I | |
| 5 | Tools for Business Process Modelling and Design | |
| 6 | Analysing process flows | |
| 7 | Queuing Systems and Business Process Design | Assignment 1: A report on business process improvements due Friday 12 September 2014 11pm |
| 8 | Process Modelling and Petri Nets | |
| 9 | Managing Process Flow | |
| 10 | Business Process Simulation II | |
| 11 | Summary and Review | |
| 12 | Guest Lecture | Assignment 2: Modelling and Simulation with ExtendSim due Friday 24 October 2014 11pm |
| SWOT VAC | No formal assessment is undertaken in SWOT VAC | |
| Examination period | LINK to Assessment Policy: http://policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/ academic/education/assessment/ assessment-in-coursework-policy.html |
*Unit Schedule details will be maintained and communicated to you via your learning system.
Examination (3 hours): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%
| Assessment Task | Value | Due Date |
|---|---|---|
| Assignment 1: A report on business process improvements | 20% | Week 7, Friday 12 September 2014 11pm |
| Assignment 2: Modelling and Simulation with ExtendSim | 20% | Week 12, Friday 24 October, 2014 11pm |
| Examination 1 | 60% | To be advised |
Faculty Policy - Unit Assessment Hurdles (http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/staff/edgov/policies/assessment-examinations/assessment-hurdles.html)
Academic Integrity - Please see resources and tutorials at http://www.monash.edu/library/skills/resources/tutorials/academic-integrity/
The assignment will be assessed using the following main criteria:
The professionalism of the submission and supporting documentation will also be considered. For full details see the unit web site.
Assignment work in the unit is fully described, along with the assessment criteria, on the assignment page of the Moodle-based unit web site. A peer assessment form is also completed by all students to ensure fair distribution of marks. Guidelines on undertaking a group assignment such as conducting meetings and recording processes will be given to students.
Besides submitting a complete ExtendSim model for the problem, the assignment will also be assessed based on the following criteria:
Monash Library Unit Reading List (if applicable to the unit)
http://readinglists.lib.monash.edu/index.html
Faculty of Information Technology Style Guide
Examination/other end-of-semester assessment feedback may take the form of feedback classes, provision of sample answers or other group feedback after official results have been published. Please check with your lecturer on the feedback provided and take advantage of this prior to requesting individual consultations with staff. If your unit has an examination, you may request to view your examination script booklet, see http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/procedures/request-to-view-exam-scripts.html
Types of feedback you can expect to receive in this unit are:
Submission must be made by the due date otherwise penalties will be enforced.
You must negotiate any extensions formally with your campus unit leader via the in-semester special consideration process: http://www.monash.edu.au/exams/special-consideration.html
Once submitted officially, students will not be allowed to re-submit their assignments unless they are requested to do so.
The Harvard Referencing style is preferred, otherwise information on referencing can be found at http://www.monash.edu.au/lls/llonline/quickrefs/19-styles.xml
It is a University requirement (http://www.policy.monash.edu/policy-bank/academic/education/conduct/student-academic-integrity-managing-plagiarism-collusion-procedures.html) for students to submit an assignment coversheet for each assessment item. Faculty Assignment coversheets can be found at http://www.infotech.monash.edu.au/resources/student/forms/. Please check with your Lecturer on the submission method for your assignment coversheet (e.g. attach a file to the online assignment submission, hand-in a hard copy, or use an online quiz). Please note that it is your responsibility to retain copies of your assessments.
If Electronic Submission has been approved for your unit, please submit your work via the learning system for this unit, which you can access via links in the my.monash portal.
Please check with your lecturer before purchasing any Required Resources. Limited copies of prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library, and prescribed software is available in student labs.
The ExtendSim simulation software is provided in this unit for building simulation models. The software is installed in the designated laboratories used for the tutorials of this unit.
ExtendSim software for building simulation models.
A limited, non-expiring working copy of the software can be download from http://www.extendsim.com/prods_demo.html
This limited copy will be sufficient for the purposes of this unit.
Limited copies of prescribed texts are available for you to borrow in the library.
Laguna, Manuel, Marklund, Johan. (2013). Business Process Modeling, Simulation & Design. (2nd Edition) Chapman and Hall/CRC.
The use of the standard calculator is permitted in the examination of this unit.
Monash has educational policies, procedures and guidelines, which are designed to ensure that staff and students are aware of the University’s academic standards, and to provide advice on how they might uphold them. You can find Monash’s Education Policies at: www.policy.monash.edu.au/policy-bank/academic/education/index.html
Key educational policies include:
Important student resources including Faculty policies are located at http://intranet.monash.edu.au/infotech/resources/students/
The University provides many different kinds of support services for you. Contact your tutor if you need advice and see the range of services available at http://www.monash.edu.au/students. For Malaysia see http://www.monash.edu.my/Student-services, and for South Africa see http://www.monash.ac.za/current/.
The Monash University Library provides a range of services, resources and programs that enable you to save time and be more effective in your learning and research. Go to www.lib.monash.edu.au or the library tab in my.monash portal for more information. At Malaysia, visit the Library and Learning Commons at http://www.lib.monash.edu.my/. At South Africa visit http://www.lib.monash.ac.za/.
Recommended Reading:
Wisner J D, Stanley L L(2008). Process Management - Creating Value along the supply chain. Thomson South-Western Publishing.