Business process and data process, I believe many people don't know what these two processes are and what their functions are. As a part of enterprise management function, business process is mainly aimed at business, while data flow is of course aimed at data. The two are so similar and have some complicated connections. Let's share with you the related contents of business process and data process.

Business process and data process 1 1 describe different objects.

The description object of business flow chart is specific business; The description object of data flow graph is data flow.

Business refers to a series of necessary and logically related activities in enterprise management to complete a certain management function. When inspecting the system, we can have a general understanding of the main business of the system by understanding the organizational structure and business functions. However, our understanding of the business is static, which is mapped to the business by the organization department. The actual business is mobile, which we call business process. A complete business process involves multiple departments and multiple data. For example, the production business involves procurement, finance, production workshop, inventory and other departments. Will generate a variety of data tables from raw material purchase orders, accounts receivable, collection documents, etc. Therefore, when investigating a business, we should take a series of activities of the business, that is, the whole process, as the object of investigation, not just a single activity, so as to realize a comprehensive understanding of the business. Every step in the business process is represented by a graph, and all the processes are strung together in a certain order to form a business flow chart. As shown in figure 1, it is the business flow chart of a company's material management.

Data flow diagram is a further abstraction and generalization of business process. The abstract performance is that it completely abandons the concrete matter, leaving only the flow, processing and storage of data; To sum up, all kinds of business processes can be linked to form a whole. From Anthony's pyramid model, the business flow chart describes the information flow, capital flow and logistics within the enterprise, while the data flow chart mainly describes the information flow. In addition, the data flow diagram should cooperate with the description of the data dictionary to describe the logical model of the system in detail.

2. Different functions

Business flow chart is a "running account" that graphically reflects the actual business processing process. Drawing this log is very helpful for developers to straighten out and optimize business processes. The symbols of the business flow chart are simple and clear, and it is easy to read and understand the business process. The purpose of drawing a flow chart is to analyze the business process, reorganize the business process on the basis of analyzing the existing business process, and produce a new and more reasonable business process. Delete unnecessary and redundant business links; Merge and duplicate links; The necessary link to supplement the missing; Important steps, such as determining the links to be processed by the computer system, can find problems, analyze deficiencies and improve the business processing flow in the process of drawing the flow chart.

Data flow analysis mainly includes the analysis of information flow, transmission, processing and storage. The purpose of data flow analysis is to find and solve problems in data circulation, such as poor data flow, mismatched data before and after, and unreasonable data processing. By solving these problems, a smooth data flow will be formed as the data flow of the new system in the future. Data flow chart is more abstract than business flow chart, which abandons some physical entities in business flow chart and is closer to the logical model of information system. For relatively simple business, we can draw data flow chart directly without drawing business flow chart.

3. The basic symbols are different

The basic symbols of the data flow chart are explained as follows:

External entities represent the starting point or end point of data flow. In principle, it is not the core part of the data flow diagram, but the peripheral part of the data flow diagram. In practical problems, it may be personnel, computer peripherals, files outside the system, etc. In the circular box, the coding attributes and names of external entities are expressed in words.

Data flow is the direction of data flow indicated by the arrow line and the data on the arrow line, and consists of one or a group of data items.

Data storage refers to the logical data storage link, regardless of physical media and technical storage means. It is represented by a rectangular bar with an opening on the right. The right part of the graph is filled with the names of stored data and data sets, and the left part is filled with symbols of data storage.

Processing logic processing is also called processing or function, which includes two aspects: one is to change the data structure; The second is to add new content to the original data content to form new data. Generally, a rectangle is used to represent the processing logic, and the name of the processing is filled in the lower part of the graph, and the identification of the processing is filled in the upper part.

The basic symbols of business flow chart and data flow chart are not completely consistent in many teaching materials, and no unified standard has yet been formed. For example, some textbooks use circles to represent external entities, while others use rectangles to represent external entities. The symbols used in the two are different, but they both represent the same meaning. The two symbols of business processing and storage in the business flow chart are basically consistent with the corresponding symbols in the data flow chart; Both business flow chart and data flow chart have the symbol of arrow line, but their meanings are different: the arrow line in business flow chart indicates the direction of information flow, and it has no name; The arrow line in the data flow diagram represents a data flow, which has a name and is usually written above the data flow.

4. The drawing process is different.

Business flow chart is to express a specific business process with some specified symbols and connections. The drawing of business flow chart is based on the detailed investigation of the system and the data obtained in the actual business processing, and is drawn on the same map with designated symbols. There are no strict rules for its drawing, and it only needs to reflect the actual business process concisely and truly. In the process of drawing, the principle of "top down" is generally followed.

The drawing method of data flow diagram is complicated, which is carried out according to the method of "top-down, gradual refinement", that is, the whole system is regarded as a processing function, and the data connection process between it and surrounding entities is drawn, that is, a rough data flow diagram (top data flow diagram), and then it is analyzed step by step until the system is decomposed into detailed bottom data flow diagrams. As shown in Figure A, it is the top data flow chart of a college student loan management system.

Matters needing attention in drawing data flow chart:

① The drawing of data flow diagram is generally from left to right. Mark the external entity from the left, then draw the data flow generated by the external entity, then draw the processing logic, data flow, data storage and other elements and their relationships, and finally draw the external entity that the system receives information on the right side of the flow chart.

② Balance between parent graph and child graph. The subgraph is a detailed description of the processing logic in the parent graph, so the input and output of data in the parent graph must be reflected in the subgraph. The balance between parent graph and subgraph embodies the principle of data stream conservation, that is, for each data processing function, the number of input data streams and output data streams before and after decomposition should remain unchanged.

③ At least one end of the data stream is connected with the processing box. The data stream cannot be directly transmitted from the external entity to the data storage, nor can it be directly transmitted from the data storage to the external entity.

④ data storage input/output coordination. There must be an input data stream and an output data stream in the data storage, and the lack of either one means that some processing is missed.

⑤ data processing inflow/outflow coordination. As long as the inflow does not flow out, data processing does not need to exist; It is impossible to satisfy the data processing with only outflow and no inflow.

⑥ Reasonable naming and accurate numbering. Numbering the basic elements of the data flow chart is conducive to compiling a data dictionary and is convenient for system designers and users to read and understand.

Second, the connection between business flow chart and data flow chart

1, business flow chart and data flow chart all dynamically examine and analyze the object from the perspective of process, and all of them use graphical symbols to abstractly represent the survey results.

2. The connection between data and business is reflected in the following aspects: data flow is generated with business process and is a derivative of business process; Data is basically collected according to the organizational structure or business process; When summarizing the data, we also take the business process as the unit to gather the data of different processing steps of the same business; The drawing of data flow chart follows the whole process of business processing.

3. There is a certain correspondence between data flow chart and business flow chart. The corresponding data flow chart can be derived from the business flow chart. There are two ways of thinking: one is to sort out the business process sequence according to the business flow chart, and then separate the data and tables mastered in the corresponding investigation process, and then investigate the flow direction, processing and storage of the data, and string them together to draw a complete data flow chart; The other is to separate the processing from the business process, and then check the input data and output data of each processing, and organically integrate the input and output data streams of all processing in the business process to form a complete data flow chart.

Business process and data flow 2 0 1 business process combing: the cornerstone of data analysis

When doing data analysis, we need to cut in from the business perspective and sort out the process of the whole business line. We need to be familiar with: how customers come, how customers flow, what functions are needed to guide customers, how to maintain and manage customers, how to promote transactions and other processes. Only by finding the important nodes in the business process can we accurately find the possible problems in the business, and then solve the problems in a targeted manner, propose solutions and promote business growth. We know that growth is the lifeline of an enterprise. From this perspective, it is no exaggeration to comb business processes into the cornerstone of data analysis.

We always talk about "business process", so what is a business process?

Quote Baidu Encyclopedia's explanation:

"Business process is a series of activities completed by different people in order to achieve specific value goals." This is the meaning of business process in a broad sense, while business process in a narrow sense is only a series of activities related to the satisfaction of customer value.

From the definition of business process, we need to pay attention to the following elements:

Role: This is the first basic element in the business process. With the role, there is a division of labor and cooperation, and specific business goals can be achieved. Activity: that is, specific things to do, and each role will have specific things to do. Collaboration: In a company or an organization, different people do different things and finally complete a series of things through assistance. Moreover, there are two modes of cooperation: parallel and serial (which can be completed simultaneously or in different periods). Output: When everyone has specific activities, there will be output, and the output will form output, so it is possible to transfer different activities between different positions. Rules: As the saying goes, Fiona Fang cannot be achieved without rules, and the contents, methods and responsibilities of activities must be clearly arranged and stipulated. Regarding the five elements related to business process, we take the functional structure of a B-end product as an example to feel the role of each role in business process. There are generally four departments under the framework: product design department (responsible for technology, testing, products, design, etc. ), operation department (responsible for the market and various operations, etc. Sales department (responsible for sales performance, market development, etc. ) and after-sales service department (responsible for after-sales tracking and promoting transformation, etc. ). The key work of each department is as follows:

Product design department: export product solutions to help businesses solve business problems, including demand mining, demand analysis and demand management.

Operation department: get enough traffic and sales leads, carry out content operation, activity operation and community operation, and build brand reputation;

Sales department: frequent offline visits, PPT presentations, signing contracts and other related work are needed to turn effective sales leads into deals with customers.

After-sales service department: help customers succeed, turn them into orders, improve the utilization rate of customers' products, participate in novice training, and share customer success stories.

The relevant staff in each department are all roles. What each role does is an activity. Product personnel make products, marketers get sales leads, sales do sales transformation, and customers successfully do customer service. This is collaboration. The marketing department provides effective customer leads and the sales department provides paying customers, which is the output. The operation department must obtain effective clues before handing them over to the sales department, and there will be corresponding standards for what is an effective clue. The corresponding standard required for product design is the rule. Then, after we have a certain understanding of the definition of business process and its basic elements, let's take a look at how to sort out and draw business processes.

In fact, combing the business process is a very complicated process, mainly to obtain business information according to the actual business scene, and then abstract a business process with participants as nodes. Formally, we can display the elements and details of the process in a clear way by using tools such as swimlane diagram. The demonstration steps are as follows:

1) Get detailed and real business processes We generally have two ways to get business processes: directly from the business side, or relying on ourselves to observe and understand the business processes.

Regarding the first one, the advantage is that business departments generally have ready-made and well-organized processes. But the disadvantage is that this mode cannot be used directly. Because many businesses are arranged for their current business or for their own departments. Business arrangement is not a complete global process. And product design needs to consider the overall situation, even the future expansion.

Regarding the second one, it is time-consuming and laborious, but the efficiency will be doubled after completion. If the business department does not have a paper flow chart, it can only rely on the dictation of business personnel to understand its own business process. At this time, the best way is to simulate the process first, and finally fall on paper to form a business process. Then we take this flow chart and check it with the business, and even need to check and proofread it repeatedly, because the process often changes with the change of business direction. At this point, we follow these steps to complete the business process of each node one by one.

2) Determine the key roles of the whole business process. First, find out who will be involved in solving the problem.

Solving a problem often requires completing multiple tasks, and each task will involve one or more people. Find people who perform the same task and define them as a role.

Customers of Class B products may have not only one role, but also multiple roles, such as sales staff, customer service, operators, etc., with different participants and participation at different stages. It may involve people other than product positioning, such as technicians. There is no need to dig deep in the early stage, but it needs to be collected to understand the role of its participation.

3) Determining the path node to solve a problem requires many tasks, but not all tasks are key business nodes.

Key task nodes have two characteristics: one is to push business down, and the other is to push business to flow between different roles. The business process path reflects the whole business process logic. Relationships and results are transformed through key nodes to reflect the quality of business.

Of course, these are some relatively large phased goals that users need to complete when their business develops to a certain stage. These goals need to be further subdivided and disassembled in the future as the basis for later page segmentation.

4) Finding the key steps of user participation In the design of business process, if the perspective of user participation is added, the whole process will be more targeted and reasonable.

In a complete business process, most participants are members of a team. After joining external members, it is equivalent to introducing elements that can provide feedback and growth momentum.

This plays a key role in process design and page optimization and adjustment. Combing business processes is not simply copying. It is necessary to analyze the necessity of each node in the existing actual scene and whether the existing process can be optimized or adjusted.

5) Pay attention to the impact of different business scenarios on the process. From the perspective of product life cycle, we need to consider the impact of the differences in marketing and management strategies at different stages of the cycle on business processes.

From the business scenario, we need to consider the impact on business process caused by the difference of customer groups with different portraits in the same scenario. Even in some special time nodes and occasions, such as "Double Eleven" and other peak performance seasons, business processes are adjusted.

Generally speaking, the original intention of combing business processes is to facilitate our data collection and analysis, and the conclusions and results of analysis should be synchronized with the business team. Therefore, we should not only give the business team the optimization scheme and analysis results from the professional point of view of data analysis, but also remind the business team to adjust the strategy in different scenarios, and finally promote business growth.

02 abstract

The above is the relevant content that needs to be clarified to sort out the business process. The method of obtaining this information can be obtained through field investigation, user interview, field observation and other methods. After understanding the information, we need to sort out the relevant contents and archive them, and the archive results can be displayed through the lane map.

When the whole process comes down, we will have a clearer understanding of business processes and rules. Doing data analysis and understanding "business process" is an essential way of thinking, especially when you are just getting started with data analysis, you must understand the business process, the business objects involved, the data traces and superficial problems in the operation process. When you have an understanding of the current business from the above angles, it is the real entry. Imperfection from any angle may cause blind spots when you understand, analyze problems and propose solutions.

Then, if you are familiar with the current business situation, you can start to solve some obvious local problems. For example, the function of a module on the product is not helpful to the ultimate goal, so we can take it offline to ensure the smoothness of the whole product and prevent it from affecting the future product planning.

Business process and data flow 3. Basic characteristics of process management

1, business process refers to the process of directly generating value-added for customers;

2. Management process refers to the process aimed at controlling risks, reducing costs, improving service quality, improving work efficiency, improving the response speed to the market, ultimately improving customer satisfaction and enterprise market competitiveness, and achieving the purpose of maximizing profits and improving operating efficiency.

All processes in an enterprise should be based on enterprise objectives, especially management processes: external, customer-oriented, and improve the efficiency of business processes; Internally, facing the enterprise goal, improve the efficiency of management process, balance the resources of all parties in the enterprise (line balance), control the balance of overall efficiency, and realize the overall performance of the enterprise.

Advantages of process management

In process management, team members are responsible for the work of each node in the process, and the process leader is responsible for the effectiveness of the whole process. Therefore, process management still belongs to the cluster of management activities in the sense of division of labor, but compared with functional management, the former focuses on improving the horizontal efficiency of the organization to meet customers, while the latter focuses on ensuring the vertical control of the organization by top managers and gaining the advantage of professional division of labor. There are also obvious differences in the composition of their respective management activities, which shows that process management is not only the inheritance of traditional management mode.

Limitations of process management

There is only one management mechanism suitable for the process management mode, which cannot effectively handle all management problems alone. There are actually three ways to solve management problems, namely, the evolutionary mechanism of dynamic change, the control mechanism of design optimization and the coupling interaction between them. Suppose that all the work of an organization adopts the process management mode, because it is impossible to cover all the work of the organization with one process and manage it. In other words, there are at least two processes, such as logistics and capital flow, and the management of more than two processes belongs to the category of functional management, so the problems that process management can't effectively handle have to be left to functional management to solve, or solved in coordination with functional management. In addition, due to the constant change of market demand and the continuous development of production technology, organizations and management often face new contradictions and problems, such as logistics management and information construction. In this case, organizations usually set up a functional department to solve specific contradictions and problems, and it is impossible to consider designing a process to deal with these specific contradictions and problems at the beginning. Therefore, at least from these two points of view, functional management will exist forever, and the complementary relationship with process management is greater than the substitution relationship between them.

Therefore, when mapping process links to departments and job responsibilities, it should be noted that process combing cannot cover all functions, which requires functional combing as an auxiliary means to ensure the comprehensiveness of departments and job functions.

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In a word, enterprise process management is mainly the internal reform of enterprise managers, which changes the situation that enterprise functional management institutions overlap, there are many intermediate levels and the process is not closed-loop, so that each process is managed by one functional organization from beginning to end, thus achieving the purpose of shortening the process cycle and saving working capital. It is a systematic method with the standardization of end-to-end excellent business processes as the core and the goal of continuously improving the business performance of the organization. Its introduction is an epoch-making leap in workflow technology and enterprise management concept.

Process management is the key to improve work efficiency; Only by grasping all the nodes in the process can enterprise managers quickly improve the work efficiency of employees. Enterprise operation must let the process speak, enterprise managers should think with the process, and the process is best designed by people with rich enterprise management experience and system management thinking. They will integrate process science, new management methods and the inherent culture of the enterprise, so that the enterprise culture will form a unique advantage. Process thinking is the core competitiveness of enterprises, which is of great significance to their long-term development.