Workshops

How is the Map Built?

The map is built in workshops, so that conflicting views can be identified, debated, and resolved. These workshops are based upon a particular work style called Joint Application Development (JAD). The 'joint' emphasises the need to bring the business and IT closer together.

The workshops are led by an independent facilitator who helps participants to be productive, and provides expertise on the mapping method^*.

The workshops start by agreeing the scope - what things are included in the business area being modelled. Then the participants try to identify and define the fundamental things they manage. This is not always easy, because we get used to talking about the records we keep, rather than the fundamental things in the real world.

Typical questions in a workshop on customer orders, for example, might include:

What constitutes an order?
When is an order 'born'? Does it start with a request, or a quotation, or are these latter two separate items in their own right?
What stages does it have? Can it be amended, or cancelled? Can the quantity on order be changed, or is this treated as a new order?
Do we manage the reservation of customer ordered goods against purchase orders?

^* IBM's world wide solution design & delivery method (which incorporates BSDM)

The answers to these questions are reflected in a set of diagrams and definitions.

An extract from a typical diagram is shown below.

When the workshop thinks that it has made a good first-pass at defining the things it manages, it goes on to look at the business processes. These are the activities that cause the things to come into existence or significantly change them.

Typical questions at this stage might include:

Do we accept orders from parties we have not previously recognised?
Can we accept orders for items we know about? Or can we recognise a part type at the time we take the order?

At the end of the workshops all the definitions and diagr4ams are formally documented, taking care not to make any changes. The business map is owned by the business, but typically IT act as custodians, managing the development and extensions to the map.