Practical Guide to Business Process Reengineering Using IDEFO, The: (Dorset House eBooks)

This is the digital version of the printed book (Copyright © 1998). This book answers the call for a concise, comprehensive introduction to IDEF0 and its application in business process reengineering (BPR) efforts.   Here is all the essential information about the IDEF0 method, the function analysis portion of the Integration Definition (IDEF) Methods—its definition, basic rules of usage (including the standard language syntax and semantics as contained in the Federal Standard), and lessons learned from many years of application in the real world.   The book features examples based on actual models of commercial clients and government agencies. By studying IDEF0 models, readers learn how the method might be applied to the various aspects of enterprise analysis or systems analysis and what goals and benefits are reasonable to expect from its application.   IDEF0 is at the heart of the DoD's version of BPR. In the private sector, industrial organizations that may have initially discovered IDEF through one or more government contracts have adopted it as a method for use with their own corporate BPR efforts.   Use this book to apply the techniques of this increasingly popular member of the IDEF family of methods!   Three Major Elements of the Method:   1. The concepts are at the foundation of IDEF0, and they preserve the logical sense and intention of the model. These concepts answer why one approach is used over another in the application of IDEF0, and they provide the experienced analyst with the rationale for when it may be necessary to bend the rules.   2. The language of IDEF0 is the analyst's means of describing the activities of an enterprise to other analysts, readers, enterprise management and staff, and others. The language is written in graphical box-and-arrow notation on diagram forms that are structured to form IDEF0 models.   3. The pragmatics of IDEF0 provide the engineering procedures and the do's and don'ts for the use of IDEF0. In many cases, the pragmatics are so closely tied to the concepts and language that they are inseparable, and analysts who have attempted to use IDEF0 without employing the pragmatics have typically been unsuccessful. The most common misuses of IDEF0 are illustrated to show the kinds of problems that can occur if the pragmatics are not followed.  

Table of Contents:
  Figures & Tables       xii Foreword         xvii Preface         xix   Chapter 1: Introduction to the Method         1 Communication with IDEF0   1 Origins and History of IDEF0   4 Elements of IDEF0   8 Use of IDEF0 with Other Methods and Tools   10   Chapter 2: Using IDEF0 for Process Improvement          15 Use of IDEF0 in Support of BPR   16 Benefits of Using IDEF0 Models for Enterprise Reengineering   20 Conclusions from Commercial and DoD BPR Efforts to Date   37   Chapter 3: Features and Benefits of the IDEF0 Activity Modeling Method        39 The Seven Basic Principles   39 Scope of Subject Matter That Can Be Handled by IDEF0   40 Benefits Resulting from the Use of IDEF0   41 Features of IDEF0 Analysis   43 Comparison to Data Flow Diagramming   45 Understanding a Top-Level IDEF0 Diagram of an Enterprise   49 Levels of Abstraction in IDEF0 Models   51 The Role of Data Analysis Compared to IDEF0 Function Analysis   53   Chapter 4: IDEF0 Graphic Language Syntax and Semantics         55 Activity Box Syntax   56 Arrow Syntax Elements   57 The IDEF0 Diagram Form   59 IDEF0 Model Rules   63   Chapter 5: Pragmatics         81 Defining the Purpose, Viewpoint, and Type of Breakdown   82 Starting the Model   84 Validating the Model   88 Modeling Other Viewpoints   92 Using Node Diagrams, Schematics, and FEO Diagrams   95 Using the Reader/Author Review Process   101   Chapter 6: Do's and Don'ts         106 Language Rules   107 Model Quality Measurement   122 Achieving Model Quality   135 Management Lessons Learned   140   Appendices 145   Appendix A: Types of Models and Forms of Breakdown         147 Modeling the Function versus the Process   147 Forms of Activity Breakdown   149 Appendix B: Sample Models         156 Appendix C: SADT and IDEF0–A Historical Perspective         172 Comparison of SADT with IDEF0 173 Appendix D: SADT Data Models, IDEF0, and IDEF1X         175 Appendix E: A Modeling Process Case Study         179 Background of the Restaurant   179 Excerpt from an Interview with the President and CEO   180 Excerpt from an Interview with Jeff Shermon   182 Modeling Ben's Burgers 182 Key Terms         207 Index         213

About the Author :
Clarence G. Feldmann was a consultant to government and industry, specializing in enterprise engineering and structured methods. With more than forty years of experience in the computer field until his death in 2006, he served on the IDEFU Users Group Steering Committee for  many years, and was vice chairman of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Enterprise Engineering (ISEE). As a cofounder with Douglas Ross and Jorge Rodriguez of SofTech, Inc., he participated in the development of SADT (Structured Analysis and Design Technique), a subset of which was adopted by the department of defense as IDEF0.