Self study for the BCS Certificate in Modelling Business Processes
Course Description
Introduction
This course in our ‘Guides to Success’ series supports the latest syllabus (version 5.0) for the BCS Practitioner Certificate in Modelling Business Processes.
The course also features practice exams in the open book, scenario, style of syllabus 3.3.
This course is for people wishing to develop their understanding of and expertise in modelling business processes and for those wanting to take the examination for the BCS, Certificate in Modelling Business Processes.
Target audience
The course is designed and priced for people who wish to:
- Study in their own time.
- Fund their own training.
This course may also be of interest to those planning to take a public course with an accredited BCS exam provider and who wish to gain a head start and be fully prepared –
- To gain maximise advantage from the upcoming course.
- Increase the likelihood of scoring highly in the exam.
Prerequisites
There are no specific prerequisites to attending the course.
Why business process modelling is important
Organisations create value for the customers in the form of their products and services. Business processes support the development, delivery and maintenance of these products and services.
In these days of rapid change and fierce international competition it’s vital that an organisation’s processes help it to operate and evolve with the agility needed to survive and prosper.
Many companies still fail to see the true start and end points of their business processes and see only activities isolated in functional silos.
Identifying an organisation’s true end to end processes is fundamental to many business change programmes.
Once the end to end processes have been identified, an organisation can see the relationships between them, their structure, and their relationship to business rules and data. At this point the organisation can consider how its processes might be assessed, improved and better supported by IT for competitive advantage and business agility.
Business processes provide the context for the agile development of software requirements.
Business process modelling is a valuable skill for business analysts and business architects who need to:
- Contribute to process improvement projects.
- Determine requirements for a system; this is true whether requirements are gathered in an agile or a traditional manner.
- Integrate processes with data and business rules for the achievement of business agility.
Course Format
The course is online. It uses a mix of video, text, quizzes and practice examinations.
Modules and lessons
There are seven modules containing a total of 27 lessons.
Each lesson features a video overview, a comprehensive workbook, and a multi-choice online quiz with annotated downloadable answers.
Practice exams
The final module of the course contains the practice exams.
The scenario style exams were created by Capiro when we were accredited BCS exam providers. They were real exams, approved at the time by the BCS. See ‘Important’ note about accreditation, below.
The practice exam for multi-choice style exams contains 40 questions, the BCS standard. There are annotated answers to the questions.
Support
Even though this is an online course, there is no need to do everything alone. We will support you throughout your learning experience.
Delegates can contact Capiro by using a ‘member only’ contact form to raise questions, seek help and provide feedback.
Taking the exam for the Practitioner Certificate in Modelling Business Processes
Syllabus 5.0
The exam will be in a multi-choice format rather than the current scenario based written exam.
It can be taken at a Pearson VUE centre anywhere in the world.
Syllabus 3.3
The exam is open book, scenario based. This form of exam must be taken with an accredited BCS exam provider. A list of providers is given on the BCS web site.
If you are planning to sit the exam for syllabus 3.3, then before you take your course online with us you will need to find a provider that offers an ‘exam only’ option. Check their web site to see if this option is available. Also check that the provider is conveniently located for you.
Why take an online course with Capiro?
As well as the price difference compared to other similar courses, there are many reasons that you may choose to take your course online with Capiro. See our Frequently Asked Questions.
Course Outline
Module 1 – Context for Business Process Modelling
We examine some definitions of a business process and consider the purpose of business process modelling. A framework for business process modelling is introduced. The session looks at various forms of business process model and explains how to create a hierarchical structure of business processes. A traditional functionally oriented view of an organisation is contrasted with a more customer focused process oriented view.
Module 2 – Organisational Context for business processes
We describe how to create an ‘organisational model’ that demonstrates an organisation’s top level processes in the strategic context of the organisation.
The session explains how to:
- Identify the processes at the centre of the organisational model.
- Represent these processes as a ‘process map’, demonstrating the processes and the relationships between them.
The module concludes with the all-important topic of delivering value to customers and establishing a value proposition.
Module 3 – Modelling the Business Processes
Having now identified the end to end business processes, this session demonstrates how to model the structure and workflow of an individual process in terms of its component tasks.
In this session we look particularly at modelling the current implementation of an organisation’s processes; this is the so called ‘As-Is’ model.
The modelling technique used in the course is UML Activity Diagramming, as mentioned in the BCS syllabus for their Certificate in Modelling Business Processes.
Module 4 – Documenting Tasks
Having identified the component tasks of a process and their relationships within that process, this session describes ways of documenting the detail of the tasks in terms of their steps. We also look at some ways of documenting business rules.
Module 5 – Evaluating and Improving Business Processes
This session explains how to measure the performance of processes and their tasks.
Measurements form the basis for identifying problems in the processes.
Process improvements are, at least in part, based on the problems. We also consider innovations that are possible though the combination of re-thinking the process and exploiting today’s technologies.
The session closes by seeing how to create a model of the improved improved process; this is the so called ‘To-Be’ model.
Module 6 – Transition
The final session proposes approaches to transition from the modelling phase to the implementation of the newly designed improved process.
We consider some strategies for implementation.
We then examine how our new processes provide a context for discovering requirements for IT support.
This module closes with a brief look at continuous improvement.
Module 7 – Practice Exams
There are two practice scenario style exams and one multi-choice style with 40 questions.
Important information for those taking BCS examinations
All course delegates who intend to take the associated examination for the BCS Certificate in Modelling Business Processes must ensure that they familiarise themselves with rules covering provision of photographic identification and the guidelines on eligibility for requesting additional time for the examination. Please click this link to see the BCS identification policy.
