Definition
What is Business Process Management System
Business Process Management System is the system which you want to standardize and automate literally any business procedures happened in your business routine. While some of the Business Process Management System, for example , a CRM System (Customer Relationship Management) is mature and well modularized which you can subscribe any canned CRM SaaS easily, some of the business routine, for example , a factory owner who wants to standardize the routine of the production line, should be customized and hence a Business Process Management System is needed to be built on purpose.
What is a System
Before we dive into the definition of a system, allow me to start the paragraph with the citation from a ancient wisdom.
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Aristotle
While the statement from Aristotle is a genius idea exactly addressing the synergy which is derived from the system, the statement by itself does not have any executable guide for people to follow.
Input-Process-Output Model
In practical, you can take the definition of system as an Input-Process-Output (IPO) model which is a framework used to describe the structure of a system or process. Here’s a breakdown of each component:
- Input: These are the resources, data, or materials that enter the system. Inputs can include raw materials, information, energy, or human effort.
- Process: This is the transformation stage where inputs are converted into outputs. It involves the steps, actions, or operations performed on the inputs.
- Output: These are the final products, results, or outcomes that exit the system after the processing stage. Outputs can be goods, services, information, or any other result of the process.
In a daily example, when you want to withdrawal the cash from ATM machine, you insert the debit card and input the password and withdrawal amount (Input), then the ATM machine do the calculation on deducting the balance from your bank account (Process), and finally the currency note come out from the slot (Output).
Whatever if when you input the same thing, it will always process the same thing and output the same thing, this is call a System.
A system is not necessarily related to “computer” or “digital”. For example , all of us in our body have a respiration system, digestive system , nervous system and so on.
Systems Chain
After you get the Cash from the ATM machine, and then go to the train station and put the cash note into the self-serve Ticketing machine to buy the ticket. Immediately after you chose the destination and number of tickets, the ticket dropped out from the ticket slot.
You can realise that in fact the Cash that you withdrawal from the ATM Machine before, is in fact the at the same time BOTH Output of the ATM Machine (i.e. the 1st System) and the Input of the Ticketing Machine (i.e. the 2nd System).
The Output of a system is always the Input of another.
So if the story goes on, you may realise that you can link up literally anything , i mean anything, no matter material or immaterial ,in this world by the System Chain concept. In fact, it is a philosophy of how you interpret the world. When you think like this , you will become a Philosopher. When you act like this , you will become an Engineer.
Scope of a System
So we back to our ATM machine example. To recall your memory , a System implies you will always get the same output if you provide the same input. As long as the following the criteria are satisifed , you will always get the cash note:
- The Debit Card is functional
- Password is correct
- Your bank account have sufficient fund
- ATM Machine is functional
- ATM Machine cash slot has sufficient cash note
I will congratulate you if after you read and you want to challenge me that there is nothing can be “always” except “the Change” itself. In fact, deciding what components are related to the system among the infinity number of concepts from the world , is as important as building the components inside the system.
What if there is out of electricity supply during the transaction?
What if the operating system inside the computer of the machine is down?
What if the internet connection between the ATM machine and the terminal server is broken?
in the world of Business Process Management System development, while Programmer is more on automating the system via coding for the components and functions within the system, an Engineer is more about observing the world to address what components are related to the system, as well as figuring out the interaction between the environment of the system and the system itself.
Coverage of the System
What if you hungover and input the wrong passwords 3 times? If this is the case , the ATM machine will eat the card and then the screen will show up asking you to contact the staff of your bank, and then of course the user (i.e. you) will kick the ATM machine and growl a FXXX.
When you start thinking like this, to think of all possible scenario which may be happened during the Usage of an ATM machine, you may realise that this is the most difficult part of building a system due to the fact if you are trying to identity all the if-then-else scenario and chain them up based on their dependencies , you will visualize a if-then-else decision tree diagram which finally enumerate almost infinity number of potential outcome that might be happened, that is why Dr. Strangeⓘ said he considered 14,000,605 possibilities in Avengers 4ⓘ. The parallel universe begins.
If you start doing the job to test the possibilies and user scenario of a software, you become a UATⓘ Tester. If you start thinking of how to find a way to scientifically enumerate all the possiible outcome among all the if-then-else scenario, you will become a Mathetican in the aspect of Statistic, Graph Theory and Optimisation Theory.
A good System caters all the scenarios after interacted with the environment
Finally, before ending this session , back to the ATM example, you can consider to put the hidden microphone inside the ATM machine in order to record the FXXX after the user kicked the ATM machine because of Debit Card being eaten by the ATM machine, which is one of the possible scenario that you can think of, despite out of the scope of ATM machine software development.
What is Meta System
Build a System to build another System
As the ATM Machine metaphor continues, instead of the ATM machine user, now you become the engineer who built the ATM Machine. Based on the reading and you realise that to build an ATM Machine (i.e. a System) you need to cater all the possibie if-then-else use cases.
One day, you successfully created a ATM Machine system which is very useful, and the CTO of the bank is going to bring your design to mass production. The next challenge is, how to justify the output quality of the ATM Machine?
It is quite inevitable and reasonable to think of building another system to build the ATM Machine. And therefore here comes another System which builds the ATM Machine, which we name this kind of system as Meta System.
What is System Index
If you are crazy and idle enough, you may wonder what if I can build a System that can build a system to build a system (notes : there is no typo)? When in our daily conversation it is really hard to tell which level of System we are referring to, allow me to name the 3 Level of system as below:
Level 1
System : To standardize and automate a specific function
Level 2
Meta System : A system to build the System in Level 1 which search a specific function (i.e. build a system to build a system)
Level 3
Meta System2 : A generic system which can build any kinds of Meta Systemt to build a System for specific function. (i.e. build a system to build a system to build a system)
For better communication, we, Diamond Digital Marketing, named this concept of System Level as System Index.
While you can still understand why it is a need for the Meta System, you may in this moment consider Meta System2 as excessive. I understand your feeling and will suggest you to be patience to read the comprehend the whole idea in this or upcoming articles, which in turn will let you realising why there is a must for a Meta System2 and how many hundreds of hours and manpower you can save during the system development cycle.
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