Reducing the Friction Between Process Objects

The power of the iGrafx platform has always rested on two main pillars:  Sophisticated BPMN diagramming and the corresponding repository of objects that represent different components of your business.  Together these allow for elegant and robust process diagrams which can be augmented with additional data in the form of repository objects. While these two pieces form a powerful combo, there has historically been some friction in the process of connecting them.

What we have found from listening to our customers is that those who create diagrams (modelers) and those who manage repositories (architects) are rarely the same people.  As repositories can contain a wealth of important and sensitive data, those tasked with creating diagrams are usually not given access to repository objects.  Therefore, object creation is usually left to architects.  This often results in confusion on the part of the modeler, as they usually won’t know which pieces of the diagram are represented by already existing objects, which should be represented by new objects, and which should not.  It also results in an unfortunate duplication of effort for the architect, as the modeler has basically already done the work of conceptualizing the process landscape.

What can we do to remove this source of friction?  We came up with a solution that we love and that we know you’ll love too.  New in iGrafx 17.4, we’ve rolled out a way to create Proposed Objects from within a diagram. Essentially, if a modeler thinks that a diagram element should describe some object, they can propose that a new object should be created with the title set to the diagram element’s text.  This new object can later be assessed, edited and ultimately approved by an architect.  The object is then created automatically either on check-in of the diagram or when it becomes the current approved version (depending on your repository settings).

The new tool allows the modeler to fully customize the new proposed object’s properties and relationships.  It will even suggest a location for it based on the diagram element hierarchy.

Knowing that reviewing and accepting every single proposed object in a diagram individually is a potentially tedious and unnecessary process, we also created a way to allow architects to accept all proposals at once, creating a whole new process landscape instantly. 

We’re always trying to provide our customers with new tools that make process modeling and management simpler and more streamlined.  Proposed objects were created because web diagram modeling and repository object creation should be as frictionless as possible.  We think we’ve succeeded and look forward to your feedback!