In examining a model, it’s always useful to ask about the purpose of individual model elements.Why do we enforce this rule? Why do we perform this business process task? The answers to the questions of purpose are usually model ele- ments in other models. We enforce this rule because of a particular strategy we are working.
Traceability 33
Traceability is connecting model elements between models, explaining a model element in one model by referring to a model element in another. Trace- ability answers “why” questions—questions about rationale, purpose, and intent.
Some business modeling tools support traceability.
Consider again the business process model shown inFigure 2.5, the process that shows how the waitstaff at Portia takes a dinner order. Why does the server take the drink order first, rather than asking about drinks and dinner at the same time? At fast-food restaurants, takeout restaurants, and many other places, food and beverages are ordered together. Why do the servers at our restaurant work first on the drinks and only then on the food?
There could be many reasons for sequencing beverages first. One reason is that customers will drink more if they are served drinks first, and drinks are high-margin items for the restaurant. Another reason is that Portia aspires to be the kind of upscale place where customers stay for hours. At more sophisticated restaurants, taking the drink order and dinner order at the same time is consid- ered to be rushing the customer and is inconsistent with a high-end image.5
Figure 2.6 shows part of the restaurant’s motivation model—the goals Sam and his staff are trying to achieve at Portia and how they are trying to achieve those goals. Asking for drink orders first is a tactic, a short-term course of action that is meant to channel effort toward objectives or goals. Other tactics are also shown inFigure 2.6: describing wines that suit the food the customer orders as well as offering wine samples.
channels effort toward channels
effort toward
channels effort toward
channels effort toward quantifies
Increase Beverage Sales: goal
Increase Wines Sales by 10%: objective
Ask for Drink Orders First: tactic
Describe Wines That Suit the Food: tactic
Offer Wine Samples: tactic Maintain a Civilized
Atmosphere: goal
FIGURE 2.6 Part of Portia’s motivation model
5Outside the United States, the norms of a civilized atmosphere are different. In France, for exam- ple, wine is ordered only after dinner selections have been made.
All three tactics channel efforts toward the objective of increasing wine sales by 10%. The tacticAsk for Drink Orders First6also channels efforts toward the goal of maintaining a civilized atmosphere.
Of course, this is only a small example. A more complete motivation model for our restaurant would include many more tactics, objectives, and goals as well as other motivation model elements such as influencers and threats. Business moti- vation models are described in Chapter 3.
The activities ofFigure 2.5are connected to the tactics, objectives, and goals of Figure 2.6throughtracelinks.Figure 2.7shows the activity Take Drink Order (fromFigure 2.5) tracelinked to the tacticAsk for Drink Orders First(fromFig- ure 2.6). That tracelink explains why servers at Portia take drink orders first: It is a tactic of the restaurant, a tactic that channels effort toward both the goal of main- taining a civilized atmosphere and the objective of increasing drink orders by 10%.
Note that tracelinks are not relationships between whole models. We are not tracing the whole business process model to the whole business motivation model. Rather, we are tracing two individual elements of the business process model to a single element in the motivation model. We are not answering broad questions about the purpose of the business process model. Instead we are answering narrow questions about the purpose of serving drinks first.
Traceability is useful for understanding the impact of a change.If we change this tactic, what activities must be changed? By examining the tracelinks that point from activities to the tactic, we can determine which ones are affected.
With the right tracelinks in place, we can continue our traceability walk, looking at which systems support the activities that are affected by the changed tactic.
Traceability is a bit like the index to a book. You can look up “Frederick the Great” in the index of a history of Prussia (for example) and find all the references to him in the book. In a similar way you can examine the tracelinks to a model element and find all the other model elements that are dependent on it.
rationale
Take Drink Order: activity
Ask for Drink Orders First: tactic
Take Dinner Order: activity rationale
FIGURE 2.7 Tracing two activities to their motivation
6In this book all model elements are shown in bold.
Traceability 35
Models change over time to reflect changing ideas of strategy, business pro- cesses, organization, and policy. For example, a goal might initially be active, as the organization works to achieve it. After the goal is achieved, it is no longer an active goal for the organization. But the goal wants to be retained rather than removed from the model. If it is removed, you have lost the knowledge that it ever was a goal as well as the fact that it was achieved. Some modeling tools support model version control so that you can keep track of what model elements are active today.
Traceability is explored further in this book, in Chapters 4–6. For example, Chapter 6 is about business rules and describes how rules trace to business pro- cess elements, business organization elements, and business motivation elements.