Analyzing Business Processes Using Enterprise Process Modeler

Before You Begin

This 60-minute Oracle by Example (OBE) shows how to use the Enterprise Process Manager tool to import a preconfigured Procure-to-Pay template to build a process model and use the Enterprise Process Modeler tool to visualize and interact with the process model.

In this OBE, you will:

• Use the Enterprise Process Manager tool to import a preconfigured process template and create a process model for the Procure-to-Pay process.
• Use the Enterprise Process Modeler tool to visualize the Procure-to-Pay process, including metrics and KPIs for the process.
• Interact with the process model by changing views and filters to analyze the process.
• Use the Snapshot feature to save point-in-time data for a process model.

Important: This OBE uses standard demo data available in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Trial Edition, as well as most EnterpriseOne development and test environments. Depending on the data in your system, the process models and metrics may look very different to what is shown in this OBE.

Background

Enterprise Automation is the next evolutionary step after process automation. The tools, techniques, and disciplines of Enterprise Automation allow us to ingest the data that we have been collecting for years in our JD Edwards systems, visualize that data as process models and metrics about how our enterprise is running, and analyze that data toward the aim of improvement. At its core, Enterprise Automation uses process models, metrics, and key performance indicators (KPIs) to help us see a data-driven picture of our business. Beginning with JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Release 25 (Tools Release 9.2.9) we can use Enterprise Process Modeler to accomplish this.

Scenario

In this 60-minute tutorial, let’s consider a scenario in which you are the process owner for your company’s Procure-to-Pay process. Your job is to be vigilant over that process and look for ways to optimize and improve it. To that end, you want to visualize the end-to-end Procure-to-Pay process and see metrics and KPIs within the context of the process model. You think you know how the process runs. You may even have a flow chart from when the system was implemented years ago. But what does the EnterpriseOne data reveal?

For this scenario:

• Acting as a business analyst or power user, you will create a Procure-to-Pay process model using a preconfigured template.
• Acting as a process owner, you will interact with the Procure-to-Pay process model to analyze the data and look for opportunities for improvement.

When you complete the steps in this OBE, your process model will look similar to this:

What Do You Need?

To perform the steps in this OBE, you will need:

• Access to a JD Edwards EnterpriseOne environment with Release 25 (Tools Release 9.2.9) or later. JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Trial Edition running on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure is suitable, but you can use any environment with the proper Tools release.
• Feature security and UDO action security for Enterprise Process (PROCESS).
• Availability of enterprise process templates. These templates are available as user-defined objects (UDOs) from the JD Edwards Update center and can be applied by your system administrator.

Creating a Process Model from a Process Model Template

A process model template contains many preconfigured components, for example, a mapping to the EnterpriseOne tables from which data will be read, and the metrics and KPIs for the process. You can create one or more process models from the same template.

1. Sign in to the EnterpriseOne web client.
2. From the EnterpriseOne home page, click the drop-down list under your user ID, click Manage Content, and then click Processes.
   The Create Process window is displayed, prompting you to choose a process template.
   

   

   Note: The Create Process window is only displayed when you are creating a new enterprise process. After creating a process, when you click Processes again, the system displays the previously created process layout along with the template used for its creation and the design time options. To create a new process, choose (Create) from the Name drop-down list.
3. On the Create Process window, from the Import Process Template drop-down list, select JDE TMPL Procure to Pay, and click OK.
   The following three fields are displayed with default values:

   Field Name	Default Value	Description
   Order Type	OP	Process models are based on tracking the flow of a document through its statuses. This input lets you choose what order type to track. “OP” indicates purchase orders.
   Line Type	S	Process models further track the line type for orders. “S” indicates stock items.
   Start Status	Enter Purchase Order (220)	Enterprise Process Manager creates the process model from data in the order activity rules for purchase orders. This field indicates the status at which the process starts.

4. Accept these default values and click OK.
   Enterprise Process Manager reads data from the EnterpriseOne tables and generates a process model:

   

5. Click Save. The Enter New Name window is displayed.
6. In the Enter New Name window,  enter a name for your process model, such as Procure to Pay OBE, and click OK.
   While you are in the Enterprise Process Manager tool, there are certain decisions, filter settings, and configurations you can make that all users of the process model will see when they interact with the process model. You will explore these in the following steps.
   The most significant design task you can accomplish is to rearrange the nodes in the process model. Enterprise Process Manager does its best to lay out the process model’s nodes and links, however, you may prefer a different layout for your users. 
7. Click a node in the process model and drag it to a different position on the canvass. As you drag the node, notice that a grid appears to aid you with alignment. In the bottom right of the canvass you can enable or disable these options:
   

   Snap to Node

   
   

   Snap to Grid

   
   

   Zoom to Fit

   
   Continue dragging nodes until you design a layout you like.

   

8. Click Save.
9. In the tool bar on the left of the window, click the Design Option icon.
   The Design Option panel is displayed.
   When you have configured the process model to be based on an order type and line type you cannot change it. You can click the Design Option icon to review the entries.

   

10. Click the Design Filtering and Grouping Options icon.
    The Data Filtering and Grouping Options panel displays the data filtering and grouping settings (read-only mode) that were established when the template was created. You cannot change the settings here. You will modify the filter criteria in an upcoming step.
    

    

11. Click the Procure to Pay icon.
    Note: The icon reflects the name of the process. The Enterprise Process Manager window displays four tabs in the right panel.
    

    

    
    These four tabs represent four layers of data about the process model. You can only view these configurations from the template:

    Icons	Tab Names	Description
    	Process Properties	General data about the process.
    	Process Metrics	Information about the source of data for process metrics.
    	Nodes Metrics	Information about the source of data for node metrics.
    	Links Metrics	Information about the source of data for link metrics.

12. Click each tab to discover information about the process, node, and link metrics.
13. In the tool bar on the left of the window, click the Preview icon.
    The window displays a preview of the process model as a user would see it, with actual values displayed for process, node, and link metrics. Notice that the metrics for all nodes and links are zero, and no charts are shown in the right-hand panel. That is because there is no data that matches the current filter criteria. You will change that in the next step.

    

14. At the top of the window, click the Show Filter Options icon.
    Although the preconfigured template dictates the source of data for the process model, the Filter Options enable you to choose how the data for metrics and KPIs is filtered.
15. In the Order Date row, change the date from 01/01/2024 to 01/01/2000.
    While the template was preconfigured to select purchase orders created from 01/01/2024, essentially, you are telling Enterprise Process Modeler to widen the selection of data to include all purchase orders from 01/01/2000 until Today. This change will be propagated to the process model that your users will use, as you will see in the next section. 

    

16. Click Refresh and Close.
    Notice that the metrics for all nodes and links now have values, and KPI charts appear in the right-hand panel.



17. At the top-left of the window, click the arrow icons next to Node Metrics and Link Metrics to expand them.
    

    

    Similar to One View Watchlists, the metrics that are shown on the nodes and links can change colors based on threshold values. The node metrics and link metrics rows enable you to configure the thresholds.
    The first number indicates the threshold above which a value will be considered a warning and change color to orange. The second number indicates the threshold above which a value will be considered critical and change color to red. You can set the thresholds to ascending or descending using the up or down arrows.
18. Click the Link Metrics drop-down list. You can configure the numbers within the badges on the links (arrows) to represent different values. For this Procure to Pay template, you can select Amount – Open, Quantity – Open, or Order Value. Similarly, you can change the values that are shown on the node metrics.
19. Click the Show Display Options icon. The Show Display Options panel provides you several settings to configure how the process model will look to the users. If you change the settings here, users can override them to their preferences when they interact with the process model.

    

20. Click the Analytics Options icon.
    The data that the template is ingesting from the EnterpriseOne tables could have many dimensions. For example, it might be ingesting data from many companies, many business units, and almost certainly a date range. The Analytics Options enable you to change the dimensions of how this data is viewed. If you change the settings here, users can override them to their preferences when they interact with the process model.

    

21. Click Save.
22. Click Close.
    You have now created a process model that your users can interact with to analyze the Procure-to-Pay process.
    
    Note: Within the EnterpriseOne system, process models are managed as user-defined objects (UDOs). You must follow the UDO lifecycle management processes to create, revise, publish, and approve process models for use by selected users or roles using UDO security.

Analyzing the Process Using Enterprise Process Modeler

In the previous section, you took on the role of business analyst to create a process model from a preconfigured template. In this section, you will take on the role of a user, likely a business process owner or a process improvement specialist, to interact with the process model and analyze the Procure-to-Pay process based on actual data from the EnterpriseOne tables.

1. If you are not already signed in, sign in to the EnterpriseOne web client.
2. From the EnterpriseOne home page, click the drop-down list under your user ID, and then click Enterprise Processes.
   The Enterprise Process Modeler window is displayed showing the process model you created in the previous section.
   
   Note: If a different process model is displayed, you can choose your process model from the Select Process drop-down list.
   

   

   In the following steps we will take a tour through the Enterprise Process Modeler user interface and discover ways to visualize and analyze the process model and metrics.
3. The most obvious and fundamental part of the Enterprise Process Modeler is the model pane, which depicts the process model as a set of nodes connected by links. Notice that both nodes and links have associated metrics.



4. You can hover over both nodes and links to see more details about the metrics. Hover over the first node in the model, Enter Purchase Order. Then hover over the adjacent link metric.



5. As with the Enterprise Process Manager design tool, you can drag nodes to new positions.
   However, in the Enterprise Process Modeler the node positions are temporary; when you close and reopen the process model, the nodes will revert to the positions as you defined them when you first created the process model. You can use the icons at the bottom right corner of the model pane to align nodes:

Snap to Node




Snap to Grid




Zoom to Fit

Analyzing the Process Model Study the process model. Does the process flow make sense? Is it what you expected to see? What node metrics stand out? Are any metrics unexpectedly high? Low? Are there any surprises in the link metrics?



6. Next, notice the Nodes Metrics and Links Metrics fields, which enable you to choose which metrics to show on the model pane. These choices are preconfigured in the process model template; you cannot change them, but you can choose which to view. Select different metrics and notice how the model pane changes.
   

   

   Analyzing the Process Model How does changing a node metric or a link metric affect how you view the data? Which metric tells the most about how the process is running? Which metrics is most critical for improving the business process?

7. Next, click the arrow icons next to the Node and Link Metric fields. These options enable you to set thresholds for the colors of the nodes and links. Metrics that are less than the first value will show in blue; metrics that are between the two values will show in orange; metrics that are greater than the second value will show in red. You can also click the up and down arrow icons to choose whether the thresholds are ascending or descending.



8. Click the Show Display Options icon at the top-left of the model pane.
   This menu enables you to make choices about how the model and metrics appear. For example, disable and enable the Show Zero Links option, and see how it affects the process model.



9. Next, click the Analytics Options icon.
   The data coming from your EnterpriseOne system has multiple dimensions. These dimensions are preconfigured in the process model template; you cannot change them, but you can choose which to view.
10. For example, from the View By drop-down list, select Order Date.
    This dimension enables you to see the metrics within a time period, grouped by Year, Quarter, Month, or Day. You can use the arrows to step through the time periods. Notice how the metrics on the model and the charts in the right pane change.

    

    Analyzing the Process Model How does changing the metrics shown on the nodes and links affect your interpretation of the data? What additional data is revealed when you choose a different analytic option? What does stepping through the data year-by-year reveal? What do you learn when you change the analytics option to view by Business Unit and step through each business unit?

11. After you have completed exploring with the Analytics Options, change the value in the View By drop-down list to Overview.
12. At the top of the model pane, click the Show Filter Options icon.
    The Filter Options pane provides a set of options you can use to filter the data. The filtering options are defined in the process model template; you cannot change them, but you can choose the operators and values for how the data is filtered.



13. For example, for the Order Date filter, change the first field from 01/01/2000 to 01/01/2023.
    Leave the second field as Today.
14. Click the Refresh button.
    Notice how the metrics on the model and the charts in the right pane change. The metrics you see now include only purchase orders created between 1/1/2023 and Today; data from purchase orders created before 1/1/2023 is excluded.
15. Continue experimenting with the Filter Options, clicking Refresh after each change. When you are finished, change the Order Date filter back to between 01/01/2000 and Today, and click Refresh and Close.
    
    Note: When you click either Refresh or Refresh and Close, Enterprise Process Modeler will fetch the latest real-time data from the EnterpriseOne transaction tables.
    
    Next, let’s turn our attention to the Context Analytics pane on the right side of the page. The Enterprise Process Modeler enables you to analyze your process in three contexts, which are represented by the three tabs:



16. These analytic charts show key performance indicators (KPIs) for your process. These charts are preconfigured in the process model template; you cannot change them, but you can change certain aspects of how you view them.
    For example, notice the first KPI chart in our Procure-to-Pay process model: it is titled “Spend Analysis by Business Unit.” To get a better view of this chart, click the Maximize icon in the top right corner.
17. Click the Configure icon to open the configuration options. Experiment with the options and notice how the chart changes.



18. Click Close to close the expanded chart view.
19. To focus on analytics related to a specific node, click that node on the process model. For example, click the first node in the process model, Enter Purchase Order.
    Notice that the three charts in the Context Analytics pane change to show analytics about that node. Like the previous charts, you can expand the view and change the configuration options.



20. Similarly, to see the analytics for the Link context, click a link on the process model.



21. To change the context back to the process level, click the Process Level icon at the top of the model pane.

    Analyzing the Process Model What information do you get from the Context Analytics charts that you did not get from the metric badges on the nodes and links? How does drilling into the data reveal additional insights? What do you learn by changing the view of the data to the process, node, and link contexts?

Saving and Comparing Snapshots of the Process Models

In the previous sections, you learned what types of information the Enterprise Process Modeler can reveal about your business process, specifically the Procure-to-Pay process. Because this data comes from your live EnterpriseOne transaction tables, it tells the truth about how your process is running. Analyzing this data helps you to find areas for improvement. When you find ways to improve your process, such as additional automation, user training, or better negotiations with your trading partners, you will expect the metrics and KPIs to improve over time. Or you will want to compare the metrics and KPIs of one company or business unit against another.

In these cases you can use the Snapshot feature to capture the data behind the metrics at a given point in time. The snapshot is not just a screen print of the process model; it is an interactive model that you can user to modify filters and views, just like the live view; however, the data behind the view is captured and is static as of the snapshot’s point in time. In this way you can save and compare snapshots to measure improvement.

In this section, suppose that you want to analyze the performance of business units between calendar years 2023 and 2024.

1. Begin by configuring the data filters and views you want to capture in the snapshot. Click the Show Filter Options icon.
2. Set the filter criteria for Order Date between 01/01/2023 and 12/31/2023.
   Note: To enter a literal date in the second field, click the Configure icon and click the Reset to Simple button.



3. Click Refresh and Close.
4. Click the Show Analytics Options icon and from the View By drop-down list, select Business Unit.



5. Click the Hide View Options icon to close the View Options panel.
6. Click the Save As Snapshot icon.
7. In the Enter New Name window, enter 2023 by Business Unit and click OK.
   

   

   You now have a snapshot of the data for calendar year 2023 with a view by Business Units.
   Notice that Enterprise Process Modeler saves the time stamp at which you created the snapshot. The data for this snapshot is now static.
   

   

   Follow the same procedure to create a snapshot for 2024.
8. Disable the Snapshot option.



9. Click the Show Filter Options icon .
10. Set the filter criteria for Order Date between 01/01/2024 and 12/31/2024.



11. Click Refresh and Close.
    Note: Depending on the source of your demo data, there may not be any transactions for the year 2024, and the metrics all show zero values. That’s OK, you can still save a snapshot of the process model.
12. Click the Show Analytics Options icon and from the View By drop-down list, select Business Unit.



13. Click the Hide View Options icon to close the View Options panel.
14. Click the Save As Snapshot icon.
15. In the Enter New Name window, enter 2024 by Business Unit and click OK.
    You now have a snapshot of the data for calendar year 2024 with a view by Business Units.
16. To view each snapshot, enable the Snapshot option and select the snapshot you want to view from the drop-down list.
    Note that because you chose to view the data by business unit, you can also choose which business unit group to view from the Group drop-down list.
    

    

    While viewing a snapshot you can change Display Options, but you cannot change filter criteria.

Conclusion

In this Oracle by Example (OBE), you learned how to:

• Use Enterprise Process Manager to create a process model from a preconfigured template.
• Use Enterprise Process Modeler to interact with the process model, metrics, and KPIs to analyze the business process and discover areas for optimization or improvement.
• Use the Snapshot feature to save point-in-time data for a process model.

Want to Learn More?

• JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Enterprise Process Modeler Guide
• Quick Tour: Enterprise Process Modeler