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MBA K725
Business Process Management Fall 2011 Course Outline
Information Systems DeGroote School of Business
McMaster University
COURSE OBJECTIVE
This course enables students to learn about the methodologies used to redesign optimal
business processes and related information technologies in support of process innovation.
Students learn about the state-of-the-art techniques used in support of business process
redesign. These techniques, learned through hands-on practice with SAP software and
simulation, include: identifying best-practice process, workflow automation, simulation of
the business processes, and design of strategic enterprise management systems for efficient
and effective use of information technology in support of business operations.
Students can use this course towards requirements for eligibility to obtain SAP-Certification
in “Business Integration” through McMaster University-SAP University Alliance program.
INSTRUCTOR AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Section 1: Wednesday 14:30-17:30 Class Location: RJC 249
Instructor: Dr. Ali R. Montazemi Hamed Q. Saremi [email protected] TA
Office: DSB 422 [email protected]
Office Hours: before class
Tel: (905) 525-9140 x27434
Course Website: http://avenue.mcmaster.ca
COURSE ELEMENTS
Credit Value: 3 Team skills: Yes IT skills: Yes Global: Yes
Avenue: Yes Verbal skills: Yes Numeracy: No Political: No
Participation: Yes Written skills: Yes Innovation: Yes Social: Yes
Evidence-based: Yes Experiential: No Final Exam: Yes Guest speakers: Yes
COURSE DESCRIPTION
In the face of intense competition and other business pressures on organizations, quality
initiatives and continuous, incremental process improvement, though still essential, will no
longer be sufficient. Radical levels of change require powerful information technology tools to
facilitate the fundamental redesign of work. This course is taught through the case-method,
readings, lectures, videos, workshops and a number of hands-on use of software including SAP,
and ARIS.
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LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon completion of this course, students will be able to complete the following key tasks:
Assess companies’ e-business requirements and strategies
Begin leading effective innovation and organizational business process renewal
Integrate business strategies with the e-business to create value for the organization.
Manage information and knowledge processes successfully
Manage the process of organizing for value strategically
REQUIRED COURSE MATERIALS AND READINGS
Avenue registration for course content, readings and case materials
http://avenue.mcmaster.ca
Business Process Management: The SAP Roadmap, By: J.M. Snab, A.
Rosenberg, C. Moller and M. Scavillo. Galileo Press (SAP press) 2009
ISBN 978-1-59229-231-8
$ FREE
$69.95
OPTIONAL COURSE MATERIALS AND READINGS
Gartner reports from: http://www.mcmaster.ca/uts/system_soft/gartner.html
Enterprise Architecture As Strategy: Creating Foundation for Business By
Ross, Weill & Robertson, Execution, Harvard Business School Press, 2006.
EVALUATION
Learning in this course results primarily from in-class discussion and participation of
comprehensive business cases. The balance of the learning results from the lectures on BPM
concepts, from related readings, and from researching your presentations, cases, hands-on
assignments, simulation decisions and projects. All work will be evaluated on an individual basis
except in certain cases where group work is expected. In these cases group members will share
the same grade adjusted by peer evaluation. Your final grade will be calculated as follows:
COMPONENTS OF COURSE GRADE: PARTICIPATION: Class participation is highly encouraged. The primary learning vehicle
for this class is discussions between students. Your discussion must be well grounded
based on the course materials. Late arrival in class longer than 15 minutes would
result in a 5% penalty unless adjudicated by the Academic Programs Office (APO) for
legitimate reason. The same applies to those who leave early.
FINAL EXAM: Closed-book exam of the covered chapters 1-15 of the textbook.
IT-Lab Assignments Seven IT-Lab sessions are scheduled for you to learn software used in business process
redesign. IT-Lab assignments will be handed to you in the Lab. You lose the assigned
IT-Lab grade if you are not present at the class-scheduled time.
Research Paper: You are required to do an in-depth literature survey of a topic
provided below. You should use academic journals and books on the selected topics,
accessible through McMaster libraries and eLibrary, and Gartner only. Every
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presentation should include an electronic presentation (e.g., PowerPoint) and a written
report (including all slides displayed) for the professor. The report should be of about 20
pages long to portray what the group wishes to say in their presentation. Format for the
report is to be double-spaced, 12-point font, with 1” margins all around. You are
required to upload your write up and presentation to the Avenue account at least 24
hours before the scheduled time of your presentation. Grading will emphasize the
quality of analysis, but will also include professionalism, organization, and clarity of
expression. Better grades for presentations will be given to groups that involve all
members in the oral aspects of the presentation. Provide a list of references that you
have used to prepare for the presentation. It is expected that majority of references
used in your literature survey are different from the class reading materials. The
following topics will be assigned to different groups. (A) Project management for the implementation of enterprise systems.
(B) IT Governance
(C) Business Process modeling
(D) IT Strategy in support of business Processes management
(E) Organizational change management
Components and Weights
COMPONENT %
Final exam BPM Chapters 1-15 30
Research Paper 5% presentation, 10% content 15
Class participation Earned throughout the term in class 20
Assignment 1 SAP Workflow design 5
Assignment 2 SAP Solution Composer 5
Assignment 3 SAP Business One 5
Assignment 4 Value-SAP & SAP Solution Manager Best-practiced business process
design & implementation 5
Assignment 5 Visio & ARIS Process Modeling 5
Assignment 6 ARIS Process Simulation 5
Assignment 7 Score-Card methodology through SAP-Enterprise Management System 5
Total 100
Grade Conversion
At the end of the course your overall percentage grade will be converted to your letter grade in
accordance with the following conversion scheme. Your grade is accessible through the course
Avenue site.
… please note that MBA grade conversion is … LETTER GRADE PERCENT LETTER GRADE PERCENT
A+ 90-100 C 55-59 A 85-89 C- 50-54 A- 80-84 F 0-49 B+ 75-79 B 70-74 B- 65-69 C+ 60-64
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Communication and Feedback
Students who are uncomfortable in directly approaching an instructor regarding a course concern
may send a confidential and anonymous email to the respective Area Chair or Associate Dean:
http://www.degroote.mcmaster.ca/curr/emailchairs.aspx
Students who wish to correspond with instructors or TAs directly via email must send messages
that originate from their official McMaster University email account. This protects the
confidentiality and sensitivity of information as well as confirms the identity of the student.
Emails regarding course issues should NOT be sent to the Administrative Assistant.
Instructors should conduct an informal course review with students by Week #4 to allow time for
modifications in curriculum delivery. Instructors should provide evaluation feedback for at least
10% of the final grade to students prior to Week #8 in the term.
Students who wish to have a course component re-evaluated must complete the following form:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/Form_A.pdf
In order for the component to be re-read:
the component must be worth 10% or more of the final grade in the course
students pay a fee of $50 in Gilmour Hall #209 (receipt is then brought to APO)
the Area Chair will seek out an independent adjudicator to re-grade the component
an adjustment to the grade for the component will be made if a grade change of three points
or greater on the 12 point scale (equivalent to 10 marks out of 100) has been suggested by the
adjudicator as assigned by the Area Chair
if a grade change is made, the student fee will be refunded
ACADEMIC DISHONESTY
It is the student’s responsibility to understand what constitutes academic dishonesty. Please refer
to the University Senate Academic Integrity Policy at the following URL:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/policy/Students-AcademicStudies/AcademicIntegrity.pdf
This policy describes the responsibilities, procedures, and guidelines for students and faculty
should a case of academic dishonesty arise. Academic dishonesty is defined as to knowingly act
or fail to act in a way that results or could result in unearned academic credit or advantage.
Please refer to the policy for a list of examples. The policy also provides faculty with procedures
to follow in cases of academic dishonesty as well as general guidelines for penalties. For further
information related to the policy, please refer to the Office of Academic Integrity at:
http://www.mcmaster.ca/academicintegrity
REQUESTING RELIEF FOR MISSED ACADEMIC TERM WORK
1. Students may request relief from a regularly scheduled midterm, test, assignment or other
course component in the following two ways:
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a) For absences from classes lasting up to five (5) days
Students must use the MSAF (McMaster Student Absence Form). This is an on-line,
self-reporting tool, for which submission of medical or other types of supporting
documentation is normally not required. Students may use this tool to submit a
maximum of one (1) request for relief of missed academic work per term. Students
must follow up with their course instructors regarding the nature of the relief within
two days of submitting the form. Failure to do so may negate the opportunity for relief.
It is the prerogative of the instructor of the course to determine the appropriate relief for
missed term work in his/her course.
b) For absences from classes lasting more than five (5) days
Students cannot use the MSAF. They MUST report to the APO to discuss their
situation and will be required to provide appropriate supporting documentation.
2. Students who wish to submit more than one request for relief of missed academic work per
term cannot use the MSAF. They must report to the APO and discuss their situation with
an academic advisor. They will be required to provide supporting documentation and meet
with the Director.
3. The MSAF cannot be used during any final examination period.
4. Students who require accommodations to meet a religious obligation or to celebrate an
important religious holiday must make their requests in writing within three weeks of the
start of term to the APO.
5. Students seeking relief due to: work-related (for part-time students only) commitments;
representing the university at an academic or varsity athletic event; and/or conflicts
between two (or more) overlapping scheduled midterm exams, have the option of applying
for special exam arrangements. Such requests must be made to the APO at least ten (10)
working days before the scheduled exam along with acceptable documentation. There will
be only one common sitting for the special exam. Instructors cannot themselves allow
students to unofficially write make-up exams/tests. Adjudication of the request must be
handled by the APO.
STUDENT ACCESSIBILITY SERVICES
Student Accessibility Services (SAS) offers various support services for students with
disabilities. Students are required to inform SAS of accommodation needs for examinations on
or before the last date for withdrawal from a course without failure (please refer to official
university sessional dates). Students must forward a copy of such SAS accommodation to the
instructor immediately upon receipt. If a student with a disability chooses NOT to take
advantage of an SAS accommodation and chooses to sit for a regular exam, a petition for relief
may not be filed after the examination is complete. The SAS website is:
http://sas.mcmaster.ca
POTENTIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE COURSE
The instructor and university reserve the right to modify elements of the course during the term.
The university may change the dates and deadlines for any or all courses in extreme
circumstances. If either type of modification becomes necessary, reasonable notice and
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communication with the students will be given with explanation and the opportunity to comment
on changes. It is the responsibility of the student to check their McMaster email and course
websites weekly during the term and to note any changes.
RESEARCH PAPER GUIDELINE
Objective:
To write and present a research paper that addresses the issues of Business Process Management.
Topic Selection:
The instructor will assign the topic of your research paper to you.
Guidelines:
1. Since many students will not have much experience within their selected topic, most of
the material for the research paper will be gathered from literature surveys. The
University library has many books and journals, which may be of use, and your instructor
may also help you in your search if you are short of material.
2. Since the purpose of this research paper is to show that you have studied a particular area
well, do not simply repeat information you find in your literature review. In particular,
beware of the unbridled enthusiasm on many topics often appearing in the popular press.
This may be a mask to cover a lack of facts. You should not consider yourself as a
reporter, but as an analyst. Present your own views on the material gathered, since this
develops your ability to think logically and creatively. Remember, marks are given for
originality. You need to submit your research paper proposal including the title, the
objective, the tasks, the methodology, and the potential value of your research.
3. Your final paper must be typed. It should be a minimum of 20 (maximum of 35) double-
spaced 8 x 11 typewritten pages, (not including references, figures, and appendices.
However, you will not be penalized if you can put forward a good presentation in less
than 20 pages.
4. Your paper should be written in a concise, crisp, academic style such as would be used in
writing a research paper for conference or journal submission. Try to use diagrams and
tables to get your point of view across and to "dress up" your paper's appearance.
5. Your paper should include the following sections:
a. A cover page which includes the title, the course name and number, the date, and
the Author’s name.
b. Abstract: The abstract should cover the most important points presented in your
paper as well as any conclusions that should be derived from the report.
c. Introduction: This section includes background material to bring the reader "up to
speed" before launching into the main thrust of your report. It should also briefly
discuss a general outline of the report which follows.
d. Report body: The body of the report should be broken into reasonably sized
sections on various aspects of the topic under consideration. Each section should
be numbered and given an appropriate heading.
e. Major findings and conclusions: This section should reflect the important results
that the reader should have learned from the paper.
f. References: You must show several references from more advanced literature
(you may also reference the popular press, but it may tend towards uncritical
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enthusiasm). Guidelines for reference format are provided below.
g. Appendices: If appropriate, appendices should be included after your reference
section.
6. Jargon should not be used unless the words are carefully defined when they are first used
in your report. In general, make sure you carefully define your topic, assuming that
potential readers may have little or no background knowledge within the area.
7. Sources for your material must be referenced. If you develop original material in your
report, be sure to substantiate the grounds upon which you build your arguments, through
references to other published material or personal communications. All of your reference
material should be referred to by authors and year in square brackets, corresponding to
the paper used in your reference list at the end of your paper. In your reference section,
references should be listed in alphabetic order of the first author's last name.
8. Short footnotes may be used, provided that they are referenced on the same page with a
special symbol such as a dagger or an asterisk. Longer footnotes should be included as
appendices, to avoid breaking the continuity of the presentation.
9. Figures or tables should be numbered and should appear as soon as possible after they are
referenced in the paper. However, if a large number of tables or figures are referenced in
one place, it is best to move all the tables and/or figures to the end of the report.
10. Appendices should have titles and be numbered using Roman numerals.
11. All pages of the report, except the title page, should be numbered.
12. Equations should be numbered if they are referred to elsewhere in the report.
13. Grammar, spelling, sentence and paragraph structure are important. A good general
reference that may be useful is the Harbrace College Handbook published by Longman
Canada Limited. Other references that contain helpful sections on business report writing
style are:
Ewing, E.W., Writing For Results, New York: Wiley (1979).
Himstreet, W.C., and W.M. Baty, Business Communications, Belmont,
California:Wadsworth (1977).
Smith, R.S., Written Communications for Data Processing, New York: Van Nostrand
(1976)
Weiss, A., Write What You Mean, New York: Amacom (1977).
14. PowerPoint presentation. You should prepare and submit (email me) your PowerPoint
presentation document one day before the scheduled presentation time. You suppose to
have 15 minutes presentation followed by 5 minutes discussion.
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COURSE SCHEDULE
MBA K725 Information Systems
Fall 2011 Course Schedule
Week Date Topic Study Event
1 Sept. 14 Business
Processes &
Enterprise
Systems
2 Sept. 21 Business Process
Management
BPM Chapters 1
Invited Guest Speaker: Mr. David
DiDonato, Senior Manager, Business
Process Improvement, Loblaw
3 Sep. 28 Business Process
Management
BPM Chapters 2
Assignment-1: Hands-on with SAP
Workflow-builder.
4 Oct. 5 Business Process
Management
BPM Chapters 3
Invited Guest Speaker:
Mr. Mahmoud Safavi, KPMG
5 Oct. 19 Business Process
Management
BPM Chapters 4
1. Assignment-2: Hands-on with SAP
Solution Composer
2. Literature Survey A
6 Oct. 26 Business Process
Roadmap
BPM Chapters 5 & 6
1. Assignment 3: Hands-on with SAP-
Business One (meet DSB A116
computer lab)
2. Literature Survey B: (meet at DSB-
421)
7 Nov. 2 Business Process
Roadmap
BPM Chapters 7 & 8
Invited Guest Speaker:
Mr. Charles Collins, Deloitte
8 Nov. 9 Business Process
Roadmap
BPM Chapters 9 & 10
1. Assignment 4: Hands-on with Value-
SAP & Solution Manager
2. Literature Survey C
9 Nov. 16 Business Process
Roadmap
BPM Chapters 11 & 12
1. Assignment 5: Hands-on with Visio
& ARIS Business Process Modeling
(meet DSB A116 computer lab)
2. Literature Survey D (meet at DSB-
421)
10 Nov. 23 Business Process
Analysis
1. BPM Chapter 13
2. Business Process Modeling and Analysis
Using Discrete-Event Simulation
1.Assignment 6: Hands-on with ARIS
Discrete-Event Simulation (meet DSB
A116 computer lab)
11 Nov. 30 Business Process
Roadmap
1. BPM Chapters 14 & 15
2. Using the Balanced Scorecard as a
Strategic Management System
1. Assignment 7: Hands-on with SAP
Enterprise Systems
2. Literature Survey E
12 Dec. 7 Final Exam BPM Chapter 1-15 3 hours closed-book exam