Author: Jon Holt
Publisher: British Computer Society, 2009
Pages: 246
ISBN: 978-1906124120
Aimed at: IT architects, business and systems analysts
Rating: 4
Pros: Highly visual treatment of topic
Cons: Emphasis on UML
Reviewed by: Sue Gee

The message of this book is that accurate modelling can deliver a more complete understanding of a business and its requirements. The chosen approach is Unified Modelling Language, UML, which is explored early in the book and then used for analysis, specification and mapping. A case study based on a real organisation puts the ideas introduced, including that of the process meta-model, into perspective.

The second edition of Jon Holt's book has been expanded with five new chapters. Some of the new material responds to criticism of the original volume - the emphasis on UML. Opinion on this was divided with some readers feeling it wasn't an appropriate choice of modelling notation. The new edition is still firmly about the benefits of UML but a new chapter entitled Presentation presents mappings to two alternative notations - flowcharts and BPMN, Business Process Modelling Notation - and concludes that they look very similar to the UML mapping. Enterprise Architecture is the topic of another of the new chapters and Holt concludes that "process modelling is actually natural part of a larger-scale enterprise architecture". Helpfully the book now includes the answers to the exercises set at the end of the Case Study.

Recommended if you are looking for practical introduction to using UML (Unified Modeling Language) in business process modelling.