Enterprise Managers have two important objectives: anticipating the enterprise evolution and mastering its transformation. As a consequence, different process models are available in research papers. But it is difficult to choose between available models and prove that the selected model can improve the enterprise performances. We propose a unified modelling methodology enhancing the models suitability and preserving the enterprise coherency. The first step of our methodology is to obtain a components list for each studied model and to provide a clear definition for each component. The second step is to clarify the syntactic rules that allow building the model. The model components have to be arranged according to a specific order to form a meaningful model. Process models validation is based on a Functional Analysis approach that acts as a guide in building process models. We focus our theoretical study on three processes: the Supply Chain Management (SCM), the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and the Customer Relationship Management (CRM). The four enterprise sub-systems are represented: The Decision Subsystem (through the finalities of each process), the Operations Sub-system (which operations are depicted in the SCM process), the Information Sub-system (represented by the information flow in the PLM process) and the Knowledge Sub-system (the knowledge flow in each processes is identified). The result of using our modelling methodology depends of the maturity of the models. If the process possesses different types of models, our methodology lists all the possible modelling objectives which facilitate the manager choice. If the process has few models, our methodology permits building a model depicting the process steps, its resources, its actors and the exchanged flows. The results of this theoretical study are evaluating existing SCM models, building new PLM models and sorting CRM models according to their aim into separate categories. On the field, the enterprise organisation is focused on one central process (such as the SCM, the PLM or the CRM process), but the other processes are clearly visible. The enterprise managers have more than one model to master. The major constraint is to preserve the enterprise coherency. The coherency is obtained through the alignment of the models’ objectives and the compatibility between information and knowledge flows. These two coherency factors are realised in all the phases of the model lifecycle: building the model, initializing it in the enterprise, making it fully operational and improving it. Applied with an industrial partner, our coherency conditions bring considerable gains: it provides a detailed view of three important processes in the enterprise (the SCM, the PLM and the CRM), it identifies the interfaces and the information exchange between processes and it allows capitalising the knowledge on building, using and improving models. Our research subject focused on building and validating process models and enhancing coherency conditions leads to numerous perspectives. The future developments are to apply the modelling methodology on other enterprise processes and to develop a Knowledge System realising models coherency.
Enterprise Modelling : Proposing an approach that builds and validates models realizing enterprise systems coherency