Preface

In a business landscape defined by relentless speed and digital complexity, the ability to model and analyze processes isn’t optional; it’s essential. Practical Business Process Modeling and Analysis distills the foundational knowledge every aspiring change agent needs to navigate transformation with confidence and clarity. Drawing on decades of global experience advising Fortune 500 companies, the authors provide practical insights that help you sidestep costly mistakes and bolster sponsor credibility while protecting your career trajectory.

With the pace of business change in 2025 accelerating beyond most organizations’ capacity to respond, leaders face a growing mismatch between strategic ambition and executional readiness. Economic pressures demand agility, human dynamics complicate transformation, and the rise of AI-powered low-code tools introduces opportunities and risks that can reshape entire business units. CFOs and CTOs are racing to digitize—but success depends on more than technology. It requires people who understand how to analyze, model, and evolve business processes in real time.

Yet, while businesses can easily source developers, Six Sigma experts, and project managers, few professionals possess the hybrid skill set needed to incubate and support long-term digital programs. Why? Because the ecosystem of process analysis tools evolved in silos, remained under-recognized by mainstream media, and was under-taught in business schools, with notable exceptions such as Widener University (Chester, Pennsylvania, USA), the Warsaw School of Economics (Warsaw, Poland), and UNIR (La Rioja, Spain). Even rigorous programs at the Technical University of Eindhoven (Eindhoven, Netherlands) and QUT (Brisbane, Australia) offer depth but rarely prepare professionals to contribute as agile change agents on day one.

This book was written to fill that gap.

We speak to business professionals—not as theorists, but as practitioners who understand that transformation lives in nuance, speed, and systems thinking. Whether you become a software vendor, join a consulting firm, enroll in an academic program, self-educate online, or convince your boss to invest in training, you’ll face trade-offs: vendor partiality, theoretical overload, or practical shallow dives. The truth is, there’s no perfect path into this domain—but there is a pragmatic one.

We offer a blended approach that synthesizes strategic insight with hands-on experience. You’ll learn how to deconstruct process artwork into executable logic, demystify modeling notations such as Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN), and communicate the benefits of visualization without corporate jargon. You’ll hear from global experts, including Jim Sinur, a leading voice in digital business, and see how shadow business architects are driving real change, often without formal credentials.

By the end of this book, you’ll understand the actual value of business and process architecture, have learned how to build transformation credibility, and have unlocked ways to contribute meaningfully to your company’s future. Whether you spend three days in a workshop in Boston, London, Hyderabad, or Warsaw or journey through these chapters, you’ll emerge ready to act.