Sitnikova Olga, IT AnalystDIRECTUM

Today I decided to make a small review of online diagramming tools available to any Internet user for free.

So far, personally, it seems natural to me that the functionality of online “drawers” ​​is poorer than those modeling tools for the distribution and updating of which users spend a certain amount of hard-earned money. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that he is not so poorer. Consider two systems similar to each other: Diagram.ly and yWorks.

Diagram.ly

Diagram.ly gives the impression of a system that is trying to provide the user with functionality that is closest to the capabilities of desktop clients (for example, the same Microsoft Visio). There is almost everything that we are used to:

1. A very rich selection of stencils to work with. With Diagram.ly, you can draw flowcharts, some types of UML diagrams, ER diagrams, organization charts, BPMN diagrams, database and network diagrams, as well as telecom diagrams, geographic information diagrams, electrical circuit diagrams, and social networks, as well as prototyping lightweight interfaces. In fact, perhaps this gives them reason to call themselves "a mini version of Visio, accessible from your favorite browser."

1. Rich text formatting options. Text can be written in one of five fonts: Verdana, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Garamond or Courier New. The font size can be changed from 6 to 60 points. You can change the boldness of the text, write in italics or underline, change the alignment of the text. The text, by the way, is entered very simply: by double-clicking on the block.

In addition to text formatting, there is also object formatting: grouping, ungrouping, moving to the background / foreground, mutual alignment of objects, changing the orientation of blocks work. You can change the color of the font, background and line for the block, add a shadow and gradient, and also select an image that occupies the block.

3. Selecting several ways to display the connector. For the arrow, you can specify the type, curvature of the connection lines, line type (only solid or dashed), line thickness.

1. The context menu works on the blocks and the page (by right mouse button).

1. Each time you log on to the system, the user is prompted to view simple tips for working with it. These "tips and tricks" serve as a reference. Although, by and large, I personally did not need them, the system is so intuitive: objects are added to the board using drag-n-drop technology, the arrow that appears when you hover over the block suggests that it is the connector tool, and the one I already mentioned the context menu closes all other questions, even if somehow the user fails to find the toolbar at the top.

1. A pleasant surprise for me was that you can work with both XML files created by Diagram.ly and VDX files created by Microsoft Visio. This way, you can modify the diagrams that your colleagues have created in Visio, even if you don't have your own license for the product. The resulting diagram can be saved in the XML format offered by Diagram.ly, or exported to a raster (PNG or JPG) or vector (SVG) image.
2. There are also preview options. Firstly, a scalable preview of the current scheme is always displayed in the lower left corner of the screen.

And secondly, using the "View" button on the toolbar, you can very easily make a picture that will appear in the next tab and be ready for printing.

Since it is customary to dilute a barrel of honey with a fly in the ointment, I will name the small flaws that I managed to notice in Diagram.ly.

1. It does not provide sample charts from which you can create your own artwork.
2. The system is being created, apparently, by a group of enthusiasts, and sometimes rather stupid bugs appear in the system (for example, on the day of writing this, I could not apply the change of fonts). However, this shortcoming more than makes up for having Diagram.ly's own feed in Google Plus where you can openly express your wishes and suggestions.

Well, a new improved version of Diagram.ly is currently in development with a lighter, concise interface, which I like, to be honest, a little more. By the way, it is open for beta testing.

yWorks

yWorks gives the impression of a system that wants to provide the user with the minimum set of stencils and tools to work with them.

Let's note the striking features of the system:

1. At first glance, you can see that the toolbar of this system is not so rich, you can perform a minimum number of actions in it (roll back or repeat an action, open, save or print a diagram, work with the clipboard, change the scale or view of the board display).
2. It is worth admitting that without help it is difficult to guess that the text is added to the blocks using the F2 button. I think that if it weren’t for the habit of “smoking mana” at the first difficulty, I would never have guessed before. However, it is worth paying tribute: the help is written well and even with an average level of English it will be quite understandable to the user.
3. There are not many types of blocks, but enough for drawing, for example, business process diagrams, UML diagrams, ER diagrams and flowcharts. You can also add custom blocks. I didn't really like that you can only open one group of blocks at a time. So, you have to remember which group the block is in, if you suddenly want to use it again. However, it is nice that, for example, all artifact objects for a BPMN schema are hidden behind the same artifact image with the “document” type (the rest are shown by clicking on the small arrow in the lower right corner of the icon). This saves work space.

1. Regarding the formats of work: only objects with the .Graphml extension can be loaded into the system. You can save diagrams as files without any extension at all (especially since it is not offered), as well as export as a bitmap image in PNG format. It's nice that when you export a chart to a picture, the system offers you to configure export settings.

1. The upper left corner offers a preview of the diagram you just drew, with which you can quickly change the section of the diagram that is currently displayed on the board (it reminded me of Heroes of Might & Magic).

1. For beginners, the creators of the system have prepared a bun in the form of an opportunity to see examples of diagrams, which personally seems to me a very reasonable decision. For many people, relying on a model previously created by someone is a great help in their work.
2. And especially in the end, I left the biggest plus of this system. Blocks can have very a large number of properties, for example, quickly change the block type, specify the position of the object on the board and its size with pixel accuracy, set the text, background color, borders, and upload an image that will occupy the background.

You can read about the developer company yWorks on its official page.

A little as a conclusion

Summarizing all of the above, I can assume that Diagram.ly will appeal more to young people who are pleased with a great many possibilities, a beautiful intuitive interface, high-quality page layout, etc., and people who are very interested in the inner part of the question will find inspiration in yWorks: properties objects, workspace saving, easy navigation.

It is worth admitting that the height that modern free (!) online diagramming tools have taken and firmly holds can really be called, if not amazing, then at least significant. So, from anywhere in the world you can now create really high-quality and beautiful diagrams, save them in a convenient transfer format (pictures), while using all your design skills. And all this is absolutely free.

For the design of any technologically complex system, special tools. The architect draws up the project plan, the engineer draws the details. Business is the same a complex system with many connections, objects and interactions. To build a business architecture, special business modeling systems are used, one of which is the Fox Manager 2.5 BPA program.

Why build a business model?

Without a built business model, we cannot make informed decisions and lose control over our business. Not having a complete picture of what is happening, the leader is engaged in "putting out fires" with the help of the tools available to him: reprimands, "letters", manual coordination of work, personal participation in everyday tasks.

In order to solve problems systematically, and not intuitively, it is necessary to design the business architecture, prescribe the rules and standards of work, distribute responsibility for functions among personnel and monitor their implementation.

Below is a diagram functionality and steps for building an enterprise business architecture in Fox Manager.

Modeling of business processes and distribution of responsibility

At most enterprises, responsibility for the work of personnel is distributed only formally. With the next lost order or failure to meet delivery deadlines, it can be very difficult to find the culprit, since there are no clear standards and work regulations. It turns out that Vasya instructed Petya, Petya handed it to Sasha, and Sasha fell ill and forgot to warn Lyosha. The solution to this problem will be the formation of corporate work standards, regulations and job descriptions, in which a person responsible for each step and task will be identified, requirements for deadlines and interactions between employees will be prescribed.

The most modern and effective way to describe the activities of the enterprise are graphical diagrams of business processes. Our program supports two of the simplest and most visual notations for process modeling: Fox Manager FlowChart and Cross Functional FlowChart.

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With the help of graphic diagrams, you can visually display the sequence of work performed, responsibility for them, and also make links to Required documents, software and resources used during the execution of the process. The information included in graphic diagrams will then be used to calculate the cost and time of the process, as well as the formation of such regulatory documents as job descriptions, subdivision regulations, process regulations, work instructions, etc. At the same time, all business process schemes are interconnected and form a single integral model of the enterprise. All routine user actions are automated as much as possible, when you delete or change any element in the database, information about it is updated throughout the entire business model.

Fox Manager is the only software on the market that can generate top-level process diagrams automatically without the need for multi-level modeling skills and complex model decomposition rules.

You can decide for yourself how detailed and how deep you want to describe your model. The program allows you to set the planned and boundary execution time for each function of the process, the frequency with which the function is performed, a short and detailed description of it. You can also specify the requirements for the competencies, professions and personal qualities of the performers who are responsible for performing this function in the process.

Building an organizational structure and recruiting

The organizational structure is the skeleton on which the enterprise management system is built. Without a hierarchical tree of the organizational structure, it is impossible to correctly identify centers of responsibility and competence, delegate authority and exercise effective control over the activities of the enterprise.

Organizational structure and business processes are inextricably linked with each other. Managers responsible for the results of business processes should have sufficient authority and hold appropriate positions, and employees should have sufficient qualifications to perform their functions.

Graphic diagrams of the organizational structure are built by the program in real time in a matter of seconds. Forget about manually editing diagrams in MS Visio!

The Fox Manager program allows you to build a visual tree of the organizational structure of an enterprise that displays the administrative subordination of personnel. For each position, you can define the requirements, rights, responsibilities and penalties, as well as formulate requirements for the competencies, professions and personal qualities of the employees who occupy it. You have at your disposal a large number of Russian-language templates for typical positions that you can use when building your structure.

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The program will help you recruit employees for vacant positions in accordance with the specified requirements for knowledge, skills and personal qualities necessary to perform their functions in business processes. For each staff unit, you can calculate its planned workload and optimize staff employment in business processes.

Regulations, reports and web portal

The development of corporate standards and regulations will allow the manager to have the most complete and objective idea of ​​the structure of his company, plan development and implement a control system.

It is impossible to control a process that is not regulated.
You can't manage what you can't measure!

The presence of detailed regulations and standards for the work of the enterprise is necessary not only for managers, but also for ordinary employees. A convenient knowledge base containing methods and algorithms for performing business processes will improve work efficiency and help new employees quickly adapt to the workplace.

The program contains several dozen report templates, including:

Regulations on the division;
Process regulation;
Working instruction;

Regular arrangement;
Job profile;
Process inputs and outputs;
ISO 9001 quality manual;

The program generates documents automatically from the built business model, any changes will be instantly reflected in the reports, so the regulatory documents are always kept up to date.

The design and content of reports can be customized using the template editor.

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If the functionality provided by the default program is not enough for you, then you can add the missing fields in the cards yourself and even create your own reports, for this you do not need to be a programmer and know the database structure thoroughly.

Reports can be generated, saved and printed as regular documents, or saved on a web portal.

Fox Manager supports all modern databases. You can store your business model on a flash drive or on a corporate network with access to hundreds of workspaces.

It is possible to generate a web portal absolutely free of charge from the Fox Manager BPA program, place it in local network or the Internet and provide access to it to all employees of the enterprise. You can access the portal not only from your workplace, but also using a tablet, smartphone or any other device through a web browser.

For more demanding users who want to have a stand-alone reporting solution right on the portal, there is a separate product - Fox Manager Portal.

Control of key performance indicators of the enterprise

Describe the activities of the enterprise in the form of a business model, develop regulations and corporate standards- not enough. It is also necessary to analyze their implementation and monitor the achievement of goals.

It is not enough to have good regulations, you need to work according to them!

The program allows you to set and control the values key indicators enterprise activities. For each indicator, you can assign a responsible employee, determine planned values, boundary limits, and create a schedule for filling.

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Organizational structure in Business Studio

Business Studio has a wide range of possibilities for describing the organizational structure of your enterprise.

Organization structure tree

Structure can be created in two ways:

2) Construction of a graphic diagram of the organizational structure displaying not only the hierarchy of administrative subordination, but also functional relationships between positions (divisions). Functional subordination is subordination within the framework of the performance of certain functions.

For example, at the enterprise there are workshops in which there is a head and an economist of the workshop. The shop economist has administrative subordination to the head of the shop (reports on the work as such), and functional - to the chief economist of the enterprise (method of calculating economic indicators).

On the org chart different kinds submissions are shown different styles communication lines, and these styles can be set by users themselves.

The process of creating an organizational chart may be:

• as in the form direct creation of an org chart(to add an element of the organizational structure, just drag one rectangle onto another)

• as well as in the form automatic generation based on a hierarchical tree.

Organizational chart is convenient and easy to work with because:

Temporary structures of the organization

Designing the future organizational structure without destroying the current organizational structure is also possible in Business Studio. To do this, use the type of connection "Auxiliary subordination". The same approach is used to fix temporary structures in an organization. For example, to fix hierarchies in project teams.

Description of Roles

Roles in the organization can be shown on organizational charts as a box. For example, show Role " Project group», « Structural units”, “Production divisions”. When describing processes, it is convenient to operate with the concept of Role, which includes divisions or positions of your organizational structure.

Based on the Roles, you can also create a hierarchical structure, for example, the role "Project Team".

Roles are not displayed directly in the hierarchical tree of the organizational structure, they are fixed as separate elements. You can show the occurrence of departments and positions in the role both on the diagram and through the properties of the Role itself. At the same time, you can specify within which type of activity and for which issues the unit or position is included in the Role.

Description of positions and departments

A description of the organizational structure only in graphical form will be incomplete. Therefore, each element of the organizational structure can be described by a number of characteristics you need: position and unit parameters, what kind of people ( individuals) occupy positions, which contacts positions, which guidance documents should use the position in her work, etc. If some features are missing, they can be added.

Position parameters in the organizational structure

Each position can be described by setting the parameters of the position you need:

• Responsibilities
• Responsibility
• Rights
• Order of appointment and release
• Substitution order
• Qualifications
• Financially responsible person - is / is not
• Substitute - who replaces if a person is on vacation, business trip, vacation. A position from an existing one is indicated
• Category (manager, specialist, etc., set by the user)
• Total bids – total bids for this position

These data will be included in such a regulatory document as " Job description ».

Parameters of departments in the organizational structure

Units can also be given their own characteristics, which will be included in the " Regulations on the division". Standard set of subdivision parameters:

• General provisions
• Subdivision type
• Head of department (set on the basis of already existing elements of the organizational structure)
• Tasks
• Functions (text description of functions, data on participation in business processes are available separately)
• Rights
• Responsibility
• If necessary, you can add your own characteristic of the unit (using MetaEdit).

. Diagram. It can be drawn up according to the rules adopted by the organization.	Job options. Participation of the position in the processes.	Job options. Position requirements, rights, etc.
. Personal parameters.	Department settings. If necessary, parameters can be added or hidden from use.	Department settings. Head of department, tasks, functions, etc.
Submissions. It is possible to fix and show direct, auxiliary and functional subordination on the org chart.	(group of organizational units) is displayed on the organizational chart by circling the necessary elements.	Role property.

I often hear the comparison between a reliable business and a Swiss watch. They are strong, stable, are an attribute of status. But the main thing often lies in the little things that we do not notice. The watch is reliable because of the mechanism of operation, because of the system that determines the movement of each hand. Like a Swiss watch business should not require your constant attention. Every entrepreneur dreams of only occasionally looking at his business and checking whether everything is going according to plan. If the company does not require the constant attention of the owner, then the value and value of such an asset increase significantly.

Here we will talk about the main management tool that underlies the remote and automated system company management. This is an org board.

An organizing board or org board for short is a diagram showing the positions, responsibilities, sequence of actions and powers in an organization. It regulates the organizational structure of the company. The advantage of the org board is its materiality. This is primarily a business document that describes the company's product and the main business process leading to it. The org board contains the functionality of the company's divisions in the form of a list of positions in each division with their key responsibilities.

The "products" of each department are clearly articulated and labeled on the org board. They form the product of the entire company. The product is the result of activity, so the product can also be the service provided. This applies to absolutely all companies. Product produced trading company, is, in fact, logistics. Product legal advice- service rendered, useful recommendations. Any activity has a product, it is for the product that the client pays us money. He is not interested in the process, he is interested in the result.

"Organizing" - because it describes all the functions that must be performed in a company for successful operation. Thanks to the organizing chart, it becomes clear who is responsible for what functions and who reports to whom. No matter what the size of the company, management needs to understand exactly what functions must be performed in order for the business process to produce the expected result. Organization is possible only when each employee understands his functions and knows the functions of others so that he can interact with them.

The author of this management tool - the org board - is the American writer and philosopher L. Ron Hubbard, who was also an outstanding manager. He developed the organization management system - Hubbard Management System. In our opinion, this optimal system for small and medium businesses. Vysotsky Consulting helps business owners to bring their companies to a new level of development and efficiency with the help of this system. How we do this, I described in detail in my book "My company works without me."

Organizational structure on the org board

The structure of the company is the form according to which activities are carried out. If we imagine the functionality as a flow of water, it is the organizational structure that determines where this flow will move, that is, it acts as a channel. Without such a tool, the company's activities are disorderly and poorly controlled.

The presence of a clear organizational structure in the company is very good! But this is not enough. It is necessary to create a document on which the positions are recorded, a hierarchy that names and defines the powers and responsibilities of each employee, as well as the result that is expected from each. This is just the org board. The company works as a single mechanism aimed at achieving the goal.

The organizational structure is the basis for the systematization of business. First, the idea, goal, product, strategy is determined. Then people who can perform functions are hired. Then comes the compilation and launch of advertising, marketing campaigns, the purpose of which is to attract a client. After that, the client buys the product, this is processed and carried out through the finance department. The product is provided, the quality and customer satisfaction are checked. And then the successful delivery of the product is made known by affiliate programs and events for potential clients. New customers are directed to the commercial department.

Globally, in order to achieve the desired result, it is necessary to perform seven main functions. These functions correspond to seven departments in the company. The functions are:

1. Administrative function

Administrative - definition of an idea, goal, strategy, technology, market, etc. The process of implementing an org board begins with the development of an organizational structure. First, the company's Value End Product (VCU) is identified and formulated. Based on the product, the main business process is formed. Then ICTs are formulated for each of the seven departments and each department within the departments. From the CCU of the departments, the CCU of the departments are formed, and from the CCU of the branches - the CCU of the company. After the products, the positions of each employee are described. There are seven departments in the standard structure. Each department has three departments. The owner (founder) is at the head, followed by the director, deputy directors, heads of departments, departments and other employees.

2. Construction function and personnel

Buildings and personnel - organization of the work process and provision of the company with qualified personnel. This department is responsible for personnel, their accounting, hiring, adaptation, induction, monitors compliance corporate rules and standards, ensures the work of the internal communication system companies. The product of the department lies in the working business processes of the company, in employees who work productively and perform their duties.

3. Distribution function

4. Financial function

Financial - acceptance of money, registration, distribution. All financial flows are controlled in this department. His main tasks are to increase the company's material and monetary assets and order in finances.

5. Production

The production (technical) department is responsible for the product itself. At advertising agency it is a created and launched advertisement for clients. In the company "Vysotsky Consulting" this is provided consulting, the work of the department begins at the time of the provision of the consulting project "School of Business Owners" and ends when management tools are implemented in the owner's company.

6. Quality and qualification

Checking and correcting the quality of the product, as well as training the company's personnel. The most complex and mysterious department, and the least popular in Russia. In order to keep your customers coming back, this is the department that keeps track of their satisfaction with the product. One of the ways to improve the quality of the product is to improve the skills of employees, their professional training.

7. Public Relations or PR

Working with partners, events, media and any contacts with a new audience. You can talk about your company's product. Successes and achievements are what they talk about and write about. It is through public relations that you can get new customers and make your company known. This department is responsible for the image and reputation of the company, for its media image. From the way he sees you potential client at the stage of the first touch, your further interaction largely depends.

When one of the main functions is not performed, a bottleneck appears that hinders the development and expansion of the company. Without a working org board, it is extremely difficult to notice such a bottleneck. A typical picture for small and medium-sized businesses is the development of distribution (marketing, sales) and production departments and the almost non-existent quality and PR departments.

The production cycle begins with the administrative department. It is in this department that the owner of the business is located. His the main task lies in strategic management company. He sets the vector of movement, determines what the product will be like and formulates the goal of the company. Any innovation, change starts in this department. That is why we provide consulting services only to owners. If, for example, the director tries to introduce changes, and the owner does not agree or does not understand them, then nothing will be implemented.

Organizational Chart Development

Systematization of a business turns a business into an asset that can work autonomously, without you and bring a stable profit. This opens up opportunities for automating business processes.

After the goals, ideas, product are determined, the development of the org board continues:

1. All functions performed in the organization are written out and products are defined.
2. A survey of employees is conducted to clarify the data (the owner does not always know what specific functions are performed by subordinates).
3. The optimal structure of the company is determined (some companies need two sales departments, some need two technical departments).
4. The received data is placed according to the template (as in the illustrations above).
5. Thus, the org board regulates all functions, creates the basis for the systematization of the entire work of the company.

This is just a small part of the org board development process. In order for the org board to work, the attention of a professional is required from the initial stage to full implementation in the work of the company. A diagram drawn and hung on the wall does not change anything in business. It is necessary to understand the technology of placing people in positions and implementing changes in the business. Wrongly formulated valuable end product for several positions cancels out the result of the whole work. That is why I do not recommend implementing the organizational structure yourself. In addition, the development of an org board with a consultant takes 20 hours. If the owner does this on his own, by trial and error, then the whole process drags on for many months.

If you are an entrepreneur and interested in systematizing your business, register for a special training on developing an org board in 4 days. And your company will take its first step towards consistency.

I think that the absolute majority of specialists involved in business process modeling have heard of such a program as ARIS. But only a few are familiar with it “live”.

This is due to the high cost and complexity of mastering the program, which grows from the high functionality of the product. However, in 2009, IDS Scheer released ARIS Express- a free simplified version of the program for modeling business processes.

The free version of the program supports only basic chart types, does not have multi-user support, does not use a database, does not contain reporting tools and model analysis tools. And the most important thing: ARIS Express does not support links between the created objects, unlike the full-fledged paid version, that is, there is no control over the integrity and consistency of the model. This means that when editing one model, the program will not make corresponding changes to another model, and will not check whether there are positions indicated as responsible in the process, etc.

The architecture of the program is based on the Java Runtime Environment (JRE), so be prepared for the fact that the program will seriously "slow down", but theoretically it is possible to run the program under Linux. The interface is designed in a modern minimalist style: beautiful large icons and descriptions for them (no Russian localization at the moment).

ARIS Express supports the following types of models:

• Organizational chart
• Business process
• IT infrastructure (IT infrastructure)
• Process landscape
• Data model
• System landscape
• Board (Whiteboard)
• BPMN diagram version 2.0 (BPMN diagram)
• General diagrams

The first module, as the name implies, is designed to build an organizational structure. Overall, the editor seems very thoughtful and user-friendly (especially for beginners). The main elements are large and bright, are in a conspicuous place, the control is logical and intuitive. I would especially like to highlight the Smart Design technology, which allows you to quickly create a model in a table and instantly synchronize it with a graphical display in the editor. When you hover the mouse over an object, the program allows you to insert the next element, for example, a subordinate position, with minimal effort using a semi-transparent pop-up menu. One of the most convenient solutions we've seen.

To model processes, you can use a standard module for business processes, which allows you to draw processes in eEPC notation, or use the BPMN diagram editor. The set of elements is minimal, but everything you need is present. The resulting diagrams are not processed by the system and are not “executed” as in BPM systems, so the choice of notation does not, in fact, affect anything. If desired, the user can customize the colors, font, and some attributes of the model.

As in the case of the Organization Chart module, we can build the process manually or with the help of Smart Design. For added convenience, the developers have provided ready-made fragments of typical diagrams that can be dragged with the mouse to the editor. If desired, the user can prepare and save their fragments of diagrams for further use in modeling. If the model is too large, then you can enable the display of its reduced copy in the settings with the possibility of convenient mouse navigation to the area of ​​interest to you. A text search by model is also provided.

Any chart can be exported to PDF or RTF format, and saved as an image or printed. Moreover, models saved in the "adf" format can be transferred to the full version of ARIS. Saved models can be protected with a password.

The remaining modules of the program are not so remarkable and are variations of various diagrams. With the help of them, a business analyst can design a company's infrastructure or data model.

Our opinion:

ARIS Express is a great product for drawing models, especially if you prefer eEPC or BPMN notation. However, with existing functional limitations this program does not compete with full-fledged business modeling tools, such as or or real BPM systems, for example, . But at the same time, ARIS Express is free and significantly outperforms Microsoft Visio, primarily in terms of ease of use thanks to pre-made diagram fragments and the SmartDesign editor.