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EPC

Companies use Event-driven Process Chain (EPC) to represent their workflows. Process chains describe the sequencing and interaction between data, process steps, IT systems, organizational structure and products. An EPC always starts and ends with events, which define the state or condition under which a process starts and the state under which it ends.

An event may initiate multiple functions at the same time; similarly, a function may result in multiple events. To represent these branches and processing loops in an EPC, a connector (or rule) is used. However, instead of acting simply as graphical connections, the connectors also define the logical links between objects, such as “and” or “either/or.”

EPCs are typically used at the lower levels of the process hierarchy. If technical and business processes need to be described, other methods, such as BPMN, UML, or BPEL, are used instead of EPCs.

ARIS supports process representation by EPCs in all products (e.g., ARIS Business Designer, ARIS Business Architect, ARIS Audit Manager and ARIS for SAP NetWeaver). The reference models provided by SAP are also defined using EPC methodology.

EPCs offer a variety of ways to analyze processes and identify both quantitative and qualitative improvement options. For this reason, ARIS Business Simulator and ARIS Business Optimizer also use EPC diagrams.

Screenshots

: EPC with branches

EPC with branches plus IT/organizational assignment in ARIS Business Architect
In ARIS, additional information can be graphically assigned to every process step. Examples of such information include the supporting IT systems, executing organizational elements, input/output data and start/end events. This data is used for reporting, analysis and navigational purposes.

: EPC with process interface

EPC with process interface in ARIS Business Architect
A process cannot be considered in isolation — it is often embedded in a complex network of relationships. Therefore, the process interface provides the option of displaying upstream and downstream processes (represented here by the white symbol at the end of the process). This makes it possible to navigate smoothly directly from an EPC to an upstream or downstream process.

: EPC with KPIs

EPC with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in ARIS Business Simulator
In the EPC, each element is assigned KPIs, such as time (processing/familiarization/delay times) for functions (process step) or cost center rates for organizational units. The content can be output in the form of reports, or qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated via analyses.

The screenshot shows a dynamic simulation of a process used to detect resource bottlenecks.