2018.gada 21.maija rīkojuma Nr.

196 – s
2.PIELIKUMS
FACULTY OF SOCIETY AND SCIENCE
STUDY COURSE DESCRIPTION

Course Title: SIMULATION MODELLING OF BUSINESS PROCESSES

Course code (LAIS): VadZ
Study programme: Business Environment Administration

1st level professional higher education

Professional Bachelor
Level of Study programme:
Professional Master

Academic Master

PhD level

Compulsory course (Part A)

Professional specialization courses (Part B, compulsory)

Type of Study programme:
Professional specialization optional courses (Part B, optional)

Elective courses (Part C)

Academic Independent
Credits ECTS Contact hours
Course Workload: hours work hours
2 3 80 24 56
Aigars Andersons
Aigars Andersons, lecturer, MSc. manag., MSc. comp.
Course Author/ Tutor:
e-mail: [email protected]
Consultation: according to the schedule for each semester
Study Form: Full time studies
Study year, semester: 1nd Year, 2nd Semester
Language: English
Basics of Business Management, Fundamentals of Financial and Management
Prerequisites for the Course: Accounting, Analysis of Business Administration and Strategies, Fundamentals of
Modern Information Technologies.
Nowadays businesses are recognizing the value of their business process modeling. This
course covers topics related with the most advanced techniques and tools for simulation
modelling, improving and documenting of business processes. During this course,
students will learn how to use a structured and unified approach to understand business
process simulation models at different abstraction levels through their eliciting,
Course Summary: analysing, documenting, verification and validating on the base of industry recognized
standards. In the practical part of this course students are going to obtain practical skills
on business process simulation and analysis to improve business processes and as a
result to be able increase the effectiveness of proposed business solutions. The practical
business process simulation modelling exercises will be conducted in computer class,
specially equipped for the course with advanced software and tools.
Examination (created, verified and validated business process simulation model for
Assessment:
specific business process)
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1) 40% - examination
2) 20% - tests (2),
3) 40% - practical work, auditorium work, individual work,.
Exam (final assignment) makes 40% from total study course evaluation.
Exam will be evaluated in 10 grades system and it will be recognized as passed only if
student’s final exam work will be evaluated at least with 4 grades. Before presentation of
final exam work student has to submit written final report. If student is unable to pass
final exam then it have to repeat this study course once again next year.
Tests makes 20% from total study course evaluation. All tests will be evaluated in 10
grades system and they will be recognized as passed only if student’s each individual
test will be evaluated at least with 4 grades. To achieve a positive evaluation in test
student has to prove his knowledge at minimum 40% level from total available score for
this test. If student is unable to reach this level during test he has to repeat passing of this
text once again.
Practical work in the auditorium, independent work makes 40% from total score.
Student ‘s individual and auditorium work will be evaluated in 10 grades system
regarding the following specific criteria:
Outstanding (10) – knowledge, skills and competence exceeds requirements stated for
individual work in auditorium and at home and participation in study course seminars;
Excellent (9) – knowledge, skills and competence fully corresponds to requirements
stated for individual work in auditorium and at home and participation in study course
seminars;
Very good (8) – there are completed all requirements for individual work in auditorium
and at home and participation in study course seminars but level of knowledge, skills
and competence does not fully corresponds to required level;
Good (7) – there are completed all basic requirements for individual work in auditorium
and at home and participation in study course seminars but individual skills of practical
use of acquired knowledge must be improved;
Almost good (6) – there are completed basic requirements for individual work in
auditorium and at home and participation in study course seminars but student has no
broader understanding of subject and his/her ability to use theory in practice is
sometimes insufficient for complex cases;
Requirements for Credits: Satisfactory (5) – there are completed minimal level of requirements for individual work
in auditorium and at home and participation in study course seminars but student has no
complete understanding of core subject and his/her ability to use theory in practice is
insufficient in specific cases;
Almost satisfactory (4) – there are completed minimal level of requirements for
individual work in auditorium and at home and participation in study course seminars
but student has difficulties with understanding of core subject and his/her ability to use
theory in practice is insufficient in many cases;
Bad (3) – the proven knowledge of student is under the minimal level of requirements
for individual work in auditorium and at home and participation in study course
seminars, student has difficulties with understanding of subject and his/her ability to use
theory in practice is insufficient in the most cases;
Very bad (2) – student understand just some separate parts and concepts from subject,
the proven knowledge of student is under the critical level of requirements for individual
work in auditorium and at home and participation in study course seminars, student has
completed just some parts from study course topics;
Very, very bad (1) – student does not understand any basic concepts of subject, the
proven knowledge of student is under the critical level of requirements for individual
work in auditorium and at home and participation in study course seminars, student has
completed almost none from study course topics;
Not graded (0) – student registered for this course but formally did not attend it.
All practical and individual assignments has to be completed in terms and form
designated by study course tutors in strict correspondence with study course discipline
and ethics. According to the tutor’s directions students have to submit all their
completed works by uploading them into the folder on Vidzeme University of Applied
Sciences electronic study environment.
For each submitted work students have to provide clear identification of their surnames
and study course details. All copies of submitted works students have to store on their
local drives upon full completion of this course with positive individual evaluation. All
works have to be worked out in line with requirements of directions and methodologies
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Students must abide by the academic and research ethics, Vidzeme University of
Applied Sciences Ethics Regulations, incl.:
− study papers must be independently developed;
− the study work should reference all statements, ideas and data used that have been
authored by someone else;
− appropriate data acquisition methods should be used in the acquisition of data, the
Abiding by the Academic research ethics must be respected, empirical data must be collected independently
Ethics and cannot be distorted or falsified;
− the examination must be carried out by the student independently, without the use of
supporting materials and/or consultations with other students, unless the lecturer
states otherwise.
In the event of non-compliance with the academic and research ethics, punishment is
imposed in accordance with the ViA Ethics Regulations and the study course must be re-
taken, unless the punishment is extramarital.
Learning Outcomes The evaluation methods and criteria
Knowledge
Understand the principles of a business Group work, lectures, practical works,
process modelling languages UML, BPMN case study analysis
Understand the dimensions of quality in a Group work, lectures, practical works
process modelling at conceptual and
simulation modelling stages.
Understand the process of business process Lectures, practical works, case study
simulation modelling analysis
Understand the needs and benefits of business Group work, lectures, practical works,
process simulation modelling case study analysis, tests, exam
Understand the social aspects of business Group work, seminars, tests, exam
process simulation modelling
Skills
Able to use the modelling language to express Group work, lectures, practical works,
and abstract from a realistic business process. case study analysis, tests, exam

Be able to independently assess the level of Workshops, lectures, practical works,

abstraction of specific business processes and
case study analysis
simulation models
Learning Outcomes; the Be able to apply a method for modelling Group work, lectures, practical works,
evaluation methods and business processes in all its stages seminars
criteria
Be able to create business process simulation
models at different abstraction levels through
Group work, lectures, practical works,
their eliciting, analysing, documenting,
case study analysis, tests, exam
verification and validating on the base of
industry recognized standards.
Competency
Upon completion of this course students are
able to assess the efficiency and effectiveness
of a company from a business process
perspective, conduct business process
simulation modelling, and determine the role Group work, lectures, practical works,
of technology in supporting corporate case study analysis, tests, exam
processes.
Be able to investigate a simple research
question related to business process
modelling
Be able to evaluate the business process
Group work, practical works, seminars,
simulation model and the modelling process
case study analysis
as a social process
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For students will be developed intuitive and
conceptual understanding about methods and
Group work, practical works, seminars,
techniques required to analyse, design,
tests, exam
implement, automate, and evaluate business
processes.
1.Cosenz, F., & Noto, G. (2018). A dynamic business modelling approach to design and
experiment new business venture strategies. Long Range Planning, 51(1), 127-140.
Course Compulsory 2.Bider, I., & Lodhi, A. (2019). Using Enterprise Modeling in Development of New
Business Models. In ICEIS (2) (pp. 525-533).
literature:
3.Greasley, A. (2017). Simulation modelling for business. Routledge.
4.Van Der Aalst, W. M. (2015). Business process simulation survival guide. In
Handbook on Business Process Management 1 (pp. 337-370). Springer, Berlin,
Heidelberg.
1.Alotaibi, Y. (2016). Business process modelling challenges and solutions: a literature
review. Journal of Intelligent Manufacturing, 27(4), 701-723.
2.Bordeleau, F. E., & Felden, C. (2019). Digitally Transforming Organisations: A
Review of Change Models of Industry 4.0. In Proceedings of the 27th European
Conference on Information Systems.
3.Frank, U., & Bock, A. C. (2020). Conjoint Analysis and Design of Business and IT:
The Case for Multi-Perspective Enterprise Modeling. In Advanced Digital
Architectures for Model-Driven Adaptive Enterprises (pp. 15-45). IGI Global.
4.Laguna, M., & Marklund, J. (2018). Business process modeling, simulation and
design. Chapman and Hall/CRC.
5.Heinrich, R., Merkle, P., Henss, J., & Paech, B. (2017). Integrating business process
simulation and information system simulation for performance prediction. Software &
Systems Modeling, 16(1), 257-277.
Course additional literature: 6.Hettinger, L. J., Kirlik, A., Goh, Y. M., & Buckle, P. (2015). Modelling and simulation
of complex sociotechnical systems: Envisioning and analysing work environments.
Ergonomics, 58(4), 600-614.
7.Ludbrook, F., Michalikova, K. F., Musova, Z., & Suler, P. (2019). Business models for
sustainable innovation in industry 4.0: Smart manufacturing processes, digitalization of
production systems, and data-driven decision making. Journal of Self-Governance and
Management Economics, 7(3), 21-26.
8.Stirna, J., & Persson, A. (2018b). Enterprise Modeling Facilitating the Process and the
People. Springer International Publishing, ISBN:
978-3-319-94856-0;978-3-319-94857-7
9.Fischer, M., Imgrund, F., Kolb, J., Janiesch, C., Rosenkranz, C., & Winkelmann, A.
(2019, January). The Road to Success: Recommendations for the Design of Successful
Business Process Modeling Initiatives. In Proceedings of the 52nd Hawaii
International Conference on System Sciences.
Course confirmation date:
Date of course description
update:
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Study Course Plan:

Academic hours Study Form/
Organization of
Date Theme Independe independent work of
Contact
nt work students and task
hours
hours description

The date is Topic 1. System analysis and business modelling. 4 4 Lectures, seminar,
specified Analysis and synthesis. Models and modelling. individual work in
before the Models types: conceptual, physical, functional, groups, case studies
implementat mathematical models. Goals of using models in
ion of the management. Fundamental terms of control theory and
course business process management.

Topic 2. Business process management Abstraction 4 4 Lectures, seminar,

concepts. From business functions to business individual work in
processes shift. Approaches within BPM: people, groups
technology. Business process management life-cycle:
design, modelling, execution, monitoring,
optimization.
Topic 3. Process modelling concepts Classification of 4 4 Lectures, seminar,
process models. Elements of a process model. Activity individual work in
models. Modelling process data. Modelling groups, case studies
organization. Modelling operation. Processes and
tasks. Routing of tasks: sequential, parallel,
conditional, iterative.

Topic 4. Industry standards for business modelling. 4 8 Lectures, seminar,

Object-oriented approach to modelling. IDEF individual work in
standards. ARIS methodology. Visual business groups, case studies,
modelling languages. Unified Modelling Language test
(UML). Business Process Modelling Notation
(BPMN). Text-based business modelling languages:
Business Process Executable Language (BPEL).

Topic 5. Business process modelling IT solutions 4 12 Lectures, seminar,

BPM: IT tools and technologies. Service-oriented individual work in
architecture (SOA). Capabilities of STELLA, groups, case studies
Simantics System Dynamics, Insight Maker for
modelling and implementing business processes.

Topic 6. Business process simulation modelling and 2 4 Lectures, test,

analysis. Verification, validation. Defining the purpose seminar, individual
of simulation. Explaining simulation terminology. work
Describing element behavior in simulations. Defining
simulation attributes. Running a simulation with local
and global simulation attributes. Simulation results
analysis.

Working on and submission of the exam assignment, 2 20 Examination paper

presentation in auditorium and presentation

Hours total: 24 56