INFS3120 Business Process Analysis and Design

Semester 1, 2025

Understanding and Documenting Processes through Process Discovery and Modelling

Individual Assignment

A. Scope

This is an individual assignment in which you are taking the role of process analyst in a community pharmacy environment. You are expected to engage in process identification and discovery to understand and document processes taking place in a Community Pharmacy chain in NSW. This assignment gives you the opportunity to engage in observations though videos, in addition to document analysis, and interviews. These discovery methods will enhance your ability to analyse and process information, similar to tasks encountered in a work environment.

This assignment evaluates students’ ability to:

•    research and understand the processes within a specific business context;

•    apply process discovery methods;

•    process the information gathered and address the knowledge gaps;

•    prioritise processes for future process improvement initiatives;

•    document and draw process model(s) using Signavio and BPMN.

B. Main Deliverables

C. Case Background and Submission Components

You have been engaged as a process analyst by CareMeds Pharmacy (CMP), a chain of community-based pharmacies operating in over 10 different locations in NSW. The pharmacy chain is looking at standardising their operations to ensure consistency in their processes and improve their customer service.

CMP is owned by Jason Wang. Currently each pharmacy in the chain employs in average a pharmacist manager, a pharmacist in charge, a pharmacy assistant , and a practice assistant. Jason, the owner, oversees the overall direction of the chain, while the managers oversee each pharmacy’s operations. Accounting and IT/system maintenance are currently being outsourced.

In response to recent customers’ complaints about the inconsistencies in customer service , CMP has conducted a customer survey to understand how the chain is operating. The survey was conducted during January and  February 2024 and revealed that regular (returning) patients experience  significantly different  levels  of service  depending  on  the  area they  reside.  This inconsistency was exacerbated by the changes in personnel last years due to Covid-19 fast changing circumstances.

As a result, Jason has engaged you to assist CMP in gaining in depth understanding of, and to document their current processes. To ensure the long-term sustainability of the pharmacy chain you are reporting to Jason that would like to know what processes require attention in a process     change      initiative.     Jason      seeks      details     on      the     core      processes and your recommendations of what processes require changes as a priority according to the Guild’s Framework for Change 2023 - https://www.guild.org.au/about-us/framework-for- change.

Jason  would   also   like   you   to   focus   on   the Dispensing   Process,   which   has   been mentioned  in  the  survey   by  many  participants  and   is  critical  to   pharmacy   revenue  and customer satisfaction. He aims to use the process documentation you prepare to ensure all pharmacists have a common and clear understanding of the current processes in CMP. This will serve two purposes:

1.  to ensure the consistency of the services CMP provides; and

2.  to train the potential pharmacists hired in the future.

In line with the normal expectations for a process analysist work in the real world, Jason would like you to complete this task within a month.

Your deliverables are highlighted below and as close as possible to the real-life circumstances.

CMP Pharmacy Services

To assist you in your consultancy work for CMP, you should familiarise with the community pharmacies and the type of services currently on offer by others. Use the list of pharmacy  related services from this link as the proxy for CMP chain -

https://www.wizardpharmacy.com.au/wizard-pharmacy-category/pharmacy-services.

Many of these services are associated with:

1.   Personalised medication advice, management, monitoring and safety

2.   Chronic disease support

3.   General health advice, including preventative health and point-of-care testing

4.   Screening and risk assessment

Process Discovery

Your initial task is to engage in process discovery. You will apply three (3) discovery methods:

1. Passive observation - four (4) videos of real process instances

2. Interview with a CMP pharmacist

3. Document analysis - publicly available resources

Passive Observation

•    Watch the four videos capturing four real instances ofthe Dispensing process taking place in CMP chain (i.e., process case situations). By watching the videos, you engage in passive observations.

•    You can find the four videos on Canvas.

Interview with a pharmacist

•    Watch the video capturing an interview with one of CMP pharmacists, also available on Canvas.

•    Engage with a simulated interview with Jason, using the AI Agent we have developed and embedded on Canvas.

o Engaging with the AI Agent is optional.

o The agent is still experimental, thus be mindful of the accuracy of the AI output.

o You need to take the responsibility to verify the answers, especially for the process model, reason there are multiple sources of information provided.

o If you us ethe Ai Agent, you MUST submit the entire AI Agent interaction and output - use INFS3120_AIAgent_ Output_Template_2025 (Word doc).

Document analysis

After watching the videos, you must conduct a document analysis via in-depth research into the guidelines,  policies,  and  regulations  associated  with  the  Dispensing  process  in  NSW.  This process is heavily compliant given its importance and impact on community’s health.

Below are key links to start your research. However, you are expected to find additional resources to analyse:

• https://www.psa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/5574-PSA-Dispensing-Practice- guidelines_FINAL.pdf

• https://www.pharmacyboard.gov.au/documents/default.aspx?record=WD15%2F17695& dbid=AP&chksum=cZm3mO8R6fTMdPPl3scPUw%3D%3D

• https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/organisations/health- professionals/services/medicare/pbs-pharmacists

• https://www.tga.gov.au/scheduling-basics

• https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/2008/392/part2/div3

• https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/pharmaceutical/pharmacists/Pages/default.aspx

D. Process Documentation Tasks

You are expected to produce the following within the process documentation:

Tasks Details                                                                                           Marks

A process landscape, i.e., identification of the core, support, and management processes within CMP (max 15 processes in total).

• A brief description of each process and its purpose (One sentence / process).

• A value chain diagram developed in Signavio to capture the process landscape (level 1) within CMP.

• A discussion of the existing horizontal relationships among the core processes identified in the CMP process architecture.

This section will give Jason and all CMP employees a high-level overview of each community-pharmacy core operations.

25 marks

Recommendation of one (1) core process that requires immediate changes in response to the current and future conditions, as well as the Guild’s Framework for Change within the health and pharmacy domain.

• Justify your recommendation by applying the evaluation criteria used to derive a process portfolio. This justification should include a discussion of two (2) potential problem/s or opportunity/ies for the organisation that drive the process change.

• DO NOT evaluate all core processes against the evaluation criteria, ONLY the core process you recommend.

10 marks

A detailed process model (level 3) for the Dispensing process developed using BPMN notation and Signavio.

• Model the current (As-Is) process as per information gathered from the three (3) discovery methods, not a redesigned or improved (To-Be) process.

• The model must contain maximum 35 activities/ tasks/ sub-processes.

• The model must contain higher level details to give the senior manager a good understanding of the process that requires changes.

• The model must contain gateways.

• Message flows are required, but data objects and associations are not required.

• Maximum four (4) swimlanes can be utilised, including technology or equipment.

• The process model must be readable on your submission document on Canvas (the Zoom function is limited and doesn’t scale-up much). If it is unreadable, you will receive 0 marks. If the model is too big, you must split it over multiple pages.

30 marks

Identification of two (2) exceptions for the Dispensing process

• Provide a brief description (max 75 words) for each exception.

• Exceptions are situations that occur rarely in the process.

10 marks

Identification and justification of three (3) assumptions that fill unanswered questions and gaps in your knowledge of the dispensing process.

• You must identify and justify three (3) dispensing process related assumption. These assumptions are made because you do not have enough or clear information about certain aspect of the process, but you feel they are true and certain to happen.

• If the assumptions can be proven via publicly available resources and research online, they will not receive marks.

• Each assumption must belong to one of the following categories, and assumptions cannot belong to same category more than once. If an assumption belongs to more than one category, select the most appropriate category.

• Information systems

• Data quality

• Script.

• Compliance

• Safety

• Medication

• Pharmacist

• Patient

• Suppliers

15 marks

Overall quality of the report, organisation of the content, effective written communication, clarity, adherence to writing guidelines, and logic of the arguments.

10 marks

Submission Guidelines

1.  You must use the two (2) templates available on Canvas.

2.   Use of AI Agent embedded on Canvas:

a.  You need to reference the use of the AI Agent when it was used in assignment.

b.  You will reference the AI agent as a website, cite the Canvas location.

3.  You are expected to conduct further research on your own to complete this assignment.

4.  You are not required to use all the words included in the word limit in this assignment. No penalties will apply if the deliverables are shorter than the max length or duration.

5.  You can make assumptions when required.

6.   Make sure the process model diagrams inserted in the report are readable; marks will be deducted if unreadable. If images are too big, split them over multiple pages as required.

7.  You are encouraged to integrate material you have learnt in other units of study, as appropriate.

8.   Penalties apply if the deliverable are above the word or duration limit - you will lose 10% of the total marks when the submission is 10% above the word length and 10% for each 10% over-length thereafter.

9.  Word limit includes in-text referencing and tables but excludes the reference list and appendices (if any).

10. For late submissions, a penalty of 5% of the total marks per 24hr period, or part thereof, late is applied to the mark gained after the submitted work is marked. Weekends and public holidays count as days in the same way as working days.

11. Use     the APA      7th Edition      Referencing     Style. for      your     references:

https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/citation/apa7