BUSINESS SCHOOL INFS2020 Business Process Modelling & Improvement Semester 1, 2021
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Process Discovery & 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 discovery tasks to understand and document processes taking place in a Community Pharmacy chain in NSW. This assignment gives you the opportunity to use videos to undertake observations, in addition to document analysis, and interviews. These discovery methods will enhance students’ ability to analyse and process information, similar to tasks encountered in a work environment.
This assignment evaluates students’ ability to:
B.
• research and understand the processes in the context of a NSW Community Pharmacy;
• apply process discovery methods;
• process the information gathered and address the knowledge gaps;
• document and draw process model(s) using Signavio and BPMN; and
• reflect on their learning experience. Main Deliverables
Main Deliverables
Description
Due Dates
Weight
Part 1 (you must submit twice)
Four (4) questions you will ask during the interviews with AHP pharmacist.
Submit using the template INFS2020_InterviewQuestions_Template_2021 (Word doc) available on Canvas to allow us to provide direct feedback.
11.59pm, Tuesday 30th of March via Canvas Assignment Submission tool.
5%
Submit using the form below as well to allow us to collate the questions: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/31337/pages/individual- assignment-part-1-questions-collection
11.59pm, Tuesday 30th of March via the Canvas form link.
Part 2
A process documentation including the process model up to 1750 words (including in text references but excluding the list of references and appendices at the end).
Submit using the INFS2020_ProcessDocumentation_Template_2021 (Word doc) available on Canvas.
11.59pm, Wednesday 14th of April via Canvas
20%
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BUSINESS SCHOOL INFS2020 Business Process Modelling & Improvement Semester 1, 2021
_________________________________________________________________________________ C. Case Background and Submission Components
You have been engaged as a process analyst by All Health Pharmacy (AHP), a chain of seven community-based pharmacies operating in seven different areas in NSW: Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Hornsby, Lane Cove, Newtown, Port Stephens, Shoalhaven. The pharmacy chain is looking at standardizing their operations to ensure consistency in their processes and improve their customer service.
AHP is owned by Jessica Smith. Currently each pharmacy in the chain employs in average a pharmacist manager, a pharmacist in charge, a pharmacy assistant, and a practice assistant. Jessica, the owner, overseas the overall direction of the chain, while the managers are in charge of 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, AHP has conducted a customer survey to understand how the chain is operating. The survey was conducted during January and February 2021 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 year due to Covid-19 fast changing circumstances.
As a result, Jessica has engaged you to assist AHP in gaining in depth understanding of, and to document their current processes. Specifically, she would like you to start with the Dispensing process, as this process is critical to Pharmacy revenue and customer satisfaction.
She aims to use the process documentation you prepare to ensure all pharmacists have a common and clear understanding of the current processes. This will serve two purposes:
1. to ensure the consistency of the services AHP 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, Jessica would like you to complete this task within a month.
Your deliverables are divided into two parts to assist you perform the process discovery tasks as closely as possible to the real circumstances.
Part 1: Interview Questions (5 marks)
Your initial task is to watch four videos capturing four real process instances occurring in one of the AHP’s pharmacy (i.e., process case situations). By watching the videos, you engage in passive observations. The four videos are available from below Canvas link: https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/31337/pages/dispensing-process-videos
After watching the videos, you have to conduct a document analysis via an 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 people’s health.
Below are key links to start your research. However, you are expected to find additional resources to analyse:
• https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/pharmaceutical/pharmacists/Pages/default.aspx • https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/organisations/health-
professionals/services/medicare/pbs-pharmacists
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BUSINESS SCHOOL INFS2020 Business Process Modelling & Improvement Semester 1, 2021
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• https://www.guild.org.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/5366/the-dispensing-process.pdf • http://www.pharmacyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines.aspx
• https://www.tga.gov.au/scheduling-basics
All these websites are accessible from overseas. There will be some PDFs of the information contained on these websites, where they can be PDF-ed.
Once you have completed the observations and document analysis, you will have the opportunity to interview AHP pharmacists.
You first deliverable is to identify and submit four (4) questions that you would ask the pharmacists employed by AHP in an interview. These questions aim to gather additional information, clarify what is still unclear regarding the execution of the process, and fill the knowledge gaps you still have about the process. These questions may refer to process instances you have seen in the videos and/ or to additional process instances / situations that might occur in real life.
Each question is worth 1.25 mark, hence 5 marks in total for Part 1 of this assignment.
Each question must belong to one of the following categories, and questions cannot belong to same category more than once. If a question belongs to more than one category, select the one that is the most appropriate.
a) Information systems
b) Data quality
c) Script
d) Compliance
e) Safety
f) Medication
g) Pharmacist
h) Patient
i) Suppliers
You need to also provide a brief explanation/ justification why are you asking each question.
Questions that can be answered via publicly available resources and research will not receive marks.
You must submit the 4 (four) questions twice:
1. Using the INFS2020_InterviewQuestions_Template_2021
2. Using the form:
dxw8N6. If you do not submit them via this form, your questions will not be answered.
• https://www.tga.gov.au/scheduling-basics
• https://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/#/view/regulation/2008/392/part2/div3
https://canvas.sydney.edu.au/courses/21958/pages/individual-
assignment-part-1-questions-collection
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BUSINESS SCHOOL INFS2020 Business Process Modelling & Improvement Semester 1, 2021
_________________________________________________________________________________ Part 2: Process Documentation (20 marks)
Your second task is to produce process documentation that Jessica can utilise. This documentation consists of four (4) parts:
1. A Process landscape (level 1 in process architecture) for the AHP to give Jessica a high- level overview of the pharmacy chain operations. If you are not familiar with a community pharmacy, refer to https://www.bloomsthechemist.com.au/ for an example of community pharmacy and their operations.
2. A detailed Dispensing process model (level 3 in process architecture).
3. A brief description of two (2) process exceptions (situations that occur rarely).
4. Three (3) assumptions covering knowledge gaps that have not been filled by the interview with the Pharmacist and your own research.
You must submit Part 2 using the INFS2020_ProcessDocumentation_Template_2021 template.
Part 2 submission details are below:
1. Process landscape developed using Signavio (5 marks)
a. Insert your process landscape diagram into the template
b. Discuss the horizontal relationships that you identified in AHP process architecture
2. Dispensing Process model developed using Signavio (10 marks)
a. Insert your process model diagram in the template.
b. Your model should contain minimum 20 activities and maximum 35 activities.
c. If the process becomes too complex, you are allowed to use sub-processes. However, the sub-processes do not need to be modelled. Instead, you must provide a brief description as a separate text after the model.
d. Data flows are not required.
e. 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.
3. Two (2) exceptions of the Dispensing process (2 marks)
a. Provide a brief description (max 75 words) for each exception.
b. Exceptions are situations that occur rarely in the process.
4. Three (3) assumptions that fill unanswered questions and gaps in your process knowledge (3 marks).
a.
b. Assumptions made that can be proven via publicly available resources and research online will not receive marks.
c. Assumptions cannot be made on same topics as the questions you submitted in Part 1. Assumptions that are on the same topic as your questions, will not receive marks.
You must write process related assumption, when you do not have clear
information about certain things, but you feel they are true and certain to
happen.
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BUSINESS SCHOOL INFS2020 Business Process Modelling & Improvement Semester 1, 2021
_________________________________________________________________________________ Submission Guidelines
1. You must use the two templates available on Canvas.
2. You are expected to conduct further research on your own to complete this assignment.
3. You are not required to use all the words included in the word limit in this assignment.
4. Use the APA 7th Edition Referencing Style for your references:
https://libguides.library.usyd.edu.au/citation/apa7
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