Appian Interview Questions and Answers

If you’re looking for Appian Interview Questions and Answers for freshers and experienced, then you are at the right place. ACTE training provides you with a top interview question that helps you to crack the interview and acquire your dream job as Appian Developer.

1. Explain about Appian?

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Appian is a (BPM) Business Process Management expert tool which margin the business market in delivering comprehensive, flexible, simple explanations. BPM changes made to measure the requirements of the management and worldwide businesses. The BPM Suite is a 100 % real-time analytics, integrated knowledge and Web-based solutions. Appian simplifies the collaboration process between business and IT, and it allows consumers to be a member of the collaboration process to know the corporate goals. Throughout the process, the completed BPM Suite is available for distributed, functionality, and on-demand services of (SaaS) Software-as-a-Service model and Appian Enterprise.

2. Explain about Business Process Management?

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Business process management (BPM) is also known as “Process optimization.” It acts as a field in operations management that concentrates on enhancing corporate performance by running and optimizing an organization’s business processes. BPM provides process management capabilities of BPM software with the following functionalities: 

• Work portal
• Knowledge management
• Collaboration tools
• Document management
• Business analytics

3. Tell us about BPM Software?

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Technology that monitors, executes, and automates the business processes by connecting people to applications, apps to apps, and people to people from beginning to end. 

4. What is an activity in Appian?

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Divide the process into sub-processes or smaller units. Every sub-process has a business process group which decides how to illustrate their process pictures.

Activities contain a single level for approving a marketing placing or request for a cap on a jar crossing on a production line where other multiple level activities involve, to fill a form or to assemble a chair.

There is no consistency about how the different methodologies use the terms like step, increasingly, but a task which is reserved for analysing the unit. More than one employee or a software system can perform the given activities. 

5. Explain Activity cost in Appian?

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A matrix or grid is used to analyze the various set of activities costs. 

6. Explain about administrative workflow systems in Appian?

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The workflow system is used to track the individuals’ task and assign new tasks according to organization requirements. Compare with transactions or Ad Hoc and Production Workflow Systems.

7. Tell us about Ad Hoc Workflow systems?

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Ad Hoc Workflow systems help the user to indicate what activity should proceed next. Based on the request, an insurance system might pull up all records for an underwriter. The Ad Hoc workflow system is compared with production and transaction workflow systems. 

8. Explain about Business Process Improvement?

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Business process improvement mainly focuses on how to improve the existing processes. There are many approaches to improve the current process, including the famous Six Sigma method. 

9. Explain about the association?

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An Association is used to determine the relationships between text, artifacts, data, and flow of objects in a process. In a business process model, it is represented with arrowhead dotted lines.

10. Tell us about the Business Process Diagram?

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A Business Process Diagram is built up with a collection of graphical components that represents a business process. Following are the four primary components of the Business Process Diagram: 

• Swimlanes
• Connecting objects
• Artifacts.
• Flow objects

11. Explain about Business Process Model?

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Business Process Model is defined as a network of graphical objects, which track various types of activities and their flow of control to determine their order of performance.

12. Tell us about what you understand about Business Process Model Notation?

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Business Process Modelling Notation provides a process to model the notation that should be understood by all users, data analysts, etc. And it was built up by the Business Process Management Institute. 

13. Explain about the connecting objects?

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Flow Objects are combined with utilising connecting Objects. Following are three types of Connecting Objects: 

• Association Flow
• Message Flow
• Sequence Flow

14. Explain what you understand about the term Annotations?

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Annotations are used to add textual observations within a process diagram 

15. Tell us about the term Artifacts?

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To add additional information about the process artifacts allow the designers to enlarge the basic Business Process Model Notation in the process diagram.

Following are three types of Artifacts:

• Annotations
• Data Object
• Group

16. Explain about Data Objects?

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Data Objects are utilized to show the required data which is generated by activities in a process. A picture of paper crumpled at the projection in a Business Process Model represents the Data Objects.  

17. Explain about Events?

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During the business, process events happen, which is referred to as a trigger that impacts on process results. Events occur in the flow process( end, middle, or start). 

18. Explain about Batch Processing in Appian?

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In computer processes, various objects are collected and then processed together. But to contrast, in continuous processing objects are processed as early as possible. 

19. Tell us about Benchmarks in Appian?

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To redesign the business process, various types of processes are measured. Majority of the organizations are seeking benchmark data processing to determine how other organizations are managing the data processing. 

20. Explain about collaborative Business Process Management?

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Using ebXML business process language Business Process Management is created, and it represents the collaboration between the associates which are at the corresponding level. 

21.What are Ad Hoc Workflow Systems in Appian?

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Workflow systems that wait on users to indicate what should happen next. An insurance system might pull up documents for an underwriter only on request. Compare with Administrative and Transaction or Production Workflow Systems.

22.What are Administrative Workflow Systems in Appian?

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Workflow systems that keep track of what individuals are doing and assign new tasks according to some set of rules. Compare Ad Hoc and Transaction or Production Workflow Systems.

23.What is Application Programming Interface (API)?

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An application programming interface (API) is a set of definitions of the ways one piece of computer software communicates with another. It is a method of achieving abstraction, usually (but not necessarily) between lower-level and higher-level software. APIs are implemented by writing function calls in the program, which provide the linkage to the required subroutine for execution. Thus, an API implies that some program module is available in the computer to perform the operation or that it must be linked into the existing program to perform the tasks.

24.What is Asynchronous Process in Appian?

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In an asynchronous process, one activity sends a message to another, but does not wait until it gets a response. A phone call to another person is a synchronous process – it can’t go forward if the person you want to talk to doesn’t answer the phone. Leaving a message on an answering machine turns it into an asynchronous process. You leave your message and go on with your business, figuring the person will respond when they get the message.

25.What is a Balanced Scorecard in Appian?

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A movement, method and technique for aligning measures from an organization’s strategic goals to specific process measures. It stresses measuring a variety of things to obtain a good overview of what’s actually happening. A complementary approach to what we recommend. Usually associated with Robert Kaplan and David Norton.

26.What is Batch Processing in Appian?

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In either human or computer processes, a step where lots of items are accumulated and then processed together. In contrast to continuous processing where items are processed as soon as possible.

27.What is BPM Software?

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BPM is software that automates, executes, and monitors business processes from beginning to end by connecting people to people, applications to applications, and people to applications

28.What is the BPM System?

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According to Gartner, Inc., BPM is “a management practice that provides for governance of a business’s process environment toward the goal of improving agility and operational performance.” This more holistic view offers a structured approach for optimizing processes and takes into account the software tools discussed above as well as an organization’s methods, policies, metrics, and management practices.

29.What is Business Analytics?

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Aggregated information on business processes that enables managers to analyze process trends, view performance metrics, and respond to organizational change.

30.What is Business Intelligence (BI)?

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Software systems and tools that seek to extract useful patterns or conclusions from masses of data.

31.What is a Business Process?

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At its most generic, any set of activities performed by a business that is initiated by an event, transforms information, materials or business commitments, and produces an output. Value chains and large-scale business processes produce outputs that are valued by customers. Other processes generate outputs that are valued by other processes.

32.What is Business Process Automation?

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BPA refers to the use of computer systems and software to automate a process. Processes can be completely automated, so no human intervention is required, or semi-automated, when some human intervention is required to make decisions or handle exceptions. Techniques used for BP Automation, include workflow, BP-XML languages, ERP, and software development and EAI.

33.What is Business Process Design or Redesign?

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Business Process Redesign focuses on making major changes in an existing process, or creating a new process. Depending on the size of the process, this can be a major undertaking, is done infrequently, and, once done, should be followed by continuous business process improvement.

Compared with BPR, as defined in the early Nineties, Business Process Redesign usually focuses on smaller scale processes and aims for more modest improvements. Redesign focuses on major improvements in existing processes. Design focuses on creating entirely new processes.

34.What is Business Process Execution Language for Web Services (BPEL, BPEL4WS)?

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In the first draft of this glossary, we described two alternative XML business process languages, WSFL from IBM and XLANG from Microsoft. As the glossary is published, IBM, Microsoft and BEA have announced that they will be combining WSFL and XLANG to create a common XML business process language that will support both public (protocol) and private (execution) language.

35.What is Business Process Improvement (BPI)?

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Business process improvement focuses on incrementally improving existing processes. There are many approaches, including the currently popular Six Sigma approach. BPI is usually narrowly focused and repeated over and over again during the life of each process.

36.What is Business Process Management (BPM)?

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BPM refers to aligning processes with an organization’s strategic goals, designing and implementing process architectures, establishing process measurement systems that align with organizational goals, and educating and organizing managers so that they will manage processes effectively.

Business Process Management or BPM can also refer to various automation efforts, including workflow systems, XML Business Process languages and packaged ERP systems. In this case the management emphasizes the ability of workflow engines to control process flows, automatically measure processes, and M can also refer to various automation efforts, including workflow systems, XML Business Process languages and packaged ERP systems.

In this case the management emphasizes the ability of workflow engines to control process flows, automatically measure processes, and M can also refer to various automation efforts, including workflow systems, XML Business Process languages and packaged ERP systems.

In this case the management emphasizes the ability of workflow engines to control process flows, automatically measure processes, and ems that align with organizational goals, and educating and organizing managers so that they will manage processes effectively.

Business Process Management or BPM can also refer to various automation efforts, including workflow systems, XML Business Process languages and packaged ERP systems. In this case the management emphasizes the ability of workflow engines to control process flows, automatically measure processes, and to change process flows from a computer terminal.

37.What is Business Process Management (BPM) Platform?

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A more comprehensive approach to BPM, it provides all of the process management capabilities of BPM software, plus the following functionality: knowledge management, document management, collaboration tools, business analytics, and a work portal.

38.What is Business Process Management (BPM) Solution?

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A solution that automates, executes, and monitors business processes from beginning to end by connecting people to people, applications to applications, and people to applications.

39.Who are Business Process Management (BPM) Vendors?

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Vendors that design, develop and/or sell Business Process Management software and solutions.

40.What is the Business Process Management Initiative (BPMI)?

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Consortium of business process modeling tools vendors and user companies that are working together to develop an XML-based business process language (BPMI), a notation for the language (BPMN) and a query language (BPQL). The idea is that companies would model their automated processes in BPMI and then be able to monitor and change the processes as needed. BPML would primarily be used by those who want to create collaborative Internet or Web Service systems.

41.What is Business Process Management Software (BPMS)?

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An enterprise application software that enables an organization to streamline processes and gain organizational efficiency through the modeling, execution and analysis of business processes.

42.What is Business Process Modeling (BPM) Tool?

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A software tool that lets managers or analysts create business process diagrams. Simple tools only support diagramming. Professional Business Process Modeling Tools store each model element in a database so that they can be reused on other diagrams or updated. Many Professional tools support simulation or code generation.

43.What is Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)?

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Many companies outsource business processes to other companies to manage and execute. Few companies outsource core business processes that they depend on for their unique position in the market. They fear that the outsourcer won’t be able to improve the process quickly enough to respond to market changes. Some companies are now offering to outsource such processes, arguing that they have an approach that will let the owner make changes in the process as needed.

44.What is Business Process Reengineering (BPR)?

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A term coined by Hammer and Davenport in the early Nineties. As originally defined in their books it emphasized starting from a blank sheet and completely reconceptualizing major business processes and using information technology in order to obtain breakthrough improvements in performance. The term became unpopular in the late Nineties and many business people associate BPR with failures. Those who still use the term have redefined it to mean what we mean by Business Process Redesign.

45.What are Business Rules in Appian?

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A statement describing a business policy or decision procedure. Some programming languages run business rules together into very complex algorithms. In business process analysis, each rule is usually stated independently, in the general format: If A and B, Then C. Workflow tools and detailed process diagrams both depend on business rules to specify how decisions are made. We generally associate business rules with activities.

A decision diamond is adequate to show what happens if a loan is accepted or rejected, but dozens or even hundreds of business rules may need to be defined to clarify what a loan should be accepted or rejected. Training programs, job aids, software systems and knowledge management systems aim to document business rules either to automate the decision process or to and make the rules available to other decision makers.

46.What is Collaborative BPM?

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BPM was created using a collaborative business process language (usually ebXML). It is particularly suitable to describe the collaborations between partners that are all considered at the same level.

47.What are Collaborative Tools?

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Tools like discussion forums, dynamic workspaces, and message boards that are provided within the BPM platform framework and are designed to remove intra- and inter-departmental communication barriers.

48.What is a Composite Process Application?

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An enterprise application that is developed and deployed using a BPM platform to solve a particular business problem, such as complying with regulatory standards or managing a company’s assets. By integrating existing applications, pulling relevant data, and connecting appropriate people, it overcomes the limitations of traditional enterprise applications, offering more flexibility and scalability as well as better collaboration and integration.

49.What is Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE)?

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Software methods and tools designed to generate code from models. Those involved in the CASE movement have always sought to make software generation more systematic and predictable. Software developers often use CASE tools to model business processes.

50.What is Continuous Process Improvement?

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A strategy to find ways to improve process and product performance measures on an ongoing basis.

51.What is the Core Business Process?

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Core processes are the processes that rely on the unique knowledge and skills of the owner and that contribute to the owner’s competitive advantage. Contrast with subsidiary business processes.

52.What is COULD Process in Appian?

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Also sometimes Can-Be Process. Description of one of two or more alternative redesigns that are being considered.

53.What is Customer Resource Management (CRM)?

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A vague term describing any of a number of packaged or tailored applications or tools designed to help with sales, tracking customers, or managing information gained from customer interactions.

54.What is Dashboard?

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A user interface that resembles the dashboard of an automobile. Dashboards contain small graphs, charts, and gauges that provide data on key information within an organization.

55.What is a Data Warehouse?

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A record of an enterprise’s past transactional and operational information, stored in a database. Data warehousing is not meant for current “live” data; rather, data from the production databases are copied to the data warehouse so that queries can be performed without disturbing the performance or the stability of the production systems.

56.What is Database?

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A collection of records stored in a computer in a systematic way, such that a computer program called a database management system (DBMS) can consult it to answer questions. DBMSs can manage many forms of data, including text, images, sound, and video. For better retrieval and sorting, each record is usually organized as a set of data elements. The items retrieved in answer to queries become information that can be used to make decisions that might otherwise be more difficult or impossible to make.

57.What is Decision Point or Diamond?

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A diamond or hexagonal figure used on process diagrams to show when a decision leads to a branching in the flow of information, control or materials. Technically, all decisions take place within activities and arrows only show the flow between activities. As a convenience, however, if the decisions lead to branching, we often represent them on the process diagram and label them to indicate why a flow would go to one subsequent activity rather than another.

58.What is DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control)?

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An acronym used by Six Sigma practitioners to remind them of the steps in a Six Sigma improvement project.

59.What is Document Management?

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A system for storing and securing electronic documents, images, and other files within an organization. The term used to imply the management of documents after they were scanned into the computer. Today, the term has become an umbrella under which document imaging, workflow, text retrieval and multimedia fall.

60.What is ebXML (electronic business XML)?

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A consortium set up by two other organizations, a United Nations (UN/CEFACT) committee and OASIS, an Internet consortium. ebXML is charged with creating an XML architecture that standardizes all of the services companies will need to build Web Services. One sub-committee of ebXML is focused on business process communication, and has proposed BPSS.

61.What is Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)?

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A pre-Internet system for exchanging data between organizations. EDI requires that organizations standardize terms and invest heavily in computers and the maintenance of the EDI software. Although some companies use EDI systems and will only phase them out slowly, EDI is being replaced by less expensive Internet systems and protocols like XML.

62.What is Enterprise Application?

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As used by software designers, an enterprise system is a major software application that is designed to be used or accessed by many different departments and is usually maintained at the corporate level. Payroll is a good example of an enterprise system.

63.What is Enterprise Application Integration (EAI)?

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As companies seek to link their existing software applications with each other and with portals, the ability to get their applications to exchange data has become critical. EAI is usually close to the top of any CIO’s list of concerns. There are different approaches to EAI. Some rely on linking specific applications with tailored code, but most rely on generic solutions, typically called middleware. XML, combined with SOAP and UDDI is a kind of middleware.

64.What is ERP-Driven Design?

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When a company elects to use an ERP application, it is getting an application that already makes assumptions about the inputs and outputs it will receive. To insert such an application into an existing business process, the company must first determine where it will fit and what it will replace and redo the existing process so that it interfaces with the new ERP application. In effect, this is the reverse of what happens when a company redesigns a process and then asks an IT group to create an application that will take inputs generated by the process and make designated outputs.

65.What are Exceptions Processing?

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The act of adjusting and repairing transactions that were unable to be completed. Without automation, organizations find that exceptions processing is one of the more costly and time-consuming efforts within their business.

66.What are Gaps and Disconnected Patterns?

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A process redesign pattern that focuses on checking the handoffs between departments and functional groups in order to assure that flows across departmental lines are smooth and effective.

67.What is the IS process diagram?

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Also commonly AS-IS process diagrams. A description or diagram of an existing process before changes are made.

68.Explain about SO 9000 (International Standards Organization)?

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An international standard for how organizations should document their processes. In effect, an early effort to encourage organizations to create a well-defined process architecture. In practice, it’s too often simply an exercise in creating documentation to satisfy a requirement for getting on a bidding list.

69.What is J2EE (Java 2 Platform, Enterprise Edition)?

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A software programming platform from Sun for developing and running distributed enterprise applications, based largely on modular components running on an application server. J2EE comprises a specification, reference implementation, and a set of testing platforms. J2EE is also considered informally to be a language or standard because providers must agree to certain conformance requirements in order to declare their products at J2EE compliant.

70.What is Junction and Junction Bar?

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On a process diagram a way of showing that one flow (output) is divided and sent into multiple activities, or to show that multiple flows must all be complete before the activity immediately after the bar can occur.

71.What is KANO Analysis?

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An approach to defining customer satisfaction that divides outputs , service or product features of outputs into (1) basic requirements (the minimum a customer expects), (2) satisfiers (additional outputs or features that please customers) and (3) delighters (outputs or features that the customer didn’t expect that really please customers. Associated with Noriaki Kano, a Japanese quality control expert.

72.What are Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)?

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Personalized performance metrics and benchmarks that drive the financial and operational success of the company.

73.What is Knowledge Management (KM)?

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BPM component that allows users to share tasks, content, documents, and notifications through knowledge communities.

74.What is Lean Manufacturing?

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An approach to designing and managing production processes that emphasizes minimal inventory and just-in-time delivery, among other things, to improve the efficiency of a manufacturing process.

75.What is Measures Hierarchy?

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A hierarchical tree that shows how organizational measures, pictured at the top or on the left are subdivided into more specific measures for value chains, processes, sub-processes and ultimately to activity goals. For every goal there are measures – specific tests of whether the goal is achieved or not. Thus, there is also a goal hierarchy that mirrors the goal hierarchy.

76.What is Middleware?

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Software that allows two modules or applications to exchange data. Also see Enterprise Application Integration (EAI).

77.What is a Model in Appian?

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A formal set of relationships that can be manipulated to test assumptions. A simulation that tests the number of units that can be processed each hour under a set of conditions is an example of a model. Models do not need to be graphical.

78.What is Model Driven Architecture (MDA)?

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A new approach to application development being promoted by the Object Management Group. In essence, the idea is that organizations create abstract class models of their applications and then use those models to generate specific models and software code. The idea behind MDA is that the same abstract model could be used to generate different types of code. Thus, rather than creating new applications when new technologies come along, a company could have a high-level architecture and reusable components that it could use over and over again for many years. This approach is in the early stages of development but it has attracted quite a bit of attention. Compare with Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE).

79.What is Modeling?

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In a loose sense, modeling simply refers to creating a simplified representation of something else. A model can be a picture, a diagram or a mathematical formula. In the sense of business process modeling, the term is referred to a diagrammatic representation of how work is done. In a rigorous sense, a model must specify formal relationships and assumptions that can be tested.

80. What are Nodes?

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Within a process modeler, nodes are tasks or packages of functionality that, when connected, encompass an entire process. Nodes can be either attended (the task is assigned to a person) or unattended (the task is assigned to a computer system.)

81.What is Object-Oriented?

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An approach to structuring software applications. Instead of thinking of an application as a process with steps, we think of it as a set of objects that exchange messages. Now the dominant approach to software development. Java and Visual Basic are object-oriented software development languages.

82.Where are Packaged Applications used?

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Generically, any pre-packaged software application. Normally it is used as a way of referring to vendors who sell ERP or CRM application platforms that are organized to be used to integrate all of a company’s main software applications. By installing a number of packaged applications a company can assure that major business process applications in finance, accounting, human resources, and manufacturing all communicate smoothly and store data in a common database.

83.Explain Parallel Process

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A process in which two or more sequences of activities are going on simultaneously. If a physical document is being passed from one person to another, the process is necessarily a single sequence. An electronic document in a workflow system, on the other hand, can be sent to several people, simultaneously.

84.What is meant by a Portal?

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A Web site that allows the user to find other Web pages or Web sites. As a generalization, a portal is a train station. You go there in order to find out where else you can go and then to go there. Most companies will maintain one portal for their employees, where they can go to get information and to access company services, and another public portal for customers to provide customers with information and the opportunity to buy products or services from the company.

85.What is a Process?

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A set of activities and transactions that an organization conducts on a regular basis in order to achieve its objectives. It can be simple (i.e. order fulfillment) or complex (i.e. new product development), short-running (i.e. employee on-boarding) or long-running (i.e. regulatory compliance), function-specific (i.e. proposal management) or industry-specific (i.e. energy procurement). It can exist within a single department (i.e. billing), run throughout the entire enterprise (i.e. strategic sourcing), or extend across the whole value chain (i.e. supply chain management).

86.Explain Process Analytics

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Data about each particular task or events in a business process. This information can be used to fix bottlenecks, deal with exceptions, and optimize business processes.

87.Explain Process Architecture

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Also Business Process Architecture. A process architecture is a written or diagrammatic summary of the value chains and business processes supported by a given organization. A good process architecture shows how value chains and business processes are related to each other and to the strategic goals of the organization. Some companies use the term process architecture to refer to the process diagram for a single process. We refer to that as a process model or process diagram. We often add business or enterprise to process architecture to suggest that it’s a high-level architecture of all of the processes in the organization.

88. Who is a Process Designer?

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BPM component that allows a trained user to analyze and model a process, step by step, as well as assign logic to it.

Process Diagram

A diagram that shows the flow of information, control, or materials from one activity to another. The diagram shows departments, functions, or individuals on the vertical axis and uses swimlanes to show which sub-processes or activities are managed by which departments, functions or individuals. The customer of the process always appears on the top swimlane.

External processes are listed below the main process. The horizontal axis usually depicts the flow of time from left to right, although informal process diagrams sometimes allow loops which violate a strict time flow. Rectangles with rounded corners represent sub-processes or activities. Arrows represent various types of flow between rectangles.

Some developers divide process diagrams into IS process diagrams that show a process as it is currently performed, COULD process diagrams, that show how a process might be changed, and SHOULD process diagrams that show how a process redesign team ultimately proposes to change a process.

Process Engine

BPM component that executes the actual flow of a modeled process, assigning manual activities to people and automated activities to applications as the process unfolds.

89.What is a Process Instance?

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A process diagram describes a generic sequence of events. An instance describes an actual process which includes data, real actions, and specific decisions. Workflow systems and simulation systems both keep track of the data from the execution of specific process instances in order to determine things like how long the process actually takes, who handled a specific instance or how much it cost. In the case of simulation systems, someone has to supply information about a set of actual instances.

90.What are Process Measures or Process Output Measures?

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Measures of whether a process or activity is achieving its goals. At every level, processes have outputs and those outputs should be measured to assure that the process is functioning as it should. In an ideal organization, company goals and measures are associated with value chains and then subdivided so that, at every level, managers are measuring process outcomes that are related to the ultimate goals and measures of the organization. If vertical alignment is ignored, it’s possible that activities or processes will be measured in ways that don’t contribute to the overall success of the larger process or the success of the company.

91.What is a Rules Engine.

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It is a BPM component that manages the flow of information and activities within a process according to the formulas and rules assigned to it.

92.Explain Rummler-Brache Methodology.

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Geary Rummler and Alan Brache defined a comprehensive approach to organizing companies around processes, managing and measuring processes and redefining processes in their 1990 book Improving Processes. This is probably the best known, systematic approach to business process change and ideas first introduced in this book have been very influential on other, less comprehensive approaches.

93.What is SaaS BPM?

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Business Process Management software offered via a SaaS model. See Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) for more details.

94.What are Scorecards?

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Cross-functional analytic applications that define, measure, and analyze a business strategy according to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Scorecards aggregate KPIs into higher level initiatives and objectives. Each KPI in a scorecard is weighted in a way that articulates its relative impact on the higher objective. The most famous scorecard is the Kaplan-Norton “balanced scorecard,” which measures a company’s activities in terms of its vision and strategies, and gives managers a comprehensive view of the performance of a business.

95.Explain SHOULD process.

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This is also known as the TO-BE process. A description or diagram of the process that the redesign team proposes to create.

96.What is Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP)?

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An Internet protocol that is used to move XML files around the Internet.

97.Explain Simulation.

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It is a technique that uses a model to make predictions about a system or process. There are different types of simulation, some more informal and some more formal. Process simulation tools normally assign values to activities and then a number of cases to see how the business process will respond. The simulation of complex processes can often reveal outcomes that the developers don’t anticipate.

98.Explain SIPOC (Supplier, Input, Process, Output, Customer)

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An acronym used by Six Sigma practitioners to remind them of how to set up a high-level overview of a process.

Six Sigma

A movement, method and set of techniques focused on improving business processes. Relies heavily on statistical techniques to measure success. There are multiple Six Sigma methods, some designed for process improvement and some for designing or redesigning business processes. Most Six Sigma books, however, emphasize incremental process improvement. Often associated with Mikel Harry and Motorola.

99.What is Software Engineering?

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A movement, methods, and techniques aimed at making software development more systematic. Software methodologies, like the OMG’s UML, and software tools that help developers model application designs and then generate code are all closely associated with software engineering.

100.What are the Software Requirements?

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A more or less formal statement of what a software application should do. Sometimes business analysts create requirements and hand them to software developers. Other times software analysts interview business people in order to determine the requirements for a software application development effort. Business people invariably define requirements less formally than necessary. Business people tend to define requirements with written statements or with process diagrams. Software developers are more likely to define software requirements by means of Use Case Diagrams or Class Diagrams, which often aren’t that clear to business analysts. Software Requirements constitute an important interface between business managers and IT organizations. If the handoff isn’t clear and precise then the resulting system is likely to disappoint the business people who requested it.

101.What is Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)?

Ans:

A provider licenses an application to customers as a service on demand, through a subscription or a “pay-as-you-go” model. SaaS is also called “software on demand.”