IDEFlite

Why do we need IDEFlite?

IDEFlite is the perfect way to communicate how a business process, and any underlying automation, is going to work between technical and non-technical audiences. This makes it an ideal point of reference throughout a project.

Audiences can use it to describe ideas, changes and potential issues in a way that reduces misunderstanding.

Unlike the typical flowchart modelling techniques, found in technical developments, IDEFlite is ideal for creating a high level view of a business process. It does so in a way that is easy to understand for anyone who needs to look at and comment on the model.

 

What is IDEFlite?

Based on IDEF0, IDEFlite is a simple, yet powerful, way to model activities, workflows and activities. It’s simple in that it uses a very limited notation which makes it easy to read for anyone.

While being very simple it can be used to describe extremely complex scenarios using decomposition. That is, every single activity can be described in more detail whenever required. Without the need for a complex library of descriptors.

When compared with IDEF0 one can see the primary difference is that IDEFlite does not make use of Controls and Mechanisms. Instead it focuses on Inputs and Outputs while including a human role.

How does it work?

The Building Blocks

 

Work is described as activities.

Every activity should have at least one input and output to set the scope of the work. All work should be owned by someone in the form of a supporting resource.

Activities are Linked Together

Work activities are linked together to form flow diagrams (processes).

Activities are Deconstructed to Form Hierarchy

Work activities can be deconstructed thereby creating a new detailed view of that activity. This forms a hierarchy of detail linking high level activities with low level tasks.

This is done when it is necessary to describe an activity in more detail. For example during a conversation about how something works. If the current flow does not adequately describe a particular interaction the user can take that step and create a detailed view.

Each level of detail is a new diagram, together this collection of hierarchically linked diagrams is a map.

Skore natively supports the use of IDEFlite, why not request a demo to see how.