Data Modeling vs Process Modeling
Data modeling is the process of creating a conceptual model of data objects and how the data objects associate with each other in a database. Data modeling focuses on how the data objects are organized than on the operations that are performed on data. Process modeling or specifically Business Process Modeling (BPM) involves representing processes of an enterprise such that the existing processes could be analyzed to improve quality and efficiency. BMP is generally a diagrammatic representation of the sequence of activities carried out in an organization. It displays the events, actions and connection points from start to the end of the sequence.
What is Data Modeling?
Data model is a conceptual representation of data objects and associations among data objects in a database. It focuses mainly on how the data objects are organized. Data model is like a building plan used by an architect. Data model tries to fill the gap between how the user sees the real world events and how they are represented in a database. There are two main methods used for data modeling called the Entity-Relationship (ER) approach and the Object Model. Most widely used among these two is the ER model. Data model is created using the requirements of the database by reviewing existing documentation and interviewing end-users of the system. Data modeling mainly produces two outputs. First one is the Entity-Relationship diagram (widely known as ER diagram), which is a pictorial representation of data objects and interactions between them. This is valuable because it could be easily learned and could be used to communicate with end users. Second output is the data document that describes data objects, relationships among data objects, and rules required by the database. This is used by the database developer to develop the database.
What is Process Modeling?
Process modeling or specifically BPM is a diagrammatic representation of a sequence of activities showing events, actions and connection points in the sequence. BMP is used to improve the efficiency and the quality of the business process. There are two main types of business process models. First one is the ‘as is’ or baseline model that displays the current situation. This model could be used to identify weak points and bottlenecks, which could be useful for future improvements. The other model is the ‘to be’ model, which represents the intended new situation. This incorporates identified potential improvements from the base line model and could be used to demonstrate and test the new process before actually implementing it.
What is the difference between Data Modeling and Process Modeling?
Data model represents the data objects and the interactions among the data objects in an organization, while the process model is a diagrammatic representation of a sequence of activities in an organization. The data model could be seen as a part of the business process model, which specifies how the information in the organization should be stored effectively to improve the overall performance. In a typical organization there are important interactions between the data model and the business process model.