ACT: een bedrijfsproces visualiseren met UML

Voor het uitwerken van de UML activity werd de Lucid App in de online versie gebruikt. 

Deze beschikt over vele opties en is gemakkelijk om direct mee aan de slag te kunnen gaan. Echter zijn er nog steeds enkele zaken die gezien deze tool gratis is, nog niet optimaal werken. Zo was het wel mogelijk om de link naar de tool te delen, maar niet om de UML te kunnen downloaden naar een PDF bestand. Dit kan het moeilijk maken indien je de UML in ht bedrijf wil delen met werknemers die nog geen account hebben. 

Hieronder een tekst beschrijving van het proces dat doorlopen wordt. 

Deze beschrijving werd samengesteld met hulp van Chat gpt (prompt:  can you describe the following process in an easy business flow which I can put into an UML activity? What is a sales qualification framework?) 

A sales qualification framework helps a sales professional conduct a thorough assessment by applying a set of fixed criteria. In the early stages of a sales conversation with a new lead, a sale professional will perform a discovery call. The outcome of the discovery call often decides whether the lead is qualified or qualified out. Making the right decision is not always immediately obvious, which is where sales qualification frameworks come in. A sales qualification framework helps sales professionals determine whether the relationship should continue. Why use a sales qualification framework? Not every lead is worth investing your time in, as not every lead is going to be a good fit for your product or service. Sales qualification allows you to quickly differentiate between prospects with a vague interest and genuine leads that represent a future sale. Knowing which leads have the potential to become future sales will help you allocate your resources better. Once a lead completes a qualifying framework, you can predict the closing timeline and forecast your sales revenue more confidently and accurately which in turn produces a higher return on investment. What is the sales qualification framework we will be using? We decided to keep it simple: We will be using BANT, developed by IBM, and the old faithful of sales qualification frameworks. The process which is now imposed in our company: 

1. We are provided with a customer lead 

2. A sales qualification process starts, according to the BANT methodology. (BANT=Budget, Authority, Need and Timing) The 4 checkpoints of the BANT methodology are performed in parallel in order to speed up things: BANT checkpoint Who? (Performs the check) What? (Action) Budget Sales Rep. Check if the customer has budget set aside for this purchase? What is it? Authority Sales Rep. Whose budget will the purchase come out of? Who else will be involved in the purchasing decision? Need Solution architect What challenge does this purchase solve? Why do you feel it’s worth solving? Why hasn’t it been addressed before? Does the customer need match what we as a supplier can deliver? Timeline Solution architect + Resource planner When do you need a solution in place by? Do we have the resources and is it feasable to deliver within the timeframe the customer wants? 

3. A qualification meeting is performed to discuss the BANT findings. The final decision in this qualification meeting is made by the Sales Manager, hosting this meeting, based upon the input provided by the contributors to the BANT process. The outcome of the qualification meeting is communicated to the customer: If after the meeting, the advice is to continue, the sales rep. informs the customer of our intention to work on this request. If the advice is not to continue, the sales informs the customer of the fact he will not get a reply from us. 

4. Now the following teams will start working at the same time: The solution architect will work out the project solution. The project manager will work out a projectplanning Our accounting department performs a credit check on the customer, to validate its financial health. 

5. We wait until above tasks all complete. If the credit check was ok, a risk analysis is performed in order to determine the risk budget. If the credit check is not ok we inform the customer no proposal is coming. 

6. When done, a management meeting is held which gives the final go/no-go and approves the profit margin to use. If no-go, the customer is informed he will not receive a proposal. If go, the final proposal is prepared by the Solution team, and handed to the customer by the sales.

Sales Qualification & Proposal Process (Using BANT Framework)

1. Lead Received

• A new customer lead is provided.
• Sales qualification process starts using the BANT methodology.

2. BANT Qualification (Performed in Parallel)

• Budget Check (Sales Rep):
  • Does the customer have a budget for this purchase?
• Authority Check (Sales Rep):
  • Who is the decision-maker?
  • Who else is involved in the purchase process?
• Need Check (Solution Architect):
  • What problem does the customer need to solve?
  • Does the need match our capabilities?
• Timeline Check (Solution Architect + Resource Planner):
  • When does the customer need the solution?
  • Do we have the resources to meet the deadline?

3. Qualification Meeting

• Sales Manager reviews BANT findings.
• Decision made: Proceed or Stop
  • If Stop: Sales Rep informs the customer that no proposal will be made.
  • If Proceed: Sales Rep informs the customer that we will work on their request.

4. Proposal Preparation (Performed in Parallel)

• Solution Architect: Develops the project solution.
• Project Manager: Creates a project plan.
• Accounting Department: Conducts a customer credit check.

5. Credit Check Evaluation

• If Credit Check Fails: Customer is informed that no proposal will be made.
• If Credit Check Passes:
  • A Risk Analysis is performed to determine the risk budget.

6. Management Approval

• Final Go/No-Go Decision:
  • If No-Go: Customer is informed that no proposal will be made.
  • If Go: Profit margin is approved.

7. Final Proposal Delivery

• Solution Team prepares the proposal.
• Sales Rep delivers the proposal to the customer.