Which TWO of the following descriptions apply to a Business Activity Model (BAM)'?

A Business Activity Model (BAM) is a conceptual model used within Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) to represent the activities required to fulfill a specific business perspective, as defined in a root definition. It is common practice to develop multiple BAMs, each reflecting a different stakeholder's worldview or perspective (Weltanschauung). This allows for a structured debate about the business system. The ultimate goal of this process is not to select one perspective as "correct" but to facilitate a discussion that leads to an agreed-upon, or consensus, model. This consensus BAM represents a shared understanding that stakeholders can use for further analysis and to identify desirable and feasible changes.

B. The owner's perspective is important, but the final BAM is a product of negotiation and consensus among all key stakeholders, not a unilateral decision by the owner.

D. The standard convention for drawing BAMs, as illustrated in core business analysis texts, is to represent activities using ovals or rounded rectangles (lozenges), not boxes.

E. A primary purpose of a BAM is to illustrate the logical dependencies between activities. Arrows are explicitly used to connect the activities and show this flow.

1. Paul, D., Cadle, J., & Turner,P. (2020). Business Analysis (4th ed.). BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

For A & C: Chapter 7, Section 7.5.3, "Building the conceptual models," explains, "It is possible to have several root definitions and conceptual models, each reflecting a different perspective... The purpose of building the conceptual models is to provide a sound basis for thinking about the business situation and to enable a debate that will, hopefully, lead to a consensus about the changes required." (p. 132).

For D: Figure 7.10, "A conceptual model/business activity model," clearly depicts all activities within ovals (p. 133).

For E: The same Figure 7.10 shows arrows connecting the ovals, representing the logical dependencies between the activities.

2. Checkland, P. (1999). Soft Systems Methodology: A 30-Year Retrospective. In Systems Approaches to Management (pp. 65-115). Springer US. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4733-74)

For A & C: Section 4, "The Developed Form of SSM," describes the process of creating "purposeful activity models" based on different Weltanschauungen (worldviews). Stage 4 of the methodology is the "Comparison of models and real world," which involves a debate among stakeholders to find "accommodations" (i.e., a consensus) on change. This supports creating multiple models to reach a consensus.