| Course | MT400 Business Process Management |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 2 |
| Paper type | Process architecture outline |
| Length | About 900 words, 6 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Business Administration |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MT400 Unit 2
Seven Processes From the Outside In: An MT400 Unit 2 Process Architecture Outline for an Omaha Window Installer
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
MT400: Business Process Management
Unit 2 Process Architecture Outline
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The company, departments and processes are composite; the framework and sources cited are real.
Reasoning From the Outside In
The outline starts with the parties Loess Hills Window Company serves and what each expects. Homeowners expect a firm install date, a crew that finishes in one visit and a clean close. Window manufacturers expect accurate orders and prompt payment. Financing partners expect complete applications. Employees expect training that leads to certification. Owners expect reliable numbers. Each expectation is delivered by a chain of work that crosses several departments, so the processes are named for what they deliver, not for who performs them. Dumas et al. (2018) recommend this approach to process architecture because it keeps the focus on outcomes that matter to the people who receive them.
The Level-Zero Map
The level-zero map arranges the seven processes in three bands.
Core processes deliver value to homeowners. Lead to contract runs from a homeowner's first inquiry to a signed contract. Contract to cash runs from the signature to the cleared final payment. Service request to resolution runs from a warranty or service call to the homeowner's confirmation that the problem is fixed.
Enabling processes support the core. Source to pay runs from a purchase need to a paid supplier invoice. Recruit to certified installer runs from a job posting to an installer certified to lead a crew. Record to report runs from a transaction to the monthly financial statements.
One managing process, plan to review, runs from the annual plan to the quarterly review of results.
Boundaries Set by Events
Each process starts with a triggering event and ends with an end state described in the receiver's terms. Contract to cash starts when a homeowner signs and ends when the final payment clears, whatever departments sit between. Service request to resolution ends not when a technician closes a ticket but when the homeowner confirms the fix. Setting boundaries this way prevents a process from ending at a department's door.
The Framework Cross-Reference
Each process is cross-referenced to the categories of the APQC Process Classification Framework (APQC, n.d.). The framework classifies work into categories, process groups, processes, activities and tasks; it does not draw flows. Each end-to-end process therefore draws on several categories at once. Contract to cash draws on 3.0, Market and Sell Products and Services, for the contract; 4.0, Manage Supply Chain for Physical Products, for ordering and receiving windows; 5.0, Deliver Services, for installation; and 9.0, Manage Financial Resources, for invoicing and collection. Service request to resolution draws mainly on 6.0, Manage Customer Service. Recruit to certified installer draws on 7.0, Develop and Manage Human Capital. The cross-reference lets the company compare its processes with published benchmarks without pretending the framework is a process map.
The framework sorts work into categories; the architecture follows the order through them, which is why one process can touch four categories.
Contract to Cash, Level One
Contract to cash, the process that matters most to homeowners, is broken into six level-one subprocesses: measure, which confirms the opening and site conditions; verify and release, which checks the order and sends it to the manufacturer; procure and receive, which covers the manufacturer's build and the arrival of the units; schedule, which books a crew and an install date; install, which completes the work and the walkthrough; and close and collect, which issues the final invoice and collects payment. Decomposition stops at level one on purpose. Detailed mapping belongs to the handoff analysis later in the term, and mapping everything now would produce detail nobody uses.
The Crosswalk Grid
A grid sets the seven processes against the company's eleven departments: sales, measuring, order entry, purchasing, receiving, scheduling, installation, service, accounting, human resources and marketing. A shaded cell means the department performs work in that process. Contract to cash shades eight of the eleven columns, more than any other process, and each move from one shaded column to the next is a handoff. Rummler and Brache (1995) argued that the gaps between boxes on an organization chart are where performance is most often lost, and the grid makes those gaps visible at a glance.
The Other Six Processes in Brief
Lead to contract crosses marketing, sales and, for financed jobs, accounting; its weak point is the quote, which sales builds without measuring data. Service request to resolution crosses service, scheduling, installation, purchasing and accounting, and shares many of contract to cash's handoffs, since a remade window travels the same path as a new one. Source to pay crosses purchasing, receiving and accounting. Recruit to certified installer crosses human resources and installation, with a certification step that installation leads own. Record to report crosses accounting and every department that submits time or expenses. Plan to review involves the owners and every department head once a quarter. None of these six has more than five shaded cells in the grid, which is one early sign that contract to cash deserves attention first.
What the Outline Leaves for Later
The outline does not yet measure any process or name owners. Prioritization comes in Unit 3, the detailed handoff analysis in Unit 4 and ownership in the seminar and charter that follow.
References
APQC. (n.d.). APQC process classification framework (PCF): Cross-industry. APQC.
Dumas, M., La Rosa, M., Mendling, J., & Reijers, H. A. (2018). Fundamentals of business process management (2nd ed.). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-56509-4
Rummler, G. A., & Brache, A. P. (1995). Improving performance: How to manage the white space on the organization chart (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
What the MT400 Unit 2 assignment asks for
Unit 2 asks students to identify the core, management and support processes an organization runs and to present them as an architecture rather than a list of departments. Instructors expect an outside-in method: begin with who receives the organization's work and what they expect, then name the processes that deliver it. Each process needs a clear start event and end state. Many sections ask for a reference framework such as the APQC Process Classification Framework, used to check coverage rather than copied whole. One process is usually decomposed a level further. A crosswalk between processes and departments is common, since it shows where handoffs occur. The outline should be short enough to manage as a set, often five to twelve top-level processes, and each name should describe a result rather than an activity.
How this MT400 Unit 2 example is built
This example opens with the window company's stakeholders and what each expects, from a firm install date for homeowners to accurate orders for manufacturers. Seven processes follow, each with a trigger and an end state: lead to contract, contract to cash, service request to resolution, source to pay, recruit to certified installer, record to report and plan to review. An APQC cross-reference shows which framework categories each process draws on, without treating the framework as a map. Contract to cash is broken into measure, order, receive, schedule, install and collect. The departmental grid comes next, shading the eight columns contract to cash crosses, and a short note on each other process names its weak point. Rummler and Brache supply the reason for drawing the gaps, and Dumas and colleagues supply the outside-in method.
Reading the MT400 Unit 2 grading rubric
Architecture outlines are typically graded on coverage, clarity of boundaries, use of a reference model and the usefulness of the result for the next step. A process named after a department loses points because it repeats the organization chart the unit is trying to look past. Credit goes to end states written in the receiver's terms, such as a final payment cleared rather than an invoice sent. Rubrics reward a crosswalk that makes handoffs countable. Using APQC to test whether anything is missing earns more than pasting its category list. A level-one breakdown of the most important process shows depth. Points also go to a clean visual, consistent naming, a brief rationale for each process and APA 7 citation of the framework and course text.
MT400 Unit 2 help: mistakes that cost points
Many first outlines simply rename each department, so sales becomes a sales process and accounting an accounting process, and no flow across boundaries appears. Others list forty activities with no grouping, which no manager could govern. A frequent gap is the missing end state: a process that stops at a department's door looks complete on paper and hides the handoff that follows. Students sometimes copy APQC's twelve categories without saying which ones the organization actually runs. Support processes such as hiring or reporting are often left out entirely. Before submitting, read each process name aloud and ask whether a customer or employee would recognize the result it delivers. If the name only makes sense to the department that does the work, it is a function, not a process.
Get an MT400 Unit 2 example written to your instructions
Architecture outlines depend on the organization described, so the free first custom sample starts from the case in your Unit 2 prompt and the rubric attached to it. Expect process names, event boundaries and framework references within 24-48h, drawn in the framework version or drawing tool named for your section, with a crosswalk showing where departments meet. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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MT400 Unit 2 questions, answered
How many processes should an MT400 architecture outline name?
Few enough to manage as a set, which for a mid-size organization means somewhere between five and twelve end-to-end processes at the top level. The sample names seven. If your prompt describes a larger organization, group related chains rather than listing every activity, and keep deeper breakdown for the process your later units will analyze.
Do I have to use the APQC Process Classification Framework?
Only if your prompt asks for it, though it is a common reference. It classifies work in a hierarchy of categories, process groups, processes, activities and tasks, which makes it useful for checking that nothing is missing. It does not draw your organization's end-to-end flows, so the outline still has to assemble those itself.
Is a level-zero process map the same as a BPMN model?
No. A level-zero map shows the processes an organization runs and how they group, often on one page with no step detail. BPMN 2.0 models the steps, events, gateways and handoffs inside a single process. Many sections expect the one-page map at this stage and a BPMN model later, when one priority process is analyzed.
Where can I find a free MT400 Unit 2 sample paper?
This page carries the complete MT400 Unit 2 architecture outline, grouping a window installer's work into seven end-to-end processes with a departmental grid.
Why does contract to cash stand out in the MT400 Unit 2 sample grid?
It shades eight of the eleven department columns, more than any other process, so it holds the most handoffs and is the strongest early candidate for analysis.