Name?
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Generic Business Activity Model
Generic Statistical Activity Model
Generic Statistical Organisation Activity Model
Generic Statistical Business Model
GSBPM+
Other?
Purpose
The [name] describes and defines the activities that take place within a “typical” statistical organisation. It extends
and complements the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM) by adding the activities needed to support
statistical production. When the GSBPM was developed, such activities were referred to as “over-arching processes”,
and were listed, but not elaborated in any real detail. Over the years there have been several calls to expand the
GSBPM to better cover these activities. The [name] was therefore developed to meet these needs.
Like the GSBPM, the [name] aims to provide a common vocabulary and framework to support international
collaboration activities, particularly in the field of modernisation. However, as the GSBPM is becoming increasingly
used for cost and resource management within organisations, the [name] is also expected to fill such roles when
there is a need to consider a wider context than just the activities directly related to the production of statistics.
Origins
The [name] draws heavily on two existing models:
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The GSBPM (Version 5.0), which provides the contents of the “Production” area
The Statistical Network Business Activity Model (SN-BAM), which provides the basis for the “Strategy”,
“Capability” and “Corporate Support” areas.
The [name] is fully coherent with the GSBPM Version 5.0. It is approximately 80% coherent with the SN-BAM. The
reasons for the differences are:
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To ensure full coherence with the GSBPM Version 5.0, which has been adopted as a “cornerstone” standard
for the vision of standards-based modernisation promoted by the High-Level Group for the Modernisation of
Statistical Production and Services. It was agreed after a lengthy and broad consultation process within the
international statistical community, and has been adopted by over 50 statistical organisations worldwide.
The [name] is intended as an extension of the GSBPM, so should be fully coherent with it to avoid confusion.
The main consequence of this is that whilst activity 2.2 “Develop capability improvements” appears identical
to that in the SN-BAM, it is actually defined more narrowly in [name] to include just those capability
improvements that are common to several statistical business processes. Capability improvements specific
to one statistical business process are included in 4.1.3 “Build”.
To incorporate feedback from organisations that are not part of the Statistical Network, and that consider
key activities are missing or not given sufficient prominence in the SN-BAM.
Structure
The [name] comprises up to four hierarchical levels. The top level comprises four broad areas: “Strategy”,
“Capability”, “Corporate support” and “Production”. Within the “Production” area, levels 3 and 4 correspond to
GSBPM phases and sub-processes respectively.
Strategy
Capability
Corporate support
Production
Level 1 of the [name]
Limitations and extensions
As the [name] is designed to be a generic, international model, applicable across national, international, regional and
local statistical organisations, it can never be a perfect fit for all cases. Some statistical organisations have additional
functions, such as responsibility for administrative registers, or national geo-spatial standards and infrastructures.
Some operate within strongly centralised contexts, whilst others are part of geographically or subject-matter decentralised systems, with different degrees of responsibility for coordination. Some organisations outsource certain
activities, particularly supporting services, either to related statistical organisations, or to other government
agencies.
The [name] cannot cover all possibilities, so modifications might be needed for use within individual organisations.
As for the GSBPM, activities which are in the model, but are not present within an organisation can simply be
ignored, whilst additional activities can be represented in a generic way by adding a fifth top level area “Other
organisation-specific activities”
Strategy
Capability
Corporate support
Other
organisation-specific
activities
Production
It is also likely that in organisation-specific contexts, extra hierarchical levels will be needed. These can simply be
added, in the same way that several organisations have added extra layers for their internal versions of the GSBPM.
• Identify needs
• Consult & confirm needs
• Establish output objectives
• Identify concepts
• Check data availability
• Prepare business case
Specify Needs
• Identify 'disruptive' & other
capability improvements
• Propose capability improvement
projects, including shared
infrastructure
• Manage capability improvement
programmes
Plan capability improvements
• Design outputs
• Design variable descriptions
• Design collection
• Design frame & sample
• Design processing & analysis
• Design production systems &
workflows
Design
Develop
• Undertake background research
• Develop detailed capability
requirements
• Design capability solution
• Build & release capability
solution, including shared
infrastructure
• Manage capability development
project
Govern
Collect
Analyze
• Manage employee
performance
• Manage & develop
skills
• Manage talent
• Manage recruitment
• Ensure succession
planning
Manage human
resources
• Manage documents &
records
• Manage knowledge
• Manage information
standards & rights
Manage information &
knowledge
Evaluate
Review
• Manage
communications and
media relations
• Manage stakeholder
consulations
• Educate users and
improve statistical
literacy
• Manage cross-product
user support
Manage consumers &
suppliers
• Update output systems
• Gather evaluation inputs
• Produce dissemination products • Conduct evaluation
• Manage release of
• Agree an action plan
dissemination products
• Promote dissemination products
• Manage user support
Disseminate
• Manage IT services
• Manage IT &
information security
Manage IT
Corporate support
• Prepare draft outputs
• Validate outputs
• Interpret & explain outputs
• Apply disclosure control
• Finalize outputs
Implement
Influence & collaborate
• Build & maintain strategic relations, nationally & internationally
• Build & maintain external statistical excellence
• Advance inter-agency & international collaborations
• Secure support for statistical & capability portfolio
• Maintain accounts
(including assets &
liabilities)
• Manage procurement
& contracts
Manage finances
• Integrate data
• Classify & code
• Review & validate
• Edit & impute
• Derive new variables & units
• Calculate weights
• Calculate aggregates
• Finalize data files
Process
• Manage business
performance
• Manage change and risk
• Manage legislation &
compliance
• Manage physical assets,
including building facilities
Manage business &
performance
Production
• Create frame & select sample
• Set up collection
• Run collection
• Finalize collection
• Support design
• Support operations
• Support use externally
• Build collection instrument
• Build or enhance process components
• Build or enhance dissemination
components
• Configure workflows
• Test production system
• Test statistical business process
• Finalize production system
Build
• Maintain capabilities, including
shared infrastructure
• Promote capabilities
• Evaluate capabilities
• Manage data, metadata and process
data
• Manage quality
Support capability
implementation
• Develop strategies for achieving organizational goals
• Prioritize statistical portfolio
• Prioritize capability portfolio
• Allocate portfolio & programme budgets
• Build & maintain internal statistical & professional excellence
Manage capabilities
Capability
Develop capability
improvements
• Understand national & international directions & factors
• Determine organizational vision & values
• Determine organizational value proposition
• Determine organizational goals
• Communicate values & expectations
Position
Strategy
[Name] - V 0.2
Activity Descriptions v0.2
#
Activity
Level 1
1
Level 2
Description
Includes
Level 3
Strategy
These are the high-level strategic activities that enable statistical organizations
to deliver the products and services needed by governments and communities
nationally and internationally. The activities influence, shape and drive future
directions and investments through the development and consideration of highlevel strategies to advance statistical capabilities and the statistical portfolio.
1.1
Position
These activities ensure that statistical organisations understand the
environment in which they operate and the emerging issues they are
confronted with, so it is clear where they can provide independent, evidencebased information, as well as statistical standards and infrastructure, for use by
governments and the broader community. Based on this, statistical
organizations determine their high-level goals and directions, including the
values which will guide them, so they set their programmes accordingly. It also
includes communicating the mission, values and expectations internally and
externally, to lead and inspire staff and to increase government and community
trust and confidence in the organization and in official statistics in general.
• Understand national &
international directions & factors
• Determine organizational vision &
values
• Determine organizational value
proposition
• Determine organizational goals
• Communicate values &
expectations
1.2
Govern
These activities cover the development of strategies to achieve the goals and
directions set under Position. They include identification and prioritization of
the statistical work programme, prioritization of the capital investment
programme, and the allocation of resources (capital and labour) to implement
the agreed programmes defined in the statistical and capability portfolios.
• Develop strategies for achieving
organizational goals
• Prioritize statistical portfolio
• Prioritize capability portfolio
• Allocate portfolio & programme
budgets
• Build & maintain internal
statistical & professional excellence
1.3
Influence &
collaborate
These activities cover liaison and coordination with other statistical
organisations. They can include coordination within a statistical system, which
may be based on a geographical hierarchy of entities (local, regional, national,
multi-national), or a functional split of responsibilities between organisations.
They also include activities undertaken to identify opportunities for data
exchange or data integration. They also provide the statistical community with
opportunities to exchange knowledge, improve statistical infrastructure and
practices and influence statistical standards. These activities also help to build
and enhance statistical capability in the external environment, leading to
increased statistical understanding and improved application and use.
• Build & maintain strategic
relations, nationally &
internationally
• Build & maintain external
statistical excellence
• Advance inter-agency &
international collaborations
• Secure support for statistical &
capability portfolio
2
Capability
These activities support the successful development and management of the
capabilities (covering methods, processes, standards and frameworks, IT
systems and people skills) that underpin an organization's ability to conduct its
business. They also strongly promote the re-use and sharing of infrastructure
(statistical and technical), facilitating harmonization and coherence of statistical
outputs.
2.1
Plan capability
improvements
These activities plan the best way forward to improve an organization's
capabilities. They require a thorough organizational view of possible
improvements, supporting the prioritization of options through an efficient,
iterative approval process until a work programme for capability improvements
is finalized. These activities further coordinate the planning and resourcing of
crosscutting / reusable capability improvement projects (both large and small),
to ensure key improvement work is integrated across the organization, with
interdependencies understood and the resources optimized across programme.
These activities also monitor the ongoing progress of the work programme and
report to the relevant governance fora to ensure all required change requests
occur in an efficient and effective manner.
• Identify 'disruptive' & other
capability improvements
• Propose capability improvement
projects, including shared
infrastructure
• Manage capability improvement
programmes
2.2
Develop capability
improvements
These activities progress approved improvement projects from the
requirements stage through to their completion. The developers will undertake
research, define the detailed requirements, coordinate the design and building,
and finalize all aspects of the capabilities being developed, including their
deployment for operational use. Whilst the development of capability
improvements that concern multiple statistical business processes are included
here, capability improvements in the context of a single statistical business
process are included in 4.1.3 “Build”
• Undertake background research
• Develop detailed capability
requirements
• Design capability solution
• Build & release capability solution,
including shared infrastructure
• Manage capability development
project
2.3
Manage capabilities
These activities take responsibility for managing organizational capabilities,
ensuring the organization reaps maximum benefits from investments and can
better manage quality. They involve maintaining capabilities, evaluating and
improving them or suggesting where improvements are required. Data,
metadata and process data (paradata) management are also included here.
Staff undertaking these activities effectively become the custodians / reference
persons for the capabilities, taking responsibility for their fitness for purpose.
• Maintain capabilities, including
shared infrastructure
• Promote capabilities
• Evaluate capabilities
• Manage data, metadata and
process data
• Manage quality
2.4
Support capability
implementation
These activities provide the technical hands-on assistance required across the
organization, in particular, supporting the Development and Implementation of
statistical production. These activities also guide the successful operation of
individual reusable business processes.
• Support design
• Support operations
• Support use externally
3
Corporate support
These activities cover the cross-cutting, non-statistical functions required by the
organization to deliver its work programme efficiently and effectively.
3.1
Manage business &
performance
These activities manage how the organization conducts its business, including
agreed changes to the business, in order to achieve planned outputs and
outcomes.
• Manage business performance
• Manage change and risk
• Manage legislation & compliance
• Manage physical assets, including
building facilities
3.2
Manage finances
These activities cover the organization's ongoing use of financial and accounting
information to measure, operate and predict the efficiency and effectiveness of
its activities, including procurement and contracts, in relation to the
organization's goals and objectives.
• Maintain accounts (including
assets & liabilities)
• Manage procurement & contracts
3.3
Manage human
resources
These activities cover employee performance, recruitment, skills development,
talent management and succession planning work.
• Manage employee performance
• Manage & develop skills
• Manage talent
• Manage recruitment
• Ensure succession planning
3.4
Manage IT
These activities cover coordination and management of information and
technology resources and solutions. They include the management of the
physical security of data, but not the management of statistical confidentiality.
• Manage IT services
• Manage IT & information security
3.5
Manage information
& knowledge
These activities cover the ownership or custody of records, documents,
information and other intellectual assets held by the organization and the
governance of information collection, arrangement, storage, maintenance,
retrieval, dissemination and destruction. They also include maintaining the
policies, guidelines and standards regarding information management and
governance.
• Manage documents & records
• Manage knowledge
• Manage information standards &
rights
3.6
Manage consumers
and suppliers
These activities cover the management of communication and exchanges
between governmental institutions, the public and other stakeholders in direct
or indirect support of organizational services. They therefore deal with the
relationships between statistical organizations and the public, including those
via the media. This includes measures to educate and inform users so that they
fully understand statistical outputs, and to improve levels of statistical literacy
in society in general.
• manage communications and
media relations
• Manage stakeholder consultations
• Educate users and improve
statistical literacy
• Manage cross-product user
support
4
4.1
Production
Develop
These activities cover all steps necessary to manage, design and implement
statistical production processes or cycles, including surveys, collections based
on data from administrative or other sources, account compilations and data
modelling. They deliver the outputs approved under Strategy, utilizing the
capabilities and resources built and managed under Capability and Corporate
Support. Note: these activities are fully consistent with version 5.0 of the
Generic Statistical Business Process Model.
These activities define the detailed scope and solution for the production
process or cycle, including sample and questionnaire design where relevant.
They also cover the assembly and configuration of statistical capabilities and
services and testing of the production system.
4.1.1
Specify
needs
These activities are triggered when a new statistical need is identified, or
feedback about a current statistical product or service initiates a review. They
seek to understand the context around the identified need or change and user
motivations. Specifically, the organization researches, confirms and documents
user needs, and researches, assesses and proposes high-level options for
addressing these needs, after assessing available data, methodologies,
standards and frameworks and constraints. The scoping-related activities are
generally sequential but can also occur in parallel and can be iterative. The
scoping work is generally done to a level sufficient to prepare a business case,
which presents arguments to proceed to the Design stage. The business case
typically identifies the reasons for the proposed activity, its financial and social
justifications, initial risks and issues, cost-benefit information, and the preferred
high level solution and broad plan for proceeding.
• Identify needs
• Consult & confirm needs
• Establish output objectives
• Identify concepts
• Check data availability
• Prepare business case
4.1.2
Design
These activities describe development and design activities and any associated
practical research work needed to define the statistical outputs, concepts,
methodologies, collection instruments and operational processes. These
activities include all the design elements needed to define or refine the
statistical products or services identified in the business case. They also specify
all relevant metadata, ready for use later in statistical business process, as well
as the quality assurance procedures. For statistical outputs produced on a
regular basis, these activities usually occur for the first iteration, and whenever
improvement actions are identified in the Evaluate activities of a previous
iteration. Design activities make substantial use of international and national
standards, in order to reduce the length and cost of the design process, and
enhance to comparability and usability of outputs. Organizations are also
encouraged to reuse or adapt design elements from existing processes.
Additionally, outputs of design processes may form the basis for future
standards at the organization, national or international levels.
• Design outputs
• Design variable descriptions
• Design collection
• Design frame & sample
• Design processing & analysis
• Design production systems &
workflows
4.1.3
Build
These activities build and test the production solution to the point where it is
ready for use in the "live" environment. The outputs of the Design activities
direct the selection of reusable processes, instruments, information, and
services that are assembled and configured to create the complete operational
environment to run the process. New services are built by exception, created in
response to gaps in the existing catalogue of services sourced from within the
organization and externally. These new services are constructed to be broadly
reusable within the statistical production architecture. For statistical outputs
produced on a regular basis, these activities usually occur for the first iteration,
or following a review or a change in methodology or technology.
• Build collection instrument
• Build or enhance process
components
• Build or enhance dissemination
components
• Configure workflows
• Test production system
• Test statistical business process
• Finalize production system
4.2
Implement
These activities realize the designed production process (value chain) from the
initial data sources to the statistical information products. Each step takes data
and metadata as inputs and produces data and metadata as outputs.
4.2.1
Collect
These activities collect or gather all necessary information (data and metadata),
using different collection modes (including extractions from statistical,
administrative and other non-statistical registers and databases) and load them
into the appropriate environment for further processing. Whilst they can
include validation of data set formats, they do not include any transformations
of the data themselves, as these are all done in Process. For regular statistical
outputs these activities are undertaken for each iteration.
• Create frame & select sample
• Set up collection
• Run collection
• Finalize collection
4.2.2
Process
These activities describe the cleaning of data and their preparation for analysis.
They include checking, cleaning, and transforming input data, so that they can
be analysed and disseminated as statistical outputs. The activities may be
repeated several times if necessary. These activities can apply to data from both
statistical and non-statistical sources (with the possible exception of Calculate
weights, which is usually specific to survey data).
. The Process and Analyse activities can be iterative and parallel. Analysis can
reveal a broader understanding of the data, which might make it apparent that
additional processing is needed. The Process and Analyse activities may
commence before the Collect activity has been completed. This enables the
compilation of provisional results where timeliness is an important concern for
users, and increases the time available for analysis.
• Integrate data
• Classify & code
• Review & validate
• Edit & impute
• Derive new variables & units
• Calculate weights
• Calculate aggregates
• Finalize data files
4.2.3
Analyse
These activities produce and examine statistical outputs in detail and make
them ready for dissemination. They include preparing statistical content
(including commentary, technical notes, etc.) and ensuring outputs are fit for
purpose prior to dissemination to customers. This activity group also includes
the sub-activities that enable statistical analysts to understand the statistics
produced. For regular statistical outputs, these activities are undertaken for
each iteration. Analyse activities are generic for all statistical outputs, regardless
of how the data were sourced.
• Prepare draft outputs
• Validate outputs
• Interpret & explain outputs
• Apply disclosure control
• Finalize outputs
4.2.4
4.3
4.3.1
Disseminate
Review
These activities manage the release of statistical products to customers. They
include all activities associated with assembling and releasing a range of static
and dynamic products via a range of channels. They also support customers to
access and use the outputs released by the statistical organization.
• Update output systems
• Produce dissemination products
• Manage release of dissemination
products
• Promote dissemination products
• Manage user support
These activities review the production process to ensure it meets the
expectation and needs of users and the organization
Evaluate
These activities manage the evaluation of a specific instance of a statistical
business process, as opposed to the more general over-arching process of
statistical quality management described in 4.4 – Manage. They logically take
place at the end of the instance of the process, but rely on inputs gathered
throughout the different activities. They include evaluating the success of a
specific instance of the statistical business process, drawing on a range of
quantitative and qualitative inputs, and identifying and prioritising potential
improvements. For statistical outputs produced regularly, evaluation should, at
least in theory occur for each iteration, determining whether future iterations
should take place, and if so, whether any improvements should be
implemented. However, in some cases, particularly for regular and well
established statistical business processes, evaluation may not be formally
carried out for each iteration. In such cases, these activities can be seen as
providing the decision as to whether the next iteration should start from Specify
Needs, or from Collect.
• Gather evaluation inputs
• Conduct Evaluation
• Agree an action plan