Articles

Building a SIPOC Diagram

Building a SIPOC Diagram

Author(s):

Editorial Director and current Faculty Member, BPMInstitute.org

A SIPOC diagram represents a high-level view of a process. It shows the Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs and Customers. The SIPOC Diagram plays an important role in Process Definition/Improvement and should ideally be done first before embarking on extensive process mapping. An analyst – in collaboration with other stakeholders – may use it to arrive at a consensus on the process before moving to a greater level of detail. To emphasize putting the needs of the customer foremost, the tool is sometimes called COPIS and the process information is filled in starting with the customer and working upstream to the supplier. It is very helpful to give people who are unfamiliar with a process a high-level overview.

Under what scenarios might you use a SIPOC diagram?

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4 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Automating Your Business Processes

4 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Automating Your Business Processes

Author(s):

Product marketing manager, OrangeScape Technologies

There has never been a better time to jump onto the automation bandwagon. The process automation bug is hitting companies left, right & center and these are times when companies that are helping other companies automate their processes are prospering like never before. Hence, it is quite natural that you could do a google search and a flurry of “N reasons to automate your business processes appear on the results. But, what nobody would ever tell you is to ask yourselves why you need to automate in the first place. Because, that would make you think and maybe process automation isn’t for everybody. Let me explain to you some scenarios where you need to ask yourself why it is necessary & here are those.

Does my cost outweigh my benefits?

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How to Work With Challenging Product Owners – Part 2

How to Work With Challenging Product Owners – Part 2

Author(s):

Managing Director, Both Hemispheres, LLC

 The “Kid in a Candy Store” Product Owner and the “See Saw” Product Owner

This is the second of two articles that address the specific challenges you may be facing in your work with Product Owners. The first article focused on two very different types of Product Owners: The “Big Picture Thinker” and the “Aspiring Developer”. In this article, the focus is on two types of Product Owners that appear to be different on the surface but who create surprisingly similar challenges for the Agile team: The “Kid in a Candy Store” Product Owner and the “See Saw” Product Owner.

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How to Build BPM Improvements That Work and Stick

How to Build BPM Improvements That Work and Stick

Author(s):

Faculty Member, BPMInstitute.org and President, i4 Process

The 3E model below provides an approach for any company to think about how their organization can start, grow, and make process improvement durable. With this approach the company improves customer satisfaction, operational efficiency, and execution excellence.

The 3E Model

EXPERIMENT – Keep It Small and Simple

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What has Innovation to do with Business Process Management

What has Innovation to do with Business Process Management

Author(s):

Managing Director | Co-CEO, BPM-D

Why asking this question?

Organizations face daily new opportunities and threats in our fast changing digital world. Companies have to establish a management discipline to integrate agile innovation into their business. The Discipline of Business Process Management (BPM) addresses this need. Correctly set up, it establishes an agile and focused innovation capability in an organization. The BPM-Discipline produces innovation in form of new impactful processes and organizes the way other innovations are developed and rolled out.

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The Leadership Engine for the Journey to Operational Excellence

The Leadership Engine for the Journey to Operational Excellence

Author(s):

Faculty Member, BPMInstitute.org and Principal Consultant, Marvin M. Wurtzel & Associates, Inc.

In order to initiate Operational Excellence we focus on establishing the structures, tools, methodologies and systems required. The manage program phase sustains that work by providing ongoing oversight and leadership for this initiative. In this phase the executive leadership attends to the following ongoing responsibilities: • Sets and deploys enterprise goals and strategies via core business processes. • Manages program-level plans and accountabilities. • Monitors priority process performance and related interventions. • Maintains alignment between enterprise structures, systems, and core business processes. •Leverages best practices across the enterprise. The ultimate objective is that these responsibilities gradually become integrated into the fabric of enterprise management practices. That is, they become “the way we do things around here.” We will discuss these responsibilities in greater detail in the following.

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Busting Organizational Silos with Business Process Management

Busting Organizational Silos with Business Process Management

Author(s):

VP, PMO and BPE, BCBSNC

Today’s business is global, spanning across supply chains, project delivery chains and changing fundamental business models. It is harder and harder to get clear line of sight into and accountability for how a business is operating. In addition to the shift to a global model, businesses require a matrix to link together the conventional organizational structures of functional and divisional models. Traditional business management models are not keeping up with the need to be more adaptable to the customers and markets they serve, thus the introduction of matrix management models.

A matrix model can be extremely effective if you can resolve the inherent conflict it creates. This takes hard work and active engagement to manage. Alexis Writing’s article “Different Types of Organizational Structure”, gives a good description of the matrix challenge.

Matrix

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Boundary Information Structures

Boundary Information Structures

Author(s):

Mr., DougMcDavid Enterprises

1.0 Introduction

Let’s take a few minutes to explore a subject that’s at the heart of the challenge of running a business, and by extension, also at the heart of providing expert architectural services on behalf of business leadership. This discussion will focus on approach to analyzing and designing effective communications among disciplines and specialists.

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OpEx – PART OF or SEPARATE FROM Business Transformation?

OpEx – PART OF or SEPARATE FROM Business Transformation?

Author(s):

Trainer, Coach & Mentoir for Enterprise Excellence, Consultant and Trainer

By its very name, Operational Excellence (OpEx) has held a traditional operations approach in most corporate visions and as a result been strongest in manufacturing operations/production sites or within department/functional operational lines of organizations.

Does the traditional operational approach create a “Separate From” business strategic linkage in corporate visions?

Historical Deployment and Engagement of OpEx

From OpEx early days as Six Sigma and Lean – the methodologies, tools and techniques were leveraged as a continuous improvement mindset with Cost Savings as King although it has evolved over the years at mature organizations to include waste elimination, improved process flow & efficiencies, enhanced capacity, and a quality/compliance driver.

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The Business Architect’s Journey: Top-Three Qualities for Success

The Business Architect’s Journey: Top-Three Qualities for Success

Author(s):

Director of Operations and Strategic Initiatives, Leidos

Picture this scenario: You are brimming with excitement as you start your engagement with a brand-new client – a client who had persuasively spoken to you their company’s capability-driven approach to architecture and its commitment to building a Business Architecture competency. A client who, in preliminary discussions, had emphasized their urgent need for seasoned experts (such as yourself) to guide the more junior Business Architects. The importance of personal leadership and of having the requisite fortitude to stand by your recommendations had been emphasized. (Your certainly don’t lack either of these traits). The existence of some challenges might have been mentioned. (But what reality is that where there are no challenges…?)

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