One of the persistent criticisms of BPM is that the process definitions are too rigid to accommodate the realities of modern business. This can deter organizations from properly evaluating how BPM can help them. The reality is that most BPM tools offer a range of options for building highly flexible and adaptable processes. In this article, we will briefly explore some of these.
How to make BPM stick is one of the most frequently asked questions by participants at BPMInstitute.org. How is it possible to engage everyone in following the re-designed process and how best to assure continuous improvement of the new process are just two of the questions that come up regularly.
While making BPM stick is just as much art as it is science, there are some important guidelines to note around enablers such as transparency, advocacy, alignment and accountability as well as some key pitfalls to avoid. These are outlined below.
Historically process improvement efforts centered on improving quality, reducing costs, or increasing throughput. The success of these efforts elevated the process discipline to become a standard approach to improve the operations of companies around the world. But there are other targets of process improvement beyond simply efficiency gains. Arguably the facet of process-based improvement that has been least utilized is its use as a tool for understanding strategy. As companies seek to implement new strategies they often struggle to align their resources to the new direction. A common complaint from leadership teams is that their organization lacks the ability to execute. Here is the next frontier of process improvement – as a tool to strategically recalibrate a company.
Do you know how each process is performing right now in your organization? And if you’ve improved a particular process do you know if you achieved the level of improvement you wanted? It’s necessary to quantify data to be able to answer these two questions and provide objective ways to measure process and level of change.
So if you’re working on a single business process improvement project or many processes across the enterprise, you need a measurement system. But how do you build one that is comprehensive, efficient and effective?
Where do you start? You have to start from where you are, so the Process Maturity Framework can help identify where on the continuum your organization is. The first graphic below shows the five levels of the CMMI Process Maturity Framework, with descriptors at each level.
A recently published article entitled “Business Capability Architecture Is the Tie that Binds All” discussed how to use business capabilities to tie business strategy, enterprise change, and project portfolio prioritization. We concur that strategy, enterprise change, and portfolio management are managed more effectively using business architecture, and agree that capabilities are a component of business architecture. However, we view the article’s notion of “business capability architecture” as being incomplete. We will discuss why this concept is incomplete and how it can be extended through value mapping.
The Four Agreements You Need to Have a Successful Process Mapping Session
Process mapping is a group exercise in which teams of subject matter experts (SMEs) gather to determine how work gets done. Step-by-step diagrams are drawn to document the who, what, when and how a business task is performed. Teams utilize process mapping as a way of finding opportunities for improvement, increasing transparency between groups, and understanding the roles of systems in processes.
Recently there was a discussion among various BPM experts about process and outcomes, that has me questioning the different ways business process professionals think currently about process improvement. My position in the discussion was that focusing on process and outcome simultaneously was necessary. Further, it was my contention that the statistical process control methodology Deming advocated assumed that customer satisfaction would always increase in parallel with improvements in quality.
General Motors discovered in the 80’s with the leather seats in its Cadillac line of automobiles that increases in quality do not necessarily equate to raised levels of customer satisfaction. This discovery led to conversations about rising customer expectations, especially during the 90’s.
Project Manager is a common term in business these days. On the simplest level, a Project Manager can be an individual in charge of a plan that was developed on a ‘cocktail napkin’ or simple spreadsheet. For a more complex project, the Project Manager can be an employee in the Project (or Program) Management Office, be certified in Project Management by passing the rigorous PMI test, create sophisticated work breakdown schedules using software and manage enterprise projects from beginning to end for the organization. The kind of Project Manager I am talking about has responsibilities like the second type above, but may not always work on enterprise projects; instead he might work on medium or large projects as well.
Even though Decision Management technologies are built upon agile development principles, implementation projects frequently get bogged down in traditional approaches. Let us embark on a journey in the hopes of Finding Agile in those murky waters.
Decision Management Technologies are Center Stage
Most of the new advances in technology are aimed at making the systems more intelligent by having them do more knowledge work. These collection of technologies are the Decision Management technologies – that includes business rules, analytics and optimization. Since decision-making is amongst the most fluid aspects of an organization and the logical place to plug knowledge in, all related technologies are experiencing a surge in demand.
The proliferation of process improvement methods over the past decade has become problematic. The range of process improvement methods now includes BPM, Lean, Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma, Operational Excellence (OpX), Process Excellence (PEX), Reengineering (BPR) and several older techniques such as the theory of constraints (TOC) which are still in use in some organizations.
As process improvement professionals develop increasing skill in a selected improvement method, they are inclined to think and communicate that their method is better than alternative approaches to process improvement. Executives seeking to improve operational performance are sometimes confused about the similarities and differences between various methods and feel that they “have to choose a side.”
Everyone starts here.
You're looking for a way to improve your process improvement skills, but you're not sure where to start.
Earning your Business Process Management Specialist (BPMS) Certificate will give you the competitive advantage you need in today's world. Our courses help you deliver faster and makes projects easier.
Your skills will include building hierarchical process models, using tools to analyze and assess process performance, defining critical process metrics, using best practice principles to redesign processes, developing process improvement project plans, building a center of excellence, and establishing process governance.
The BPMS Certificate is the perfect way to show employers that you are serious about business process management. With in-depth knowledge of process improvement and management, you'll be able to take your business career to the next level.
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