Articles

Technology Does Not Matter, Methodology Does

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

Does it still matter what matters in Enterprise IT? Even before the current harsh times the field seemed to be a land of confusions and illusions, from CIOs greatly overestimating their departments’ and their own role in the eyes of their CEOs¹, to business analysts continuously unable to get exactly what they need when they need it from their IT counterparts. And to a respectful analytical firm putting as much confusion as possible in one sentence: “Although the word ‘SOA’ is dead, the requirement for service-oriented architecture is stronger than ever” (sic!).

Structuring a Process Management Center of Excellence: the Value Chain

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

1. INTRODUCTION

Over time, organizations have been increasing their interest in process management institutionalization. The growing complexity and scope of processes, and the frequency with which process modeling, improvement, deployment, integration and coordination occur require companies to structure in such a way as to manage their processes [2][5]. In such a context, organizations have sought concepts and guidelines towards structuring a process center of excellence [1][3].

The Transition to Business Architect

Author(s):

Geoffrey Balmes

Business Architect Executive, Independent Consultant

The concept of business architecture and the role of the Business Architect did not exist when most people today entered their respective industries; no curriculum was available to prepare anyone for the role and, as far as I know, there is still no certification available for today’s Business Architects. So from a practical sense, what does one look for when hiring a Business Architect or promoting someone to the role of Business Architect?

Enterprise SOA Deployment Requires SOA Governance

Author(s):

Tom Dwyer

Editorial Director and current Faculty Member, BPMInstitute.org

Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) is an approach to distributed computing that considers software functionality as services on a network. SOA represents the next major step in the evolution of Information Technology (IT) strategies. Businesses are looking to SOA as the best way to leverage information technology assets and to provide the business the agility required to compete in today’s economy. In addition, SOA holds promise to companies looking to bring order to an increasingly complex and chaotic IT environment and equip themselves to manage change.

Closing the IT and Business Divide

Author(s):

Daniel Madison

Principal, Value Creation Partners

Millions of dollars spent, countless hours wasted, and frustrated business users seem to be fairly standard outcomes when IT and business try to work together. While this problem seems apparent, little progress has been made. What is happening?I believe two key factors are in play. First both the IT and business folks are operating under a number of faulty assumptions. Here are some flawed assumptions from the IT perspective.

The Systems Viewpoint

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

Systems thinking has been around for quite a while; in the 1960’s it was the subject du jour. Very good articles and books were written then bringing cogent ideas from academic study to the rest of the world – two of my favorite books were C. West Churchman’s The System’s Approach and The Design of Inquiring Systems. But times change, and there is good reason to look again at the systems approach.

Why you Need BPM and SOA

Author(s):

John Moe

Principal Consultant, J Moe Associates

A few years ago there was fairly clear blue water between BPM and SOA in the minds of both users and vendors. Each camp promoted significant benefits from their offerings and, although there was a recognised touch point between the two, each was happy to exist with or without the other.

From BPM to Management By Process

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

In one of my first courses about Business Process Management, the chairman, an expert in Total Quality Management, was making a major difference between Process Management and Management by Process.

For me it was just a question words. Some years after, making a return on experience from my first BPM initiative, I really understood this difference when I discovered the remedy had been worst than the disease.

Relating Enterprise Strategy to Business Outcomes

Author(s):

Ken Mullins

Senior Principal, MITRE Corporation

I was both privileged and pleased to have the opportunity to present a keynote address at the BrainStorm DC Conference in Washington DC last summer, where my presentation focused on the subject of relating enterprise strategy to business outcomes. By way of reintroducing the topic, I prepared a brief summary of that presentation for publication in the January 2009 edition of the Government Bulletin.

Surviving and Growing During an Economic Downturn

Author(s):

David Pedersen

Senior Decision Architect, Knowledge Partners International LLP

Introduction

We are barraged by the images of our sliding economy on a daily basis. The news media is spreading fear, agony, and despair. Many companies are reacting by deeply cutting staff, reducing services, decreasing quality and squelching morale. Everyone is told that they are simply going to have to do more with less (work harder or lose your job).

Then there are companies that see this downturn as an opportunity to strengthen their company and emerge from the other side stronger than their competition.