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Starting and Advancing a BPM Measurement System
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.
Business Architecture: Why Businesses Require a Stakeholder Value-Driven Perspective
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
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.
Product Demonstration Oracle BPM Suite 11g
This workshop will give participants hands-on exposure to Business Process Management with the Oracle BPM Suite and will show how Oracle BPM Suite can be used across each phase of the BPM lifecycle to achieve continuous process improvement.
This workshop will demonstrate process modeling, process improvement, process implementation, process interaction and process monitoring using a government specific use-case of construction/building permit processing across various roles and systems.
Presenter Bios
Process, Outcomes and Metrics
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.
Process Innovation In Real Time
Quality processes are central to the success of any large organization, and all business units should play by the same rules. While this is certainly true, each department is bound to have unique requirements which is why a one-size-fits-all approach to business processes doesn’t work. This white paper uses the example of one department that typically considers itself the exception to business process standardization, the legal department. Readers will learn how solid business processes enabled this department to improve its work involving customer transactions and its effort to make business units more successful.
How Can a Project Manager Add Value to a BPM Project?
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.
Finding Agile (In Decision Management Tech Implementation)
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.
BPM versus OpX
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.”
Business Architects and Product Managers
Let me start with a provoking question: Business architects create capability roadmaps and product managers create product roadmaps. What is the difference and which is more valuable for my business? If product managers manage all the products of a company, is there a need for business architects and capability roadmaps?
Some of us, who are practicing business architects and familiar with “Guide to the Business Architecture Body of Knowledge™” (BIZBOK® Guide), may find this question offensive. However, this could be a reasonable question from any senior business leader (particularly unfamiliar with business architecture and product management disciplines).
Governance is Not a Four Letter Word
At a recent client meeting, the Chief Architect arrived a few minutes late, clearly upset. When asked what was bothering him, he muttered “Governance is a four letter word”. I am sure that many readers have shared that sentiment at some time, but it needn’t be that way.
Organizations who have adopted BPM as their platform for IT development have an opportunity to both simplify and improve their IT Governance and Compliance processes. All of the advantages which BPM brings to your core business processes are just as applicable to IT Governance.
Leading Organizational Redesign with Business Architecture
Reorganization of a business is not easy. Following the usual process of organizational design, you work to identify the current organization, note the gaps and describe a process for getting to the new organization. That sounds easy enough in theory, but implementing the reorganization is not nearly as straight forward. Asking stakeholders what the problems are usually only gets you symptoms. Identifying gaps is difficult because if the organization knew there were gaps, they would have fixed them. Then you have those who abhor change who believe their area of the business works fine – it’s everyone else’s fault.
Getting Started
Transitioning to a World of Decisions
As the concepts of decision modeling and management increasingly move from theory to practice, it has been interesting to note how it is perceived and approached by both business and IT. Perhaps not surprisingly, my experience has shown this to be a smoother transition for business. This is something we should expect as it presents a more natural representation of the business for the business. The IT side has certainly had a variety of tools available in numerous platforms to support this approach and the emergence of the Decision Model and Notation (DMN) standard now brings a cohesive view across industries. However, it does seem to present a few challenges to IT in this early stage of evolution.
Win the Game with Metrics
I admit it; I waste hours a week playing video games. On my phone, laptop or tablet; on a train, bus or airplane; when I have time and when I don’t, I and millions like me find that the positive feedback from these games keeps us addicted. A silly banner pops up and says “Congratulations, you’re a winner!”, or tells you you’re still lagging behind the champion, and you just have to play again.
Before Launching Government Transformation, Establish a Culture of Innovation
“All employees must be directly involved, learning about innovation. And they must have direct experience with it. New governance gets managers more involved in the decision making…. Only when innovators operate with the credibility of leaders will innovation become a productive part of the everyday business.” – Craig Wynett, a key driver of P&G’s pre-eminence in innovation
BPM Outlook: Gartner Outlines 2015 Trends
Digital Business: From Process Improvement to Driving Big Change
Facing continual digital disruption, companies are rethinking their business models and reinventing their processes to transform business operations for the digital age.
Traditional BPM has driven tremendous efficiencies and cost reductions. Now the challenge is to apply BPM to drive growth.
Key challenges are:
Literate Process Modeling
Thirty years ago, Donald Knuth introduced the notion of literate programming. He wrote “Instead of imagining that our main task is to instruct a computer what to do, let us concentrate rather on explaining to human beings what we want a computer to do.” His premise was that over the lifetime of any successful program, far more hours would be spent reading it for purposes of maintenance and enhancement than were originally spent creating it. Furthermore, most of this would be by people other than the original author. If this is true, a little more effort in documentation by the original author will be paid back many times. We believe these principles are even more important in Process Modeling than in traditional programming.
Leading Organizational Redesign with Business Architecture
Reorganization of a business is not easy. Following the usual process of organizational design, you work to identify the current organization, note the gaps and describe a process for getting to the new organization. That sounds easy enough in theory, but implementing the reorganization is not nearly as straight forward. Asking stakeholders what the problems are usually only gets you symptoms. Identifying gaps is difficult because if the organization knew there were gaps, they would have fixed them. Then you have those who abhor change who believe their area of the business works fine – it’s everyone else’s fault.
Getting Started
Metrics and Business Process
I learned the importance of metrics and predictive analysis from an unlikely source in an odd place — the McDonald’s near my college — yes, the place with the golden arches! When I started working there, I didn’t know about Ray Kroc or his revolutionary idea about portion control. I simply wanted to earn money to cover my car and insurance payments.
Everything was measured at this store, from how long the fries were blanched to how long burgers were grilled to the amount time food was allowed to wait in the warming area. In addition to the process measurements, the store’s managers and assistant managers were responsible for recording the day, the date, the weather, special events within a ten mile radius, hourly sales from each register, hourly numbers for each item sold, and amount of items sent to waste each hour.
Field Notes: Decision Analysis and Process Analysis
Business Decisions and Business Processes need to be analyzed and improved simultaneously for better business outcomes. Following are some practical notes from the field on the correct perspective for this.
1. Decisions are a network or a hierarchy, not a flow
Decision Analysis does not need a flow-based sequential thinking like Process Analysis. Unlike processes, decisions are evaluated in a network where a number of lower-level decisions are made to aggregate up to the main business decision of interest. This state-less decision can be plugged into a process with the process then flowing on down the time dimension.
