BusinessProcessManagement

(BPM)

http://www.what-is-bpm.com/bpm_primer/bpm_primer.html

WhatisBPM?• Thegoal - theimprovementofbusinessperformanceandagilityby applyingoneorallofthefollowing:

• Acomprehensive,wellunderstoodanddocumentedsetofstandardizedprocesses – typicallydefinedwithinaprocessframeworktodrivetransparencyandefficiency. aka**BPM

• Anapproachtoprocessimprovement includinganapproachtomeasuringandmonitoringdaytodaybusinessprocessesforcontinuousimprovementandefficiency. akaBPI/BPM

• Useofinformationtechnology/softwareincludingprocessmodeling,processsimulation,processrepositories,workflow,integration,reportingandothertechnologiestofacilitatebullets1and2aswellasautomateandfurtheroptimizeprocesses.akaBPMS/SOA/BI

• BPMcanbeappliedtolargeandsmallorganizationsalike.

**aka=alsoknownas

DefinitionofaBusinessProcess

Abusinessprocessisthesetofstepstakeninourdaytodayworkactivitiesthatisperformedtoaccomplishadesiredoutcome.Itcanbeanything• fromprocessingacustomerorder,• toopeninganewaccount,• toon-boardinganewemployee.

TypesofBusinessProcessesΜιά άλληταξινόμηση

SuperProcesses•Managementprocesses• Supportingprocesses• Operationalprocesses• alsoconsidered'corevaluestreams'or'primaryprocesses’• Theyarecentraltothedesign,productionanddeliveryofacompany’sproductsandservices.

AkeyconceptinBPMistofocusonoptimizingthe“valuestream”ortheprocessesthatcollectivelydelivervaluetothecustomer.

Superprocessescanusuallybebrokendownintohighlevelbusinessprocessesorgroups.

Thehighlevelbusinessprocessescanbebrokendownintoworkflowlevelprocesses Understandinghowdaytodaywork

activitiesultimatelyroll-uptohighlevelprocessesandsuperprocessesisfundamentaltotheestablishmentofmetricsandthealignmentofworkactivitiestostrategicgoalsandbusinessobjectives.

ProcessFramework

• A waytostandardizethenamingandnumberingofyour• Awaytoorganizetheminahierarchy.• Expresseswhichprocessesaretypicallycoretothevalueofthecustomerandwhicharesupportingmanagementprocesses.

ProcessMapping

• Typicallythoughtofasastaticprocessflowdiagram.• Forexample,awhiteboardillustrationofaprocessorusingstickynotesonaboardtorepresentandorganizeprocesssteps.• MappingisoftenusedininitiativeslikeLean.

Process Model

• Adiagramthatshowsthesequenceofeventsandactivities/tasksthatoccurinaprocess.• AmodelistypicallycreatedinasoftwaretoollikeVisio,QualityCompanionoroneofthenumerousothermodelingtools.• Thesemodelscapture• thevisualpictureoftheprocess• dataaboutthestepsintheprocesswhichcanthenbeusedforwhat-ifanalysis(what-ifwehadmoreresources,what-ifweremovedsteps,etc.)

ProcessAnalysis

• Theuseofdifferenttechniquesfor• Forevaluatingvariousaspectsofaprocess,• touncoverinefficienciesorotherissuesand• determinewaystoimproveit.What-ifanalysisusedinModelingisaoneformofanalysis,buttherearemanytechniquestoanalyzeaprocessincludingsimulation.

ProcessCatalog/Repository

• Alocationwhereallprocessmodelsandassociatedelectronicdocumentsaremaintainedsotheycanbeeasily• organized,• searched,• accessedand• updated.

• Processrepositoriesalsooftenhaveaccesscontrolthatcanregulatewhocanupload,modifyandviewprocessdocumentation.• Repositorytoolsarealsoadoptingcollaborationandsocialcapabilitiestoallowuserstocollaborateonandworktogetheronmodelsinreal-time.

ProcessImprovement

• Therearemanyworkforceandbusinesssysteminefficienciestodaythatcaneasilyleadtotoproblemssuchaspoorqualityofserviceandresultingcustomersatisfaction,unnecessarycosts,andemployeemoraleissues.• Often,youcandirectlytietheseissuesandproblemstopoorunderstanding,measurementandcontrolofday-to-dayworkactivities- (AKAbusinessprocesses).• SoanothermajoraspectofBPMisthebetterunderstandingofprocesses (throughtechniquessuchasmapping/documentingprocessesandworkflows)andlookingforwasteandwaystostreamlineandimproveprocesses.

ProcessAutomation

• Someprocessesbutnotall,canbenefitfromtheuseofBPMSBusinessProcessManagementSoftware)orotherformsoftechnology.• Acombinationofworkflowautomation,integration,monitoringandmanagementtools,BPMSplatformscanofferverysignificantbenefits.Theycan• automateworkflowandorchestrateprocesses,• reduceriskoferrors,• providemetricsandvisibilityintostatus;• enforcedeadlines;• validate,properlyrouteandsynchronizedata;• reducetrainingcostsandprovideotherbenefitsaswell.

Theseimprovementscanadduptoaveryseriouspositiveimpactonabusiness'sbottomline.

ToolsforProcessMapping,Modeling,Simulation,etc• Therearealargenumberandvarietyofprocessmapping,modelingsimulationanddiagramingtechniques.• InBPM,theindustrystandardthathasemergedforflowlevelmodelingisBusinessProcessModelandNotation(BPMN).• BPMNisanexcellentwaytomapoutflowsandprocessrelationshipstohelpdocumentandcommunicatehowaprocessisperformedorshouldbeperformed.

Basicprocessmappingandmodelingtechniques

AbusinessusershouldconsiderhavingthoseinaBPMtoolbox.AnITorsystemsanalystcanalsouseothertoolsfordatamodeling,system

interactions,usecases,etc.

BPMvs.Lean- 1• BPM

• isamanagementphilosophypromoting• visibility,• controland• complianceacrossallphasesofwork.

• isasuiteoftoolsfor• defining,• designing,• implementingand• optimizingdynamicbusinessapplications.

• hasthreeparts:philosophy,toolset,andmethodology(orapproach).• Inordertoimplementthetoolsetcorrectly,youneed

• tofollowaprovenmethodologyand• tohavethebackingofmanagement(philosophy)tobesuccessful.

BPMvs.Lean- 2• Leanisamethodologybasedonprinciplesofimproving• theefficiency(reducingwaste)and• theeffectiveness(increasingspeed,agility)ofbusinessresources.

• WhetherLean,SixSigma,AgileorsomethingelseisusedtoimplementBPM,onestillneedstoensurethatthefollowingarecaptured:• flows,• businessrules(roles,responsibilities,policies,procedures,routing,escalations,deadlines,notifications,etc)governingeachactivity(humanandsystem)ofeachflow,• integrationtouchpoints,• dataanddocumentstobecollected/passed/reviewed/approved,formdesignandlayoutforcapturingdata,reports,anduserinterfacelayout.

BPMvs.Lean- 3

• I'veseenLeanandAgilefollowedverysuccessfully.• I'vealsoseenbothfailmiserablybecause• therequirementswerenotgatheredcompletely,• scopechangedandwasnotmanagedwell,• managementgotdistractedsothephilosophywasnotinculcatedormandated,and/or• resources(people)werenotadequatelytrainedorexperienced.

• Thatlastpointiskey.Peoplematter.Whocareswhattoolyouareusingorapproachyouaretaking.Ifthepeopleonyourteamareinadequatelytrained,experienced,coachedandsupported,youwillfailtomaximizeyourinvestmentinBPM.• IbelieveinBPM.Butsuccessonlycomeswhenallingredientsworktogetherandthechefstaysconstantlyinvolved.

Reference:GarthKnudson,ManagingDirectoratBizFlowCorp.