BPM Back to Basics, Part 3: Modeling Your BPM for Maximum Impact

There are dreams -- and then there's reality. For those of us who have spent time in enterprise software, we've seen ambitious plans and big hopes turn into unusable or "unsavable" projects more often that we may want to admit. With a lot of software tools, there are implementation and integration issues that become complicated early on.  These end up taking up a disproportionate amount of time and, as a result, ultimately end up causing many of these projects to be derailed or shelved. 

When looking at a solution based on BPM, however, identifying the gaps between hope and reality ‘should’ happen much earlier in the process. That is due to the fact that what is required for the foundation of BPM comes about when you create the initial framework. That framework includes a review of what is important to your organization and an assessment of how your organization actually operates.

BPM offers an excellent model for operational efficiency -- and one that ultimately leads to improving the bottom-line. First, however, it must be mapped out in a way that prepares the organization for success. In that respect BPM is analogous to cooking:  when you have a good recipe (i.e. a framework) and compatible ingredients, you know they will mix well to provide something delicious at the other end. Conversely, even an amateur cook instinctively knows that anchovies and brown sugar just aren't going to be a good combination.

The first thing is to understand is what you'll need -- and where you're going to apply it. Let's look at the elements involved in having a well-constructed BPM:

• Function: Where will you use your BPM tool? Product development, marketing, finance? Because BPM is so highly customizable and flexible, you need be specific about what you'll use it for, as well as for which specific aspects of that function. There's a mindset to the people who carry out certain tasks, and they are successful when they can rely on proven ways of meeting their goals. But the way an IT team operates is different from the way a finance group works. All of this thinking will eventually need to be embedded into the BPM, so it's essential that the functions are considered when creating a model. 
• Environment: Here's where you'll need to map the tools and technology components you have available to you to the BPM. Maybe you won't rely on much of the technology functionality, but you need to be aware of what you could do so you can adapt your processes to the potential and limitations of the tools. If technology won't provide the backbone of your BPM operations, what will? This is where you need to consider how methodology applies to process.
• Processes:  The result of activities, decisions and a workflow produces a process that enables a result. At this point in your modeling, you should be thinking specifically about processes that will need to be created or modified, and what the impact of these processes will be on the overall landscape of your BPM.
• Workflow: Your workflow will be comprised of a lot of tasks that must be done in an orderly way. But just completion of those tasks is not enough to justify a BPM roll-out. Rather, you should be thinking not just of the linear way of getting things done, but what decisions, roles and activities will be involved that will impact the workflow.
• Roles: If you've scoped this well, then you not only know what each player does, but you know how to optimize their time and resources so they're adding the most value to the process. It's crucial that each person is able to impact the business process by contributing their strengths. This is where BPM is most evidently not just a technology-dependent thing. 
• Decisions: If you can, with a fairly high degree of accuracy, determine what decisions will need to be made during the workflow of your BPM, then you'll have a greater likelihood of success when it comes to defining your workflow and assigning roles appropriately. Too often, a decision point is considered to be either a "yes" or a "no" situation. In some cases, there's more nuance to what's required; after all, the decision leads to the next step in the process, or it leads to completion of the process. The key is anticipating what the decisions will entail and what the results of those decisions will likely be.
• Activities: While separate, distinct activities will be what governs how the BPM will function, it's important to note that there are very different types of activities. Keep in mind that activities that are provided and handled by an individual are different (and provide a different impact) to those activities coming as a result of an entire group or business unit. Note not just what the activities are, but who performs them, and to what end they will arrive.

Looking at a BPM scenario in this way, and in breaking it down to this degree, is the only true way to give you a model for what you want to implement. You're not starting with a stone, and chipping away at something that fits your needs. Rather, you have the luxury of customizing this to your needs. What is truly important is that you must first know what your needs are and how each element impacts the others. With a sense for your needs, you'll be prepared to embark on a BPM instance and begin to realize benefits in efficiency, productivity and organizational sanity.

--Marti Colwell, VP of Marketing & Business Development

BPM and Predictive Analytics: Know Where You’re Going and Get Smarter Along the Way

We humans make thousands of decisions every day – decisions about big things and little things, critical and less important. All, however, are decisions of some nature.

In a New York Times article the writer described what he called ‘decision fatigue’, the result of so many decisions needing to be made daily by each of us. As a result of the sheer number of decisions we make,  the line between what’s truly important and not significant is blurred.. This happens to the  extent that  we make many decisions without giving much thought to what we are actually  deciding. Due to our habits and internal ‘wiring’ (formed over many years), most of these decisions are simple and rapidly determined: Will I wear the blue shirt or the red shirt? How much cream will I add to my coffee? What time do I need to leave the house to get to the meeting?  The decisions we make in the vast majority of cases do not have major repercussions. We live, we decide, we move on. If the blue shirt turns out to have been a fashion mistake, we live with it, without significant ramifications.

Companies, however, look at decision-making very differently. Employees make major decisions every day that impact the future of their companies.  And there is a trusted relationship between employer and employee that dictates that the employee make those decisions in the best interest of the company. But there's a huge difference between making decisions and making informed, intelligent, and qualified decisions. If you and your employees are moving the company along based on anything short of informed decisions, you may not achieve the best possible results and, in some cases, may be heading completely in the wrong direction.

The only way to make perfect decisions is to know the future. Would that we could develop a product that did just that! In the absence of a crystal ball, however, the best we can do is to anticipate (or you could say ‘predict’) the future. Here again, though, there are variations to what constitutes a prediction. A guess is a guess. Included in a guess, however, are ideas and biases drawn from someone’s experience.

We don't make Magic 8 Balls -- but our flagship product, Process Director, provides predictive analytics. With that comes the ability to identify, analyze, anticipate and, yes, predict the direction in which a process is going. We call that process intelligence. Having that ability means our customers are able to glean more insights into their running processes -- and at earlier points in time.

 As processes tend to be iterative, this capability allows our customers to correct and adapt to changing environments in real-time. The feedback, data and historical information they receive from more instances translates into the ability to optimize these processes. It also acculturates a habit of taking raw data and turning it into actionable information.

If your organization can do this, then changes to your business, whether internal or external, will cause far fewer reverberations. Applying process intelligence will give your organization advantages over number crunchers and corporate tarot card readers.

Much of what accounts for process failures (or the inability to deliver according to requirements) is a result of what a process ‘absorbs’ along the way. Scope creep, perhaps, but also the human element. We naturally learn during the course of executing a process -- and are then inclined to want to include that new information. Does that make our result any better we ask? The more prudent question is: Did we avoid possible problems and roadblocks because we now have insights into what could happen -- or what we could do differently?  Adherents to a belief in process intelligence and BPM will answer that question with a resounding “Yes!”

Traditional BPM provides a discipline and the tools to get from problem to solution. As organizations are becoming increasingly more complex, a tool that helps them derive data and provides intelligence about the processes themselves delivers a major differentiator from other business process tools. Transparency leads to insight which leads to more and better information – and, ultimately, more effective processes.

From initiating business rules to delivering an on-time, as-promised results, BPM can make a difference. And you will discover that you are not only achieving organizational success, but also that your organization is getting smarter about its processes as well.

-- Marti Colwell, VP of Marketing & Business Development

Process Intelligence and Your Business: What You Need To Know

Maximizing BPM is the result of applying rigorous process principles combined with leveraging smart technology. We've learned so much from our customers and partners, and have been able to leverage the IP we gained to create a tool that can truly change the way you operate your business. 

Process Director requires no programming. Really! Users can apply rules, modify rules, deploy, apply and implement businesses processes with minimal effort. The resulting outcomes are enterprise-wide solutions that handle the workflow, electronic forms, integration with third party applications and delivery of all kinds of processes, even very complex ones. 

Including the element of process intelligence means that an additional layer of transparency is available. That ensures a deeper understanding of what is working in your business - and what needs to be modified to make that process better, more reliable, more accountable. To understand the predictive nature of business processes, and the advantages you can derive from it, these resources might give you a more comprehensive picture:

• The origins of process intelligence: Our VP of Business Solutions, Scott Menter, lets you in on the "secret" of process intelligence. You'll see a demo of what it looks like when you're actually getting smarter about your business because of your processes.
• Intelligence and Analytics: Process Intelligence and Predictive Analytics: The Key to Successful Decisions. This webinar, with process expert Sandy Kemsley, demonstrates how process intelligence and predictive analytics can provide intelligence for getting a better understanding of your business, and making decisions based on that information.
• Improving Process Intelligence with Predictive Analytics: This white paper goes into some detail about what is needed to develop intelligent processes, while also treating processes like real-time learning environments.
• The Time Dimension: Time is a critical aspect of your business processes, and it is often overlooked. This white paper from Scott Menter looks at the importance of the dimension of time as it relates to BPM.
• Time, Budget and Processes: Forrester Research analyst Clay Richardson nails it in his piece, BP Logix Keeps Projects And Processes On time And Within Budget. Clay understands and communicates about Process Director delivers the core benefits of BPM without additional overhead. He goes on to describe how process owners can adapt in-flight processes based on real-time information, potentially heading off costly slippages and disruptions due to data provided by the Process Timeline.

With its built-in analytics and process intelligence, Process Director is helping our customers achieve greater insights into their business operations and processes. As we discussed in our previous blog [link], being able to apply the intelligence learned during over the course of implementing its processes enables these companies to continuously make their processes more usable and more effective. Making decisions based on data and analysis of what's happening in real-time with their processes leads to better and more desirable outcomes. 

We're hoping these resources will help you get smarter about process intelligence and how it can apply to your organization. We'd love to talk with you further. Please feel free to reach out to us to schedule a discussion about Process Director or discuss your current situation.

-- Marti Colwell, VP of Marketing & Business Development