This article covers an issue within Business Process Management (BPM) redesign which is often not fully discussed. Frequently, development groups are eager to get the team fully engaged as quickly as possible. Looking at “as is” situations (examining, modeling) may receive slight attention as being “bygones” – “Let’s start with a clean slate.”  The issue is deciding how quickly to begin computerized development after a project or analysis has been scheduled. 

There are different aspects of business growth and development.  One faction may wish to apply technology to change its business as quickly as possible, while another may prefer to proceed cautiously and methodically, moving only after research and through using a well-tested methodology. Which is correct? The classic answer is “It depends.”

If you don’t get off to the right start with a BPM Project, there are all kinds of consequences such as:

• Needing to change process owners mid stream
• Wasting time focusing on the wrong goals
• Not involving the right resources
• Missing critical information and making poor decisions
• “Buying” the technology solution

Not quite!  I can’t tell you how many companies I have worked with who announced we have modeled all the current state process or say we want to begin by modeling all their As Is processes.  And they ask, can you help us with that?  There is nothing wrong with modeling processes, but it takes a long time and it doesn’t produce improvements.  Modeling processes is just one of the first steps.  I suggest modeling the processes you want to improve and do them in groups of three or one by one. Then analyze each and improve them to see business results.

So if you’ve only done the process diagramming, what do you need to do next? Look at the roadmap below showing the phases of a BPM/ process improvement project.

BPMInstitute.org defines Business Process Management (BPM) as the definition, improvement and management of a firm’s end-to-end enterprise business processes in order to achieve three outcomes crucial to a performance-based, customer-driven firm: 1) clarity on strategic direction, 2) alignment of the firm’s resources, and 3) increased discipline in daily operations.

Traditional methods of performance management focus on department & functional unit performance.  BPM focuses on the management and continuous improvement of cross functional processes.  This involves continuous monitoring, evaluation, measurement and process innovation.  These cross-functional processes must be clearly defined and documented.  Process performance objectives in terms of time, quality, cost and productivity must be defined.  Process teams and process owners must be established.