Articles

Just Enough Process Management

Author(s):

Tammy Adams

Managing Partner, Chaosity, LLC

It’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of doing something just to do it. We’ve all seen it happen. Companies who implement full blown quality programs, like Six Sigma, often find themselves lost in a myriad of unfocused green belt projects, unnecessary processes and mountains of paperwork. They did not comprehend the trickle-down impact such an implementation would have on the organization. Does that mean the program is bad? Absolutely not. But its implementation was not tailored to the needs and objectives of the company.

A Holistic View of Business Rules and the Business Rules Approach

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

Business rules are not new. They exist in businesses whether some or all of the business is automated. Not all business rules may be automated. The generally accepted definition of a business rule comes from The Business Rules Group in 2000 as “a statement that defines or constrains some aspect of business intended to assert business structure or to control or influence the behavior of business.” The approach, the Business Rules Approach, is new in its formalism of managing rules and its emphasis on the business as a priority over the systems implementation.

Case Study: Managing Business and System Requirements for BPM-Driven Projects

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

Larry Ward is a Quality Assurance Project Manager in the OPERS Information Systems Division for the State of Oregon. He has more than 30 years experience in systems analysis & design, Industrial Engineering, Project Management, and QA. He has more than ten years of experience with the business rules approach. Ward was instrumental in designing the OPERS business rules process.

Analyzing the “As Is” Process

Author(s):

Daniel Madison

Principal, Value Creation Partners

The first step in the analysis of a process is to create a process map or flow chart of the current state. This “as is” map represents what happens, not what should happen, or could happen. A useful technique when creating the “as is” is to recall an actual event. In remembering the event, what actually happened? This way you map reality.

The process map is the base from which the analysis begins. Process mapping can be done at three different levels of detail. The least detailed level (5000 foot) is called the Macro. At this level, your process map contains only 2 to 7 steps.

EAI, BPM and SOA

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

Traditionally enterprises grew their systems and IT infrastructure out of necessity as the business grew and connected the various IT applications with minimum planning. Stove pipe applications were pretty much the norm. These applications were connected in a point to point manner with no clear indication of process flow. But as the pace of business change accelerated connecting systems became a major roadblock. Then in the late 1990’s EAI (Enterprise Application Integration) emerged as a planned way to integrate the array of IT applications.

Your BPM Implementation is Bound to Fail

Author(s):

Raj Ramesh

Chief Story Teller, TopSigma

Failure is the Only Option

I can outright tell you that your BPM implementation is going to fail, and I will be right 9 out of 10 times. Is this scary?

Research has shown that even amongst IT projects only 20% of them finish on time. On BPM projects, the failure rate is even higher due to the immaturity of the technology and scope of the implementation. If you are implementing a BPM project with the current tools and using the current standards that are still in flux, you are on the bleeding edge of technology. So your failure rate is even higher.

BPMS Watch: Why Buy a BPMS When You Can Get it for Nothing?

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

Today’s BPM Suites are delivering on customers’ capability wish lists, but vendors are having a hard time getting buyers to put their money where their mouth is. Caught in limbo between IT infrastructure and an enterprise application, BPMS doesn’t fit traditional payback models of either IT or line of business investment, so it faces a heightened “prove-it” mentality from corporate buyers. But your CFO won’t go for the upfront six-figure outlay you need to demonstrate the payback is real. It’s a classic Catch-22.

OK, suppose the BPMS software were free. Free, as in costs nothing. Zero. Nada.

Enabling Business Process Innovation

Author(s):

Tom Dwyer

Editorial Director and current Faculty Member, BPMInstitute.org

Thomas Dwyer said that most of the problems companies have are due to process problems. These include:

BPM Strategy Deployment Best Practices

Author(s):

BPMInstitute.org

Business Relationship Manager - Product Lifecycle Management, Chevron Corporation

As BPM technologies and solutions mature, some organizations are now beginning to develop enterprise-wide BPM strategies. The most important aspects of an effective enterprise BPM deployment strategy are unrelated to the solution or even to the application being implemented. They’re best practices that apply no matter what software you’re using and regardless of the department in which you’re deploying it. Here are three best practices that we advise our clients to keep in mind as they move forward with their BPM strategies.

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