Business Process Management

Business transformation fundamentally involves altering what companies do, which essentially means changing their processes. This means that business process management is a crucial component of any business transformation effort.

The approach to business process management can vary significantly from one company to another. In multinational corporations, you might find individuals whose sole responsibility is to oversee and manage a specific process. In contrast, smaller companies often lack designated process owners, and might not even have a comprehensive process map, which can be problematic.

Business Process Management (BPM) plays a pivotal role in outlining the extent of process alterations required to achieve anticipated enhancements in performance. For a transformation initiative to be continuously successful, it's imperative to approach business processes from a strategic vantage point. This involves a comprehensive understanding of how each process contributes to the broader objectives of the organisation and identifying areas where improvements can yield significant benefits.

Delving into the intricacies of BPM, one finds that it encompasses the identification and analysis of end-to-end business processes. This is no small undertaking, as it requires a thorough examination of each step in every process to determine its effectiveness and efficiency. The goal here is to streamline operations, eliminate redundancies, and enhance productivity, thereby driving overall performance improvements.

Assigning responsible owners to these processes is crucial. These individuals, or process owners, are tasked with ensuring that their respective processes are optimally managed and aligned with the company’s strategic goals. They are responsible for monitoring process performance, implementing changes, and ensuring that the process adapts to evolving business needs. The role of a process owner is multifaceted; it involves leadership, management, and a deep understanding of both the process itself and its place within the wider business context.

BPM requires a dynamic approach. The business environment is constantly changing, and processes that were efficient yesterday may not be so today. Therefore, BPM should not be seen as a one-off project but as an ongoing effort that requires continuous monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment. This dynamic approach ensures that business processes remain relevant and continue to contribute positively to the organisation’s performance.

In conclusion, Business Process Management is much more than a set of tasks or a checklist; it is a strategic approach to managing the processes that are the lifeblood of any organisation. By effectively identifying, managing, and evolving these processes, businesses can ensure that they not only meet their current operational needs but are also poised for future growth and success.

Business process management is involved at all phases of business transformation. At the outset it creates an overall picture of process management by designing a company’s process framework and assessing the process maturity across the business. It calls for the analysis of as-is processes, the design of to-be processes, and a governance structure to support the implementation of new processes. Not forgetting the continuous monitoring and improvement of those processes.

Process management efforts often get lost in detail and sometimes fail to deliver any real business value. To help avoid this, there are two important components to be produced.

The first is a business process framework which serves as map and, helps to manage the business process effort by identifying and connecting key building blocks of the business environment.

The second is a business process maturity model, which have often adopted the principle of the original CMM model which introduced the concept of five maturity levels defined by special requirements that are cumulative. The objective here is to produce a process maturity level plan, recommendations for improvement quick-wins and spider charts for each business area.

BPM Governance is about ensuring an effective approach for business process management across the organisation. This should include making sure that all BPM activities are planned and assigned, with clear roles and responsibilities documented.

You need to establish a standard terminology and methodology so that everyone involved is speaking the same language and adopting the same approach. It’s also important that appropriate tools are agreed upon and made available to support the BPM effort.

Next comes Process Design which involves process calibration, as-is analysis, to-be process design and solution transformation.

Process calibration should produce critical success factors for process design, a high-level process landscape and a list of prioritised processes. It provides the project team with a list of processes to be analysed along with criteria for process improvement.

As-is analysis articulates the current state of processes. While To-be design describes the process that serves as a blueprint for the business transformation.

Next you need to address process controlling which involves establishing what process are to be measured, then defining process performance indicators and reports.

The processes then need to be implemented, which requires good project management, and should involve the creation of documents that describe the implemented processes.

Finally, the processes need to be executed and measured, with continuous monitoring and improvement.

It’s important to remember that business process management should be addressed within the context of each unique organisation. Involving the right stakeholders should never be compromised and supporting strategic value creation should always be the end-goal.

In conclusion, a well-structured approach to business process management is critical. It involves not just the design and implementation of processes but also their continuous evaluation and improvement. By adopting this comprehensive approach, organisations can ensure that their process management efforts contribute significantly to their overall business transformation goals, leading to enhanced performance, efficiency, and business value.