| This post discusses an issue that most vendors would | | | | process management or "BPM" tools are great - with |
| just as soon forget -- how do business process | | | | the right people, processes, and policies behind them, |
| management tool sets become relevant, when | | | | BPM tools can truly achieve high levels of automation |
| organizations do not have enough repeatable or | | | | and even realize a comfortable Return on Investment. |
| documented process to make the tools useful. | | | | In fact, the right tools, documented the right way, and in |
| Does the Following Workflow Seem Familiar? | | | | the hands of the right people, can help propel a |
| | | | business organization to new heights of success. But, |
| 1. Organization defines strategic goals around a | | | | there is a lot of human and real work needed before |
| particular Enterprise IT Program Initiative. | | | | the tools come along. Start with your people first -- |
| 2. Organization determines that it needs a tool or suite | | | | worry about the tools after the processes and policies |
| of tools to solve all of its problems. | | | | are defined. |
| 3. Organization contacts vendors and conducts an | | | | Decide to Take the Hard Road Early in Your |
| evaluation process. | | | | Enterprise IT Program |
| 4. Organization determines that a particular vendor can | | | | Don't start with a business process management |
| solve some, most, or all of its problems. | | | | program -- or any strategic IT program -- with |
| 5. Organization purchases costly tools and builds costly | | | | technology tools. Don't think "gee, now that we have |
| infrastructure to support the costly tools. | | | | fully committed to business process management we |
| 6. Organization implements the tools, typically with a | | | | will just outsource the whole thing to a software |
| large contingent of vendor staff. | | | | vendor, and the vendor will take care of our business |
| 7. Organization tries to determine how to make the | | | | process for us." Instead, make the commitment to |
| tools useful, because of its own lack process (e.g. it is | | | | understand and work through processes internally, one |
| easier to buy a tool, then to fix a process.) | | | | department and process at a time. Don't worry yet |
| 8. Organization creates test cases to fit the tools they | | | | about higher-level tasks such as "role engineering" and |
| purchased, rather than model real-world business | | | | "compliance baselining." Instead, collect processes. Start |
| processes. | | | | with "business snippets" (see below) and work up from |
| 9. Frustration builds when vendors are not able to live | | | | there. |
| up to either realistic, or perceived expectations. | | | | How Do You Start a Business Process Management |
| 10. Enterprise Information Technology (IT) Program is | | | | (BPM) Initiative? |
| jeopardized, or fails outright. | | | | - Start small. I use a term called "business snippets." |
| The preceding steps are of course shortened and | | | | These are the little bits of process that different |
| intensified to make a point. The point here is that | | | | people in the organization all have a piece of, and |
| software vendors are out to sell tools, whether or not | | | | collectively comprise an end-to-end process. |
| business clients are able to take advantage of them. | | | | - Bring in an outside consultant. Someone with |
| Some vendors may just be interested in selling only | | | | experience in extracting, understanding, modeling, and |
| tools, some are more service and consulting oriented, | | | | automating business process. It can often be difficult to |
| others have a foot in both camps. Unfortunately, all | | | | "see the forest for the trees" and this is where an |
| business software tools start from one of the | | | | experienced outsider can help. |
| following premises -- that what an organization wants | | | | - Focus on the process and snippets collection first. |
| to do is either understood well enough to be truly | | | | Like a brainstorming session, your process collection |
| helped by a tool, or that the organization will get there | | | | team (yes -- you will have to dedicate some valuable |
| eventually with the help of the tool. | | | | resources to the task, but trust me -- it's worth it) |
| Enter Business Reality | | | | collects all "process bits", tags each with descriptive |
| Many businesses -- like us as individuals -- are just not | | | | meta language (I generally recommend Wikis and |
| as organized as they should be, or want to be. It is not | | | | related tools for this process, but it can be anything....as |
| the fault of the organization necessarily. Businesses | | | | long as it is easily searchable and retrievable) and |
| expand and contract, companies are acquired or spun | | | | posts the information in the Business Process |
| off, key people leave the organization to pursue other | | | | Repository. |
| opportunities, stakeholders get too busy with meetings | | | | - Add diagrams and charts as needed, or available |
| and daily running of the business to fully understand or | | | | (Basic PowerPoint or block diagrams with simple |
| document processes. Processes live in peoples heads, | | | | arrows can really help people visualize processes in a |
| on scraps of paper, in emails, faxes, digital images, | | | | business-relevant way with relatively little effort.) |
| websites, etc. In other words -- real life happens. | | | | - Add your current Enterprise IT software tools to the |
| Enter Standards and Regulations to Combat Human | | | | evaluation process. What functions do they provide |
| and Business Reality | | | | today? How can they be centralized and streamlined? |
| In the "old days," organizations and individuals that were | | | | Think of your in-house applications as capsules of |
| strongly oriented toward business process | | | | process. Your applications have to already have a |
| management could strive for International Standards | | | | good foundation of process, because they are |
| Organization "ISO" or Six Sigma certifications. As a | | | | algorithmic. |
| co-worker explained to me many years ago "ISO is | | | | - Cross-reference the snippets with their parent |
| simple. Doc what you do, and do what you Doc." | | | | processes, and map relationships with other processes |
| Yeah....real simple for diverse, busy, real-world business | | | | - Maintain focus on what is core to your business. This |
| executives! In the "new days," regulators have | | | | is an important point - never focus your collection |
| determined that organizations need standards, even if | | | | efforts on what your auditors or others in your industry |
| the organizations have to be audited and fined into | | | | want you to do. The process effort is focused |
| oblivion get there. So...organizations that were not...shall | | | | specifically on what makes sense for your |
| we say "ISO inclined" now had a new unwelcome | | | | organization. Only after your data is collected, and |
| regulatory option -- comply or get fined. Like a penitent | | | | processes documented and shared in a way that |
| dieter trying to get back on the wagon, companies | | | | makes sense to anyone and everyone in your |
| spend millions or billions on tools to become "compliant," | | | | organization, should you go back and overlay your |
| achieve "separation of duties," and "accountability." | | | | processes with regulatory, audit, or industry-specific |
| Enter the Magical Software Tool to Make Everything | | | | process requirements. |
| Better.... | | | | - Ensure that all processes are fully collected, defined, |
| Wouldn't it be nice if there were a tool - a point and | | | | cataloged, indexed, searchable, repeatable. |
| click tool - that we could install in our business | | | | - And now.... you can understand truly where your |
| environment and take care of this onerous mess for | | | | organization is, where it wants to go relative to |
| us? Too many identities? No problem - just click a | | | | business goals, and ready to consider tools to help |
| button. Need to run access reports on all of your | | | | your organization achieve the next level. |
| financial databases? Click another button. Document | | | | Conclusion |
| and automate your business processes? Another | | | | Business process management can be a challenging, |
| button. I will grant that security and business | | | | yet highly rewarding exercise when done correctly. If |
| process-related tools have come a very long way | | | | your organization is ready to tackle its processes, |
| since the mid 1990s, but they are far from living up to | | | | consolidate and optimize, then make the commitment |
| most vendor claims made about them. Tools still run on | | | | full and total. As my grandfather continually said: a job |
| computer systems, computer systems are binary | | | | worth doing, is a job worth doing right. Take the time to |
| systems that take input, perform actions, and generate | | | | understand your organizational structure, business |
| output. If the input is bad, then the output will be bad or | | | | processes, goals, and requirements. With a clear |
| worse. | | | | understanding and roadmap, you are now ready to |
| There is an old adage which bears repeating: if it | | | | tackle the automation of your business processes with |
| seems too good to be true, it probably is. Business | | | | software tools. |