24/09/2010

KXI722 Business Process Management

Week 24
Business Process Management Lifecycle Managing Processes and Continuous Improvement

Phase 6: Management & Continuous Improvement

After implementation of new processes, the organisation must be managed and controlled the same as a project and needs to be adapted to changing conditions. This is the last phase of the lifecycle, but the first in making BPM business-asusual in the organisation. Processes, tasks, resources, and goals for operation of the implemented processes are framed by continuous process management. The main task of continuous process management is the constant, incremental improvement of the process organisation. Continuous process management should be planned from the very beginning, to be established after the end of any initiative. We need to monitor the achievement of goals periodically and evaluate the processes. We use the results of this process evaluation to adapt the goals and to optimise the process structure or process-supporting domains.
Phase 1
Organisation

Phase 2
Documentation

Phase 3
Analysis

Phase 4
Design

Phase 5
Implementation

Phase 6
Management

Continuous improvement
Process improvements without sustainability is hardly worth the effort as the improved practices quickly fade away as the business grows and changes. The purpose of this phase is to ensure the ongoing sustainability of processes improvements and to make it part of business-as-usual. The considerable investment made in any project must be maintained and enhanced over time. Sustainability is determined by an organisations ability to create and deliver value for all stakeholders on a continuing basis. Processes must be continuously improved and redesigned to reflect the change in business environment. Sustained performance is about the continual management of processes aimed at achieving the specific objectives of the business. This phase should result in mechanisms (a set of practical steps) to manage business processes and identify and realise opportunities for process improvements. Embedding BPM within an organisation requires the clear positioning of BPM, with clear roles, responsibilities and authorisation levels, and a structure that can evolve with the growing importance of BPM within the organisation.

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Sustaining process benefits

Evaluate project results Develop/fine tune sustainability strategy Embed performance measures in management Introduce feedback loops Embed sustainability Reward sustainability Institutionalise process governance Monitor sustainability Communications Maintaining the process models

Software tools for BP Development

Software tools can be used to record data collection, integrate documentation, map and model processes, simulate processes, and to manage process descriptions There are dozens of different software tools that can be used for business process change projects:
Software tools that aid in the analysis of corporate strategy, competitors, customer needs, and threats and opportunities for process improvement. Tools that maintain enterprise process architectures. Software tools that aid business teams in the analysis, modelling, and redesign of business processes. Includes methodologies, modelling tools, activity documentation, simulation, and costing tools. Software tools that aid business teams in defining business rules for processes. Software tools that aid in creating management measurement systems for business managers responsible for managing or implementing new business processes. Includes tools that monitor ongoing business processes. Software tools that aid in process improvement projects. Workflow tools that can analyse and implement workflow systems. Tools that support XML business process languages. Software applications that actually automate business processes. Includes ERP, CRM, and other packaged applications organised to support process automation. Tools that are tailored to help tailor ERP and other packaged applications. Software tools that allow software developers to model processes and create software applications. Software tools that support the development of specific types of applications (e.g. tools that support the use of SCOR supply chain framework and methodology). Software tools that support the redesign of employee jobs, the creation of job descriptions, knowledge management tools, and tools that track employee performance.

Remember however, that basic BPM can be done without sophisticated tools

Products & services currently used for BPM

(Source: Wolf & Harmon 2010)

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BPM tools being used

(Source: Wolf & Harmon 2010)

Major types of software tools used by BPM practitioners

(Source: Wolf & Harmon 2010)

Reasons for not investing in BPMS software

(Source: AIIM 2009)

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Processes: Beyond Improvement

Certification one way to demonstrate to customers that the processes and structures of a company are suited to produce high-quality products. Software selection or development to appropriately select or develop software to fulfil a need, we need to know what it should do and how it needs to function. Business process frameworks serve as a good starting point to aid this. Knowledge management deals with the question of how to use the available know-how and to find organisational structure that are suited to support, creation, distribution, and maintenance of this knowledge. Benchmarking The comparison of actual business data and practices with guidelines and practices. The objective is the comparison of companies, parts of a company, or processes in order to identify, analyse, and describe a perceived best practice. BP Outsourcing a response to ever-increasing pressure to perform better, cheaper, faster and more responsively. Dealing with the challenges of operating both core and non-core processes.

The future of Business Process Management? Business Performance Management Customer perspective Knowledge workers Processes as the basis for automation End of Chief Process Officer (CPO) roles Even more internal resources Governance as part of process management Accreditation Embedding in the organisation Process leadership

Reading
Muhlen (2003) Additional Application Areas and Further Perspectives in Becker et al, Process Management, Springer, Chapter 10 Harmon (2003) Business Process Change, Morgan Kauffman, Chapter 16 Cases:
A Global Financial Institution Increases its Wealth Management Divisions Efficiency with Interstage Business Process Manager Arizona Public Service CCLA Danish Municipalities Case Study Dickerson Financial Corporation (DFC) Royal Pharmaceuticals Case Study University of California, San Diego Archstone, Drowning In Paper, Surfaces with a High-Impact BPM Solution