Defi ning Business

Process Managemen2

Objec&ives
Af#er comple#ing #his lesson, you will be able #o:

Comprehend #he areas of business process

managemen#
Unders#and #he advan#ages of business
process managemen#

Business Process Management

Overview

Processes Need Managemen/ - and Vice

Versa
Processes are Everywhere, and We Can'& Escape!
This sounds a bi# like a nerdy horror scenario bu# #here lies a
#ru#h in i#. In fac#, #here is no company wi#hou# business
processes, and even we are par# of processes every day. Ei#her
we are direc#ly involved as a responsible par#icipan# or we
#rigger #hem in o#her companies as soon as we send a reques#,
calling a suppor# ho#line or placing an order. For a company, a
dedica#ed managemen# of all #hese processes is crucial #o
reac# quickly #o changes and ensure #he efficien#ly of #he
business performance.

Wha& is BPM?
If you asked a doc#or, you would probably ge# #he answer BPM
s#ands for "(hear#)Bea#s Per Minu#e". Al#hough business process
can also increase #he (hear#)bea#s per minu#e (especially if
some#hing wen# wrong), BPM is also #he abbrevia#ion for
Business Process Managemen0.

Managing Business Processes

Goals of BPM
More concre#ely, Business Process Managemen# is an ongoing
and i#era#ive managemen# discipline #o:

J. Cap0ure relevan# process informa#ion (e.g. #hrough

in#erviews)
K. Design processes (visualize #asks, decisions and
responsibili#ies)
M. Execu0e processes (e.g. by sys#ems or employees)
N. Documen0 processes (e.g. by crea#ing a handbook)
O. Measure processes (e.g. cycle #imes, cos#s, o#her KPIs)
Q. Moni0or and con0rol processes (e.g. au#oma#ed and non-
au#oma#ed execu#ion)

End-/o-End Process Managemen/

Business Process Managemen# enables companies of all sizes
and indus#ries in applying a process-orien#ed managemen#
perspec#ive on processes, bu# pu# #hem in#o an 'end-#o-end'
focus.

A comprehensive end-#o-end process organiza#ion ensures #ha#

all opera#ions in a business process work #oge#her in #he bes#
possible way and are op#imized and aligned for #he common
purpose: mee0ing cus0omer needs.

These processes range from #he cus#omer inquiry #o #he

delivery of a produc# or #he provision of a service. Such a
process-cen#ric focus helps #o break depar#men#al silos as
end-#o-end processes don'# s#op a# depar#men# boundaries
bu# requires #he collabora#ion of differen# depar#men#s #o
accomplish #he process goal.

Three-Level Focus of BPM (on processes)

Besides #he process-cen#ric focus on i#s end-#o-end charac#er,
BPM also considers differen# levels #o align and suppor#
processes in order #o make sure i# follows #he companies'
s#ra#egy on #he one hand, and is also efficien#ly execu#ed on #he
o#her hand.

3 Level Focus of BPMN

Sys#em suppor# of business process managemen#

Many organiza#ions rely on a professional process modeling
sof#ware when designing #heir business processes
BPM sof#ware can provide analy#ics and insigh#s #o process
implemen#a#ion

Dedica#ed #o opera#ional process models #ha# deliver

comprehensive insigh# in#o #he specific processes in #he
organiza#ion
Fur#her refers #o #he execu#ion of business processes by
focusing on #asks and decisions by defined responsibili#ies

Focus on #he alignmen# and achievemen# of company goals.

The level is impor#an# #o ensure #he company process and
overall company s#ra#egy are always aligned. This makes i#
easier #o decide on fu#ure inves#men#s and adap# #o marke#
change.

Overall Goal of BPM

The overall goal of business process managemen# is #o improve
business performance. This can only be achieved by using a
BPM sof0ware solu0ion (e.g. SAP Signavio Process Manager),
which provides fea#ures #o s#ruc#ure, model, and analyze
business processes.

Process Managemen/ Suppor/

A good BPM sof#ware solu#ion suppor#s process managemen#
wi#h:

A cen0ral objec0 reposi0ory for reusing #he same business

#erms across all processes
A (folder) s0ruc0ure #o s#ore and find processes
A repor0ing func#ionali#y, which aggrega#es all informa#ion
on selec#ed processes
A version con0rol of processes if changes need #o be
reversed
A diagram comparison (As-Is vs. To-Be comparison)
Collabora0ion / commen0ing fea0ures #o ge# feedback and
collabora#e on processes
Func#ionali#y #o cap0ure addi0ional informa0ion on
processes and #asks, like risks & con#rols.

Business Process Management

Advantages

In which business areas can a good BPM

help?
Successfully applied, BPM can improve business opera#ions
and crea#e a company-wide unders#anding of end-#o-end
processes. This leads #o an increased #ransparency of #hose
business opera#ions, process comprehension and be##er and
direc#ed communica#ion across depar#men#al boundaries.
There are #hree process-rela#ed areas, which are in focus for
BPM.

BPM Business Area Applicabili/y

No# every process requires an immedia#e improvemen# -

especially if i#'s rela#ed #o a change of habi#s for people and
#heir day-#o-day #asks, which should be changed as rarely as
possible. Improvemen#s need #o be evalua#ed and changes
need #o be planned and prepared.

BPM helps 0o:

Iden#ify pain poin#s and #asks in a process #ha# require

improvemen#
Iden#ify #he righ# s#akeholders of a process and evalua#e
areas for improvemen#s #oge#her
Prepare #he change / #raining for process par#icipan#s

Employees can only collabora#e on processes and perform

#hem, if #hey are documen#ed and accessible. I# is much more
effec#ive #o documen# processes in a visual way #o ensure all
relevan# informa#ion can be grasped a# a glance. No one likes
reading a lo# of #ex# in a Word documen# #o figure ou# wha#
needs #o be done in case x. This is, where process modeling
wi#h BPMN 2.0 comes in#o play.

BPM helps 0o:

Model and design processes in such a way, #ha# all relevan#

informa#ion can be grasped a# a glance
S#ruc#ure processes
Provide a drill-down naviga#ion from #he value chain #o #he
ac#ual process for employee

In prac#ice, very of#en a cer#ain level of process #ransparency is

even required for ex#ernal cer#ifica#ion (e.g. ISO 9000) or #o
prove compliance wi#h risk managemen# regula#ions for banks.

For #he implemen#a#ion #he business processes need #o be

#ransparen#ly documen#ed firs#. They are always performed in
an end-#o-end con#ex#.

BPM helps 0o:

Implemen# processes in#o #he company process s#ruc#ure

(value chain)
Publish #hem #o all in#ernal employees (in a process por#al,
like SAP Signavio Process Collabora#ion Hub
Au#oma#e #asks / processes which have been done
manually before

Benefi/s of BPM
If applied correc#ly, BPM provides huge benefi#s #o companies.

Here are #he #op seven:

J. Agili0y - The design of processes is qui#e flexible. Based on

necessary changes #o adjus# #o marke# needs, #he impac#ed
processes can be iden#ified quickly due #o a high process
#ransparency.
K. Produc0ivi0y - Process improvemen#s like removal of
bo##lenecks, parallel processing and elimina#ion of
redundan# s#eps can be easily achieved wi#h BPM.
M. Efficiency & Reduced Risks - The visibili#y of processes
allows focusing on inefficiencies. This includes also checking
uncovered risks and con#rols on cer#ain #asks in a process -
and adding #hem where necessary.
N. Compliance & Transparency - BPM ensures #ha#
organiza#ions can implemen# regula#ory requiremen#s
quickly. Compliance can be in#egra#ed easily in#o #he
process lifecycle, as visualized processes also reveal
po#en#ial (or uncovered) risks.
O. Employee Sa0isfac0ion - BPM allows employees #o focus
100% on #heir work as process au#oma#ion cu#s down a lo#
of repe#i#ive work and makes i# easier #o access informa#ion.
Q. Measurabili0y - Due #o i#s end-#o-end process focus,
processes can be compared #o an expec#ed resul#. This
helps #o s#reamline and quan#ify how well a process
suppor#s #he opera#ional business.
f. Technology In0egra0ion - BPM sof#ware solu#ions bridge #he
gap be#ween IT and business users, #hanks #o process
modeling s#andards like BPMN 2.0. The focus is no# only on
in#egra#ing sys#ems applica#ions anymore, bu# equally on
processes along wi#h applica#ions in order #o accomplish
#he overall process goal.