One of the key constituents of Business Process Management (BPM) initiative is Process Analysis. The exercise usually commences during pre-inception or inception phase of a project (considering RUP). The participants comprise of process analysts (some call them process engineers) working with subject matter experts (SMEs) and senior management executives. The goal (vastly simplified) is to discover and map the AS IS process and then based on certain criteria, design the TO BE process(es).

An advantage of being a process analyst is the concession to pose certain types of questions to the senior management of large organizations – on subjects that few will otherwise discuss.  Allow me to defend my case for asking these seemingly naive questions, by drawing parallel from some common fallacies discussed in economic theory. Through these questions, a process analyst avoids the errors an economist or scientist does, when trying to arrive at conclusions of an experiment. (more…)

One would certainly categorize predictably ill-fated ventures as irrational.  Why would a rational individual undertake an initiative that is almost guaranteed to fail?  Is application rationalization one of those initiatives?  Perhaps it is and that is the reason John McCarthy used the word “courage” to describe the emotional trait necessary to pursue its goals.

Recently, I spoke with Mike Vizard of IT Business Edge.  We discussed many compelling reasons why an organization would pursue application rationalization.  Cost reduction, increased business agility and business transformation were at the top of the list.  But, even with those stakes most organizations are reluctant to give it a try.  There are many reasons why, some legitimate, others not. (more…)

Understanding how Business Process Management (BPM) can deliver value to business is becoming increasingly well understood by businesses and IT.   The following points, however, provide insight as to why there may be slow adoption across some organisations (more…)

ERP systems have long faced inflexibility and agility issues while addressing the process needs of an organization. BPM can play a catalytic role in making the ERP system more agile and flexible to the evolving and dynamic process requirements of organizations.

Many BPM tools and systems have evolved with the objective of leveraging existing investments in ERP systems, where the bulk of the core IT processing is being handled. BPM tools are expected to make ERP more agile by plugging gaps in human interaction and workflow process in enterprise IT systems. (more…)

As organizations adopt Business Process Management (BPM) as a transformation initiative, they are faced with the challenge of choosing the right BPM technology/product.  This decision can be made at the Line of Business (LOB) level or at the enterprise level depending on the urgency and the intended level of adoption. After a major consolidation in the BPM products market over the last 3-4 years, the market today has about 20 major players. Some of them are pure-play vendors and others are enterprise stack vendors. Organizations typically face a few key challenges in navigating the BPM technology selection process (more…)

Over the years the search for IT and/or Business ‘Excellence’ has led to a concept that is often misunderstood and can be very amorphous in definition and execution – Business/IT Transformation. The term also commonly used in the same context is that of a Centre of Excellence or ‘CoE’ aka ‘Competency Centre.’ In this post, I will not attempt to redefine either, but rather explain a bit more about how the various constituent parts of a CoE can support Transformation projects and more specifically Business Process Management (BPM) initiatives. (more…)