It's cheaper to re-use tools than create new ones. The three 'R's' - recycle, re-use and reduce - are core contributors to business process management (BPM).
The tools that may be suited to re-use in an organisation include training materials, systems, job descriptions, processes and applications, says Norwin Lederer, manager, business solution design, SCIO and change at Absa.
There are four requirements to embed re-use in an organisation, Lederer continues - people, infrastructure, content and methodologies.
People's attitudes are complementary to re-use. To create a culture of re-use starts with people, Lederer says. People should be empowered to re-use through methodology, training and tools, as well as rewards and incentives, that should be aligned, to encourage people to re-use, he continues.
Infrastructure must encapsulate enterprise architecture, Lederer says. Through infrastructures, such as a repository and toolset, metamodel and content, associated methodologies can be stored, recalled, shared, disseminated and used, he says. As a rule of thumb, technology infrastructure must be able to grow with the organisation's needs, he emphasises.
Content must be well understood, Lederer adds, saying organisations own their content - content is not found in methodologies. Congruous content is a requirement of re-use and this is not found overnight, he stresses.
Enterprise architecture is not an IT function, it needs to be positioned in business - in close proximity to strategy, Lederer says.
Lederer is a speaker at the ITWeb BPM summit, taking place on 17 and 18 April, at The Forum, in Bryanston.
For more information, and to book your seat, click here.
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