Processes are the foundation of any organisation; they influence all key performance objectives including customer service, financial performance, compliance, productivity and competitive advantage. How well these processes are executed ultimately determines the success or failure of an organisation.
Process management technology has evolved to help automate, integrate, monitor and adjust processes. Various analyst forecasts show the market for business process management (BPM) software is growing at a rate of 15% to 35% a year. However, the BPM market is fragmented, posing a challenge to organisations seeking to implement process management.
Ideally, BPM must address the full, roundtrip process lifecycle for both human-centric and system-based processes with a single, integrated solution from a single vendor.
Here are five steps to follow in choosing the perfect BPM suite:
1. Determine scope
Determine the scope of process management needs by asking questions:
* What are the most critical processes?
* How many of them are human-centric versus system-centric?
* What are the scalability requirements?
* How complex is the IT infrastructure?
* What technology platforms need to interoperate?
* Is achieving a service-oriented architecture part of the overall strategy?
* What are the short-term versus long-term process needs?
2. BPM essentials
There are essential elements that must be present in a BPM solution. These include the ability to:
* Design and model a process in a graphical format.
* Execute and manage both simple and complex processes via a robust, scalable process engine.
* Create online forms that will flow through a process.
* Accommodate dynamic roles and automatically adapt content and key performance data.
* Provide a single user view across an entire process and enable access through a variety of portals.
* Easily provide access to, manage and control content.
* Monitor process activity, gain instantaneous visibility into process content and status, and generate reports to facilitate process improvement.
* Simulate the impact of process changes using live process data and enable real-time changes or additions to process flows, roles and forms.
* Easily integrate with a wide variety of disparate applications.
* Leverage the latest technologies.
* Be easily configured to meet particular process needs.
Important advanced features to evaluate in a BPM suite include advanced reporting and business intelligence capabilities, business rules management, modelling and simulation capabilities, integration and legacy control features, and integration capabilities.
3. Document requirements
Engaging in effective BPM practices is no longer an option but an operational necessity.
Trevor van Rensburg, products director at DVT Gauteng.
After gaining an understanding of the features available in a BPM suite, record what is most important and outline a focused requirements document to drive the evaluation process. Include both functional and company performance requirements to ensure the company looks at the product and the vendor.
Also outline what is not important. This will serve as a reminder to the evaluation team not to get distracted by "cool" but unnecessary product features and extensive sales pitches. Stay focused during the evaluation.
4. Shortlist vendors
Narrow the options by eliminating vendors who are not BPM suite providers. Many market products under the BPM umbrella, but only some have products that provide the depth needed to institute true, effective full lifecycle process management throughout the organisation.
Once the playing field is isolated, narrow the choices even further by evaluating a company`s market leadership position, performance, maturity and vision. Look for a seasoned management team, consecutive quarterly growth, profitability, customer acquisition rate, strategic partnerships and overall strategy.
5. Evaluate vendors
While engaging in vendor evaluations, stick to requirements to ensure focus on the features and criteria that are most important to the business. Importantly, evaluate the company and the product. Analyst firms are often good sources of independent information and opinions on vendor options, so if subscribing to these services, leverage them during the analysis.
Also, talk directly to a vendor`s customers and hear first-hand what to expect during the project lifecycle. Customer references will validate the stability of the product and the supportiveness of the vendor and its employees.
Engaging in effective BPM practices is no longer an option but an operational necessity. Given that thousands of organisations around the world are implementing BPM technology and becoming more efficient, increasing control and gaining the visibility to be more agile, companies can either move forward with choosing and implementing a BPM suite or risk being left behind.
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