Tackling BPM: Implementation versus product selected

By Vanessa Chetty, BPM specialist consultant, The IQ Business Group

In the past, business has continuously searched for a technological solution that will revolutionise the way they currently work to enable faster time-to-market, enhanced customer service and delivery, corporate flexibility and adaptability, end-to-end visibility and control, and rapid decision-making, while enabling legislative compliance at the same time.

Many organisations have come to the realisation that business process management (BPM) is the solution that they have been searching for to catapult them into the next level of achieving the ultimate technological nirvana.

Many BPM solutions are beginning to sound very similar, and no matter how vastly different they may appear on the surface, they all share functional commonalities that is expected of a true BPM product. And, with so many BPM vendors on the market, the selection of the most appropriate solution can be confusing and overwhelming!

It`s not what you use but how you use it!

BPM products are emerging all the time. Buying the best, most expensive packaged BPM system on the market will not provide an immediate solution to a business` problem. But, the smart application of a BPM system most certainly will.

As Steven Russell (SVP, R&D, Global 360, Inc) so aptly states it "It is like putting an engine in a car: the car will run, but is it headed in the right direction?"

The success of the BPM project is directly influenced by the correct implementation of a BPM solution, irrespective of the BPM tool being utilised. Proper implementation involves the inclusion of BPM expertise, a well-defined process for implementing the BPM project in the target organisation and the inclusion of technology as part of the BPM solution - the equivalent of providing roadmap to steer the car in the right direction!

Many businesses fall into the trap of using BPM technology to duplicate the existing environment.

To achieve sustainable business improvement, organisations need to orchestrate their people, process and technology resources to ensure they weave them into a continuous improvement drive to move from ineffective processes to streamlined processes. Combining BPM technology together with innovative implementation techniques will assist in improving and streamlining the business processes via automation.

Defined methodologies and frameworks for approaching a BPM implementation will provide the business with a clear understanding of what is being done and why it is being done before going into the detail of how it will be done.

To achieve quantum leaps in business performance, businesses need to move away from the conventional methods of operating in a fragmented and silo-based process view by moving toward a visionary and utopist view where an integrated, end-to-end view of the organisational value chain is achievable.

Companies that have implemented BPM in an optimal and effective manner are overcoming current challenges to gain a true competitive-edge by automating, integrating and optimising repetitive critical business processes at every level of their organisation.

When embarking on a BPM project, technology should not be the starting point, but a rather a facilitator of the process.

The primary goal of a BPM project is to align people, processes and technology in such a manner that it is structured to execute an organisation`s strategy and achieve the corresponding goals. The alignment of people ensures that all aspects of change management, skills transfer and emotional acceptance is achieved during the execution of processes. The alignment of processes ensures that the business processes support the strategic objectives of the business. Lastly, the alignment of technology ensures the technology supports the strategically aligned business processes. The ultimate sustainable success can only be achieved by considering all three dimensions together.

Achieving a successful BPM implementation implies making hard decisions around the people, process and technology aspects - selecting the right tool to enable BPM forms only a part of the decision process.

BPM gives you the power to deliver value across your most mission-critical processes and sustain a competitive advantage, not specifically by the BPM tool selected, but by the way the tool is used. Proper implementation is key to project success!