What is BPM?

What is BPM?

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BPM Defined

• Business Process Management is a generic term, that encompasses the techniques, structured methods, and means to streamline operations and increase efficiency.

• BPM techniques and methods enable you to identify and modify existing processes to align them with a desired (improved) future state.

Business Process Management is a means to study, identify, change, and monitor business processes.


BPM is not…

• The automation of manual tasks• Re-engineering the Enterprise• Change Management• Six Sigma• A management methodology• Workflow or BPM technology

But the techniques and tools can be used to support any of these……if you want them to!


Principles of BPM:• Organise around outcomes not tasks• Correct and improve processes before

(potentially) automating them• Establish processes and assign

ownership• Standardise processes across the

enterprise• Enable continuous change• Improve existing processes, rather than

build radically new or ‘perfect’ processes


Typical Business Drivers

• Perceived or Expected Benefits:– Reduce staff and office overhead numbers– Process business critical activities faster– Reduce the number of errors and exceptions– Reduce overall IT costs– Reduce duplications– Increase visibility into operational efficiencies

and bottlenecks– Reduce business risks– Improve customer service and retention

http://www.aiim.org/bpm


The MandateBPM changes things.• You need the authority, the will, and the

ability to change things; this means aligning any project with enterprise goals

And • You need the support of those whose

daily work and activities you will change, as well as the support of the management that owns the overall process



BPM & Ethics• BPM changes things.

– Our projects will commonly impact the day to day work activities of individuals and groups

• Often reducing human involvement in a process

– Our projects will typically utilize confidential and secure data– Our projects will commonly have an impact on the enterprise

as a whole (increased profit/efficiency)

• As such every BPM project needs to consider and be aware of the ethical issues that will occur on a daily basis

• Process consultants often face difficult or conflicting ethical situations



Business Analysis• No business process improvement or change activity

can be undertaken without the use of business analysts and/or business analysis techniques

• You must never attempt to change a business process without first analyzing the business impact of the change in detail

• Most people think they understand the techniques of analysis (e.g., requirements gathering), but few actually do

• Most projects failures do not stem from technology– Rather, a lack of insight, stakeholder support or planning -- all

things that are the focus of business analysts!


Methods• In analysis work - consistency of methods of collection

and delivery are essential• There are many different types of methods • The use of any method is typically much more effective

than none - or a loose hybrid• This presentation introduces you to three potential

approaches for both business and technology process analysis– Business Process Analysis– Structured Analysis– Object-oriented Analysis



1. Business Process Analysis

• Most common starting point is when something is not right in the organisation…– A meta problem: there are duplicative processes and information

across departments

– A business problem: exception rate is too high

– A micro problem: some user interface screens are confusing

• Business Analyst needs to – evaluate the situation from various angles and identify core issues

– review any documentation, interview workers

– flowchart/document current process

– recommend improvements

• When to use: When you have already clearly identified a specific process or process for improvements



• Centered around understanding of Objects and Classes– Class - A class describes the characteristics of a thing (attributes,

behaviors, properties, etc.)

– Object - An instance of a class

• modeling techniques linked to UML (Unified modeling Language) and software engineering

• Analysis focuses on “use cases”

• Makes use of Sequence Diagrams, Class Models, and Activity Diagrams

• When to use: When you wish to improve a specific business

applications’ performance and usability

2. Object-Oriented Analysis



3. Structured Analysis

• Views a “System” as a collection of processes executed according to certain logic (or illogic!)

• Focuses on data flows• Models Data and Processes separately• Makes use of Data Flow Diagrams, Relationship

Diagrams, and Flowcharts• When to use: When you wish to improve your existing

IT investment infrastructure and gain greater process efficiencies in the enterprise



Flowcharts DefinedWhat is a flowchart?

• “A graphical representation of the sequence of activities, steps, and decision points that occur in a particular, discrete process.”



Flowchart Example


Why Flowchart?• To explain the sequence of a process graphically• To improve communication and obtain business-user

validation• To identify bottlenecks and loops • To assist with problem analysis• To provide a blueprint for development• To identify variations in process activity



Charting vs. Modeling

• Flowcharting creates a graphical representation of the sequence and key elements of a business process

• Process modeling extends this by – Mapping dependencies and related flows– Adding data intelligence to the steps– Enabling simulation of flows to check for efficiencies and

bottlenecks– Enabling reuse of mapped chart elements– Supporting future monitoring of improved processes



Advantages of Modeling

• There are seldom single process flows - processes tend to have interdependencies – These are difficult to capture in a regular flowchart– Multiple processes and systems are the hallmark of most BPM

projects

• The granular level of detail in a model supports eventual automation analysis

• Cross-dependent processes can be acknowledged and inter-related

• The needs of different stakeholders can be managed holistically (from business to technical)

• Models can potentially become managed objects in a ECM/BPM repository with version and access controls


BPMS

EAmodeling

DrawingTools

End UserFocus

InfrastructureFocus

System toSystem focus

Human toHuman focus

DevelopmentTools

Modeling Tool Options


Model to Execution

• “Execution” means implementing the model in an ECM or BPM system

• The promise of powerful modeling tools is to create a process model, then to automate its execution

• The reality is far more complex – tools for moving from modeling to execution are evolving slowly



BPMN

(Business Process

Modeling Notation)

XPDL

(XML Process

Definition Language)

BPEL

(Business Process

Execution Language)

Standards and Protocols



BPMN

(Business Process

Modeling Notation)

BPMN consists of four basic elements:

• Flow Objects• Event• Activity• Gateway

• Connecting Objects• Sequence Flow• Message Flow• Association

• Swimlanes• Pool• Lane

• Artifacts• Data Object• Group• Annotation

BPMN


Reality of BPMN

• BPMN has been designed to be understood by business analysts to technical developers

• BPMN is a good standard - but it does not always translate to BPEL (execution) - interim work will likely be required

• All standards are open to interpretation - business analysts address different issues to technical developers…



Technology• Maybe none at all (often)• In the context of this course:

– BPM– Workflow– Smart Process Apps– ECM (Enterprise Content

Management)– ERP (Enterprise Resource

Planning) / Business Applications



Contemporary BPMS Architecture

Design &SimulationServices

Monitoring Services

ProcessRegistry

Orchestration(Workflow)Engine

RulesEngine

IntegrationServices

Content / DataRepositories

Note: Not all tools provide all these services or implement them in the same way…


Design & Simulation• Tools to capture and design

business process models• Designed to be used in the first

instance by business analysts• Good design tools enable primary

flowcharting, and secondary detailed modeling activities

• Advanced UIs also allow for processes to be simulated so that existing and proposed process enhancements can be tested and modified in advance of go-live



Analysis and Activity Monitoring• Sometimes called Business Activity

Monitoring, or “BAM”• Data is created whilst executing a

business process• The data can be analyzed and displayed

via dashboards or reports• Processes need to be monitored!

– Who has what– Where it is – When they got it

• Identifies bottlenecks and areas of weak or no activity

• Provides reporting • Enables process analysis



Process Registry

• Contains the process models and rules• Also contains metadata about

processes• Supports re-use of process

components• Web Services (SOA) compatible

approach

• Traditional challenges of component re-use apply…• Granularity and componentisation• Management complexity• Governance



Orchestration (Workflow) Engine

• Core component for BPM• Sometimes called Process Engine or

Process Server• Parses and implements rules governing

transitions between tasks• Updates the state of each process

instance• Offers or delivers tasks as needed to

workers or applications to do the work• Provides reporting and alerts on

demand



Integration• BPM application will seldom access just

one source of information• Hence the need to link the Orchestration

Engine with other sources of data and services

• The process definition needs to be comprehensive enough to understand and address the application

• Invocation can be either push or pull• May require variety of integration

techniques:– EAI– ESB– BPM to BPM– Brute force



Rules engines:

• Driven by defined rules, rather than processes

• Separates business rules from application code

• Evaluate the information provided by the process and control changes in complex flows

– Business processes often have complex flow controls.

• Allow the separation of rules from business processes

– This composite approach provides more flexibility and is more adaptable to change

Business rules describe the policies and practices of an organisation. For example a business rule might state that no credit check is to be performed on return customers

Rules Engine


Content Repository

• ECM repository containing mainly unstructured data (documents and files)

• Manages information created in the business process

• Manages information used by the business process

• Manages metadata that may drive business processes– E.g., content of a certain document type prior to a particular date

is processed differently than other document types


Relationship Between BPM & ECM

Both BPM and ECM:• Have notions of workflow

– Involve business processes– Involve use of resources– Involve tasks

• Work on the basis of “the right information, to the right person, at the right time”

• Have a reputation for being expensive

ECM almost always involves processes• But not all BPM deals with ECM (unstructured content)


BPM as a Practice BPM as a Project BPM Master

For more information -AIIM BPM Certificate Program

99.7% found the course content to be excellent, good, or satisfactory

26% of course attendees got promoted, got a higher salary/bonus, got a new job, or landed new customers as a result of taking the course

http://www.aiim.org/training


BPM Practitioner Course – available as an online, 24/7 self-paced, or 2-day face-to-face course:- Get a thorough understanding of different workflow and BPM technologies- Learn the fundamentals of flowcharting and standard charting symbols and functions- Learn how to best map, analyze, standardize, and automate business processes- Learn how to take a finished process model to execution - Identify and plan enterprise application integration- Earn the AIIM BPM Practitioner designation after passing the online exam

BPM Specialist Course – available as an online, 24/7 self-paced course:- Identify business benefits and stakeholders of your BPM program- Learn requirements gathering and analysis- Learn best practices for designing new processes- Learn how to best manage change and continuous improvements- Earn the AIIM BPM Specialist designation after passing the online exam

BPM Master BPM Master Course – available as a 3-day virtual live, or 4-day face-to-face course:- Fast track your education with the best of the BPM Practitioner and Specialist courses- Meet with, and learn from industry experts and professionals with similar challenges- Earn the AIIM BPM Master designation after passing the case study exercise

http://www.aiim.org/training

www.aiim.org/training