What is BPM?

1. What is BPM?

2. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 2 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.

3. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 3 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!

4. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 4 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

5. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 5 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

6. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 6 The Mandate BPM 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

7. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 7 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

8. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 8 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!

9. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 9 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

10. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 10 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

11. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 11 • 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

12. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 12 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

13. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 13 Flowcharts Defined What is a flowchart? • “A graphical representation of the sequence of activities, steps, and decision points that occur in a particular, discrete process.” http://www.aiim.org/bpm

15. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 15 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

16. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 16 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

17. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 17 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

19. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 19 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

20. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 20 BPMN (Business Process Modeling Notation) XPDL (XML Process Definition Language) BPEL (Business Process Execution Language) Standards and Protocols http://www.aiim.org/bpm

21. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 21 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

22. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 22 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… http://www.aiim.org/bpm

23. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 23 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

24. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 24 Contemporary BPMS Architecture Design & Simulation Services Monitoring Services Process Registry Orchestration (Workflow) Engine Rules Engine Integration Services Content / Data Repositories Note: Not all tools provide all these services or implement them in the same way…

25. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 25 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

26. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 26 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

27. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 27 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

28. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 28 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

29. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 29 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 http://www.aiim.org/bpm

30. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 30 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

31. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 31 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

32. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 32 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)

33. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 33 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

34. © AIIM | All Rights Reserved 34 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

35. www.aiim.org/training

What is BPM?

Atle Skjekkeland

What is BPM?