Defining BPM and workflow, and exploring how to maximize the benefits they can provide! Presented via Webinar for AIIM, August 3, 2011

1. August 3, 2011
Getting Maximum Value
From BPM and Workflow
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In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

2. About Your Instructor
 Steve Weissman
 User Adviser, Strategy Consultant, and Industry Analyst for 20+ Years
 Expert in Strategies and Best Practices for Successful Implementations
 AIIM Certified Instructor for ECM and BPM / President, AIIM New England
 Executive Director, Holly Group
 Helping people work better and work better together …
 So they can get Maximum Total Value from their technology solutions
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

3. So What is This
BPM Thing, Anyway?
 It‟s “Business Process Management”
 One of the few buzzphrases that actually mean something!
 (And not what it came to mean at one point)
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

4. So What is This
BPM Thing, Anyway?
 And Why Isn‟t Workflow Two Words?
 It was, once upon a time
 And then the jargon bug bit …
work flow
But it still means something, too!
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

5. What BPM and Workflow Are
 All About “Gettin‟ Stuff Done”
 Business Best Practices
 Ways of Helping People Work Better
 Best Used to Improve Existing Processes
 Widely Misunderstood
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

6. What BPM and Workflow Aren’t
 Technologies
 Change Management Techniques
 Tools for Building Radically New or „Perfect‟ Processes
 Often Used to Maximum Effect
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7. General Definitions and Differences
 Life on a Spectrum
BPM
Workflow
Routing
Sophistication
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

8. General Definitions and Differences
 Life on a Spectrum
BPM
Workflow
Routing
Simple, straight-line, Sophistication 
often ad hoc
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

9. General Definitions and Differences
 Life on a Spectrum
BPM
Workflow
Designer, branching,
rules/roles, repeatable
Routing
Simple, straight-line, Sophistication  
often ad hoc
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

10. General Definitions and Differences
 Life on a Spectrum
BPM
Designer, simulation,
rules/roles, repeatable, complex
Workflow
Designer, branching,
rules/roles, repeatable
Routing
Simple, straight-line, Sophistication   
often ad hoc
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

11. General Definitions and Differences
 Life on a Spectrum
BPM
Designer, simulation,
rules/roles, repeatable, complex
Workflow
Designer, branching,
rules/roles, repeatable
Routing
Simple, straight-line, Sophistication 
often ad hoc
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

12. What to Look For
 Flexibility
 Ability to accommodate changing conditions
 Scalability
 Ability to accommodate more users, processes,
locations, etc.
 Simplicity
 Ability to be readily understood and exploited by
users and admins, businesspeople and techies alike
But the techniques and tools can be used to
support any of these……if you want them to!
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

13. What to Watch For
 Lack of Preplanning
 Familiarity breeds success
 Over-Planning (Rigidity)
 Nothing constant but change itself
 Taking Too Large a Bite
 Break off what you can chew, and get the rest later
 Taking Too Narrow a View
 Think bigger, not smaller – but take one bite at a time
(see previous bullet)
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

14. Caveat Dumpster
 Don‟t Trash Your Initiative When Things
Get Tough (and They Will!)
 Different meanings for different people
– and vendors – can sow confusion
 Inclusion (or lack) of complementary
technologies (content management,
collaboration, intelligent capture, etc.)
can be disruptive
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15. Don’t Let ’em Bog You Down!
 Stay Focused on Your Business Need
 Stay Focused on the Business Value!
 The Rest is Just Details
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

16. Keys to the Kingdom
 Not Just Working Better, But Working Better Together
 Collaborative technologies generally not considered part of BPM-land … but
what could be more process-intensive?
 Not Just ROI, but MaxTV®
 Maximum Total Value
 More than just economics
 Includes process change and collaboration too
 Since 1998
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17. Introducing MaxTV®
 Philosophy in Two Parts
 The Triad … supporting the business case
 The Quadruple Helix … supporting the technology decision
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

18. The MaxTV® Triad
 Economics
 Return on Investment
 Generally focused on a single point in time (i.e., payback)
 Total Cost of Ownership
 “Total” suggests that spending eventually ends
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

19. The MaxTV® Triad
 Economics
 Process Change
 Greater efficiency, effectiveness
 Boosts employee and customer satisfaction
 Opportunities to realize non-obvious savings
 e.g., improved employee retention, early payment discounts
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

20. The MaxTV® Triad
 Economics
 Process Change
 Collaboration
 Less duplication of effort
 Saves time, frustration
 Better quality
 Facilitates review, validation, correction
 Reduces risk
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

21. The MaxTV® Triad
 Economics
 Process Change
 Collaboration
All three elements must be minded
and measured over time in order to
maximize value!
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

22. The MaxTV® Triad
 Economics
 Process Change
 Collaboration
All three elements must be minded
and measured over time in order to
maximize value!
… as must the supporting technology
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

23. The MaxTV® Quadruple Helix
 Four interconnected strands
to be managed and optimized Data
Context
Format
Medium
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

24. The MaxTV® Quadruple Helix
 Missing or poor data?
No utility. Data
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

25. The MaxTV® Quadruple Helix
 Missing or poor data?
No utility. Data
 Missing or wrong context? Context
Not meaningful.
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

26. The MaxTV® Quadruple Helix
 Missing or poor data?
No utility. Data
 Missing or wrong context? Context
Not meaningful. Format
 Mismatched formats?
Not shareable.
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

27. The MaxTV® Quadruple Helix
 Missing or poor data?
No utility. Data
 Missing or wrong context? Context
Not meaningful. Format
Medium
 Mismatched formats?
Not shareable.
 Improper medium?
Not receivable.
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

28. The MaxTV® Quadruple Helix
 Decisions regarding one strand
affect all the others. Data
Context
Format
Medium
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

29. The MaxTV® Quadruple Helix
 Decisions regarding one strand
affect all the others. Data
Context
Format
Medium
All four strands thus must be
continually well orchestrated in
order to maximize value!
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
© Holly Group
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

30. Why Value Isn’t Maximized
 Economics
 Process Change
 Collaboration
Central to justification discussions but
irrelevant to implementation success
Irrelevant to justification discussions but
central to implementation success
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

31. What Does This Have to Do With
BPM and Workflow?
 Everything!
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

32. Why Value Isn’t Maximized
 Incomplete or absent tagging
means process data cannot be Data
found Context
 Poor rules/roles integration Format
means context cannot be
Medium
determined, and intelligence
thus not applied
 Incomplete or absent thinking
about delivery means format and
medium will be mismatched, and
© Holly Group
work will not flow
All Rights Reserved.
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

33. Why Value Isn’t Maximized
 Incomplete or absent tagging
means process data cannot be
found
 Poor rules/roles integration means
context cannot be determined, and
intelligence thus not applied
These issues – and more – are largely
avoidable with proper planning up front!
 Incomplete or absent thinking about
delivery means format and medium
will be mismatched, and work will not
flow
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

34. Why Value Isn’t Maximized
 Incomplete or absent tagging
means process data cannot be
found
 Poor rules/roles integration means
context cannot be determined, and
intelligence thus not applied
These issues – and more – are largely
avoidable with proper planning up front!
But the work is hard, and often unappreciated,
so it too often is left undone.
 Incomplete or absent thinking about
delivery means format and medium
will be mismatched, and work will not
flow
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

35. So: Don’t Leave the Work Undone!
 Plan Ahead
 Rig for Success
 Don‟t Over- (or Under-) Buy
 Keep It Simple, Silly (KISS)
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman

36. Thank You!
 Please contact me for any questions, comments, or additional
information
Steve Weissman, Executive Director
sweissman@hollygroup.com
617-383-4655
Twitter: steveweissman
LinkedIn: in/steveweissman
Fresh observations and opinions
only on Weissman’s World!
Visit blog.hollygroup.com
In association with: Presented by: Steve Weissman