Business Process Management (BPM) is a set of activities
performed by organizations to improve or streamline their
business processes. Since software tools are usually used to aid
these activities, these software tools are referred to as
Business Process Management Systems.
- Business Process Management Systems
Business Process Management has been in place for some time now.
Due to the introduction of software tools, however, there has
been renewed interest in the body of knowledge pertaining to
BPM. These software tools make design and implementation of
Business Process Management easier, cheaper, and more efficient.
There are three categories of Business Process Mmanagement
activities - design, execution and monitoring.
1. Design
Designing BPM involves capturing the existing processes in a
business environment. These processes must be modeled in a way
that they can be simulated and tested. Modeling these processes
usually involves graphical representation methods that document
the processes and stores this data in repositories.
2. Execution
Traditionally, to implement automation in a business
organization, developers would have to be contracted to develop
applications that automate certain processes. Unfortunately, the
scope of these projects was often too narrow. The result of
which is that the automation is not well integrated into the
business environment since the automation only deals with a
particular department or function. BPMS champions a method that
pushes for the development of applications that encompass the
entire business process. It aims to fully automate the business
environment only stopping to query the user when human
intervention is absoultely necessary.
3. Process monitoring
Process monitoring involves observing and taking note of the
performance of the individual processes so that evaluation and
intervention become more straightforward for the business
organization. From the information gleaned from here, the
business organization's leaders can make further decisions on
the direction the business process takes. The data from this
activity can be used to generate different kinds of statistics
that are necessary when having to make critical decisions.
Business Process Management is an iterative process.
4. The Future
Although BPM strives to automate the mechanical processes of a
business, there has been interest in developing BPMs that move
into the territory of human judgment. Some of the processes
involved in a business environment are not included in the
automation because some sort of human decision is needed. With
the growing complexity of information systems - especially
studies into decision support systems and artificial
intelligence - some human decision-making processes can actually
be automated. This is the future goal of BPM, to futher automate
previously unautomatable processes.
- The Business Process Management Ideals
In 1920, Frederick Taylor outlined three waves of business
ideals in managing processes. These waves represented the ways
of thinking business process engineers had.
Wave 1. Processes Set In Stone
They are secured in business policy manuals. The manual is the
basis of the process, and the organization has to abide by it.
Wave 2. Processes Changed Once In A While
Using a one-time activity, changes can be made. This means that
the business would have to build their processes around a fixed
system since change can only come once in a while, and at a
great cost.
Wave 3. Processes On-The-Fly
The primary consideration in such systems is flexibility to
change. Businesses that adhere to this goal create business
environments that can adapt to its changing needs. This setup
also allows the business to constantly fine tune its operations.
This wave is not about business-process reengineering. It is
about maintaining an environment that is constantly on its toes,
ready to adapt to the circumstance, and maximize its strengths
while downplaying its weaknesses.
Change is the only constant, they say. In this modern day and
age, this could not be truer. The survival of a business could
very well rely on its ability to constantly tweak its processes
according to the whims of change. With the growing body of
knowledge concerning Business Process Management, the path
towards a sustainable market advantage based on a streamlined,
flexible business organization can only get clearer.
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