BPM and Analytics

Early on in a Business Process Management [BPM] implementation project everyone is focused on the problem process and finding a ‘fix’.  Lots of time and energy are spent solving the problem.  A BPM project could take as little as a month or as long as a year.

After that success companies will typically address other processes.

A big part of any BPM project is metrics.  How will you truly know your project is successful if you don’t put in place a way to measure it?

BPM tools are built on relational databases.  They are fully capable of capturing all sorts of information based on movement through a process and information either being ‘written’ [imported] into the system or being ‘exported’ out of the system.

There is a lot of ‘data’ being captured – I see some real potential for analytics.  It is the logical next step.

My Thoughts…

What information would be useful in running the company or a department?  Is there enough data in the database to create the desired analysis?  Can we require more entries while moving through the process that will provide the input needed to perform your desired analysis?

The big question – Will the analytics help the company reduce costs and/or make more money?

Your thoughts…

Have you taken on an analytics project using your BPM software data?

BPM Tools

Someone once said – ‘If the only tool in your toolbox is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.’

I saw a presentation by the founders of ‘Visicalc’ [the forerunner to Excel] at the ComputerHistoryMuseum.  They never dreamed that anyone would use their software for anything but numbers.

For all of us Excel users, look at all the different ways you are using Excel.  This is the best example I can think of as the only tool in your toolbox.

Early on, companies that want to manage [improve] their processes will go to their toolbox and pull out something like Excel, Word or Visio and will find a way to make this tool ‘fit’ their needs.

There are some pluses.

Even though you are attempting to use the wrong tool to manage your processes, you will learn a lot.  Your first attempt at managing your processes will be flawed.  So, you will begin your own improvement activities.

There are some minuses.

Your selected tool – Excel, Word or Visio – will not be able to automate activities.  However, using these tools will highlight activities that could or should be automated.

These tools are passive.  If someone does not interact with the tool, you will not have visibility into what is happening within a process.

BPM tools provide control and visibility.

Building on the knowledge you have gained by trying to use your ‘hammer’ to manage processes will help you when implementing business process management [BPM] software.  You should have the knowledge to put together a good requirements document.

Control – BPM software has a workflow component that allows you to impart business rules.  This allows you to control your process.

Visibility – Since this software is built on a relational database, you are able to generate queries that show you what is going on with your process.  At any time, you can see who is working on what and how it is progressing.

I don’t have a problem with someone starting out using a hammer, but the next tool in their toolbox needs to be the right tool for the right job.

Your thoughts?

Process & the Customer Experience

A decade ago, companies differentiated themselves from their competitors using products and pricing.  The internet has changed all that.  Customers can quickly search for products online and even compare.  They can easily choose to purchase from the company with the lowest price.

Change is Constant

Today, companies should be looking at the customer experience as a differentiator.  How customers interact with your company is a process – one that needs some attention.

A customer experience consists of the customer’s perceptions of their interaction with your company.  It is how the customer ‘feels’ about doing business with your company.  It is the customer’s reaction to how they interacted with your employees.

Deliver a great experience for your customer throughout their ‘customer’ lifecycle and the results will improve your bottom line.

We are in the midst of change.

The internet has had a big impact on how companies do business.  Companies are just now exploring the impact of social media.  Mobile is next – companies are still trying to determine the impact.  Then there is the cloud and ‘what does that mean to me?’

The Takeaway

Improve your customer’s experience to attract more customers, to retain more customers and to increase revenue.  If you doubt this, look at what Amazon has accomplished – or Apple.

Change & BPM

From Gartner’s 2013 BPM Summit – ‘By definition you’re all about creating change.  It’s why you’re here; it is what you do, day in and day out. When you create change, you create conflict.’ – Tina Nunno, Gartner Vice President and distinguished analyst, speaking on avoiding organizational ‘land mines.’

Business Process Management is about improving how you do business.  That can only happen with change.  Change is disruptive and there are many reasons for this disruption:

Technology – There is always some new technology out there.  Maybe you can take advantage of one of them.  BYOD [bring your own device] is changing the workplace.  Mobile is beginning to have an impact on how companies do business.  Companies are exploring whether to use cloud computing or not.

Process –The assembly line changed the way manufacturers work.  There are new ways of doing business.  A company may have come up with a new way to work that catches the attention of the business world.

People – Your workforce is not static.  New people come and people go.  The way they work will be different.  Their personalities will be different.  They may perform their tasks differently.  Coming from outside the company, they may be able to see a way to do business more efficiently.

The Takeaway

Now is not the time to say ‘but, that is the way we have always done it.’  Now is the time to embrace change.  Make change a part of your company’s culture.  Find comfort in discomfort!

Business Process Management

A couple of decades ago, I was working for a software company that provided a software solution for managing the engineering change process.  The software was like a blank spreadsheet – we needed to tell it how we wanted it to function.

We had implemented an engineering change control solution at a couple of large companies.  Someone in the marketing department thought we should provide a turnkey solution for engineering change control.

Even though at the time, I was the salesman, I performed the initial analysis of their engineering change process.  Since we had implemented a few engineering change control solutions, I thought I could tell them how to do engineering change control.  As you might imagine, I soon discovered that they didn’t want to hear that – they believed that their process was unique.

My biggest discovery

From company to company, the engineering change process tends to be similar.  However, add the corporate culture and ‘real’ people to the mix and that is a different story.  Each engineering change control process IS unique.

I also learned to mitigate the impact of change, the implemented engineering change process should function similar to the way your company functions.  The process steps/activities should be in your company language.

The Takeaway

Listen. Listen. Listen.  The analysis is an exercise in listening…

Why take on BPM?

Why do companies take on business process management [BPM] projects?

Anne Stuart on business process governance – “Making the right business decisions at the right time has never been more critical than it is in the current recovering — but still largely unforgiving — economic environment.”

It starts with a problem

An important company process takes too long – As Anne points out, companies need to make the right business decisions at the right time.  Your company could be too late to quote on a project.  You could run out of inventory and have to halt the factory floor for some period of time.

Your company could have a process, or processes, that are error prone.  These errors could cost your company some serious cash.

Management needs to know who is working on what tasks.  They need to know when the ‘job’ will be done.

Many companies are subject to audits.  They need to show that there is a process in place and they need to be able to prove they have followed it.

BPM software provides control and visibility

You can make sure that the 6 tasks that need to be completed actually get completed.  Electronic signatures are your proof that those steps took place.  Management can login to the software to see the status of any process at any time.  They can actually see who is working on it right now.

BPM software implemented correctly makes it possible to make the right business decisions at the right time.  The results should either save money or make money.

Your thoughts…

What kind of results have you seen?

BPM – a Systems View

I have been known to say that a company is a collection of processes.  However, the combined processes are also part of a system.  One process can affect another or others.

Applying an 80/20 rule, 20% of your processes will have the biggest impact on how your company functions.  It is also very likely that many of these 20% processes will interact with others.  That interaction could be unfavorable.

Realistically, all of your processes should work in concert with one another.  So during your ‘analysis’ or ‘discovery’ phase, it is important to take into account how one process impacts another or others.  Are people working within one process waiting for the output from another?  What happens if that output is delayed?

Let’s not forget your customer.  It is important to understand how these processes interact with your customer.  Your customers need to be not just happy, but ecstatic.  A happy customer might still change suppliers, an ecstatic customer will not change and will provide referrals.

As an example – If we are talking about ecommerce, you need to make it very easy for your customer to make a purchase.  You might want to look into doing extra things for your customer like Amazon did with ‘Prime’ and their one click purchase option.

I am not suggesting that you attempt to manage a bunch of processes within a single project, it is still best to manage/improve a single process at a time.  I am suggesting that you take into account the adjacent processes that will need to be managed.

Your thoughts…

What has been your experience?