Selecting BPM Technology

1. Selecting BPM Technology Understanding tool options, identifying technical requirements, establishing selection approach, and making the final choice

2. Our Dependence on Technology • It’s important to understand that technology is just an enabler of the work – it can’t replace the work • We must be able to judge when the technology is useful and when it is taking priority over everything else BA 553: Business Process Management

3. Integrating Processes With Other Information • As the enterprise builds maturity in its BPM efforts, the process documentation can be integrated with other information in the organization • There are three types of software tools that were designed to assist in this integration: • Business process modeling tools • Workflow tools • Enterprise application integration tools BA 553: Business Process Management

4. Business Process Modeling Tools • Process modeling tools have been around for a long time • Their purpose is to help users document a process • They are also useful in analyzing processes, and proposing new or redesigned processes • The more sophisticated tools store the process diagrams in a repository • They also store additional information besides the steps, such as which roles are performing the work, and even key metrics associated with the process or process step • Some of the more powerful tools even enable simulation of process changes (although this usually requires a large investment of time and effort, so must be used selectively) BA 553: Business Process Management

5. Workflow and Document Management Tools • Most flowcharting tools enable the use of hyperlinks • If a given process step involves working on a document, that step in the flowchart could include a hyperlink to the document’s location in a company database • A workflow tool will automatically notify the next person in line who needs to work on or approve the document • These features are even available in SharePoint and eRoom collaboration tools • Another advantage for processes that are done primarily on the computer is that they can include the capture of metrics (e.g., number of items completed, or process cycle time) – this is referred to as Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) • Workflow solutions had some of these capabilities, but many have been replaced by the more sophisticated and flexible BPM suites BA 553: Business Process Management

6. Enterprise Application Integration (EAI) Tools • An organization’s departments traditionally kept information in different applications, which were sometimes tailored to the specific purposes of that departmental manager • This made integrating the departmental information, such as financials or inventory information, difficult if not impossible • Enterprise application integration tools were new applications developed to help manage the information from multiple applications • By this method, EAI tools appeared to provide a single integrated source of information, but in fact they simulated a single source: original inputs were still made in the individual applications, and the information was moved by the EAI tool BA 553: Business Process Management

7. Integrating Process Management Software • All of these solutions lacked one critical factor: a common infrastructure by which processes and process information were managed • The internet, and the related standards that have been developed, made it possible to interface with and integrate multiple applications • This led to efforts to integrate the three types of software mentioned previously: business process modeling, workflow, and EAI • The tool that was developed to integrate these is called a BPM Suite (BPMS) BA 553: Business Process Management

8. BPM Suites • A BPM Suite is a tool that is used to develop a BPM software application • The BPM application is established by creating a process flow diagram or business rules – changes to the process are made by changing the flow diagram or business rules • The process flow diagram describes all possible options or paths for a particular process in the organization • The BPM application also includes a BPMS engine that executes the process • When the BPM application executes the process for a particular situation, it follows only one path through the process depending on the selections of the people interacting with the application • The actual application used to work on the documents, and the documents themselves, are kept separate from the BPM Suite BA 553: Business Process Management

9. BPM Technology Selection • The critical issue related to BPM technology selection is an understanding of how to make the selection: • How to identify selection criteria • How to use this to make a final selection • How to present the selection and its justification to management BA 553: Business Process Management

10. Steps in Selecting BPM Technology • Establish a technology selection team, comprised of process owners, BPM COP and COE members, steering committee members, and IT personnel • Identify current and future needs to be fulfilled by the software package • Develop a specification for the technology • Describe each item in the specification as a product feature • Develop weightings for each feature (how important are they?) • Identify potential technology packages to include in the selection process • Modify the features and weightings based upon new information • Have technology selection team members each rate potential technology packages against the features, on a scale (say 1-10) • Multiply the average ratings by the chosen weightings for each feature • Add up the scores and identify the recommended choice • Document the reasons for the selection and provide them to management, including any additional pros and cons of the selected package BA 553: Business Process Management

11. Potential Selection Criteria for BPM Software • Integration with other BPM components (e.g., a BPM suite) • Ease of use • Performance (speed, quality, etc.) • Cost of purchase / licensing • Cost of ongoing maintenance contract • Ability to modify or tailor software in-house • Integration with current enterprise software (e.g., ERP system) • Ability to import existing documents from (and export to) other applications • Quality of support, and ability to support multiple users • Scalability (ability to increase user base without overloading) • Reputation of the vendor • Availability and quality of customer references • Historical improvement of technology by the vendor “Business Process Analysis Tool Selection Criteria,” Gartner research white paper, 7 November 2005. BA 553: Business Process Management

12. BPM Technology Selection Example Example from a project I worked on: BA 553: Business Process Management

13. Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) • In previous sessions, we discussed the difficulty of identifying metrics that will measure what’s important rather than what’s easy to measure • We also discussed how collecting the wrong metrics can result in behaviors that are the opposite of what’s desired • Measuring and monitoring measurement results is referred to as business activity monitoring • Most BPM Suites offer a limited capability in this regard, such as collecting information on specific process steps • However, a BPM Suite can’t collect cycle times for the full process lifecycle, if some of the process steps are conducted offline • In order to get the type of information useful to executives, data must be collected from multiple sources, and then analyzed: this often involves the use of BI (business intelligence) applications • The information is usually collected into an executive dashboard: one location which provides a snapshot of how things are doing BA 553: Business Process Management

14. Example Executive Process Dashboard www.dashboardinsight.com/dashboards/screenshots/altosoft-asset-management-dashboard.aspx, accessed 3 March 2010. BA 553: Business Process Management

15. Additional Tools Related to BPM • ERP (covered next) • SOA (all remaining tools covered in session 13) • SaaS • Cloud computing • Social media and collaboration tools • Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 BA 553: Business Process Management

16. Additional Tools Related to BPM: ERP • Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) applications are intended to collect and integrate business information to assist in business planning throughout the organization • Most of the large organizations are using some brand of ERP software to manage their activities • As with any software that helps with business planning, ERP software is better understood, and decisions regarding it are made better, if done in the context of the business processes • If you plan on implementing either ERP or BPMS in an organization where the other already exists, it is critical that you identify and address potential conflicts or duplication of effort, or you could end up with a very large problem BA 553: Business Process Management

17. ERP and BPM Work Together Well • BPM can help ERP: • ERP information is more useful if understood in the context of the organization’s business processes • If the ERP information isn’t what’s desired, it may require a process change • ERP can help BPM: • Provides the KPIs that help identify potential process problems, which are inputs to the executive dashboard • Assists with process design or redesign • Our guest speaker will explain more about ERP systems BA 553: Business Process Management