Comments on: Can the Business Really Use BPM Technologies Without Help? http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/ A member of the Gartner Blog Network Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:06:56 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Jim Sinur http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/comment-page-1/#comment-664 Jim Sinur Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:44:57 +0000 http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/#comment-664 I agree that for complex and far reaching processes, it takes teamwork betweeen business professionals and IT. BPM is making progress in the ease of use that allows business professionals to be much more involved. That involvement is the key to overall success. of BPM programs I agree that for complex and far reaching processes, it takes teamwork betweeen business professionals and IT. BPM is making progress in the ease of use that allows business professionals to be much more involved. That involvement is the key to overall success. of BPM programs

]]> By: Carolyn Evans http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/comment-page-1/#comment-663 Carolyn Evans Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:34:22 +0000 http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/#comment-663 There are key cross-discipline roles that exist to support the business in designing, building and maintaining their process, decision management, and performance destiny. But a lot more needs to happen before you turn folks loose on the latest and greatest BPMS, BPA, or BRE tool. First and foremost, the business needs to accept full ownership of the design (and re-designs) of how they get work done to; a) support corporate strategy and objectives, and b) deliver value to the customer. Secondly, the business must own the blueprints showing precisely how work gets done and the business rules that govern how decisions are made within the scope of each process group. Third, the business must replace management by “gut feel” or “anecdote” with quantitative measurements against KPIs for each core process and focus on continuous improvement toward achievement of; a) corporate strategies and objectives, and b) customer value. Finally, the business should also be responsible and empowered to perform impact analysis, simulations and validations of their processes, rules and information flow (both initial design and subsequent changes) before passing the baton to IT for technical design, build, implement. When the business fully owns and is accountable for the design and orchestration of their own processes, rules, KPIs and information needs, then IT can focus on what they do best - the application of the best enabling technology solution to automate what has been communicated by the business. The IT architecture domain (enterprise, application, network, security, data, etc.) is more than a full-time job in a world where technology changes faster than most organizations can ever hope to keep up with. The business architecture domain (business strategy, capabilities, process, knowledge, organizational, rules, analytics, etc.) is more than a full-time job in a very flat world where companies must be able to change at a moment’s notice to survive. The goal should be that both domains are working together and efficiently toward the ultimate goal of business agility driven by the enterprise business architecture, tools or no tools! OK, all that may sound great (or not) but the initial question remains…who helps the business folks design, build and maintain their process, decision management, and performance destiny? The key cross-discipline roles that take all this on and then some: Business and Process Architects. There are some pretty slick BPMS, BPA and BRE tools which business professionals can supposedly use without the aid of IT professionals. But in my experience, so much more needs to happen before these tools should be deployed. Look to Business and Process Architects to fill that gap through the rigor of business “by design” first. Then you’ll have some meaningful content to input into your BPMS, BPA, and BRE tools, along with the appropriate cross-discipline business professionals to keep those tools humming. Carolyn Evans Principle Consultant OnKue Interaction Design, Inc. There are key cross-discipline roles that exist to support the business in designing, building and maintaining their process, decision management, and performance destiny. But a lot more needs to happen before you turn folks loose on the latest and greatest BPMS, BPA, or BRE tool.

First and foremost, the business needs to accept full ownership of the design (and re-designs) of how they get work done to; a) support corporate strategy and objectives, and b) deliver value to the customer.

Secondly, the business must own the blueprints showing precisely how work gets done and the business rules that govern how decisions are made within the scope of each process group.

Third, the business must replace management by “gut feel” or “anecdote” with quantitative measurements against KPIs for each core process and focus on continuous improvement toward achievement of; a) corporate strategies and objectives, and b) customer value.

Finally, the business should also be responsible and empowered to perform impact analysis, simulations and validations of their processes, rules and information flow (both initial design and subsequent changes) before passing the baton to IT for technical design, build, implement.

When the business fully owns and is accountable for the design and orchestration of their own processes, rules, KPIs and information needs, then IT can focus on what they do best – the application of the best enabling technology solution to automate what has been communicated by the business.

The IT architecture domain (enterprise, application, network, security, data, etc.) is more than a full-time job in a world where technology changes faster than most organizations can ever hope to keep up with. The business architecture domain (business strategy, capabilities, process, knowledge, organizational, rules, analytics, etc.) is more than a full-time job in a very flat world where companies must be able to change at a moment’s notice to survive. The goal should be that both domains are working together and efficiently toward the ultimate goal of business agility driven by the enterprise business architecture, tools or no tools!

OK, all that may sound great (or not) but the initial question remains…who helps the business folks design, build and maintain their process, decision management, and performance destiny? The key cross-discipline roles that take all this on and then some: Business and Process Architects.

There are some pretty slick BPMS, BPA and BRE tools which business professionals can supposedly use without the aid of IT professionals. But in my experience, so much more needs to happen before these tools should be deployed. Look to Business and Process Architects to fill that gap through the rigor of business “by design” first. Then you’ll have some meaningful content to input into your BPMS, BPA, and BRE tools, along with the appropriate cross-discipline business professionals to keep those tools humming.

Carolyn Evans
Principle Consultant
OnKue Interaction Design, Inc.

]]> By: James Taylor http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/comment-page-1/#comment-651 James Taylor Tue, 16 Dec 2008 23:45:56 +0000 http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/#comment-651 Jim Interesting post - made me think about the same question with respect to decision management: http://jtonedm.com/2008/12/16/can-the-business-use-decision-management-technology-without-it-help/ JT Jim
Interesting post – made me think about the same question with respect to decision management:
http://jtonedm.com/2008/12/16/can-the-business-use-decision-management-technology-without-it-help/
JT

]]> By: Bernard Debauche http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/comment-page-1/#comment-631 Bernard Debauche Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:12:31 +0000 http://blogs.gartner.com/jim_sinur/2008/12/09/can-the-business-really-use-bpm-technologies-without-help/#comment-631 When process automation is one of the purposes of process modeling, IT must become involved somewhere down the road. But my experience is that there is no way to get the right process model with the right granularity if it is not driven by the business. Jim speaks about orchestrating services, and that most of the time this requires IT skills. Frankly, it depends on the way services are linked to processes. Business people understand services better than processes—at least in my experience. But they do not see a service as IT does—as the invocation of a function with data. They see the service as all the "moments of truth" (i.e., the events) that interface the customer with the process. Take an order cancel, for example: this is an event that influences the order-processing process, but it is also part of the service that the enterprise provides to customers (otherwise they could not cancel their orders!). Taken this way, business people approach processes, services, and events in a non-IT universe. Also, as the process notion is not natural to business people (they think rather in terms of what the process does or the service it provides), they need assistance from a method that guides them (i.e., what do I have to think about when I model the process?). And when this method is implemented in the wizards of the process modeling tool, it makes their lives so much easier—without calling upon IT! Bernard Debauche VP EMEA Marketing Axway Inc When process automation is one of the purposes of process modeling, IT must become involved somewhere down the road. But my experience is that there is no way to get the right process model with the right granularity if it is not driven by the business. Jim speaks about orchestrating services, and that most of the time this requires IT skills. Frankly, it depends on the way services are linked to processes. Business people understand services better than processes—at least in my experience. But they do not see a service as IT does—as the invocation of a function with data. They see the service as all the “moments of truth” (i.e., the events) that interface the customer with the process. Take an order cancel, for example: this is an event that influences the order-processing process, but it is also part of the service that the enterprise provides to customers (otherwise they could not cancel their orders!). Taken this way, business people approach processes, services, and events in a non-IT universe. Also, as the process notion is not natural to business people (they think rather in terms of what the process does or the service it provides), they need assistance from a method that guides them (i.e., what do I have to think about when I model the process?). And when this method is implemented in the wizards of the process modeling tool, it makes their lives so much easier—without calling upon IT!

Bernard Debauche
VP EMEA Marketing
Axway Inc

]]>