Jim Sinur

I’m lucky enough to talk to a number of organizations and there seems to be a trend towards expansive use of business process management. A number of BPM vendors are knocking the cover off the ball when it comes to revenue growth even in the worst of times. Is this a temporary effect because everyone is looking to save money and time while bettering the customer experience? Will the BPM rocket come down like a rock? I’d like to explore a couple of polar views:

Pro: BPM will Sustain Long Term:

BPM just keeps on moving forward because business folks know they can have better business practices implemented by agile processes, but processes can also help detect unexpected events. Quite often the exceptions detected in processes point to new business behaviors. We have only scratched the surface with process that can be modeled and changed to be more effective and cost less. Knowledge workers can be observed for best practices that may or may not be molded into repeatable processes. Business leaders can be made aware of unexpected exceptions that may mean a change in constituent behavior, value chain optimization opportunities or potential environmental shifts signaled by exceptions. The future is so bright for BPM.

Con: BPM is Experiencing a Temporary Lift:

Look this is a repeating cycle. There is nothing new. After the downturn, things will resume as they were. Yes costs will still be a factor, but processes will not be the core. Once the economy starts lifting all boats, business managers will just go back to their old habits and the BPM craze will be over. Yes BPM will be there, but it will fade to the background. You just wait and see.

I believe BPM is experiencing acceleration driven by the need for cost savings initially, but I expect BPM to sustain as immediate availability through the cloud, immediate visibility, dynamic change, deep business involvement and extreme competition drive businesses going forward. Besides, the cost driver is always there. My daddy always said “the more you more; the more you more”. In other words, the more you save, the more you want to save.

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Category: BPM Business Process Improvement Business Rules     Tags: BPM, Business Process Improvement, Business Rules

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