BPM Failures

Rainer Ribback recently posted 5 reasons that BPM projects fail.

I will add my views on a few of these...

Metrics - I have written about this several times in the past.  You need to have an objective way to show that your project is successful.  You can only do that with quantifiable metrics.

Scope - We all know that scope creep is one of the biggest killers to any large project, BPM is no different.

Missed adoption planning - He says that 'capturing the voice of the customer is key to adoption.'  I really like his statement that 'the voice of the customer is the absolute truth.'

Today, a happy customer is not enough.  You need to have ecstatic customers.  Ecstatic customers will not only be loyal, they will recommend you to others.  So, the message here is to get input from your customer.

Ambiguous roadmap - Rainer talks about the roadmap as a 'plan of reference'.  I think of this as a solution vision.  If you clearly delineate your vision for a solution, all of the parties will understand what the final solution should look like.  There may be deviations, but the solution will meet your vision.

Think of it like a crew shell.  You have 8 rowers and it is really important that the all row in the same direction.  The boat is going from point A to point B.  Your solution vision [roadmap] delineates the path from point A to point B to your 'rowers'.  They may deviate only if the boat continues to move toward point B.

When planning your BPM project, it is a good idea to take all of these into account. 

It is in your best interest to start with a solution vision.  It makes a project go so much smoother.  Contact me if you would like some help...