Contributed on August 17, 2011

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The Business Process Manifesto

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Roger Burlton’s manifesto on a necessary foundation for all things process (uploaded with permission of the author).

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The Business Process Manifesto A necessary foundation for all things processRoger T. Burlton, P.Eng. , CMCBusiness Process Trends Associateswww.bptrendsassociates.com+1-604-240-5436rburlton@bptrendsassociates.comTwitter:@RogerBurlton ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. Notice of ConfidentialityPermission is granted for unlimited reproduction and distribution ofthis document under the following conditions:(a) The copyright and this permission notice are clearly included.(b) The work is clearly credited to BPTrends Associates.(c) No part of the document, including title, content, copyright, and permission notice, is altered, abridged, or extended in any manner. BPTrends Associates may be contacted at 88 Waban Park, Newton, MA 02458 USA info@bptrendsassociates.com +1 617 964 4753 Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 2 Agenda Some definitions The principles for the principles The 8 principles themselves Summary Feedback Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 3 Why a Talk on the Fundamentals and Why Now?• The complexity of BPM adoption• Too much confusion over concepts• Mistakes made are primarily in mis-understanding of concepts and thinking• Need for (BPM) to become more professional, disciplined, repeatable and trusted• Needed for Business Processes to be managed as enterprise assets• There can be no useful body of knowledge or methodology without a foundationThis requires standardization of the fundamentals Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 4 Rationale for a List-Based Manifesto• Atul Gawande’s book: – ‘The Checklist Manifesto. How to Get Things Right’ – Breakthrough performance can come with simple process guidance at virtually no cost• Malcolm Gladwell – “experts need help, and progress depends on experts having the humility to concede that they need help” Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 5 The Business Process Manifesto: Use of Terms *• Dictionary definitions define our terms*.• Providing a sound semantic basis for the discussion of the concepts• Let’s start with the name of the document itself. – Business: A recognized organization designed to provide goods or services. – Process: A set of actions or operations conducing to an outcome or result. – Manifesto: A public declaration of intentions, motivations, or views: a public statement of policy or intention.* Source: Webster’s New Third International Dictionary Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 6 The Business Process Manifesto: Use of Terms *• Let’s also define other key terms used in the document. – Principle: a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption – Action: something that is done – Asset: an item of value owned – Capability: the ability of an asset to support the achievement of a desired outcome. – Organization: an entity which pursues collective goals, exercise control over its own performance, and has a boundary separating it from its environment. – Outcome: the value that follows as a result or consequence of a set of actions. – Stakeholder: a person, group, organization or other relevant entity that affects or can be affected by an organizations actions. * Source: Webster’s New Third International Dictionary Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 7 Rules for the Manifesto*• Be tightly focused on the subject not issues that belong in other domains.• Be methodology-neutral.• Not a BPM Manifesto!• Have no jargon• Stay short and to the point• Distinguish what a Business Process is and is not• Consolidate items if a more basic principle can be identified.* Inspired by Ron Ross and the Business Rules Manifesto (www.businessrulesgroup.org) and Einsteins observation that “A model should be as simple as it can be but no simpler” Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 8 Example: The BPTrends Associates BPM Methodology:Supports the Manifesto Principles which are Methodology Neutral Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 9 Manifesto ScopeIN:• Principles, definitions and assumptions• The business motivation for Business Processes• What Business Processes are and are notOUT• Process modeling notation and syntax• Process for Business Process (i.e. Methodology)• Technology for Business Process (e.g. BPMS)• Organization roles and responsibilities for Business Processes• Information about other associated professional domainsNote: this is a still work in progress and will be for some time Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 10 The 8 Principles of the Manifesto1. A Business Process is a distinct asset of an organization.2. A Business Process exists within a clearly defined business context.3. A Business Process is guided by business strategy.4. The performance of a Business Process measures business value creation5. A Business Process is enabled by a set of business capabilities.6. A Business Process name should be unambiguous, business friendly and internally consistent.7. A model of a Business Process retains explicit knowledge about that Business Process.8. Business Processes must have integrity Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 11 1: A Business Process is a distinct asset of an organization.1. A Business Process executes a set of actions that transform physical or informational things in the organization from an input state to an output state.2. A Business Process strives to create value for customers and other stakeholders by continually satisfying their needs and expectations.3. Anything that is not a set of actions is not a Business Process including a person, a role, an organization unit, a facility or a technology.4. A person, a role, an organization unit, a facility or a technology only creates value through its participation in one or more Business Processes. Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 12 2: A Business Process exists within a clearly definedbusiness context. 1. A Business Process is clearly bounded by a well-defined organization or group of organizations. 2. A Business Process starts when one or more prerequisite business conditions are satisfied or when defined business events triggers its initiation. 3. A Business Process ends when the intended business result that delivers value to customers and other stakeholders has been achieved or when the drive to achieve it has been withdrawn. 4. A Business Process delivers things to or receives things from either stakeholders external to the organization or other internal Business Processes and not to or from a person, internal organization unit, information system, piece of equipment or facility. Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 13 3: A Business Process is guided by business strategy.1. A Business Process should be guided by business strategic intent.2. A Business Process should be guided by the customers’ and external stakeholders’ needs, expectations and the organization’s performance objectives.3. A Business Process should conform with the principles and values of the organization.4. A Business Process should comply with the organization’s policies and business rules. Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 14 4: The performance of a Business Process measuresbusiness value creation1. The value created by a Business Process can be measured by one or more key performance indicators(KPIs).2. The performance of each action within a Business Process should be traceable from the lowest level of KPI decomposition up to the highest level organization KPI.3. Business Process KPIs must be measurable and comparable over time in all situations in which the same Business Process is executed.4. Business Process performance should be continually optimized at all points in the lifecycle of the Business Process. Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 15 5: A Business Process is enabled by a set of businesscapabilities. 1. A Business Process requires access to co-ordinated, practical knowledge of how to best perform the Business Process. 2. A Business Process requires clear organizational roles and responsibilities for all its actions. 3. A Business Process requires individual and organization incentives to be consistent with the desired outcomes of the Business Process. 4. A Business Process requires assigned human resources to be able to conduct the work needed to execute its actions. 5. A Business Process requires information technologies to optimally enable the automated aspects of the Business Process. 6. A Business Process requires facilities and equipment to optimally enable the physical aspects of the Business Process. Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 16 6: A Business Process name should be unambiguous, businessfriendly and internally consistent. 1. Only one syntax is required for all Business Process names. 2. A Business Process name should reflect action and adopt a verb-noun structure. 3. A Business Process name should unambiguously communicate the intended result of the Business Process. 4. A Business Process name describes what the Business Process does, not who or what is used to do it or how it is done. 5. A Business Process name is first and foremost for business purposes, not technology ones. 6. A Business Process should have one and only one name regardless of where or how it is used in the organization or who uses it. Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 17 7: A model of a Business Process retains explicit knowledgeabout that Business Process. 1. A model of a Business Process should hold the complete set of information chosen to be recorded about that Business Process. 2. A diagram is not a model but a way of viewing some of the model information from the perspective of an interested party. 3. A notation is not a Business Process model but a set of constructs by which some of the model information can be portrayed. 4. Different audiences should be able to view chosen model information using a notation that is suitable for them without compromising the model. 5. All Business Processes decompositions and compositions should be described using one common set of properties. Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 18 8: Business Processes must have integrity1. Only one set of Business Processes is required for all organization purposes.2. A Business Process may be comprised of a set of component Business Process actions and be part of a higher level Business Process.3. Each action conducted in the organization must be a component of at least one Business Process.4. Every Business Process has a life. It is created, it is changed and may be terminated. This life should be managed. Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 19 Business Process Manifesto: Compliant Illustration Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 20 Effort: Contributors to date.• Roger Burlton, Ron Ross, Paul Harmon, Alexandre Magno V. Mello, Sally Bean, Artie Mahal, Dr Jurgen Pitschke, Brenda Michelson, Craig Reid, Sandy Kemsley, Peter Matthijssen, Sandra Foster, Roger Tregear, Andre Macieira, Leandro Jesus• Add your name to the list Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 21 Your FeedbackProvide feedback to:rburlton@bptrendsassociates.com We need your help to become truly Elegant We Think we are here Copyright ©2011 BPTrends Associates. All Rights Reserved. 22