Contributed on March 21, 2011

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What is BPM?

Description

This presentation provides you with an overview of Business Process Management (BPM). The slides are from AIIM’s BPM Certificate Program, which is a training program designed from global best practices among AIIM’s 65,000 Associate and Professional members. The BPM program covers concepts and technologies for process streamlining and re-engineering; requirements gathering and analysis; application integration; process design and modelling; monitoring and process analysis; and managing change. For more information visit www.aiim.org/training

Transcript

What is
BPM?
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 2
BPM Defined
• Business Process Management is a
generic term, that encompasses the
techniques, structured methods, and
means to streamline operations and
increase efficiency.
• BPM techniques and methods enable
you to identify and modify existing
processes to align them with a desired
(improved) future state.
Business Process Management is a means to study,
identify, change, and monitor business processes.
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 3
BPM is not…
• The automation of manual tasks
• Re-engineering the Enterprise
• Change Management
• Six Sigma
• A management methodology
• Workflow or BPM technology
But the techniques and tools can be used to support any
of these……if you want them to!
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 4
Principles of BPM:
• Organise around outcomes not tasks
• Correct and improve processes before
(potentially) automating them
• Establish processes and assign
ownership
• Standardise processes across the
enterprise
• Enable continuous change
• Improve existing processes, rather than
build radically new or ‘perfect’
processes
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 5
Typical Business Drivers
• Perceived or Expected Benefits:
– Reduce staff and office overhead numbers
– Process business critical activities faster
– Reduce the number of errors and exceptions
– Reduce overall IT costs
– Reduce duplications
– Increase visibility into operational efficiencies
and bottlenecks
– Reduce business risks
– Improve customer service and retention
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 6
The Mandate
BPM changes things.
• You need the authority, the will, and the
ability to change things; this means
aligning any project with enterprise goals
And
• You need the support of those whose
daily work and activities you will change,
as well as the support of the
management that owns the overall
process
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 7
BPM & Ethics
• BPM changes things.
– Our projects will commonly impact the day to day work
activities of individuals and groups
• Often reducing human involvement in a process
– Our projects will typically utilize confidential and secure data
– Our projects will commonly have an impact on the enterprise
as a whole (increased profit/efficiency)
• As such every BPM project needs to consider and be
aware of the ethical issues that will occur on a daily
basis
• Process consultants often face difficult or conflicting
ethical situations
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 8
Business Analysis
• No business process improvement or change activity
can be undertaken without the use of business
analysts and/or business analysis techniques
• You must never attempt to change a business process
without first analyzing the business impact of the
change in detail
• Most people think they understand the techniques of
analysis (e.g., requirements gathering), but few
actually do
• Most projects failures do not stem from technology
– Rather, a lack of insight, stakeholder support or planning — all
things that are the focus of business analysts!
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 9
Methods
• In analysis work – consistency of methods of collection
and delivery are essential
• There are many different types of methods
• The use of any method is typically much more effective
than none – or a loose hybrid
• This presentation introduces you to three potential
approaches for both business and technology process
analysis
– Business Process Analysis
– Structured Analysis
– Object-oriented Analysis
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 10
1. Business Process Analysis
• Most common starting point is when something is not right in the
organisation…
– A meta problem: there are duplicative processes and information
across departments
– A business problem: exception rate is too high
– A micro problem: some user interface screens are confusing
• Business Analyst needs to
– evaluate the situation from various angles and identify core issues
– review any documentation, interview workers
– flowchart/document current process
– recommend improvements
• When to use: When you have already clearly identified a specific
process or process for improvements
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 11
• Centered around understanding of Objects and Classes
– Class – A class describes the characteristics of a thing (attributes,
behaviors, properties, etc.)
– Object – An instance of a class
• modeling techniques linked to UML (Unified modeling Language)
and software engineering
• Analysis focuses on “use cases”
• Makes use of Sequence Diagrams, Class Models, and Activity
Diagrams
• When to use: When you wish to improve a specific business
applications’ performance and usability
2. Object-Oriented Analysis
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 12
3. Structured Analysis
• Views a “System” as a collection of processes
executed according to certain logic (or illogic!)
• Focuses on data flows
• Models Data and Processes separately
• Makes use of Data Flow Diagrams, Relationship
Diagrams, and Flowcharts
• When to use: When you wish to improve your existing
IT investment infrastructure and gain greater process
efficiencies in the enterprise
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 13
Flowcharts Defined
What is a flowchart?
• “A graphical representation of the sequence of
activities, steps, and decision points that occur in a
particular, discrete process.”
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 14
Flowchart Example
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 15
Why Flowchart?
• To explain the sequence of a process graphically
• To improve communication and obtain business-user
validation
• To identify bottlenecks and loops
• To assist with problem analysis
• To provide a blueprint for development
• To identify variations in process activity
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 16
Charting vs. Modeling
• Flowcharting creates a graphical representation of the
sequence and key elements of a business process
• Process modeling extends this by
– Mapping dependencies and related flows
– Adding data intelligence to the steps
– Enabling simulation of flows to check for efficiencies and
bottlenecks
– Enabling reuse of mapped chart elements
– Supporting future monitoring of improved processes
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 17
Advantages of Modeling
• There are seldom single process flows – processes
tend to have interdependencies
– These are difficult to capture in a regular flowchart
– Multiple processes and systems are the hallmark of most BPM
projects
• The granular level of detail in a model supports
eventual automation analysis
• Cross-dependent processes can be acknowledged and
inter-related
• The needs of different stakeholders can be managed
holistically (from business to technical)
• Models can potentially become managed objects in a
ECM/BPM repository with version and access controls
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 18
BPMS
EA
modeling
Drawing
Tools
End User
Focus
Infrastructure
Focus
System to
System focus
Human to
Human focus
Development
Tools
Modeling Tool Options
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 19
Model to Execution
• “Execution” means implementing the
model in an ECM or BPM system
• The promise of powerful modeling tools
is to create a process model, then to
automate its execution
• The reality is far more complex – tools
for moving from modeling to execution
are evolving slowly
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 20
BPMN
(Business Process
Modeling Notation)
XPDL
(XML Process
Definition Language)
BPEL
(Business Process
Execution Language)
Standards and Protocols
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 21
BPMN
(Business Process
Modeling Notation)
BPMN consists of four basic elements:
• Flow Objects
• Event
• Activity
• Gateway
• Connecting Objects
• Sequence Flow
• Message Flow
• Association
• Swimlanes
• Pool
• Lane
• Artifacts
• Data Object
• Group
• Annotation
BPMN
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 22
Reality of BPMN
• BPMN has been designed to be understood by
business analysts to technical developers
• BPMN is a good standard – but it does not always
translate to BPEL (execution) – interim work will likely
be required
• All standards are open to interpretation – business
analysts address different issues to technical
developers…
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 23
Technology
• Maybe none at all (often)
• In the context of this course:
– BPM
– Workflow
– Smart Process Apps
– ECM (Enterprise Content
Management)
– ERP (Enterprise Resource
Planning) / Business Applications
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 24
Contemporary BPMS Architecture
Design &
Simulation
Services
Monitoring
Services
Process
Registry
Orchestration
(Workflow)
Engine
Rules
Engine
Integration
Services
Content / Data
Repositories
Note: Not all tools provide all these services or implement them in the same way…
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 25
Design & Simulation
• Tools to capture and design
business process models
• Designed to be used in the first
instance by business analysts
• Good design tools enable primary
flowcharting, and secondary detailed
modeling activities
• Advanced UIs also allow for
processes to be simulated so that
existing and proposed process
enhancements can be tested and
modified in advance of go-live
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 26
Analysis and Activity Monitoring
• Sometimes called Business Activity
Monitoring, or “BAM”
• Data is created whilst executing a
business process
• The data can be analyzed and displayed
via dashboards or reports
• Processes need to be monitored!
– Who has what
– Where it is
– When they got it
• Identifies bottlenecks and areas of weak
or no activity
• Provides reporting
• Enables process analysis
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 27
Process Registry
• Contains the process models and rules
• Also contains metadata about
processes
• Supports re-use of process
components
• Web Services (SOA) compatible
approach
• Traditional challenges of component re-use apply…
• Granularity and componentisation
• Management complexity
• Governance
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 28
Orchestration (Workflow)
Engine
• Core component for BPM
• Sometimes called Process Engine or
Process Server
• Parses and implements rules governing
transitions between tasks
• Updates the state of each process
instance
• Offers or delivers tasks as needed to
workers or applications to do the work
• Provides reporting and alerts on
demand
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 29
Integration
• BPM application will seldom access just
one source of information
• Hence the need to link the Orchestration
Engine with other sources of data and
services
• The process definition needs to be
comprehensive enough to understand
and address the application
• Invocation can be either push or pull
• May require variety of integration
techniques:
– EAI
– ESB
– BPM to BPM
– Brute force
http://www.aiim.org/bpm
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 30
Rules engines:
• Driven by defined rules, rather than processes
• Separates business rules from application code
• Evaluate the information provided by the process and control
changes in complex flows
– Business processes often have complex flow controls.
• Allow the separation of rules from business processes
– This composite approach provides more flexibility and is more
adaptable to change
Business rules describe the policies and
practices of an organisation. For example a
business rule might state that no credit
check is to be performed on return
customers
Rules Engine
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 31
Content Repository
• ECM repository containing mainly
unstructured data (documents
and files)
• Manages information created in
the business process
• Manages information used by the
business process
• Manages metadata that may drive business processes
– E.g., content of a certain document type prior to a particular date
is processed differently than other document types
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 32
Relationship Between
BPM & ECM
Both BPM and ECM:
• Have notions of workflow
– Involve business processes
– Involve use of resources
– Involve tasks
• Work on the basis of “the right information, to the right
person, at the right time”
• Have a reputation for being expensive
ECM almost always involves processes
• But not all BPM deals with ECM (unstructured content)
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 33
BPM as a Practice BPM as a Project BPM Master
For more information –
AIIM BPM Certificate Program
99.7% found the
course content to be
excellent, good, or
satisfactory
26% of course
attendees got
promoted, got a higher
salary/bonus, got a
new job, or landed new
customers as a result
of taking the course
http://www.aiim.org/training
© AIIM | All Rights Reserved 34
BPM Practitioner Course – available as an online, 24/7 self-paced, or 2-day face-to-
face course:
– Get a thorough understanding of different workflow and BPM technologies
– Learn the fundamentals of flowcharting and standard charting symbols and functions
– Learn how to best map, analyze, standardize, and automate business processes
– Learn how to take a finished process model to execution
– Identify and plan enterprise application integration
– Earn the AIIM BPM Practitioner designation after passing the online exam
BPM Specialist Course – available as an online, 24/7 self-paced course:
– Identify business benefits and stakeholders of your BPM program
– Learn requirements gathering and analysis
– Learn best practices for designing new processes
– Learn how to best manage change and continuous improvements
– Earn the AIIM BPM Specialist designation after passing the online exam
BPM Master BPM Master Course – available as a 3-day virtual live, or 4-day face-to-
face course:
– Fast track your education with the best of the BPM Practitioner and Specialist courses
– Meet with, and learn from industry experts and professionals with similar challenges
– Earn the AIIM BPM Master designation after passing the case study exercise
http://www.aiim.org/training
www.aiim.org/training