Five steps to ensure the success of BPM

Five steps to ensure the success of BPM

as we all know, business process management (BPM) can bring the following benefits: simplifying processes, improving customer service, improving regulatory compliance efficiency, improving risk management, and strengthening the responsiveness to the changing business environment, but the premise is that BPM projects should be effectively implemented

an effective enterprise BPM deployment strategy has nothing to do with specific solutions or even the specific processes deployed. No matter what software you use or which department you deploy BPM to, these best strategies apply. Here are five steps you should take to actively promote BPM strategy

1. determine the priorities of BPM projects

many organizations make such a mistake: they do not closely link the BPM application system with the most important strategic goals of the project implementation department and the whole enterprise. BPM's focus on "process efficiency" should be combined with more important strategic goals, such as providing more efficient customer service

it organizations and important stakeholders from each business department should agree on the priorities of the project. The selected project can not only bring direct benefits to a single department, but also to multiple departments or the entire organization. The best way to reach an agreement is to hold a project optimization seminar, in which all stakeholders and objective coordinators, such as the executive sponsor or external consultants, participate

2. confirm BPM pilot project

once the priorities of BPM projects are determined, specific projects for a department should be selected as the pilot before formal action. A successful project pilot will not only prove the success of BPM, but also help prove the need to expand the deployment strategy throughout the enterprise. Therefore, the selected pilot should directly support the most urgent strategic goals of the enterprise, whether it is to improve customer service, launch new products faster, or shorten the process time to gain competitive advantage

an example is that a local government chose the reporting process of child abuse cases as a pilot project, because the project brings the most obvious benefits to the provision of public services in important areas. Another example is to take the mortgage loan start-up that mortgage loan managers pay attention to as a pilot project to investigate whether it can gain a competitive advantage by shortening the time of loan start-up. An automobile manufacturer focuses on simplifying the widely distributed accounts receivable process, thereby supporting the business goal of providing the best service across organizations

these pioneering projects were selected not because they will prove to be able to achieve rapid return on investment, but because they are crucial to the business strategy of the entire organization

3. Establish affinity groups

many organizations have taken great pains in selecting appropriate pilot projects and ensuring success, but they have not given the same attention and efforts in promoting projects to other departments and processes. It is wrong to wait until the pilot project is completed before planning the next deployment phase

organizations need to have elaborate equipment, phased deployment plans, and also consider BPM projects with priorities and affinity groups with close relationships. Affinity groups are departments that share processes, documents/files, and data. For example, several departments with common management functions, such as accounting, marketing and customer service departments. These departments or business units can reuse the same part of the process, so as to obtain cross departmental process efficiency and reduce implementation, support and training costs. After the main department in the affinity group implements the BPM application system, it can guide the next department that implements a similar application system. This approach promotes the sharing of process automation knowledge across the community

as a part of this method, the organization should consider that each department in the affinity group should confirm which projects are in the preparation state and have the required resources for the most likely success of aviation quality land (SEA) military fasteners processed from aluminum blanks in the initial implementation stage. There are also many factors to be evaluated, such as the degree of automation, computer skills, and the workload of each department in the affinity group

4. make necessary organizational changes

a successful enterprise BPM strategy may need to report functional relationships and adjust responsibilities. It is important to make such changes in advance. For example, BPM strategy will affect many systems and application software, including ERP system, financial application software, one-stop services, and integrated services provided to consumers at the first time. BPM strategies also need to change the way people do things and use systems, even if the core processes have not changed at all

when evaluating organizational changes, it is also important to gather BPM knowledge that is usually scattered in all corners of the organization and different IT departments. As a result, some organizations will establish a "BPM center of excellence" to act as an expert group responsible for evaluating, researching and implementing BPM technology. Representatives can include people from it departments and system integrators who participate in BPM pilot projects and subsequent projects. If the affinity group scheme is adopted, it support personnel, BPM system administrators and important business users from various departments can also participate to share experiences and best strategies

once the project has been reviewed and agreed by the executive sponsor and several important project stakeholders, the enterprise BPM strategy, the analysis of strategy dependence and the whole deployment plan should be conveyed to the administrative management team, the heads of departments/business units, it managers and all parties involved in the "status quo" assessment. This step should be carried out through a series of demonstration reports on the priorities and needs of each department

unfortunately, many organizations either ignore this step, or the communication object of the strategy is not broad enough or the content is not clear enough. Communication strategy is an important part of any technical strategy project, but it is particularly important for BPM, because BPM will have a significant impact on systems, processes and staff at multiple levels

bpm Excellence Center can be responsible for communication, and communication should continue after the initial pilot project is completed. Another best strategy is to set up a BPM strategy steering committee composed of the original project stakeholders, which will meet monthly or quarterly to review the strategy and convey the latest situation to the rest of the organization

5. Win wide support from all levels of the enterprise

following these steps will help you avoid falling into the biggest trap when deploying BPM throughout the enterprise: exclude the business departments that re adjust the balance from the planning process. Deployment planning is not just the work of the project manager and the current BPM project team. What should we pay attention to when confirming the early-stage projects and purchasing pressure testing machines? And the follow-up promotion projects need feedback from various departments and business units, especially because the planning depends on how to select the process automation application system that has the greatest impact on your organization's strategic objectives. Some departments cannot see the implementation of BPM strategy in their own departments until the later stage of the project. It is equally important to reach a consensus and get their support in these departments

no one can avoid the fact that formulating enterprise BPM strategy is a complex task, involving many steps and personnel, but it is completely worth the effort. Taking the above five steps will help you identify important projects that are consistent with your strategic goals, so as to lay the foundation for BPM to continue to bring success to the enterprise. (end)