improvement

Mastering the Business Process Management Life Cycle

Peter Carter

Jul 28, 2015 — 9 min read

Mastering the Business Process Management Life Cycle is essential for any organization aiming to enhance efficiency and achieve strategic goals. In this article, readers can expect a comprehensive guide through the critical stages of BPM: Process Design, Process Modeling, Process Execution, Process Monitoring, and Process Optimization. Each section will provide valuable insights and practical tips to help you streamline operations, improve performance, and drive continuous improvement. Whether you're new to BPM or looking to refine your approach, this article will equip you with the knowledge to master the entire BPM life cycle.

Process Design

Process design is a critical phase in the Business Process Management (BPM) life cycle, focusing on creating efficient and effective workflows that align with organizational goals. This phase involves defining the new process state and outlining the steps necessary to achieve that state. The design process must consider various levels of the process hierarchy, from high-level processes to detailed subprocesses, ensuring that all components work together seamlessly.

One of the primary goals of process design is to address business modules or services in the order of their greatest impact on achieving project goals. By using business models for context, the team can focus on the most significant improvements first. This approach allows for isolated changes to individual building blocks while maintaining the overall process integrity. However, it is essential to account for the complete elimination of modules when they become automated or unnecessary, as this will require rebuilding output/input links.

The technical approach to support the design, construction, and implementation of business improvements must be understood by both the business design team and the technology team. The constraints and options will vary depending on whether the process design is supported by application generation through a Business Process Management Suite (BPMS) or other systems like .NET or legacy COBOL-based applications. These options and constraints must be identified and defined at the beginning of the design process.

Effective process design should be measurable, as this measurement will ultimately determine the quality and success of the new process. Processes define the flow of activity and the blueprint of how activities come together to produce a product or service. However, few processes in operation today have been formally designed; most have evolved over time based on the need to "get the job done." This evolution often leads to inefficiencies, which have cost and quality implications.

To address these inefficiencies, many organizations are moving towards a process view of activity, starting with the creation of "As Is" or "Current State" models. Changes are then based on these models, leading to a new design called a "To Be" or "Future State" model. This approach helps organizations understand their actual business operations and how work ties to strategy, driving effective change based on a comprehensive understanding of processes.

In summary, process design is a foundational element of BPM that requires a detailed understanding of both business and technical aspects. It involves creating models that illustrate current operations, identifying improvements, and designing future workflows that align with organizational goals. This iterative and collaborative approach ensures that the new process design is both efficient and effective, ultimately contributing to the organization's success.

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Process Modeling

Process modeling demands a vital set of skills and techniques that enable individuals to understand, communicate, measure, and manage the key components of business processes. For enterprises aware of the high value of their business processes, process modeling is the foundational activity for managing the enterprise.

Business Process Modeling

Business Process Modeling involves creating representations of an existing or proposed business process. It can provide an end-to-end perspective or a portion of an organization’s primary, supporting, or management processes.

Use of Models

A model refers to a simplified representation of a thing, concept, or activity. Process models are essential for:

Improving and innovating large-scale, end-to-end, cross-functional business processes
Managing performance of these business processes

Some process transformation efforts begin with developing a new business model first and then determining what needs to be done in the business to implement the business model. A more holistic business process management approach, using enterprise-wide process models (“architectures”) to align business processes with business strategies, is also becoming more common. These types of modeling efforts are best developed with top-down methods.

Trends in Process Modeling

Process modeling must support emerging consumer-technology-driven “outside in” design approaches and take a stronger role in communicating to the business in very different ways than before. This includes less emphasis on process maps and more on business services and capabilities. Additionally, data from the outside world—from social media, sensors, and mobile capture, referred to as big data—is now growing at an exponential pace in volume and importance. Combined with emerging analytics, it will transform processes and the tools that support them.

Process modeling will better connect strategy to real-time execution for improved responsiveness. Over the next few years, process modeling will shift the focus of BPM suites from development and execution to a more integrated balance between monitoring and executing process strategy. The next generation of BPM suites will connect business architecture—capability models, value streams, and strategy maps—with real-time process execution to highlight and recommend improvements for critical process performance gaps.

Model-based design must improve communication with business stakeholders. Although most enterprises have some tool to model business processes, business stakeholders are limited to using simplified modeling tools to define and document business processes. Looking forward, model-to-execution environments will improve usability and allow business stakeholders to integrate with internal applications and services, with minimal support from traditional application development teams.

Process modeling will treat data as a first-class citizen of business processes. The explosion of big data and analytics will create a new “lighter” form of modeling as organizations seek value from a growing number of digital and analog sensors, social media, financial systems, emails, surveys, and customer call centers.

Process Execution

The "Do" phase of the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) Lifecycle is crucial for the successful execution of business processes. This phase involves deploying the process as per the specifications developed in the "Plan" phase and committing the process to operations.

Process execution begins with the triggering of the process by initiating events. These events can be anything from a customer order to an internal request for service. Once triggered, process inputs arrive, and the activities outlined in the process design are executed. Each activity produces sub-deliverables, which are intermediate outputs that contribute to the final process output. These outputs are then generated and delivered to the intended recipients, completing the process cycle.

Effective process execution requires a well-defined structure that includes:

Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly defined roles are essential for executing activities efficiently. Each role should have specific responsibilities to ensure accountability and smooth workflow.
Activity Sequencing: The sequence in which activities are executed must be meticulously planned to avoid bottlenecks and ensure timely completion of tasks.
Location of Execution: Identifying where each activity will be executed is crucial, especially for processes that span multiple locations or departments.
Information Systems: Supporting activities with the right information systems is vital for seamless execution. These systems can include functional applications and business process automation tools.

Additionally, process execution is supported by various operational tools such as Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Job Aids, and System User Guides. These tools provide the necessary guidance and support to the personnel involved in executing the process.

For companies looking to scale repetitive and voluminous business processes, leveraging a cloud-based BPM system like HEFLO can be highly beneficial. HEFLO offers comprehensive tools for documenting and automating business processes, ensuring efficient and effective process execution.

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Once the process is deployed into operations, continuous monitoring and assessment are essential to ensure that the process is executed as planned and meets performance expectations. This involves the creation and implementation of process performance monitoring mechanisms, performance dashboards, and escalation mechanisms to address any issues promptly.

Process Monitoring

Process monitoring involves the continuous evaluation of business processes to ensure they meet the organization's performance metrics and goals. Effective process monitoring allows organizations to identify deviations in real-time and take corrective actions promptly.

How you gather, manage and use information will determine whether you win or lose. Bill Gates

One of the primary tools used in process monitoring is real-time monitoring systems. These systems provide immediate feedback on process performance, enabling organizations to make data-driven decisions. For instance, if a process is not meeting its performance targets, real-time data can help pinpoint the exact stage where the issue is occurring, allowing for quick intervention.

Event-triggered analysis is another essential aspect of process monitoring. Various events, such as strategic planning updates, performance issues, or the introduction of new technologies, can trigger a need for process analysis. For example, when a company updates its strategic plan, it may need to revise its processes to align with new organizational goals. Similarly, performance issues like unacceptable product quality or regulatory deviations necessitate a thorough process analysis to identify and rectify the root causes.

Moreover, process monitoring supports continuous improvement initiatives. By consistently measuring process performance against predefined metrics, organizations can identify areas for improvement and implement changes to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. This ongoing cycle of monitoring and improvement is crucial for maintaining high process performance and achieving long-term business success.

In the context of BPM, tools like HEFLO can be instrumental in documenting and automating business processes, thereby facilitating effective process monitoring and continuous improvement. For more information, visit HEFLO.

Process Optimization

Process optimization strives to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes. This phase involves a series of activities designed to refine and improve processes to achieve optimal performance and deliver maximum value to customers.

One of the foundational frameworks for process optimization is the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, popularized by Dr. W. Edwards Deming. This iterative cycle ensures continuous improvement and adaptation of processes in response to changing business environments. The PDCA cycle is applied to individual processes as well as to the aggregate management of all primary, support, and management processes within an enterprise.

Plan Phase

In the Plan phase, strategic planning is conducted to align business objectives with market needs. This involves:

Strategic Planning: Ensuring that strategic objectives are aligned with market needs and that resulting strategies are tied to underlying capabilities, processes, functions, and technologies.
Enterprise Architecture: Incorporating Business, Information, Application, and Technology Architecture disciplines to identify critical organizational components and optimize their relationships.
Transformation Planning: Driving organizational strategies through architecture to achieve optimal and achievable future-state operating models and roadmaps.

Do Phase

During the Do phase, detailed process design, build, and deployment activities are carried out. Key capabilities include:

Portfolio Management: Sequencing, initiating, and managing the execution of large portfolios of business-centric and technology-centric initiatives.
Project Management: Managing individual business-centric and technology-centric initiatives within project portfolios.
Organizational Change Management: Preparing for and supporting the organization through change, and continuously monitoring and assessing the organization's capacity for change.

Check Phase

In the Check phase, performance monitoring and reporting capabilities are developed to assess real-time and near-real-time process performance. This includes:

Performance Monitoring: Assessing process performance and its impact on value delivery to customers, and collecting data for future business change and continuous improvement initiatives.
Performance Reporting: Ensuring that appropriate process performance and decision-support information is available at the right time and level of detail to roles at all levels of the organization.

Act Phase

The Act phase focuses on responding to change and continuous improvement. Key activities include:

Business Process Analysis: Assessing whether process performance meets expectations and identifying potential problems or opportunities for improvement.
Change Response and Continuous Improvement: Intaking, assessing, prioritizing, and acting upon both short-term and long-term performance breaches and opportunities for process improvement.

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In conclusion, by understanding and effectively implementing each phase—design, modeling, execution, monitoring, and optimization—businesses can streamline their processes, enhance efficiency, and adapt to ever-changing market demands. Embracing the Business Process Management Life Cycle not only drives continuous improvement but also fosters a culture of innovation and agility, positioning companies for long-term success in a competitive landscape.