What is BPM?

Business processes are everywhere, in every

organization, at every level.
Automating and streamlining selected processes can
lower costs and improve quality.
byMickeyFarrance,Bonitasoft

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2013Bonitasoft

BPM, a term with multiple meanings

BusinessProcessManagementasitappliestobusinessprocessesgenerallyincludesallorsome
ofthefollowing:

Atooltographicallydiagramprocesses;
Ameanstosimulateandoptimizeprocessesbeforedeployment;
Asystemtorunprocesseswithbothhumanandautomatedactivities;
Toolstomonitorandmanageprocessesastheytakeplaceinrealtime;
Ameanstocollectandmanipulatedatafromprocessesastheytakeplaceinrealtime;
Aninterfaceforpeopletointeractappropriatelywithprocessesastheytakeplace;and
A means to access and interact with an organizations existing Information Systems
(databases,datamanagementsystems,etc).

Business Processes
BPM (Business Process Management) is a means of defining and managing what happens, from
beginningtoend,inabusinessprocess.Abusinessprocessisanysequenceofactivityofinterest
toanorganization.Someexamplesofbusinessprocessesinclude:

Anewemployeeishiredatacompany:Thereareactionstobetakenbefore,during,andafter
theemployeesarrival

Auserwithacomputerproblemcontactsapremiumhelpdeskservice:Theproblemmustbe
logged,tracked,resolved,anddocumented.

Acustomerbringsacarthathasbeenrecalledforafaultyparttoanautodealershiporgarage:
Theproblemmustbelogged,thepartorderedortakenforminventory,thecarrepaired,the
franchisenotified,etc.

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Figure1. Example:Travelrequestmanagementprocess

Defining and Describing Business Processes (Descriptive BPM)

Business processes are everywhere, though not all of them are explicitly defined. A very small
companymaycoordinateitsemployeesvacationschedulesmostlyverbally,documentingonlythe
result.
Business process management at the simplest level (descriptive) makes a process explicit, and
draws or represents it in a model a flow chart, for example. In the field of BPM, there are
standards with specific symbols used to model business processes, including ways to distinguish
between steps, tasks, or activities performed by people, and those which are automated
(performedbysoftware,byhardware,orbyacombinationofboth).Foracompletedescriptionof
currentstandards,seeBPMNathttp://www.bpmn.org.

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The Utility of BPM

Processimprovementisbasedontheideathatinordertoimprovesomething,firstoneneedsto
understand the current situation, then look at where and how the process might be improved
streamlined, done more quickly, automated, and so
on. Continuous improvement, total quality
Processescanbe
management, Six Sigma, Lean, Kaizen all use some
diagrammed,analyzed,
type of process definition, analysis, change, and
andimproved
evaluation of results with the ultimate goals of both
beforetheyareimplemented
reducingcostsandincreasingquality.
BPM applied at a deeper level therefore includes a
means to analyze processes. Processes can be diagrammed, analyzed, and improved before they
areimplemented.Businessprocessmanagementsolutionsoftenincludeasimulationcapability,to
workouttheinefficienciesandproblemstooptimizeanendtoendprocessbeforeexecutingitfor
real.
BPM at its most complex level goes further yet. It integrates and applies information technology
toolsthatactuallyparticipateinmanagingtheprocess.ThisisexecutableBPM.

Running and Managing Business Processes (Executable BPM)

InexecutableBPM,theprocesscanbedrawnordesignedgraphicallywiththeBPMsoftware,and
then actually executed or run as one might run a software application. Where there are people
involved in the process, they can be presented with forms to fill in, for example, along with
informationtheymightneedtocompletethatstep.Wherethereisautomation,thesoftwarecan
eitherperformtheautomatictask,orcanbelinkedtoaninformationtechnologytoolspecifically
designedforthattask.
Forexample,theactualprocessinasmallcompanymightlooklikethis:aclerkinthefrontoffice
manuallyentersordersintothecomputerizedorder/inventorysystem.Thatprogramisaccessedin
thewarehousebytheemployeesresponsibleforpullingstockoutofinventory,whoalsopackand
shipitandfinallymanuallyenterintothesystemthatthestockhasbeenreducedandtheorderhas
beenfilled.Theorderinventoryprogramispartoftheexistinginformationtechnologybehindthis
process.
LetslookathowthisprocessmightbemanagedwithexecutableBPM.First,theprocessdesigner
(a manager, an IT professional, or anyone trained on the BPM software suite) draws the process
graphicallyasaflowdiagram.Then,asthestepswhereemployeesactareidentified(enterorder
intosystem,pullfromstock,,packandshiporder),theprocessdesignercreatestheformsthat
theemployeewillcomplete(theorderform,checklists).

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Figure2.

EntryformgeneratedfromBonitaBPM

The process can be designed to take the order data, automatically check inventory, calculate the
weight and postage for the package, direct the packer to the location of the item(s) ordered,
identify the correct size of shipping carton, access the customers address information in the
companys database to print a shipping label, ask the packer to acknowledge that the item was
pulled,thecartonwaspulled,thepostagewascharged,theorderwasshipped,etcandrecordall
detailsoftheprocessasitwasimplemented.
Ideally,executableBPMsoftwareinterfaceswithexistinginformationsystemsasmuchaspossible
intheaboveexample,thecompanysexistingorderinventoryprogram,thecustomerdatabase,
and the postage payment system so that the specialized functions those systems perform are
integratedwithBPMsoftware,notreplaced byit. BPMismeanttomanage thebusiness process
through interfaces with both human participants and with information systems (specialized
programs,databases,directories,etc).

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Figure3.

Ideally,executableBPMsoftwareinterfaceswithexistinginformationsystems

ThewholeBPMprocessisdeployedinanenvironmentwherethepeopleinvolvedateachmanual
stepintheprocessareabletointeractwiththeprocess(forexample,viaan internalorexternal
website);andtheautomaticsteps(andinterfaceswithexistinginformationsystems)aremanaged
bytheBPMsoftwareitself.

Application of BPM to Process Improvement

Automationandintegrationofaprocessmayleaddirectlytomoreefficiency.Andwithallaspects
oftheprocesshandledthisway,itbecomespossibletocollectdataabouthowtheprocessworks,
ordoesntwork.Thecompanycanlookforwhereandhowtheprocesscanbestreamlined,done
morequickly,automated,andsoon.Thistypeofinformationcanalsobecollected,forinstance,for
BusinessActivityMonitoring(BAM),keyperformanceindicators,andotherdatausefulforBusiness
Intelligence.
Withawellintegratedbusinessprocessmanagementsolution,itcanbepossibletotakedatafrom
othersourcesaswellasdirectlyfromtheprocess,filteroutirrelevantevents,performcalculations
with it, and so on, both during the realtime process execution (Business Activity Monitoring), or
afterward(usinghistoricalBusinessIntelligencedata).

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