Business Process Management Process Identification prof dr ir

Business Process Management: Process Identification prof. dr. ir. Hajo Reijers

BPM recap • Any process is better than no process • A good process is better than a bad process • Even a good process can be improved Michael Hammer (1948 – 2008)

BPM life-cycle Planning Identification Discovery Design Deployment Diagnosis Control Execution

Agenda • Identification phase • The link with process modeling

Goal • Identify processes that are worthwhile to manage • e. g. to redesign or to support with workflow technology

Identification phase

Key activities • • Enumerate major processes Determine process boundaries Assess strategic relevance of each process Render high-level judgments of the “health” of each process • Qualify the culture and politics of each process • Define manageable process innovation scope Process selection See Davenport (1993)

What is a process?

Processes are not functions “Some people take the lazy way out. They use the term ‘process’ without really understanding it […]. A common indication of this occurs when we ask someone to identify the organization’s processes and the response is: ‘Sales, marketing, manufacturing, logistics, and finance. ’ Simply calling your functions processes doesn’t make them processes. ” Hammer and Stanton (1995)

Business process • “A set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. ” Davenport (1990) • Two important characteristics: • it has customers, either internal or external to a firm • it crosses organizational boundaries, i. e. it occurs across or between organizational subunits

Rule of thumb “If it does not make at least three people mad, it’s not a process. ” Hammer and Stanton (1995)

Examples of business processes • Ordering goods from a supplier • customer: user of the good • involved parties: purchasing, receiving, accounts payable, supplier organizations • • Developing a new product Creating a marketing plan Processing an insurance claim Etc.

Issues

Process enumeration • Typical number of processes is unclear • Trade-off: • ensuring process scope is manageable • process scope determines potential impact • Rule of thumb: 10 -20 main processes

Process boundaries • Processes are interdependent Insight into relations is required • main processes – subprocesses • upstream – downstream processes • Processes change over time • identification should be exploratory and iterative • improvement opportunities are time-constrained

Process selection Four criteria: 1. Assess strategic relevance of each process 2. Render high-level judgments of the “health” of each process 3. Qualify the culture and politics of each process 4. Define manageable process innovation scope

Process selection • Concurrent process initiatives • limited resources • coordination complexity • Limited number of “active” process management projects

The link with process modeling

BPM Life-cycle Planning Identification Discovery Design Deployment Diagnosis Control Execution High-level process Renders a detailed overview is sufficient understanding Require detailed models of processes

Conclusion • Identification is a necessary first step • Few strict rules, many issues • Process modeling is required for all further phases of the BPM life-cycle