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| BPM Technology - how is IT enabling your processes? |
June 18th 2007 |
Technology is often referred to as an "enabler" of process so it is with interest that I read the numerous articles and whitepapers on the success or otherwise of how technology has fulfilled on this promise. In reality this is a complex space - for simplicity sake I see that there are two main dimensions of BPM technology:- Governance of BPM
Technology focusing on enabling the way in which the process management disciplines are managed within the organisation. This includes the ability to design and map organisation-wide processes, manage business rules, change and ownership management, run process simulations, and report on high-level performance metrics
- Management of Processes
The BPM 'market' today is dominated by vendors in this category who provide tools to enable the running (automation and monitoring) of processes. This includes human-to-technology interface management, systems integration capabilities including SOA, monitoring and reporting process performance (Business Activity Monitoring - BAM), process engine and workflow.
This months Australian CIO magazine has a couple of articles that touch on these different dimensions of BPM technology. One is a brief commentary by Peter Hind titled "Philosophical Differences" discussing the "philosophy" of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA). The other article titled Nail Down BPM Success by Galen Gruman gives insight into some real-world applications of BPM technology. While they are very different articles, there is a common theme about the effectiveness of technology in supporting BPM - that there is some way to go.
The key point for me is that "...to date, few companies have taken BPM to the level long-promised by vendors, in which BPM tools orchestrate end-to-end processes across a wide swath of the business". (Gruman, CIO June: p.78). While it would be easy to (solely) blame IT and vendors; all of us have a role here in bridging the business-to-IT gap through effective communication of the basics and the benefits of BPM to the business. Real-life success stories are a great way of communicating the value of BPM. If you have an example of the effective and successful use of technology in supporting BPM then please let me know. By sharing success stories with others we can facilitate the business-IT alignment and improve upon industry practice.
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