BPM Implementation
IS205
4/4/23
Dr. Ibrahim Abunadi
What are the critical implementation
aspects?
• Implementation is all about balance and
cohesion between the organizational (business)
and IT aspects. Getting this balance correct will
allow the BPM project to be finished in the most
effective and efficient way.
• A useful metaphor is the Regatta®.
• The slogan used is ‘Speed (efficiency) and
effectiveness through balance and cohesion’.
(p.38)
What are the critical implementation
aspects? (p.39)
What are the critical implementation
aspects?
• The critical aspects in the Regatta model includes:
– Speed (Efficiency) is crucial – the overall aim is to win, and you win by being the
first (fastest) across the finish line. Effectiveness relates to ensuring that all the
available energy and enthusiasm is used optimally to realize the desired result
– that is, to get the best out of the entire team. In a BPM project/organization,
the aim is to ensure that everyone is contributing sufficiently to realize the
desired results. In a BPM project/organization, the aim is to focus on realizing
benefits from the business processes.
– Balance is required to ensure that the boat does not lean sideways or tip over,
which would not be good for its speed and efficiency. Balance is achieved by
carefully matching the strength, weight and experience of all the participants in
the boat. In a BPM project/organization, the aim is to ensure that all
implementation elements (management, process, people, project
management, resources and information) are considered when implementing a
solution. (p.38)
What are the critical implementation
aspects? 2
• The critical aspects in the Regatta model includes:
– Process is on the first oar, and this is the person who dictates the speed to
other rowers. In a BPM project/organization, the business process should
be leading and the technology and people should follow.
– Management (project manager, CPO, project sponsor) steers the boat in a
straight line directly to the finish, ensuring that it does not go off course or
get stuck on the shore. If a BPM project/organization places too much
emphasis on resources and information (the IT aspects), then the project
will be pushed onto, and could get stuck on, the organization bank
(aspect) – for example, people who are not committed. Alternatively, if a
BPM project/organization places too much emphasis on the people and
process (=organization aspects), the project ‘boat’ could get stuck on the
IT bank (aspects) of the project, for example, the resources (hardware and
software) which are unable to meet the desired results. (p.39)
Why do you need a structured approach to
implementing BPM? (p. 40 & 41)
• The traditional way that most organizations have gone about process
improvement projects can be shown with the Deming Cycle (Walton,
1986) of Plan, Do, Check and Act. This has evolved into the following:
Why do you need a structured approach to
implementing BPM? 2
• The traditional Plan, Do, Check and Act would become more
complete by:
1. Conduct a review of the areas to be improved, understand the
business objectives, collect stakeholder requirements and select the
initial processes to be improved
2. Complete the ‘As is’ mapping in sufficient detail to understand the
process and learn how to improve it
3. Agree the timeframe for the delivery of the redesigned processes with
the business and complete the ‘To be’ step to redesign the processes
4. Implement the redesigned processes.
5. Establish a continuous process improvement program within the
organization to change the processes as the business changes. This
completes the feedback loop. (p.40 & 41)
Why do you need a structured approach to
implementing BPM? 3
• One of the key questions in this approach is, ‘have you
solved the correct problem?’ How can you be certain
that the way you have redesigned your processes
contributes to the organization’s strategic vision or
intent?
• Stace and Dunphy (1996) say that:
“strategy is the search for directions which energize the life of
an organization; structures provide the social organization
needed to facilitate the strategy….Strategy and structure need
to be constantly re-examined and realigned to be effective.”
(p.41)
Prahalad’s Three Agendas
Three agendas must work simultaneously and continuously together:
1. The intellectual agenda. This is what some call strategy; while others
have described it as an organization vision or strategic intent. This is
referred to as ‘Organization goals and measures of organizational
success’ in in the figure below.
2. The management agenda. This consists of the structures, technologies
and systems of the organization. It includes how management chooses
to utilize and move resources within the organization to meet the
organization needs. We would explicitly include processes in this
agenda, and this is shown as the ‘Organization management’ column in
in the figure below.
3. The behavioural agenda. This covers the culture, values, ethics,
leadership styles, personnel training, skills and key performance
indicators of the people within the organization. It is important here to
ensure that the reward systems respond appropriately to the behavior
you wish to promote. This is shown as the last row ‘Performance and
measurement’) in the figure below. (p.41)
Performance Components (p.42)
Case study: Importance of understanding organization
strategy
We were asked to review the current processes in the operations area of an
organization and to recommend how they should go about an improvement program.
There were two options put forward. The first was for incremental process
improvement, with no additional automation, and the second was for an automated
BPM solution. It was interesting that both options met the designated process goals,
which the client had documented. So we asked them to describe their organization
strategy for the next three years. The organization’s strategic intent was that it: will
place us substantially ahead of our competition, such that it will be difficult for
competitors to match the process and systems service levels able to be consistently
achieved. This will form the foundation of our competitive advantage in the near and
medium term. The incremental option would have provided incremental improvement.
Only three out of the twenty five processes could be redesigned totally, whereas the
remaining processes would have only been incrementally improved. The automated
BPM option would have provided substantial innovation and integration with other
critical systems, as well as the ability to provide the organization with continuing
business agility. Message: It became obvious for our client to choose the automated
BPM option. Unless the project manager clearly understands the organization’s
strategy, and ensures that the project satisfies and adds value to this strategy, then the
project runs the risk of ‘solving the wrong problem’. (p.43)
How to implement?
• Having linked the organization strategy with the supporting process goals
and created the redesigned processes, you must ask, ‘who will implement
these new processes?’ The answer is, the people within the organization.
• Unless the organization structure, role descriptions, skill sets and reward
systems support and are in alignment with the organization direction, you
will only be covering the first two of Prahalad’s agendas.
• Once all these areas have been addressed, the organization must ensure
that there is an ongoing process to ‘manage’ and continuously to improve
the business processes.
• Implementing a BPM project is a multi-faceted and complex process that,
if tackled without a structured approach, either will not work or will not
meet the expectations of the stakeholders. However, over-applying a
methodology or framework will not provide the flexibility required to
meet the varying challenges. (p. 43)
BPM Improvement framework
• Literature has suggested that there are three critical aspects to a process
improvement project: people, process and technology. Adding to at a forth
component called project management:
– 1 Process. There must be an appropriate level of business process innovation or
redesign linked to the organization strategy and process goals, and an acceptance
of the importance of processes within the organization.
– 2 People. As an organization grows in its maturity of process management, it will
understand that people are the key to implementing the proposed new processes.
The organization must have the appropriate performance measurement and
management structures across key processes. Process management should be
proactive and then move towards being predictive, rather than reactive. Amongst
other things, this all revolves around the people aspects of a BPM project.
– 3 Technology. This refers to the supporting tools for the processes and people and
does not necessarily mean BPM software components or applications (although it
could).
– 4 Project management, for without a well-run project an implementation is
destined to failure (p.47)
BPM Improvement framework 2 (p.49)
Foundation of BPM Improvement Success
• BPM projects are complex, and success depends upon all aspects of the project
being executed well. These aspects are represented by the ‘foundations’ upon
which the stool rests. If these foundations are soft (or not executed successfully),
then the stool will sink and eventually collapse. If the foundations are firm,
however, because they are executed well, the stool will be resting upon a solid
foundation and the project will be successful.
• Symptoms which indicate that an organization is struggling with executing these
components are that:
– it doesn’t know where to start
– it is not making the headway that was anticipated or planned
– it has purchased a technology tool and thinks this is the answer
– redesigned processes are not implemented
– insufficient benefits are being realized
– it is doing process improvement for the wrong reason (‘everyone else is doing it, so
should we!’)
– BPM is making little impact on the organization, perhaps because the scope is too small
or too large, or because the organization is endeavoring to be too ambitious. (p.49)
Foundation of BPM Improvement Success 2
• Before an organization can improve business processes, there must be an
understanding of factors that influence it. Unless there is full appreciation of the
culture and behavior of the people using the processes, you cannot know that the
changes will be effective.
• This is not just about aligning strategy and processes, but also people and
behaviors. Performance management and measures, change management and
communication will also impact a BPM project. Effective communication across all
organizational levels is critical to BPM project success.
• Organization results are a function of how the critical components are
synchronized, and the critical components include:
– strategic intent
– strategic vision
– execution
– values/culture/behaviors
– people. (P.48)
BPM Implementation Framework (P.49)
BPM Implementation Framework
• There are ten phases in this framework. The phases are:
1 Organization strategy
2 Process architecture
3 Launch pad
4 Understand
5 Innovate
6 Develop
7 People
8 Implement
9 Realize value
10 Sustainable performance. (P.50 & 51)
Organizational approach to BPM
implementations (P.51)
Organizational approach to BPM
implementations 2 (P.52)
Framework Phases 1
Each of the phases will be outlined :
1. Organization strategy. This phase includes ensuring that the
organization strategy, vision, strategic goals, business and executive
drivers are clearly understood by the project team members. Do
stakeholders expect short- or long-term gains from this project? Is
the value proposition of the organization clear and understood by
everyone? It is important to understand that strategy is not a
‘plan’; strategy ‘is a purposeful process of engaging people inside
and outside the organization in scoping out new paths ahead’
(Stace and Dunphy, 1996: 63). The strategy must be communicated
and sold to all relevant stakeholders (especially the management
and staff) until it becomes entrenched in the culture of the
organization. Personnel need to take it up with urgency and,
ideally, a sense of passion. The strategy needs to be known and
understood by the project team, which ensures that the project
scope and direction add value to it. (p.53)
Framework Phases 2
2. Process architecture. This phase is where the
process architecture is designed. Process
architecture is the means by which the organization
establishes a set of rules, principles, guidelines and
models for the implementation of BPM across the
organization. The process architecture provides the
basis for the design and realization of BPM process
initiatives. It is where the process, IT and business
architectures are brought into alignment with the
organization strategy. (p.53)
Framework Phases 3
3. Launch pad. This phase has three major outcomes:
• the selection of where to start the initial (or next) BPM project within the
organization
• agreement of the process goals and/or vision, once the processes have been
selected
• the establishment of the selected project.
Determining where to start is a difficult exercise in its own right, and the framework
will provide you with several ways of determining where and how to start. Process
goals and vision need to be aligned with the organization strategy and the process
architecture to ensure that they are enhancing or adding value to the strategy. Once
a business unit and processes have been selected and the process goals agreed, the
project must be established to maximize the likelihood of success. Establishing the
project includes deciding the project team structure, the scope, the stakeholder
management, creation of the initial business case, and expected business benefits.
(p.54)
Framework Phases 4
4. Understand. This phase is about understanding enough of
the current business process environment to enable the
Innovate phase to take place. It is essential that at least
basic process metrics are gathered to allow for the
establishment of process baseline costs for future
comparative purposes. Other essential steps are root-cause
analysis and the identification of possible quick wins. There
will be a need to identify, and ideally implement, quick wins
along the way, as the business will not (and should not)
provide unlimited funding for process improvement
projects. The ideal situation is for the project(s) to become
self-funding because of the gains made by the
implementation of these quick wins. (p.54)
Framework Phases 5
5. Innovate. This is the creative phase of the project, and often
the most interesting. It should not only involve the project
team and the business, but also relevant stakeholders – both
internal and external. Once the various new process options
have been identified, there may be a need to run simulations,
complete activity-based costing, conduct capacity planning
and determine implementation feasibility, to enable the
finalization of which options are the best. Additional metrics
should be completed to allow a comparison with the baseline
metrics established during the Understand phase. Additional
possible quick wins are identified and prioritized within the
business. (p.54)
Framework Phases 6
6. Develop. This phase consists of building all the
components for the implementation of the new
processes. It is important to understand that
‘build’, in this context, does not necessarily mean
an IT build. It could involve the building of all
infrastructure (desks, PC movements, buildings,
etc.) to support the people change management
program and changes in the support of the people
who execute the processes. It also involves the
testing of software and hardware. (p.54)
Framework Phases 7
7. People. This is a critical phase of the framework and it
could put the rest of the project at risk if not handled
thoroughly and to a high standard. The purpose of this
phase is to ensure that the activities, roles and
performance measurement match the organization
strategy and process goals. At the end of the day, it is
people that will make processes function effectively and
efficiently, no matter how much automation is involved.
This phase should not be confused with people change
management, as this needs attention throughout the
project in all the phases. (p.54 & 55)
Framework Phases 8
8. Implement. This phase is where the ‘rubber hits the
road’. It is where all aspects of the project (roll-out of
the new processes, roll-out of the new role
descriptions, performance management and measures,
and training) take place. The implementation plans are
crucial, as are roll-back and contingency plans. Many
organizations believe that the project has been
completed after implementation has been successful.
However, in our opinion the next two phases are the
most important in a BPM project. (p.55)
Framework Phases 9
9. Realize value. The purpose of this phase is to ensure that the benefit
outcomes outlined in the project business case are realized. This phase
basically comprises the delivery of the benefits realization management
process, and benefits realization reporting. Unless the benefits are realized,
the organization should not provide additional funding to continue further
process projects. It is the role of the project team, project owner, project
sponsor and business to ensure that these benefits are realized. Although
this is described as the ninth phase of the framework, it is in fact not a
discrete phase in its own right because some of the steps are executed in
previous phases. Therefore, we advise the reader to study the appropriate
part of this chapter in conjunction with every other phase. The steps have
been grouped together in this chapter to provide an end-to-end insight into
the role of realizing value in a BPM project and to ensure that the BPM
project team takes time after the Implement phase actually to realize the
benefits specified in the business case. (p.55)
Framework Phases 10
10.Sustainable performance. It is absolutely essential that the
project team works with the business to establish a process
structure to ensure that continued process agility and
improvements are sustainable. The considerable investment
made in process projects must be maintained and enhanced
over time. The organization must understand that processes
have a lifecycle, and will need continuous improvement after
the project’s targeted improvements have been realized. If
they don’t, over time and as the business changes the
organization will simply be running its processes in a sub-
optimal fashion. This phase is about the conversion from a
‘project’ to a ‘business operational’ activity. (p.55)
