Chapter 11: Framework Overview

Overview

Historically, process literature has suggested that there are three critical aspects to a process improvement project: people, process and systems. While we agree with this in principle, these days systems needs to be interpreted more widely and we have used the term technology . We have also added a fourth critical component: project management. To illustrate this, we have suggested the BPM project success stool (Figure 11.1).

Figure 11.1: BPM project success stool.

The three components (legs of the stool) are not new; however, the fourth component is new, and is the seat upon which success rests. The foundation upon which the stool sits is also critical to success. The legs to the stool are the following:

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).

The fourth component, which holds...