Back to basics – why use a BPM system?

Here is a blog about the bedrock of BPM systems (BPMS), and indeed BPM in general, that is, the reason why any business should bother to use it.

The benefits of using a BPMS can be summarised as:

• Higher productivity
• Faster process times (eg end to end)
• An order of magnitude improvement in process transparency/visibility
• An entry point to a virtuous circle of process understanding, improvement and execution
• Better control over the process (eg through the use of embedded business rules)
• Improved job satisfaction for operational staff using the system

Of these the most significant in terms of both impact and universality is undoubtedly process visibility. Whilst senior business managers can be passionate in demanding visibility, Boards can demand more, as IT investments do not always produce a return. This is where the higher productivity benefit comes in handy, higher productivity in the operations teams can pay for the initial project and the ongoing IT costs, whilst the benefits arising from enhanced visibility are spread across the business.

Faster process cycle times; usually arise from a BPMS implementation. Naturally, additional focus and effort can drive further improvement. BPMS can use prioritisation to ensure that outcomes are optimised, something that can be especially hard to achieve where processing is manual.

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