A business process can be thought of as an “orchestration” of “services” in order to achieve a specific business need. Simply put, business process management (BPM) is the practice of identifying, creating, simplifying, and/or enhancing “orchestrations” to meet the needs of the business.

Business processes can contain system-oriented services (such as a system automating the entry of a sales order into a computer system) and human-oriented services (such as a human manually entering the sales order into the system). These specific services are carried out as system or human processes to meet the specific needs of the business.

The identification of business processes often involves facilitated workshops within various areas of the business to:

• Identify the goals and objectives of the business – establish the “needs”.
• Identify, document, and/or define the business semantics and nomenclature – establish the common “business speak”.
• Identify users, their roles, and the capabilities they provide to the business.
• Identify the current AS-IS business processes.
• Identify the current state of the technology architecture used to support the business processes.
• Identify the desired TO-BE business processes and prioritize their implementation.
• Identify the measurements and benefits associated with the TO-BE processes.
• Identify business process and technology alignment gaps.
• Identify a set of processes for a proof of concept exercise.

In many cases, BPM can uncover significant opportunities for process improvement in human workflow services alone. Most often, the business is rarely aware of the actual business processes that are conducted to achieve the business “needs.” Rather, they are “perceived business processes.” Only when facilitated sessions and workshops occur which bring disparate groups of resources together, do businesses realize the actual time and cost associated with a given need.

BPM solutions may consist of simplified business processes, which implement little or no technology to newly created processes. They utilize a combination of human and system services and introduce additional technology to enhance the quality and/or performance of the solution. Satisfying the business need and doing it in the most efficient and cost-effective way is the number one priority.

The SOA/BPM Causality Dilemma  

One of the most challenging aspects of implementing SOA and/or BPM is considering where to begin. If you create SOA services first without regard to business processes you may be creating services you will never implement. If you create BPM processes first you may create services that are rigid and tightly coupled to the process itself – limiting the chances of obtaining any additional value out of them.

In either case you should first identify and define your integration technology foundation since both SOA and BPM rely on aligning their solutions with the technology infrastructure. StoneDonut’s recommended approach to the SOA/BPM dilemma is to address both areas together. Identify and prioritize the business needs and benefits of both SOA and BPM as the needs arise. Create proof of concept scenarios for SOA and BPM solutions. Develop the solutions in an iterative manner to reduce risk and achieve the greatest business value.

StoneDonut has the expertise and capability to assist SMBs with their BPM strategy and implementation. Our Integration Delivery Managers help SMBs assess and determine the business benefits of BPM implementation and provide facilitation and guidance towards creating a roadmap and proof of concept outline with minimal cost and reduced risk.