Business process management systems. Business process management The first stage of building a business process management system
BPMS (Business Process Management Suite) is a class of software for managing business processes and administrative regulations (the terms BPM system and simply BPM are also used). Using BPMS allows you to organize effective interaction between managers and IT specialists, make better use of existing information systems and speed up the development of new information systems. The main functions of BPMS are modeling, execution and monitoring of business processes. Based on monitoring data, organizations identify bottlenecks and improve their business processes. The management cycle is closed when, with the help of BPMS, changed business processes are quickly put into operation.
Business Process Management (BPM) solutions allow a company to optimize business processes using existing applications. Typically, a BPM solution is a set of open, standards-based components for modeling, executing, managing and optimizing business processes, as well as integrating enterprise applications.
The services created as part of application integration are the “building blocks” from which it is possible to build a sequence of execution in an integrated system of “end-to-end” business processes that combine processes from various functional areas. The BPM system ensures the formation of a sequence of automatically executed business process steps and rules for application interaction (information transfer) at each of these steps. BPM modules from leading integration platform vendors provide the ability to design, develop, test, execute, monitor and manage business processes. BPM class applications serve as a convenient tool for modifying an integrated information system in the context of changes (reengineering) of an enterprise's business processes.
Figure 8.5 – Business diagram of the enterprise
The basic idea of a BPM system is extremely simple.
We take a description of a business process (like those that have long been successfully created by business process reengineering specialists) and monitor its implementation using a specialized computer program.
The traditional way to automate business processes is to develop or purchase ready-made application software. However, in practice, application programs automate only part of the steps of a business process, and most importantly, making even small changes to the business process diagram means the need for reprogramming and a lot of time. As a result, application programs do not have time to update at the pace dictated by changing business conditions and the needs of the enterprise itself. Initially, BPM systems appeared as a solution to this particular problem.
The essence of a BPM solution is that a business process is described in a language that can be directly executed by a specialized program.
Components of BPMS. A typical BPM system consists of a standard set of components corresponding to the well-known stages of the life cycle of a business process: design, execution, monitoring.
Design. Design refers to the development of a business process diagram. A BPM system usually includes:
1. Graphic Designer to draw a business process diagram
2. Repository for its storage and sharing
The ability to model a business process using a graphic editor is a fundamental feature of BPM systems: the design of a business process should be carried out by a business analyst without the participation of a programmer.
The procedure for creating a business process model is not much different from the usual procedure for drawing diagrams for business analysts. Draw the steps, describe the business logic, define user groups and a list of details entered at each step.
The result is stored on the server, after which the process can be initiated. If necessary, changes can be made to the circuit without the help of programmers. Alternatively, the business process diagram can be developed in any of the traditional business process modeling tools and transferred to the BPM system using import-export.
Execution. The core of a BPM system is its “engine” (BPM Engine). It starts instances of business processes, monitors changes in their states, stores the values of details, and executes business rules. If we compare the diagram of a business process with the notes, the playing of which produces a melody that is pleasant to the ear, then the BPM Engine is a mechanical piano that plays these notes.
The core of BPM systems also provides interfaces for connecting with external applications - special adapters, web services, drivers for accessing relational databases or other data sources. The use of these interfaces depends on the type of business process:
1. A relatively small proportion are business processes that a BPM system can perform fully automatically by launching a number of specialized programs. For example, when an Internet service provider activates a new client, it must create an account for it on the server, add information to the system naming service, the web server and email configuration files, and finally generate an invoice and send it to the user along with a notification of service activation. Each operation is performed by a separate program (ideally through a standardized interface - a web service), and BPMS plays the role of a scheduler.
Figure 8.6
2. The most common type of business processes involves both integration with specialized applications and the participation of real people. For example, an employee of the financial department must register the fact of payment in the ERP system as a step in the business process of selling goods. This scenario requires the development of interface programs that work both with the context of the business process (i.e., with its details) and with the external application program or database. In the context of the business process, links are saved - payment number, counterparty code - through which detailed information can be retrieved from an external application or database at the next steps of the business process. Developing such complex applications is usually the most time-consuming part of a BPM project.
3. Finally, there are business process steps that are impossible or too difficult to automate. (For example, a business process might involve digging a ditch - clearly not a computer task.) In such a situation, the BPM system will signal to the user that he has been assigned a certain task and will wait for confirmation from him that it has been completed.
The key element of the BPM system user interface is the so-called. “personal task list”, a list of steps of running instances of business processes assigned to this specific user or the role group to which he belongs:
Thanks to this organization of work, the performer at the computer does not have to think about which function and which external application it is time for him to work with: he sees a list of tasks assigned to him, and when he takes the next task for himself to perform, the required program starts automatically.
BPM systems provide access through a web interface, which makes it as easy as possible to involve employees of geographically remote departments and counterparty organizations in collective work.
Monitoring. The BPM system controls business processes in two ways:
1. The manager does not have to figure out “who has the arrow” - for each instance of a business process this is clearly shown by a dynamically generated graphic image. For example, this is what a graphical representation of a process instance, the diagram of which was discussed above, might look like.
2. Process steps that are currently being executed are marked in green; in the considered example, two steps are performed in parallel, one of which corresponds to the main sequence of work, and the second serves to control the process by its initiator. Red arrows show the route taken.
3. The BPM system accumulates valuable statistics on the parameters of the execution of business process instances: intensity (number of instances per week or month), duration (time from start to completion), workload on individual specialists (number and duration of completed tasks).
BPM systems, as a rule, provide a basic set of reports on business process indicators. On their basis, so-called “key performance indicators” (KPI, Key Performance Indicators), which, in turn, can be linked to the “balanced scorecard” (BSC, Balanced Scorecard).
Architecture of a typical BPMS. BPM solutions use closed loop engineering to identify gaps in processes, giving your company the ability to control the full lifecycle of business processes. The result is a fast and flexible platform built on your existing applications, allowing you to quickly respond to new business demands and improve productivity.
Figure 8.7
Business process management systems provide significant benefits on two levels. The first level is strategic, it includes such advantages as the connection between the company's daily activities and its strategic objectives. The second level is quantitative: these are those benefits that can be counted or measured, for example, saving millions of dollars or reducing time, for example, entering and agreeing on contracts from days to several minutes. And one more advantage, perhaps the most important one, is a change in the atmosphere in the team, orientation of employees towards increasing the efficiency of their work, awareness of how their actions affect the overall result and the company’s overall position in the market, as well as faster and more active reaction to changes in the competitive environment.
Areas of use. Business process management systems are based on a process approach, and they are best suited primarily for automating customer-oriented and end-to-end business processes of the Company.
Most often, business process management systems are used to automate complex end-to-end business processes that include several divisions of the company and the functions of many existing information systems subordinated to one common goal.
Another common case is the automation of those areas for which there are no ready-made, well-proven, or relatively affordable ready-made solutions.
Also, business process management systems can be useful if there is a need for quick (from one to several months), targeted automation of any critical business process of the Company.
Everything a company does for its customers is a process.
When processes are not established, people's work becomes chaotic. The energy of employees, instead of useful work, is spent on coordinating actions, conflicts, searching for information, overcoming obstacles, and correcting mistakes.
2. Organizational concept
The organizational concept includes five elements:
- Composition of the main top-level business processes.
- A brief description of the top-level processes, characterizing their content, inputs, outputs and performers.
- A process map showing the second and possibly third level of business processes.
- Diagram of responsibility centers for the execution of business processes as a prototype of the company’s organizational structure.
- Brief description of the functions performed by the responsibility centers.
Having identified the top-level processes, we draw up their conceptual description. The description includes the following elements:
- Clients of the process.
- Process goals.
- Process results.
- Process resources.
- Process providers.
- Performers of the process.
- The owner of the process.
- Process indicators.
- Contents (brief description) of the process.
- Process composition (list of lower-level processes).
After completing work on the organizational concept, we have everything necessary to build maps of the company's main processes, an example of which is shown in the diagram below. It reflects the composition top level processes(shown in green) and their components second level processes(shown in yellow).
Process map gives a general view of the company’s main processes and allows you to see what the company’s activities consist of, what is the structure of the chain of processes aimed at serving customers. All further work on creating a process management system is aimed at deepening, detailing and improving this vision.
3. Organizational structure
The main purpose of the organizational structure is business process maintenance.
How is this requirement met? By correlating the functions of performers in business processes with responsibility centers in the organizational structure. This analysis was carried out during the development of the organizational concept. Based on its results, the functions of the company's divisions and their areas of responsibility should be clarified. At the same time, functions are often identified that are not assigned to any department in the existing structure. In this case, it is necessary to form the missing responsibility centers, which will have to serve “nobody’s” processes.
The description of the organizational structure should include the following elements:
Organizational structure diagram; it shows the composition of the company's structural divisions and the relationships of subordination between them.
Description of the functions, powers and responsibilities of each structural unit, taking into account their roles in business processes. At the same time, it is indicated in which business processes the division is involved, and how it is connected with its internal suppliers and customers. It is important that this description be process-oriented.
A conceptual description of the most significant system-forming processes for the company, such as strategic management, annual planning, order management, management of the development and release of new products to the market, management of company development projects.
4. Process identification
By process identification we mean drawing up a specification in the form of a table that indicates all the main characteristics of the process:
1. Process name
2. Brief description of the process
Here you need to describe the content of the process in 2-4 phrases. This is necessary for a more accurate understanding of exactly what actions are performed in the process.
3. Process client
Process Clients- these are persons or organizations that benefit from the process and use its results.
4. Process goals
To determine the goals of the process, you need to take the client's point of view. The goal of the process is to move the client from a state of anxiety and dissatisfaction to a state of confidence and emotional uplift.
In addition to the external client of the process, there is an internal client - an employee or group of employees who use the results of the process in their work to serve the external client. For example, a receptionist in a car service center, while serving clients, accepts their cars for repair and issues work orders for the repairman, who is also his client, because he needs to receive tasks with realistic deadlines and backed by resources.
Thus, it is necessary to identify the goals of all stakeholders in the process.
5. Process result
The results of a process are what is created during its execution and ensures the achievement of the goals of the process.
It should be noted that when considering the characteristics of processes, goals and results are often confused. Goals characterize the changes that the process must produce, and results are the product of the process, its “output.” Of course, the product is created to achieve the goals of the process.
6. Process indicators
Having defined the goals and results of the process that are meaningful to all stakeholders, you can move on to creating measurement tools, that is, process indicators. Indicators must reflect the achievement of goals and be measurable.
To identify process parameters, it is important to follow a sequence of actions: first, the clients of the process are identified, based on this, goals are formulated and results are described, and then indicators and methods of measuring them are developed.
This sequence of steps allows you to arrive at the correct process indicators.
7. Process resources
There are two types of resources - consumed during the process and renewable resources. The first type includes, for example, materials used in production or money. The second includes equipment, software, various tools, etc.
Why do you need to define resources for each process? Knowing the resources, we can identify the suppliers and related processes that provide resources to our process.
8. Process suppliers
9. Process executors
10. Process owner
The process owner is an official responsible for achieving the goals of the process, having the authority and resources to carry out changes and improve the process.
5. Job description of employees
Based on the results of structuring and identifying processes, the job responsibilities of employees are developed. To do this, just look through all the specifications and select those in which the employee is indicated as a performer. His work functions are the functions of the executor of these processes. All that remains is to describe them.
It is convenient to describe job responsibilities in the form of a table, filling it with information obtained by copying data from process specifications.
Don't confuse job responsibilities with instructions. The instructions describe the procedure for performing operations in certain processes and are drawn up after the development of business process regulations.
6. Determination of the competencies of specialists
The next step is to determine the specialist competencies required to perform functions in business processes. We need this in order to then describe in detail the profile of the job position, which will be used both to select specialists for the position and to assess their suitability for the position held.
By solving these problems, we are preparing the conditions for providing our business processes with human resources of the required quality, without which it is impossible to achieve sustainable results in the execution of processes.
To determine the composition of competencies, we use a table containing a description of the employee’s job responsibilities.
We will need the first and second columns of this table. Instead of the remaining columns, we will add three new ones: “Knowledge”, “Skills”, “Personal Qualities”. Thus, we have a list of the processes in which the employee participates, a brief description of these processes, and three columns that need to be filled out, looking at each process in turn. 
It is necessary to give an exact answer to the question: “What knowledge, skills and personal qualities should a specialist acting as a performer in this process have?” The search for an answer to this question should involve the performer’s immediate supervisor, the process owner, and the employee himself. After discussion and development of agreed upon formulations, the corresponding columns of the table are filled in. The result of this work is a detailed list of competencies required to successfully perform the functions of the position in question.
In the next stages, we use this information to build a job profile, which is necessary for selecting candidates for the position in question and conducting employee assessments.
7. Determining the job profile
To describe the job profile, we need a set of competencies that were formed at the previous stage of our work. Now it is necessary to select from the general list of competencies those positions that reflect the requirements for the position in question.
What is a job profile for? Firstly, vacancy announcements are compiled on its basis; here is all the information you need to do this. Secondly, it serves as a guide in the selection of candidates for the position. Thirdly, it is used to assess the suitability of employees for their positions. Fourthly, it is used to draw up an individual employee training plan.
The Job Profile document has the following structure:
- General knowledge
- Subject knowledge,
- Skills,
- Personal qualities,
- values,
- Functional responsibilities,
- Areas of responsibility.
A profile of a specialist’s job position is needed to create a job description if it is necessary to attract a specialist from the labor market to fill this position.
If we already have employees for these positions, then, based on the job position profile, we clarify their functions and areas of responsibility, determine what knowledge and skills they need to additionally acquire, and outline tasks for their training and professional development.
The job position profile is also used to conduct formal employee assessments. On its basis, a questionnaire is formed to determine the level of knowledge, skills and personal qualities of a specialist. Based on the assessment results, an individual training plan is developed to ensure that the employee’s competencies match the profile of the job position.
Let's summarize. We have basically completed the description of the “road map” for introducing a process approach to company management. We designed business processes and identified specific requirements for the human resources necessary to implement them.
We started by structuring business processes. Then process specifications were developed, which became the basis for developing the job responsibilities of employees and determining the competencies of specialists. Thus, acting strictly consistently, we built profiles of the job positions of specialists.
It is important to emphasize that the requirements for performers are formulated based on an analysis of business processes. This is the exact result of logical actions.
The following tasks remained not covered in the article:
- Determination of performance indicators (KPI).
- Establishing rules for rewarding results.
The webinar is devoted to these issues “How to develop a KPI system. Using performance indicators to motivate employees.”
- Development of process regulations.
- Development of instructions for performers.
Affiliate material.
Sergey Rubtsov.
PC Week/RE, № 46, 47, 48
Today, ERP-MRP systems and knowledge management systems have become
symbols of the emergence of a new corporate culture. Basic technologies for them
are object-oriented programming and standard tools
database management. The symbiosis of the latter provides the most economical
systems development mode. However, the achieved efficiency of design work
comes into conflict with consumer expectations. The proposed systems cannot
be modified or customized to the needs of the organization at a speed adequate
speed of organizational change. They often act as a brake
development of organizations. This circumstance dictates the market need for other
basic systems development technologies. Developers of ERP-MRP systems, faced
with business processes that are not yet standardized, but are critical
important for organizations, today they are forced to introduce other technologies. We
we see how the long-known concept of hybrid expert systems (ES) expands
sphere of influence. It can be stated as a fait accompli that modern
The stage of development of ERP-MRP systems is characterized by a tendency to displace
“traditional” technologies are being developed by new technologies based on
knowledge management
Functionality, methodology and self-organization
The culture of an organization is concentrated in the way it
self-organization. The more perfect this method is, the more chances the organization has to
survival. One possible way of looking at an organization is to represent it
in the form of a business process (BP) system. It is the problem of the survival of such a system
determines the development paths for corporate information systems (CIS) management.
The class of CIS focused on power supply management will be classified as automated
business process management systems (BP management systems). The border between the CIS,
oriented and not oriented towards power supply management, determined
functionality of the CIS to support power supply reengineering and configure for
BP models created by the organization's designer. For example, all CIS that have
closed architecture and solution-oriented functional rather than
process tasks cannot be classified as a process control system.
Let us immediately note that it is completely pointless, based on
functional analysis, compare the impact on the culture of the organization of competing
CIS management (foreign - SAP R/3, Baan, Oracle Application, etc. or
domestic - domestic systems “Parus”, “Galaktika”,
"Phobos" "Figaro-ERP", etc.). Obviously, the functionality of the CIS management is constantly
is developing in the direction of automated power supply systems. Advantages of one system over another quickly
are leveled out. Moreover, there are cases of temporary division of labor
developers (for example, integration of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) modules
Internet applications of the Oracle Applications package with the R/3 product from SAP).
We need to connect the tasks of the automated food control system with the task of the organization’s survival
The classics of organizational cybernetics help. First of all, let us remember the phrase of S. Beer:
“...the adjectives “good” or “bad” mostly refer to
users than to the technology they use,” which focused on
that customer needs are varied and not always justified, and technology
serve to achieve the goals of a specific methodology. Namely, the adopted methodology
control limits the choice of the method of self-organization of the power supply unit. Unfortunately,
issues of management methodology underlying
basis of one or another automated power supply system are poorly covered. And this is understandable. After all
methodological level of perception by a potential consumer, and sometimes
BP control system developer is extremely low.
The sad statistics of the implementation of automated process control systems are known. According to
Price Waterhouse Coopers company for 2001 in the West the number of unsuccessful implementations
ERP class systems reach 28%. In Russia there are no accurate statistics in this area.
is underway, but in the summer of 2001, for example, SAP had 200
According to the developer's own calculations, there were 110 installations of the R/3 program.
from Baan, another market leader, the ratio was 44 to 21.
Obviously, the concept “worked” does not tell us in any way about the degree to which real problems were solved.
production tasks.
In print, such failures are usually attributed to the inability
customer to formalize their BP in accordance with the syntax of the BP ACS and/or
configure a set of standard power supplies from the library of automated power supply systems for production tasks.
At the same time, the true reason for the failures is hushed up. It is that culture
enterprises in a “box” and the dynamically changing culture of the customer enterprise
BP ACSs are objectively inadequate, and the BP ACSs themselves do not contain effective
a self-organization tool that reduces such inadequacy. Last factor
is especially relevant not only for Russian enterprises, but for everyone
enterprises of the new economy that exist in conditions of continuous
organizational crisis.
Viable organization and automated process control system
The underlying reasons for the inadequacy of the “box” culture and
the culture of the organization lies in the plane of methodological structures. Perhaps,
The main feature of the methodological classification is the ratio of the automated process control system to
organization, and more specifically, the answer to the question: “Is the organization
an integral part of the BP ACS, or is the BP ACS an integral part of the organization?”
What we mean here is that, according to S. Beer, a viable system should always
contain a model of yourself. And this is a requirement for the ability of the automated power supply system
support organizational reflection. An explanation of this situation can be found
from the founders of cybernetics organizations.
For example, conceptual design methodology,
developed by the domestic automation guru S. Nikanorov, proves
the existence of control invariants in the form of abstractions called
"constructs". He, taking into account the conclusion of I. S. Ladenko about the reflexive essence
activity, the position was postulated that the organization is a tangle
reflection processes, modeled by a variety of decision-making processes. From here
follows a conclusion that is consistent with the basic tenet of the theory of optimal
regulation. Namely, the basic construct of the “modeler” BP should be
reflexive circuit consisting of operations: (1) analysis of the impact result
(e.g., product supply), (2) modeling the impacted entity (e.g.,
consumer of the product), (3) regulation itself (for example, supply
product). This triplet of processes can serve as an invariant to describe any
activities or interaction of BP at any level. Modeling organizational
reflections in dynamics according to J. Forrester are modeling
organizations. Well-organized reflection, according to S. Beer, is a condition
survival of the organization. Here we see that the reflective circuit is the core
various concepts of scientific management of organizations. Need
following such a meta-standard puts forward specific requirements for the automated power supply system.
S. Beer's view of the companies of the future as intelligent, flexible and
mobile organizations that are responsive to constantly changing needs
market, at the beginning of the 21st century is concentrated in the following requirements.
Firstly, the most important requirement for a power supply system is the presence of
it is a “designer tool” that allows you to represent the BP in the form of a reflex
contour. Unfortunately, both special “business organizers” and tools
reengineering of power supply systems, which are equipped with modern automated power supply systems (for example, SAP R/3, Baan,
Oracle Application), very difficult to use for
modeling organizational reflection. Models of standard power supplies stored in
libraries of these systems do not satisfy this requirement.
Secondly, the task of “inclusion” of the organization in the automated process control system is feasible
only when it is configured for all key power supply systems of the organization and there is a veto on
carrying out organizational changes other than through changes to
BP models. Since making organizational changes is one of the BP
organization, then the “business organizer” must have the ability to functionally
adapt and submit to the BP ACS according to the same rules as other BPs. A
this is an expression of the essence of the concept of the “virtual world”, which presupposes
creating an environment that simulates the effect of the organization’s presence in the BP ACS.
Third, the idea of continuous change and technology
modeling reflex circuits involves introducing operational,
large-scale and continuous changes and additions to the BP model over the course of
the entire life cycle of the organization. And this is the weakest point of modern automated control systems
BP. At the same time, the use of “traditional” technologies for the development of automated process control systems,
oriented to procedures, objects or data, in the long term
will be impossible or unnecessary. Impossible because, according to S. Nikanorov,
At present, there is no sufficiently general theory or system of consistent
constructs that could describe all the nuances of a rapidly changing business -
environment, and the construction of such a theory requires the existence of a rare combination
organizational conditions. Unnecessary because they already exist
technologies for the development of automatic power supply systems, for example, based on hybrid expert shells
systems that use knowledge-oriented technologies and
logical-linguistic analysis, and have potential capabilities
achieve synergy with the existing culture of the organization. At the same time, there are no
only technologies, but also a specific class of control systems oriented
on knowledge called situational management systems (SMS).
Features of knowledge-oriented systems
In publications analyzing the advantages and disadvantages
technologies for developing software systems, truths are repeated year after year,
which have set teeth on edge since the early 80s. However, the mentality of the CIS consumer
management has changed little over the years and has even degraded. The latter is related to
primarily with the orientation of economic universities towards training for organizations
management level is “intuitive” rather than analytical. WITH
taking into account this circumstance, as well as the proposal of Knowledge class systems
Management (CM) and other factors contributing
additional confusion into basic concepts is urgently needed
repeat these truths.
Information processing systems that help people
“chew” gigantic amounts of data and providing it with only
“condensate” necessary for decision making is the area of application of the systems
KM-class. Now we are talking about systems that go far beyond systems
KM-class. Their purpose is not to fulfill complex information requests, but to
delivery of control decisions projects or even implementation of direct regulatory
influences. The difference between these systems is as great as the difference between
information and knowledge.
The business knowledge that the company possesses is represented by
in the form of business rules (hereinafter referred to as the rules). Knowledge is the basis
intellectual capital and “embodied” in political and procedural
manuals; agreements with consumers and suppliers,
marketing strategies; pricing policies;
offers of products and services; experience in customer relationship management;
regulatory documents regulating business.
Rules are statements that describe, limit and
manage the company's structure, operations and strategy. They often exist in
“rough”, unstructured form as expert opinions and “know-how”, which
performers own and use them in everyday practice.
Rules are the most dynamic component in any
application. By focusing BPO on identifying and formalizing business rules, it is possible
achieve rapid adaptation to market and production changes. At
identification and definition of business logic in the form of rules ensures the best
communication skills, mutual understanding of staff and the ability to contribute independent
from program code changes.
With such formalization, business logics arise
additional conveniences for users and developers of automated power supply systems: (1)
users can respond more quickly to market fluctuations and changes
regulatory framework; (2) developers can easily localize and modify
rules when policy changes are needed without the need to compile code.
This flexible approach contrasts with general practice
development of an automatic power supply system, which represents the power supply in the form of software objects similar
COM, JavaBeans, application classes or database queries.
The popular object-oriented approach is inconvenient for
working with rules. When using objects to represent business logic
Several problems arise: (1) processing rules containing several
objects, looks awkward; (2) describe the functionality of several
heterogeneous objects are inconvenient; (3) changing the logic requires developers
recompile the code; (4) the ability to change the program is not supported
user.
Objects are unnatural to use to describe declarative
knowledge in which the method of achieving a goal (the “how” task) is clearly separated from
of “what” is being fulfilled. Rules relate exclusively to actions
which must be fulfilled, and the conditions that
activate these actions. In rule-based applications, the way
execution (the “how” task) is under the jurisdiction of the inference mechanism.
You can place rules in a plexus of objects by describing tasks
"how" and "what" using conditional statements or condition switches. Wherein
management of hundreds of rules that reference numerous business objects
will prove to be very problematic, the process of object-oriented
design will stretch over time.
Object-oriented design can't help
when the user wants to change the business logic. To change it
an object-oriented automated process control system will require an inappropriately large amount of time. Mixing
rules and objects scatters logic across applications, making it difficult to localize and
increasing the costs of responding to market changes.
Speaking about the problems of the object-oriented approach, we
we express at length and vaguely the clear thought of S.P. Nikanorova about the system of constructs
, or about the problem of the lack of common for the developer, user and external
concept environment, on the basis of which it would be possible to develop a “flexible” BP control system,
friendly to changes occurring in the organization and outside it.
Developer help becomes unnecessary when the power supply system
knowledge-oriented, uses language to describe management rules,
similar to natural. The syntax for presenting rules is close to speech and
being a universal construct, it ensures that there are no restrictions on
making changes to the rule base by a non-programmer.
When an organization is looking for new ways to develop and implement
applications that automate activities, there is a special interest in flexibility and
efficiency of knowledge-oriented BP control systems. Such automated power supply systems are especially
needed where: (1) users need
quick and effortless changes in declarative organizational knowledge; (2)
applications are event driven and must respond to combinations of events; (3)
The cause-and-effect relationships of PD are complex and have not yet been fully studied or
described; (4) there are no algorithmic (mathematical) solution algorithms
Problems.
For different industries, one or more of the following may be performed.
the listed conditions. Regardless of whether the company produces construction
materials, whether using electronic or conventional distribution channels, may be
Rules have been developed to manage transactions, evaluate scenarios and accept
decisions. Today the most famous and powerful package used for
development of a knowledge-based BP control system is a product of ILOG. Applications
ILOGs are now actively used in ERP systems, and
ILOG optimization package has become the de facto standard for such ERP developers -
systems such as Adonix, Baan, i2 Technologies, J.D. Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft and
SAP.
ILOG's success on the market is not only evidence of
the promise of technologies based on knowledge management and awareness
developers of ERP system elements of this fact, but also about some
the slowness of their general designers, hesitant to accept recognition
knowledge management technologies as a basis for the development of ERP systems in
in general. Here it is impossible not to note the revolutionary merit of the domestic company
Ellay, who developed the CIS “Resource” entirely on knowledge management technologies, but
has not yet found wide recognition.
The ability to manage knowledge is a condition for preservation
and development of the organization's culture
Various authors have attempted to classify
organizational knowledge. Best known in the field of knowledge management
are the classic works of the Japanese researcher I. Nonaka. It was his
definitions regarding two forms of knowledge - tacit and explicit - are mentioned
most often . R. Sanchez believed that at least three categories of knowledge
take place in the company: “know how” (practical knowledge), “know why”
(theoretical knowledge) and “know what” (strategic knowledge). M. Whitehill in
As a typology of knowledge, I chose the following classification: “know what”
(coded), “know how” (habitual), “know why” (scientific), etc. .
M. Dimarest focused on commercial knowledge, which is clearly
developed and governed by a network of imperatives, patterns, rules and scripts,
included in some aspect of the firm, and distributed throughout the firm, that
ensures the effectiveness of the company's actions in the market. With all
variety of interpretations, it is obvious that organizational knowledge forms the basis
to develop distinctive capabilities and value-adding activities
organizations.
It is known that domain information repositories
businesses have existed for a long time and companies have accumulated significant experience in their
organization and use. They became the basis of such an intellectual business
as management consulting (McKenzie, Boston Consulting Group),
audit and BPO (Big Five companies) or high
technologies (Hewlett Packard, Cisco).
Some information repositories exist on the market as a separate brand and
have high value: Global Best Practices (Arthur Andersen), Knowledge
Links (Hewlett Packard).
Organizational leaders here need to understand that
the accumulation of bytes of information does not mean the direct accumulation of knowledge. And the speech is here
It’s not just about the large amount of accumulated information “garbage” or
time to search for information. And the fact that a book in one’s hands does not mean possession
knowledge even if this book is an authoritative reference book. Reading a book is far from
means extracting knowledge. Actually, for this reason, the results of activities
business consultants should not be measured by volumes of documentation. Knowledge is
the product of specific intellectual efforts. They can be removed or
formed only through logical inference made by the individual or
computer. To do this, the information consumed must be
organized in a certain way. Organizational knowledge is formed when
when individual knowledge is formalized and stored in a specific format.
Such technological knowledge can then spread within
organization, and to a limited extent outside it.
Therefore, using the term “information repository” instead of “database”
knowledge", we focus on the fact that, strictly speaking, "repositories
information" are most often just highly developed subject databases
data The knowledge they contain is, as a rule, of the “know” type
where", "know who". To obtain technological knowledge (“know how”, “know
why", "know what") the user of such systems will require additional
efforts to transform (format) the information provided to him.
Today, the construction of knowledge bases, as well as management systems
they cover many more companies from other industries. Knowledge becomes
goods T. Davenport, renowned expert in the field of BPR and management
knowledge, speaks of the need to introduce a full-time CKO position (Chief Knowledge
Officer, Director of Knowledge) in organizations. He defines this position as
key conductor of the company's structured knowledge through
information technology capable of extracting knowledge from those who have it,
group them in a form available for use by other company employees
and periodically update and edit knowledge.
Following R. Quinn, the most successful organizations today can
be considered as intellectual enterprises capable of developing
basic knowledge-based abilities. . Knowledge management is related to
knowledge generation (both for individual employees and for the organization as a whole),
formalization and preservation of knowledge, dissemination of knowledge, its coordination and
control. Effective knowledge management depends on the organizational structure,
infrastructure and communications and is therefore a derivative of culture
organizations. CIS guru KJ Date wrote: “Business rules can be called
the next (and gigantic) step in the evolution of the original relative vision"
. P. Drucker identified knowledge as a key resource of the world economy.
“The traditional components of production are land, labor and capital,” he writes, “
become limiting factors rather than a driving force... Knowledge becomes
the main component of the production process." Accumulation of knowledge in
modern production is no longer considered a “cost”, but is an integral
part of it. In other words, training becomes a new form of production
process. According to the analyst company Gartner Group, by 2003
enterprises that have not switched to a knowledge-based management model,
will experience serious difficulties in the market due to a sharp loss
competitiveness with a probability of 70%.
Explicit knowledge is knowledge whose content is expressed
clearly, the details of which can be recorded and stored. Tacit knowledge is more common
everything is not expressed and is based on individual experience, which makes it
difficult to record and store. Both forms of knowledge arise initially as
individual knowledge, but in order to be used for significant
improvement of the organization's activities, they must be transformed into
organizational knowledge. Almost global distribution in the world from the end
1970s received a form of knowledge representation in the form
product rules "IF..., THEN...". Reverse inference allows based on
such rules to obtain knowledge “know how”, “know why”, “know what”. However,
the most important thing is that “production knowledge” ideally fulfills the function
information support for situational management systems (SCS). Due to their
functional properties of SSS in addition to supporting management decision making
ensures the transformation of individual knowledge into organizational knowledge.
Knowledge and situational management system
Model theory of thinking, developed in the works of V.N. Pushkin,
served as the basis for the development of a method of situational management of large
systems. This method, which emerged in the second half of the 60s, is largely
anticipated the technology for solving problems in knowledge-based systems. SSU
allow you to accumulate knowledge about behavior and structure knowledge into key
components without violating the integrity of the knowledge base. While SSUs are being used
only in an environment associated with possible threats to society (federal
situation centers, military organizations, nuclear energy, railway
transportation, etc.), or where human powerlessness is obvious (control systems
automatic machines in an environment unsuitable for human life). An important advantage
SSU is a natural instrumental
support for BP descriptions in the form of reflex circuits, which are represented in the SCS
already mentioned triad - construct: (1) observation process
(logging situations according to formal rules); (2) modeling process
(knowledge base management in the form of rules (logical inference rules) “IF..., THEN...")
and (3) the inference process (regulation).
SSU is the most natural tool for BP modeling in
in the form of reflex circuits that provide management actions
in parallel with improving the model, assessing its completeness and project risk
management decision. Allows you to identify key BPs by formal
rules (for example, completeness and consistency of the description of the power supply, power
logical connections of the power supply with other power supplies, etc.).
In this case, the representation of the self-regulation mechanism
organization in the form of SSU has a number of advantages:
SSU fits completely into the controlling paradigm as
control principle based on reflexive feedback loops
SSUs can be built on the basis of “analytical” rules when
the result of the calculation can be further interpreted using linguistic
rules In this case, to manage the states of the organization for which
analytical models have been developed, algorithms can be built into the SSS
optimal regulation.
SSS always include linguistic rules,
used both for the formation of high-level control actions
(for example, taking into account the conclusion according to “computational” rules), and for –
impacts of any level, if for the formation of impacts
appropriate
"computational" rules.
SSS allow you to change the culture of the organization in a gentle manner,
in which the use of mathematical models to make management decisions
decisions were not a tradition. This property is due to the fact that the SSU before its emergence in
organizations under other conditions can exist as storage facilities for an unlimited time
corporate knowledge and as a support system for management decision making at
based on linguistic rules. Such use of SSU sooner or later
inevitably greet the birth of the need to improve the quality of decisions
and, therefore, in the use of mathematical models for this.
SSUs are the repository of the organization’s culture and are implemented in
protective functions in relation to this culture. When covering the SMS of the main BP of the organization
no change in management or dismissal of key employees will entail
changing the culture of the organization. Such a change will only be possible through
destruction of the SSS or refusal to use scientific management methods.
Information content of the SSS (for example, knowledge base),
in fact, it is an “X-ray image” of the organization. Based on analysis
This “snapshot” makes it possible to formally diagnose intellectual potency
organization, as well as the results of any improvement actions
organizational organism. Actually, the activities of business consultants can
be assessed by the quality of “surgical sutures” displayed in the knowledge base
organizations
It is known that up to 35% of investment decisions are made
investors based on non-financial data and most of these decisions
unformalized. Formalization of knowledge achieved by “formatting” knowledge
in SSU, expands opportunities to increase the value of the organization. These new
Opportunities stem from breakthroughs beyond assessment methodologies
intellectual capital, which previously were mainly correlated only with
the cost of patented products.
SSUs operating on the basis of “analytical” and linguistic
rules are classified as hybrid expert systems. For example, funds
rule development and optimization in ERP systems form the basis of such a hybrid
systems. Hybrid systems are recognized as the most promising in terms of
modern concept of knowledge management. Namely, awareness of the capabilities of SSU
allows us to see the main drawback of MRP II\ERP systems of the early 21st century in
limited use of principles for building data warehouses (rather than knowledge)
as information support technologies for these systems.
An organization can gain a key competitive advantage
advantage if it creates a culture of information exchange based on
rules SSU is a technology for forming such a culture. SSU in
organizations actively resist the intuitionist concept,
in the wake of which P. Senge follows when he writes,
that specialists should be motivated to share their tacit knowledge with
other employees, and the success of disseminating tacit knowledge in the organization
may be a critical factor. On the contrary, the scientific approach to management
dictates the understanding that only through the formalization of management procedures
knowledge of the organization, one of the options of which is provided by the SSU, can, like
reduce the time required for training and increase the quality and volume
accessible knowledge. And this is the main condition for competitive advantage.
Cybernetics know that it is impossible to control what
cannot be measured. It also makes no sense to talk about managing informal knowledge.
The presence of a thought in the eyes does not mean a person’s ability to reproduce this thought
even in words. Tacit knowledge fundamentally cannot take hold in an organization,
to be a commodity, and even more so the capital of an organization. After all, the carrier of tacit knowledge
is personnel, and organizations, as a rule, do not trade personnel!
Statistics, in particular, show that in the United States, on average, 40% of employees
companies have worked in their organization for less than a year, another 40% are going
leave. The contribution of "recruits" to the work of the company is usually small. Those. leaving
prefer to take information with them. As a result, 80% of the company's information
remains undeveloped.
From abstract to concrete
The situation in which modern power supply systems find themselves, namely -
their inconsistency with the requirements of a dynamic business was predicted by S.P.
Nikanorov and is explained by a violation of basic methodological principles. A
namely, subject area methodologies (programming, information networks,
accounting and financial analysis, mathematical methods of optimization, etc.
), each individually or all together, are not able to solve the problems
object-oriented automated power supply systems.
The figure qualitatively depicts the sequence of development
ideas about the subject area of the automated process control system, which should be implemented in
in the consciousness of market participants of the automated process control system, so that the goal of synergistic unity of the automated process control system and
organization has been achieved. This sequence is determined by the possibility and
the need for an analytical breakdown of the process of creating an automated process control system into
relatively isolated abstract aspects. It is believed that for the first time such
the research method, based on Hegel’s dialectics, was proposed and partially implemented
K. Marx in 1857. He called it “the method of ascent from the abstract to
specific." According to OPR theory, each level of development of ideas
is described by its triad of reflection, where R is a regulator, M is a modeler, A is
analyzer Interaction between levels
carried out by the influence of the regulator of one level on the analyzer of another
level.
Areas 1 and 2 relate to basic research
organizational activities and are in the field of intellectual activity
elite. S.P. Nikanorov writes about it this way: “For the effective use of this
method in any subject area in addition to qualified knowledge of this area
a high culture of working with concepts, an understanding of the role of abstractions,
the ability to create, maintain and change extensive conceptual systems, to be in
able to synthesize abstractions, obtaining more specific concepts,
provide interpretation of conceptual schemes in empirically given subject areas
areas. ... it can be argued that non-instrumental work of this type with
complex subject areas is not possible or accessible to persons authorized
phenomenal abilities."
The main products of areas 1 and 2 are, respectively,
business domain modeling and knowledge management tools
this area. A level 3 product on which external and
internal business consultants, as well as designers of industrial control systems, are knowledgeable about
BP of the organization. They can be formed in the form of power supply models. Above we talked about
that the only way to transfer this knowledge to a higher level
representations is their “formatting” in the form of rules. Level 4 (level
system analysts and BP technologists of the organization) is responsible for the formation
projects of management decisions and, in particular, for the implementation, maintenance and
development of the BP execution rules designed at the previous level. Supreme
The level of such implementation is the implementation of automated process control systems. Level 5 - highest level
and operational management, analyzing projects of proposed management
solutions that operate the organization’s intellectual capital and
direct impact on the performing level 6 by choosing a specific
solutions.
The main disadvantage of the existing methodology for developing automated control systems
BP is seen in the absence of an obvious relationship between methodological levels 2 and
3, or in the absence of levels 1 and 2 in the development cycle of the automated process control system. Actually this one
deficiency is the root cause of negative conclusions regarding
technological features of modern automated power supply systems. In the context of common
Organizations' survival problems are as follows.
Modern CIS management systems are mostly
object-oriented automated power supply systems. They represent an opportunity with
using developed case, tabular and graphical tools without
programming, configure the automated power supply system on the organization's power supply. At the same time, due to its
object orientation make the organization a clumsy substance in
conditions of a rapidly changing market environment.
The task of survival of the organization dictates the basic requirement
to modern automated power supply systems. It is expressed in the creation in the automated power supply system of an environment that simulates
the effect of the organization's presence in the BP control system. And this in turn
imposes significant restrictions on the possibility of using those or
other technologies for the development of automated power supply systems. Currently the only
technology that satisfies the requirement of efficiency and adaptation to
changing needs and the face of the organization is technology,
rules based.
BP control systems, completely developed using
Rule-oriented technologies belong to SSS - a class of systems
best solving the problem of creating an environment that simulates the effect
presence of the organization in the system, as well as the task of “alienation” of knowledge
personnel, accumulation and management of organizational knowledge. SSU allow in
gently change the culture of an organization in which the use of
there were no mathematical models for making management decisions
tradition. SSUs are a repository of culture
organizations and perform protective functions in relation to this culture.
Analysis of the functional features of modern automated power supply systems
shows that the most “advanced” MRP\ERP systems include key
components that use rules and are therefore in motion from
object-oriented systems to knowledge-oriented systems.
The speed of movement in this direction largely depends not on
designers of automated power supply systems, but on consumer requirements. However, the fact remains
fact. There will be no object orientation of automated power supply systems for a very long time
solve the problems that a dynamically developing
organization.
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In modern conditions, business actively applies a process approach to organizing work. But there is still a problem of understanding what business process management is and how to use BPM correctly.
The EABPM (European BPM Association) definition of this term is as follows:
Business process management (BPM) is a systems approach for capturing, designing, executing, documenting, measuring, monitoring and controlling both automated and manual processes to achieve company goals and business strategies. BPM embraces the conscious, comprehensive and increasingly technological definition, improvement, innovation and maintenance of end-to-end processes. Thanks to this systematic and conscious process management, companies achieve better results faster and more flexibly.I believe that this definition creates more confusion than a true understanding of BPM, especially for people who have not studied the topic in depth.
In my work, I constantly use graphical notations for business process management and BPMN. I find this tool very convenient; it helps me not only in developing business solutions, but also in justifying them. After all, as I have said many times, a picture is worth a thousand words. A person thinks in images, and it is much easier for him to imagine some type of activity using a picture (diagram).
Let me also remind you that this is not the first time I have raised this topic. I talked a lot about business processes in articles such as “What is a business process and a description of a business process” or “A brief description of BPMN with an example.”
But questions remain; they are often asked to me by both readers of articles and my clients. In addition, marketing articles and terms associated with this field of activity bring a lot of confusion into understanding the essence. Both software system developers and business consultants who constantly use these tools in their work have managed to introduce a lot of exclusively marketing concepts into the field of business process management. On the one hand, this process is inevitable in any commercial field. On the other hand, BPM is already not the easiest methodology for a non-specialist. And marketing adds further confusion.
Therefore, I decided to give my detailed definition of what business process management is. And I hope that I can help you understand the main issues related to the use of BPM.
How did BPM come about?
Any new business can be compared to a child. Every company created from scratch goes through a period of formation and learning. It is necessary to organize interaction between employees and departments, create knowledge transfer mechanisms, etc. And it doesn’t matter how big this company is - in a small business all these issues are just as important as in a large organization with a large number of branches.At the same time, humanity does not stand still. And both in the field of educating children and in organizing business, new tools are appearing that are more flexible, convenient, and intuitive, which is especially important for people taking their first steps in any field.
If we turn to old records and try to study the peculiarities of labor organization both in Soviet enterprises and in Western companies, for example, Ford, we will see mostly dry, difficult-to-read text instructions related primarily to the functional approach:
- Description of the workplace
- Employee job description
- Safety requirements, etc.
But what if there is a need to quickly change the work of an entire organization? What if automation is also introduced? The emergence of BPM was a response to these requests.
I have already written about what a business process is (“What is a business process and a description of a business process”), and therefore I will not repeat the main provisions and definition of the business process itself. Let's take a closer look at the concept of business process management.
About business process management in simple words
Business process management means that you regulate, describe and change business processes. You change it, not improve it, because you can either improve or worsen the business process. Unlike a machine tool or a car, it is impossible to directly control it using directives or pressing a button by a team. But we can set a sequence of actions that the team will perform when solving a particular problem. This is what is called BPM.Definition from me:
Business process management (BPM) is the management of activities (automated and non-automated) in a team through business processes.To manage any business processes you need to:
- Describe the business processes themselves.
- Implement the described business process into the work of the team
- Appoint people responsible for business processes, so-called stack holders or business process owners.
At the same time, it is necessary to manage an extremely heterogeneous environment. Different business processes require different approaches and actions of employees, and different automation tools. And all this needs to be able to be described separately, and then combined into a common system.
It is necessary to proceed from the understanding: the process approach is managing the whole through managing the parts.
And to avoid any confusion in terminology, let me explain:
- BPM is a methodology. those. a set of basic principles and approaches to the construction of notations and the organization of work itself using business processes.
- BPMN is a notation (language) in which notations are built, including executable ones
- BPMS – IT execution system, built according to certain rules specified in the methodology
Executable and non-executable business processes
I have already written in previous articles that business process notations can be executable or non-executable. The first ones are intended for automation, the second ones are for studying the work of the company and increasing the efficiency of interaction within the team.Those. we use BPM principles and techniques to create notations. In this case, we use the rules of writing BPMS. In order to create non-executable notation, in principle, you can even use a piece of Whatman paper and a pencil. The main thing is to strictly follow all the rules.
The executable notation requires a specific IT environment - BPMS. At the same time, I recommend performing even non-executable ones in BPMN, since here the environment itself helps to identify possible errors and contradictions, which increases the literacy and accuracy of the description of the business process.
Differences between process and functional approaches
Another important fact that will help you understand what “business process management” really is. We have already found out that management is the creation of a certain sequence of employee actions. Those. as a result, each automated system operates in a specific way. And a person is obliged, according to instructions, to also carry out the actions specified according to the instructions.You also need to know:
For strategic planning and assessment of the company’s performance “as a whole,” it is better to use functional modeling and notations (for example, IDF0). I wrote about this in detail in the article “Introduction to the IDEF0 notation and an example of use.” Here you can start from the desired result and build a sequence of black box functions necessary to achieve it.
To manage the sequence of actions and optimize it. what happens within each stage of work, as well as improving the interaction between different “black boxes”, a BPM process approach is needed. Here you study the actions themselves, track the speed and labor intensity of achieving results, optimize and standardize them.
If you make any changes to a business process, then you always start not from the whole, but from a part. Those. you change the algorithm of the program and/or adjust the job description for an employee performing certain functions. As a result, one of the elements of the business process changes, and, as a result, the business process as a whole.
You need to understand:
Creating a description of a business process begins “as a whole,” after which each process is divided into subprocesses and detailed to a certain extent.
Changing a business process, on the contrary, starts from the “lower” levels – maximum detail. And from the particulars to the whole, all necessary corrections are made.
In a functional approach, input and output objects are very important. In the black box function itself, certain processing of objects occurs to obtain the desired result. And here the main focus is on “what exactly we want to get,” i.e. approach to business management is rather strategic.
With a process approach, we get an answer to the question “how best to do this,” i.e. We concentrate on tactical and operational management. Therefore, here, when individual elements change between “input and “output,” the entire process changes.
It is also important when detailing to determine the optimal level: not too “in general,” but also not detailing a large process down to the actions of each employee. I once saw a description of business processes posted on a two-meter Whatman paper. But the more complex and detailed the process is, the more difficult it will be perceived “as a whole” and, as a result, it will be more difficult to understand and improve.
For these reasons, when working with business processes, multi-level decomposition is used, i.e. the detailing of each “black box” is separated into a separate process. And for the same reason, the process approach is not used for strategic planning; for this, I repeat, functional modeling is used.
Description of working with BPM
To better understand what BPM (business process management) is, I will give an example of the sequence of actions of a business analyst within this methodology:Survey of people (company employees). Understanding how work is done in each specific case.
Documentation of the business process based on the received data. At this stage, the analyst receives an “as is” description of the business process.
Studying the resulting business process from the point of view of weaknesses and optimization possibilities:
Based on the ready-made optimized (as necessary) scheme, documents are created: job descriptions, user manuals, and, if necessary, automated solutions are implemented.
After implementation, based on the notation, the business process is monitored, possible inconsistencies are identified, and their causes are studied.
If necessary, changes are made to the scheme based on identified shortcomings or changes in the company’s work related to external factors.
Process life cycle in BPM
As can be seen from the sequence described above, each business process goes through a certain cycle from creation to implementation. Then for some period of time it works “as is”. After which practice shows certain shortcomings and shortcomings, the analyst studies the reporting and, for his part, finds some “weak points”. The process is being modernized.This cycle can be repeated an infinite number of times. Any business, any organization is not a frozen monolith, but a developing organism in a constantly changing environment. The specifics of legislation change, competitors come and go from the market, new automation tools appear, etc.
The main rule of a business analyst: when optimizing a process, you need to be able to stop in time. And here it is necessary to clearly analyze the complexity (cost) of changes and the increased efficiency (benefits) as a result.
Pros and cons of BPM
The benefits of using BPM include:- The ability to detail as much as possible the actions of people and systems necessary to obtain results.
- Graphic notations are visual, which allows you to understand the features of processes in the company and see their weak points.
- Notations are perfect as instructions to the performer, who will receive a clear and unambiguous sequence of actions. At the same time, it will be designed graphically - in the most convenient way for human perception.
- When using a process approach, the result of the process will be standardized and consistent with what is expected. This will reduce the influence of the human factor on the level of service or the performance of any other types of work.
- The BPM methodology is well developed and standardized thanks to BPMN. At the same time, the tools (BPMN notations) are intuitive even for people who have not studied business process management at all. On the other hand, the presence of standards and rules allows you to avoid errors during development and create executable notations (ready-made elements of business automation) in the BPMS system.
The disadvantages of BPM, as often happens, are in the same place as the advantages:
- A high degree of detail in processes interferes with the perception of business performance for strategic planning.
- The people who develop the process model have a very big responsibility. Any mistake can lead to disastrous results. For example, when developing a functional model, there is data at the input, a result at the output, tools that the company provides to the performer, and the performer himself. While the performer produces the expected result at the output, within the function he can act at his own discretion, choosing the optimal method of achieving the goal. With a process approach, the performer is deprived of “freedom of maneuver.” He has a clearly defined sequence of actions, taking into account all possible conditions. And he has no right to act differently, even if the result turns out to be different from what was expected.
- The business process is static and practically not subject to adjustments from the inside. The performer receives a clear sequence of actions and can no longer take the initiative. As a result, performers will repeat any mistake over and over again until it is corrected in the business process itself.
Which companies are BPM suitable for?
The process approach is ideal for state-owned companies. Here it is important to improve the level of service and quality of work, while standardization of service is also important. In a state-owned company, clients do not expect any bonuses or special initiatives. But the service must be performed inside and out at the appropriate level.In commercial companies, the process approach is good for standardizing work; it will allow you to “pull up” the level of service to certain standards. On the one hand, this is a big plus. On the other hand, it is also a minus, since proactive and talented employees, no matter how much they want, will not be able to prove themselves and bring more benefit and profit. The process approach is precisely stability and a certain static nature. Therefore, when using it, you need to clearly understand where this type of work suits you, and where it is better to give people more freedom.
In order for the business process to be beneficial and not harmful, it is recommended to collect comments and errors from participants in the business process. There is no need to assume that BPM is the ultimate truth.
I have already talked in more detail about exactly how to manage a business using business processes in previous articles, and I will talk more than once. Here I tried to explain as simply as possible the differences between the terms BPM, BPMS, BPMN and describe the very concept of “business process management”. Without this basic knowledge, it is impossible to understand the process approach.
Questions and answers
What is the difference between functional modeling and process modeling?With a functional approach, we view the actions of people and automated systems as a “black box”. And we approach modeling from the point of view of the stages of achieving the goal, as well as the resources necessary for this. In process modeling, we study the sequence of actions of employees and systems at each stage to optimize them and increase efficiency.
What concepts are included in BPMN?
First of all, this is the BPMN system itself, as well as a description of BPMS notations. I wrote about them in this article, and in detail in previous articles (see recommended links at the end of the publication). In addition, new concepts appeared not so long ago - DMN and CMMN. I will not dwell on them in detail now. I will try to describe new concepts and their features in future publications.
Why do we need so many complexities and different approaches in constructing notations?
Business process management and the BPM methodology itself are necessary, among other things, for the directive management of large teams. This is why notations, descriptions of business processes and a wide range of tools are needed.
Where to start working with BPM?
Learn the BPMN notation language and try using it in your work. The main thing is, don't be afraid to start. You will understand that simple notations are much easier to construct in practice than they seem. And you can learn the methodology step by step, relying on simple and understandable graphical BPM tools.
Can BPM be used for manual systems?
Can. This approach is intended, first of all, not for automation (the IT sector has its own tools), but for organizing the work of a company or any team. Work areas using automated systems may be taken into account here. Or we can only consider processes in a team, any of them - from construction crews or production to creative teams in a theater or philharmonic society. The main thing is to clearly describe how the process you are interested in occurs, as well as how you want to change it.
Each company has its own organizational structure - departments, departments and their employees performing certain functions. As the organization grows, the internal structure becomes more and more ramified, and difficulties begin to arise in the work of the team. These are barriers related to communication, data exchange, and staff motivation, which require more and more working time to overcome.
Management is faced with the question of how to unite people and increase the coherence of the company? Our answer is to look at the processes. You need to look at how the functions of different departments line up in value chains.
In today's article we will answer 3 questions that leaders of large companies ask themselves:
What does the process approach give to large businesses?
Where to start building a business process management system?
Why build a business process management system?
First of all, you need to understand that the process approach does not replace the organizational structure of the company. There must be a hierarchy. The organizational structure is used when modeling business processes, since each section of the process has an executor and a manager who controls it. Accordingly, the organizational structure is also used when automating business processes.
At the same time, it is useful for a company to see how the functions of various departments and performers are connected with each other and form value chains - from the first task to the result of the work of several specialists or departments:
A look at processes allows you to:
Business process maturity levels
When a company realizes that it needs to work with business processes, it is important to determine what the next step will be. How to approach processes, since there can be hundreds or even thousands of them in a company?
The first thing you need to pay attention to is the types of processes. We focus on the well-known concept of management and management theory, which is well studied. Its essence lies in the fact that in any company three levels of operational processes can be distinguished.
Management processes - everything related to working with strategy, goals, budgeting, reporting, data collection and analysis.
Basic processes are the essence of the company's activities. Processes that make money.
Service processes eat up the company’s money, while ensuring the stable functioning of the main business processes.
In addition, it is important to understand that each process has maturity levels:
Level 1 (initial, unsystematic), when the company controls the execution of functions.
Level 2 (repeatable, regulated). The company has regulations, job descriptions, and there is hope that the organization works according to processes.
Level 3 (automated, measurable). The process, or part of it, is automated in the IT system (SAP, 1C, Oracle, Axapta, Galaktika, Parus, etc.)
Level 4 (changeable, controlled). Process metrics and the possibility of changing it appear. The process becomes flexible. It changes based on the assigned tasks, and we can track these changes.
Level 5. Process development is related to the company's strategy.
By putting processes in order and increasing their level of maturity, the company increases the economic potential of the enterprise. Chaos eats up money. Therefore, at the first stage, the manager needs to determine what processes exist in the company and at what maturity levels they are located.
Maturity level 2
Let’s take a closer look at maturity level 2 – repeatable, regulated processes. Many companies are working in this direction, and we often hear from our customers that they have separate departments that deal with describing processes and regulating them (that is, transferring company processes from maturity level 1 to level 2).
Maturity level 3
By transferring the process from the second to the third level of maturity, the company automates the execution of regulated processes using IT systems.
At this stage, the company may encounter a number of difficulties:
The implementation of classic IT systems for automating business processes in a “take and use” format does not meet the needs of the enterprise.
The company has already developed its own unique regulations for business processes and it is necessary for the IT product to adapt to them, and not vice versa. As a result, the company either partially breaks the logic of the regulated process in order to implement it in the IT system. Or invests in refining and adapting an IT solution to suit your needs.
Process metrics remain outside the scope of the implementation project.
ERP and other specialized systems solve many problems - they build management accounting, synchronous planning, automate processes - but they do not control process metrics. There is no idea how the business process works.
In an automated system, the process is “cemented” and does not change for years.
For those companies whose processes must be stable, this does not pose any difficulties. However, many organizations, especially those developing new business areas, have such a need. In this case, they need the ability to quickly change and improve the automated process.
Thus, we briefly examined two basic levels of business process maturity - regulation and automation. As a rule, in large businesses most of the processes are located at these levels. However, the main work with processes begins further. Process management is not just automation. Its main goal is conscious change and improvement of business processes to achieve greater efficiency. And the manager needs to clearly understand which processes from level 2, and even more so from level 3, should be transferred to the next levels of maturity.
What processes should I start with?
In our own practice of implementing a business process management system at our customers’ enterprises, we have developed a scheme that helps to identify the processes that the company needs to develop first.
On the X axis we plot the resources used in the business process (human resources, materials, equipment, etc.). Along the Y axis is the value that this process brings to the enterprise. Thus, a simple service business process most likely does not have much value for the company. Moreover, if it supports the uninterrupted functioning of the main process, which generates millions in profits, then its value will be much higher.
Accordingly, we can divide all the company’s processes into 4 groups with “cheap” and “expensive” processes that have low or high value. For each of the 4 groups, a different level of business process maturity is recommended.
During the development of a company, you should not take on all the processes of the organization at once. There can be a lot of them, and they have different values for the enterprise. Let the less valuable ones remain on paper for now, but the significant processes should be transferred to level 4 of maturity. This will allow you to understand their efficiency and decide how to improve a business process that is valuable to the company.
The business process management system focuses specifically on maturity levels 4 and 5. If the company has an ERP or accounting system, this is good, but this is only part of managing enterprise processes. The main task of a business process management system is the development of processes, which allows increasing economic potential from an operational and strategic point of view.
Enterprise process management system
The business process management system should cover 4 levels of the company's work. Only in this case will it work.
Firstly, there is a strategy and global goals of the company and business processes cannot exist separately from them.
Secondly, we must monitor the effectiveness and productivity of all the company’s business processes in order to understand what to change in the company’s existing processes and track the results of the changes.
Of course, processes must be executed.
Fourthly, it is important to consider that 100% of processes involve people. Even if we take a technological process where complex equipment is used, people manage it. Therefore, it is impossible to do without the level of staff and motivation.
Process control level
Managing any business process of a company involves monitoring metrics and indicators of its productivity.
For example, in the “Processing a customer order” process, the following metrics and indicators can be distinguished:
If we cannot issue an invoice for the goods within 3 hours from the moment of application from a regular client of the company, he will probably go to a more efficient manufacturer. Therefore, the “invoice time” metric influences the performance of the process. And the more complex the processes, the more metrics there are, and the more strongly they influence the effectiveness of the organization’s processes.
In large companies it looks like this:
Performance indicators are what top managers of companies see on their monitors as part of reporting, information panels in SAP, Oracle, Axapta and other similar systems.
But these indicators are based on the effectiveness of the business process. It has an owner (for example, the head of the department implementing this process). Below it are several more levels of hierarchy down to the basic participants in the process. And they all see the process, its effectiveness and, accordingly, the results of their work differently.
Thus, the development of processes to maturity levels 4 and 5, which the business process management system is focused on, is not just automation of execution. We need to know the current metrics and KPIs of business processes in order to understand how to develop processes to achieve the company's strategic goals. Make changes quickly and track results.
Process execution level (automation)
At the level of business process execution, there are three possible scenarios for the development of events:
Why eliminate patchwork automation and move the process to BPMS?
To achieve transparency of indicators, make real changes to business processes based on your goals, and control the results.
When senior management sets a task to improve the company's operations - for example, to reduce the number of defects, the process owner translates this task below:
Accordingly, the working group needs to optimize the process so that its results change. New versions of processes are launched, which are accordingly further decomposed into participants in the business process. As a result, the metrics of the updated process change, and the process indicators reflect the result.
In this way, a system for managing business processes of a large enterprise is implemented. Its goal is not just automation. It is focused on the conscious development of processes to achieve the strategic and global goals of the company.
In cases where part of the process continues to be performed manually, or it is automated using several IT systems that are not integrated with each other, it is not possible to implement such a work scheme.
So, today we have covered a fairly voluminous topic. The same material and the remaining 2 levels covered by the business process management system at an enterprise (the level of personnel and motivation, as well as the level of strategy and global goals of the company) were discussed in detail at the 3rd webinar of the “Business Processes for Large” series.
Questions on the topic can be asked in the comments to this article, or by using the feedback form on our website.
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