7FE Project

Framework
Publications - Business Process Management: Practical Guidelines to Successful
Imlementations

!reating a BPM roject or rogram and roject imlementation framework t"at is aroriate to
all organi#ations$ and t"at will suit all circumstances$ is c"allenging$ eseciall% w"en
organi#ations are not t"e same& E'en if organi#ations were t"e same$ t"e aroac" to t"e
imlementation of BPM 'aries enormousl% bot" from organi#ation to organi#ation and wit"in an
organi#ation&

("e 7FE Project Framework deri'es from four F)s and t"ree E*s +'iew a brief 'ideo cli of ,o"n
e-laining t"e framework.:
Foundations / to set u for success$ BPM rojects need a solid underinning& ("e% "a'e to be
rooted in t"e organi#ation aroriatel% and t"e Launch Pad "ase is designed to 'alidate t"is
asect& ("e t%e of roject determines t"e e-tent to w"ic" t"e 0aunc" Pad references t"e
Organization Strategy and Process Architecture "ases&
Findings and Solutions / relate to Understanding of e-isting rocesses$ and "ow to go about
identif%ing suitable solutions in t"e Innovate P"ase&
Fulfillment / is "ow t"e People and Develop come toget"er to fulfill t"e need& Effecti'el%$ t"is a
combination of best ractices in organi#ational design and t"e role of t"e BPMS in roject
imlementation&
Future / relates "ow t"e organi#ation Realizes alue and deli'ers ongoing Sustaina!le
Performance& ("ese "ases talk to "ow to encourage reeatabilit%$ embedding t"e inno'ation
culture in t"e organi#ation and dri'ing continuous imro'ement&
"ssentials / of Process 0eaders"i$ BPM Project Management and Peole !"ange Management
are 'ital t"roug"out t"e entire roject&
1ur e-erience as BPM consultants and imlementation ractitioners "as ro'ided us wit" t"e
oortunit% of de'eloing suc" a framework$ and one t"at we "a'e used and refined in t"e
imlementation of BPM rograms and rojects& ("ere are 23 "ases and 4 essentials in t"e
framework& ("e "ases are:
2& 1rgani#ation strateg%
5& Process arc"itecture
4& 0aunc" ad
6& 7nderstand
8& Inno'ate
9& :e'elo
7& Peole
;& Imlement
<& =eali#e 'alue
23& Sustainable erformance


>e will briefl% outline eac" of t"e "ases and essential comonents "ere&
2& Organization strategy# ("is "ase includes ensuring t"at t"e organi#ation strateg%$
'ision$ strategic goals$ business and e-ecuti'e dri'ers are clearl% understood b% t"e
roject team members& :o stake"olders e-ect s"ort- or long-term gains from t"is
roject? Is t"e 'alue roosition of t"e organi#ation clear and understood b% e'er%one? It
is imortant to understand t"at strateg% is not a @lan*A strateg% @is a uroseful rocess of
engaging eole inside and outside t"e organi#ation in scoing out new at"s a"ead*
+Stace and :un"%$ 2<<9: 94.& ("e strateg% must be communicated and sold to all
rele'ant stake"olders +eseciall% t"e management and staff. until it becomes entrenc"ed in
t"e culture of t"e organi#ation& Personnel need to take it u wit" urgenc% and$ ideall%$ a
sense of assion& ("e strateg% needs to be known and understood b% t"e roject team$
w"ic" ensures t"at t"e roject scoe and direction add 'alue to it&
5& Process architecture# ("is "ase is w"ere t"e rocess arc"itecture is designed& Process
arc"itecture is t"e means b% w"ic" t"e organi#ation establis"es a set of rules$ rinciles$
guidelines and models for t"e imlementation of BPM across t"e organi#ation& ("e
rocess arc"itecture ro'ides t"e basis for t"e design and reali#ation of BPM rocess
initiati'es& It is w"ere t"e rocess$ I( and business arc"itectures are broug"t into
alignment wit" t"e organi#ation strateg%&
4& Launch pad# ("is "ase "as t"ree major outcomes:
o t"e selection of w"ere to start t"e initial +or ne-t. BPM roject wit"in t"e
organi#ation
o agreement of t"e rocess goals andBor 'ision$ once t"e rocesses "a'e been
selected
o t"e establis"ment of t"e selected roject&
:etermining w"ere to start is a difficult e-ercise in its own rig"t$ and t"e
framework will ro'ide %ou wit" se'eral wa%s of determining w"ere and "ow to
start& Process goals and 'ision need to be aligned wit" t"e organi#ation strateg%
and t"e rocess arc"itecture to ensure t"at t"e% are en"ancing or adding 'alue to
t"e strateg%& 1nce a business unit and rocesses "a'e been selected and t"e
rocess goals agreed$ t"e roject must be establis"ed to ma-imi#e t"e likeli"ood of
success& Establis"ing t"e roject includes deciding t"e roject team structure$ t"e
scoe$ t"e stake"older management$ creation of t"e initial business case$ and
e-ected business benefits&
6& Understand# ("is "ase is about understanding enoug" of t"e current business rocess
en'ironment to enable t"e Inno'ate "ase to take lace& It is essential t"at at least basic
rocess metrics are gat"ered to allow for t"e establis"ment of rocess baseline costs for
future comarati'e uroses& 1t"er essential stes are root-cause anal%sis and t"e
identification of ossible Cuick wins& ("ere will be a need to identif%$ and ideall%
imlement$ Cuick wins along t"e wa%$ as t"e business will not +and s"ould not. ro'ide
unlimited funding for rocess imro'ement rojects& ("e ideal situation is for t"e
roject+s. to become self-funding because of t"e gains made b% t"e imlementation of
t"ese Cuick wins&
8& Innovate# ("is is t"e creati'e "ase of t"e roject$ and often t"e most interesting& It
s"ould not onl% in'ol'e t"e roject team and t"e business$ but also rele'ant stake"olders /
bot" internal and e-ternal& 1nce t"e 'arious new rocess otions "a'e been identified$
t"ere ma% be a need to run simulations$ comlete acti'it%-based costing$ conduct caacit%
lanning and determine imlementation feasibilit%$ to enable t"e finali#ation of w"ic"
otions are t"e best& Ddditional metrics s"ould be comleted to allow a comarison wit"
t"e baseline metrics establis"ed during t"e 7nderstand "ase& Ddditional ossible Cuick
wins are identified and rioriti#ed wit"in t"e business&
9& Develop# ("is "ase consists of building all t"e comonents for t"e imlementation of t"e
new rocesses& It is imortant to understand t"at @build*$ in t"is conte-t$ does not
necessaril% mean an I( build& It could in'ol'e t"e building of all infrastructure +desks$ P!
mo'ements$ buildings$ etc&. to suort t"e eole c"ange management rogram and
c"anges in t"e suort of t"e eole w"o e-ecute t"e rocesses& It also in'ol'es t"e
testing of software and "ardware&
7& People# ("is is a critical "ase of t"e framework and it could ut t"e rest of t"e roject at
risk if not "andled t"oroug"l% and to a "ig" standard& ("e urose of t"is "ase is to
ensure t"at t"e acti'ities$ roles and erformance measurement matc" t"e organi#ation
strateg% and rocess goals& Dt t"e end of t"e da%$ it is eole t"at will make rocesses
function effecti'el% and efficientl%$ no matter "ow muc" automation is in'ol'ed& ("is
"ase s"ould not be confused wit" eole c"ange management$ as t"is needs attention
t"roug"out t"e roject in all t"e "ases&
;& Implement# ("is "ase is w"ere t"e @rubber "its t"e road*& It is w"ere all asects of t"e
roject +roll-out of t"e new rocesses$ roll-out of t"e new role descritions$ erformance
management and measures$ and training. take lace& ("e imlementation lans are
crucial$ as are roll-back and contingenc% lans& Man% organi#ations belie'e t"at t"e
roject "as been comleted after imlementation "as been successful& Eowe'er$ in our
oinion t"e ne-t two "ases are t"e most imortant in a BPM roject&
<& Realize value# ("e urose of t"is "ase is to ensure t"at t"e benefit outcomes outlined in
t"e roject business case are reali#ed& ("is "ase basicall% comrises t"e deli'er% of t"e
benefits reali#ation management rocess$ and benefits reali#ation reorting& 7nless t"e
benefits are reali#ed$ t"e organi#ation s"ould not ro'ide additional funding to continue
furt"er rocess rojects& It is t"e role of t"e roject team$ roject owner$ roject sonsor
and business to ensure t"at t"ese benefits are reali#ed& Dlt"oug" t"is is described as t"e
nint" "ase of t"e framework$ it is in fact not a discrete "ase in its own rig"t because
some of t"e stes are e-ecuted in re'ious "ases& ("erefore$ we ad'ise t"e reader to
stud% t"e aroriate art of t"is c"ater in conjunction wit" e'er% ot"er "ase& ("e stes
"a'e been groued toget"er in t"is c"ater to ro'ide an end-to-end insig"t into t"e role of
reali#ing 'alue in a BPM roject and to ensure t"at t"e BPM roject team takes time after
t"e Imlement "ase actuall% to reali#e t"e benefits secified in t"e business case&
23& Sustaina!le performance# It is absolutel% essential t"at t"e roject team works wit" t"e
business to establis" a rocess structure to ensure t"at continued rocess agilit% and
imro'ements are sustainable& ("e considerable in'estment made in rocess rojects must
be maintained and en"anced o'er time& ("e organi#ation must understand t"at rocesses
"a'e a lifec%cle$ and will need continuous imro'ement after t"e roject*s targeted
imro'ements "a'e been reali#ed& If t"e% don*t$ o'er time and as t"e business c"anges t"e
organi#ation will siml% be running its rocesses in a sub-otimal fas"ion& ("is "ase is
about t"e con'ersion from a @roject* to a @business oerational* acti'it%&
Pro$ect essentials
>e will now turn our attention to t"e 4 BPM roject essentials& ("ese are t"e essential
comonents uon w"ic" an% successful BPM roject rests$ and t"e% ermeate all "ases of t"e
roject framework&
2& %P& Pro$ect management# !lients often ask$ @can a normal alication or business
roject manager imlement a BPM roject?* ("e answer is a Cualified @Fes$ but now"ere
nearl% as well as an e-erienced BPM roject manager*& ("e roject risks will be
significantl% "ig"er$ and t"e organi#ation risks missing out on man% of t"e otential
benefits t"at can be ac"ie'ed from BPM& !an a erson wit"out significant roject
management e-erience imlement a BPM roject? ("is answer is eas%/@no*& Project
management is a fundamental skill or reCuirement for an% roject$ and a BPM roject is
no different& In fact$ t"e reCuirement is e'en "ig"er because of t"e increased comle-it% of
BPM rojects&
5& People change management# >e will look at t"e imortance of t"e c"ange rocess as it
secificall% relates to t"e imlementation of t"e ersonnel asects of a BPM roject&
("ere "a'e been man% articles written on w"% rocess imro'ement and BPM roject
failures occur$ and we do not roose to mention all t"e reasons "ere& Eowe'er$ t"ere is a
growing belief t"at t"e ersonnel asects of an imro'ement roject "a'e not alwa%s been
addressed in sufficient detail& Ds Mic"ael Eammer stated in 2<<4$ @coming u wit" t"e
ideas is t"e eas% art$ but getting t"ings done is t"e toug" art& ("e lace w"ere t"ese
reforms die is G down in t"e trenc"es*/and w"o @owns* t"e trenc"es? ("e eole in t"e
organi#ation
4& Leadership# D oint acknowledged b% all business rocess c"ange e-erts is t"at an%
c"ange rogram must "a'e t"e suort of senior leaders"iBmanagement to be successful&
Dccording to Heen +2<<7: 22<.$ @("ese eole*s commitment to c"ange matters more t"an
t"e details of t"e lan for c"ange*& ("e e-tent to w"ic" e-ecuti'e leaders @delegate*
resonsibilit% is crucial to t"e effecti'eness of t"e outcomes of BPM rojects& >e "a'e
witnessed e-tremel% successful BPM imlementations and some oor ones$ and t"e
common t"read in bot" t%es "as alwa%s been t"e commitment$ attention and rocess
maturit% of t"e e-ecuti'e leaders& ("e successful rojects "ad e-cellent e-ecuti'e
commitment$ attention and understanding$ w"ile t"e oor ones did not&