Business Process Management and Systems

This article discusses Business Process Management (BPM) and its success factors, techniques, and challenges. It also explores the differences and similarities between ERP and BPM and how their combination can be advantageous to businesses. The article emphasizes the importance of people, processes, and technology in BPM.

Running head: BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
Business Process Management and Systems
Name of the Student:
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1BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
Table of Contents
Answer to Question 1......................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 2:.....................................................................................................................2
Answer to Question 3......................................................................................................................3
Answer to Question 4:.....................................................................................................................5
Answer to Question 5:.....................................................................................................................5
Answer to Question 6:.....................................................................................................................6
Answer to Question 7:.....................................................................................................................7
Answer to Question 8:.....................................................................................................................8
Answer to Question 9:...................................................................................................................10
Answer to Question 10..................................................................................................................11
Answer to Question 11..................................................................................................................12
Answer to Question 12..................................................................................................................13
References:....................................................................................................................................14

2BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
Answer to Question 1
BPM or Business Process Management refers to the management approach that focuses
in aligning all the aspects of the organization with the needs and wants of the clients (Jeston,
2014). Thus, BPM enables the organizations in becoming more effective, efficient and capable of
a change compared to the functionally focused hierarchical approach of management.
The three vital components determining the failure or the success of Business Process
Management include:
 Process
 Technology
 People
The focus of BPM on the process and improvement monitoring makes it relevant in the
context of environmental sustainability (ES) (Dumas et al., 2013). One of the primary aims of
BPM lies in optimizing the usage of the organizational resources like raw materials, time or the
specific benchmarks for the organizational performance. These resources represent the key
performance indicators (KPI) measured at the organizational and process levels via business
process management (BPM). The environmental sustainability is measured with the help of
environmental performance indicators (EPI) which includes the commonly captured ones like the
air pollution, consumption and water quality, fuel and energy consumption, waste management
and the recycling of the material. The process-oriented approach of BPM and facility of
measuring the EPI s at process level represents the concept that helps a project in attaining
sustainable and successful results.

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Answer to Question 2:
Business Process Management (BPM) and Project Management (PM) represents specific
set of responsibilities although both works together towards the creation of organizational
success (Jeston, 2014). For instance, the organization with a lack of defined business processes
lands up with chaotic projects that finally become unsuccessful.
Business Process Management is an ongoing process whose constant focus lies in the
optimization of the consistency and the efficiency. Project management is however, time bound
and the optimization generally takes place with the completion of the project (Kerzner &
Kerzner, 2017). Projects intend to create a change in the process while the processes intends in
avoiding variation in the results. Project management necessitates innovative thinking while
process management ensures the achievement of the desired outcome with the occurrence of the
appropriate steps. Irrespective of the lifespan of organization, the priority lies in the management
of the processes. For instance, whether one is operating a multigenerational business or start up,
the customers relies on the production of dependable, higher quality service or product made
possible by the process undertaken. Project management represents the key of taking the
business to next level and is successful with the proper management of the business processes.
Nevertheless, the emergence of the advanced technology ensures easier management of
processes.
Answer to Question 3
Success factors of BPM include (Vom et al., 2014):

4BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
1. Improvement in Business Performance and Attainment of Sustainability: This is done
in quest of attaining strategic objectives.
2. Traceability of the Business Performance: This involves translation of the strategic
intent into subset of manageable and integrated programs and strategies.
3. Alignment of Capabilities and Actions of an Organization: This involves using
business process for integrating strategies, technologies, performance, information, rules,
knowledge, human resource, facilities and equipment.
4. Satisfaction outside Stakeholder Requirements: This involves using business process
management in finding an optimal balance amongst external stakeholders like the consumers,
customers, regulatory bodies, suppliers, competitors, owners and staff.
5. Consistency of Architecture with Structured Semantic Vocabulary: There should be
well-defined interconnected and interconnected map for business process that provides common
language for work.
Pitfalls of BPM include (Scarborough, 2016):
1. Caught Unprepared in Demonstrating Delivered Value: This happens due to the failure
of maintaining records or undertaking routine communication to the ones who matters
2. Deployment of the System without Understanding BPM as Discipline: This implies
that BPM needs to be a part of the discipline of an organization
3. Launching BPM Efforts on the Perceived Platform without Validation: This involves
the gathering of metrics before occurrence of process improvement

5BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
4. Development of BPM capabilities without the delivery of business value: This implies
building of capabilities with a touch of realism
5. More Focus on Mapping Process rather than improving them: This implies that the
mapping process might get lost so the team should communicate and keep a track of the values
delivered.
Answer to Question 4:
The five steps of building a business case for Business Process Management (BPM) include
(Sekaran & Bougie, 2016):
1. Process Alignment: The first step in building of a business case for BPM funding
involves determination of the process that requires focus. This step involves focusing on the
process that leads to quicker results so that there is exists no risk of losing the potential sponsors
in case of early failure.
2. Establishing Benchmarks for Functioning of the Current Process: This involves the
determination of the benchmark for gauging the progress. The benchmark might simply involve
outlining the person responsible for every project aspect and the time for which it is due.
3. Establishment of the Metrics for Defining Success: This involves defining
predetermined criteria for success of the project besides clear set of goals at any particular stage.
4. Monitoring of New Process: This involves synthesis of information that leads to the
creation of an overall mapping for the determining the means of functioning.

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5. Refinement of the Process: This is also known as process transformation and focuses
primarily on the improvement of the performance, reduction of the costs, meeting of the
customer needs and nurturing of the relationship.
Answer to Question 5:
Five Stages of BPM include (Chang, 2016):
1. Modeling Phase: The identification of the process helps in testing certain scenarios for
instance, in the Human Resource (HR) department and simulation with the used cases thereby
allowing understanding of what actually works.
2. Implementation Phase: This phase involves the implementation of the process and the
way it is used. This involves dealing with suppose a vacation request by an employee.
3. Execution Phase: This represents the running of the process. For instance, the process
undertakes the verification of accrued leave of an employee based on a vacation request and
automatically sending the request to supervisor through an email.
4. Monitoring Phase: This phase ensured determining the achievement of the goals. The
process seemed successful in implementation as it allowed the HR department in reducing the
resource requirement and in saving time and money.
5. Optimization Phase: The process worked as it motivated the HR department to
automate complex processes like the performance review and hiring and termination.
Answer to Question 6:
People

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The success of a business depends on the customer service due to the availability of the
purchasing options at the fingertips (Stark, 2015). BPM systems can excel by providing the
employees with the necessary tools for delivering excellent service. This involves:
 Blend the operations directly into the task management
 Offer necessary data for both the real time and the analytics.
 Provide right work to right employees through assigning of tasks based on the
skill sets.
 Putting all the information in a single platform so that there is no wastage of time
in loading innumerable systems
Process
Business process can stay either with a single department or spans across multiple
departments and requires necessary inputs from the customers and the other parties (Wong,
2013). The BPM systems excel through mapping of the existing processes that aids in finding the
ideal places for applying automation.
Technology
BPM represents an integral part of various digital transformations simply through the
expansion of the technology integrations. This enables in streamlining access to required
information necessary for the completion of operations (Karim & Arif-Uz-Zaman, 2013). For
instance, the user dashboards help in displaying information collected throughput the
organization thereby providing access to real time data.
Answer to Question 7:

8BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
Process Modeling helps in representing a process through digital means transferred via
live automated process (Laguna & Marklund, 2013). It helps in the elimination of the
inefficiencies and the redundancies and thereby setting a clear start and end to a process. Process
modeling helps in grouping together similar processes and in anticipating how they operate.
Automation represents the approach that businesses undertake for systemizing the
process with the help of technology and organizing the personnel via workflows (Sen, 2014).
The BPM technology makes process automation not only faster and less costly but also effective
and better.
Process Mining focuses at automatic construction of the models thereby providing an
explanation for the behavior observed in event log (Van, 2016). Process mining gained enhanced
significance because of the change in business dynamics.
The challenges of business process analysis include (Salmela, 2016):
Conflict in Requirements: Irrespective of the context and scope of the project there
might be over three-stakeholder group whose needs and requirements needs proper handling
Customers Solely Unaware of their Want: This acts as a challenge for requirement
gathering.
Unavailable Stakeholders: Irrespective of the techniques chosen, consultation with the
stakeholder is necessary who might be unavailable.
Change of Priorities: This acts as a challenge as the customer keep on changing their
mindsets.

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Non-Supportive Stakeholder: This happens when the stakeholder do not support the
change undertaken.
Answer to Question 8:
The techniques of business process analysis include:
Gap Analysis:
Strength: The method helps in assessing the difference in performance between software
applications or business information system for determining the fulfillment of business
requirements (Suriadi et al., 2014)
Weakness: Most of the value provided by the analysis would be lost if there complete
information about the process is unavailable.
Opportunities: The process allows the managers in determining the present and the future
state of the business.
Threats: It represents one of the oldest forms of modeling technique.
Value added Analysis:
Strength: This is the process through which a product or service is reduced to one of its
essential benefits and attributes (Miles, 2015).
Weakness: It is necessary for evaluating each activity for delivering actual value to
process.
Opportunities: The technique finds an application as the starting point with business

10BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
Threats: The benefits or the attributes that appeals the customers are improved and
retained while the others are reduced or eliminated
Root Cause Analysis:
Strength: This ensures performing thorough analysis of a procedure for defining a problem
(Black & Vernetti, 2015)
Weakness: Emergence of system failures from the confluence of the occurrences and the
conditions
Opportunities: The technique helps in describing a range of tools, approaches and techniques
for uncovering the causes of the problem
Threats: Presence of casual factors that needs analysis for determining the root causes.
The technique of Root cause analysis seems appropriate for the organization since it solves
problems through the identification of the root cause of a particular problem.
Answer to Question 9:
Differences between ERP and BPMS
ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) focuses primarily on the organizational functions
while BPMS implements an approach that is process centric. Thus, BMPS is a process intelligent
layer that might or might not have integration with the ERP (Prades et al., 2013). Compared to
this, ERP is designed with the process functionalities that can be configured and customized for
suiting the operations of the organization.

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Similarities between ERP and BPMS
Both ERP and BMPS consist of elements of integration and process definitions. If an
organization cannot afford ERP module, the BMPS is implemented for managing the process
across the disparate system (Kraljic & Kraljic, 2014).
Ways through which ERP and BPM is Advantageous Combination to Business
The combinations of ERP and BPM are advantageous to the business in the following
manner (Hassanein, 2013):
1. This enables filling of the gaps in information caused due to the spread of data across
the disparate systems thereby enhancing the efficiency of the process
2. The combination allows innovation and enables newer processes for integrating ERP
with the systems designed for processing the newer forms of information like for example the
unstructured data
3. It also enables easier and cost effective extension of functionality to the existing
system of the enterprise like for example the CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
Answer to Question 10
People:
Modern BPM helps in driving transformation and at the same time keeping with the
trends of mobile, social, and the cloud-focused business (Hammer, 2015). The BPM capabilities
helps in the creation of people focused work environment. To boost the employee customer
relation, the BPM ensures the elimination of various red tape procedures and tedious operations.

12BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
Processes:
Process refers to the set of transactions or activities that get completed on a consistent
basis. The process will require the input from the multiple stakeholders and potentially involve
both the external and the internal users (Harmon, 2014). It also has demand for a wide range of
data along with the incorporation of the repeatable automated workflows. Thus, BPM solution
allows companies in establishing internal policies and rules and thereby enforcing them.
Technology
BPM evolved into an enabler of digital transformation through the addition of technology
to its equation (Stavenko, Kazantsev & Gromoff, 2013). The key ways through which the BPM
incorporates technology includes incorporation of data into the user dashboards, acceleration of
the app delivery, aligning the processes and the application functionality.
Answer to Question 11
Lean referred to a production practice that took care of every facet of manufacturing
business from the quality assurance to the human resource (Arfmann & Barbe, 2014). The
primary objective remained in elimination of waste and the reduction of the production cost and
time. For the lean to be effective there should exist cultural change within the organization where
best practices remains ingrained amongst the workforce which needs to undergo merging
through business silos and thereby receive undisputed backing not only from the employees but
also the management.
Six Sigma represents one of the widely used methodologies for the process improvement
that allows the enterprises in using data for the elimination of any defects in the process (Evans

13BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
& Lindsay, 2014). The two project methodologies of six sigma are DMAIC and DMADV. The
DMAIC stands for Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control and DMADV stands for
Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify, and they depend on the Deming’s Cycle of Plan
Do Check Act. As Six Sigma represents a multifaceted technology, so it caters differently for
each of the process.
Business process management (BPM) represents an approach that has a holistic approach
towards the whole business process for the creation of effective and efficient workflow. It is
capable of adapting to the newer market demands for the accomplishment of the organizational
goals.
Answer to Question 12
Both the lean and six sigma can leads to the process improvement through bringing in
constructive financial improvements for an organization by means of return on the investment.
Using lean and six sigma helps ion achieving the operational excellence. With the sole focus on
the people, purpose and the process lean six sigma helps in achieving the value stream that
ensures delivering highest value to customers with the lowest cost and the highest quality
(Assarlind, Gremyr & Bäckman, 2013). Thus, lean six sigma ensures providing differentiation
and competitive advantage needed by most of the companies.
BPM accelerates the Lean Enterprise Tools by providing platform for the work and
process management used directly by people. The most exciting portion of the digital
transformation remains in the customer facing the end of the operation where the presence of the
multiple touch points enabled people in interacting with organization and collect the necessary
big data. Innovation acted crucial to the business performance and success and the digital

14BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
transformation acted as the precursor in the creation of the environment within which the
innovators thrived. Thus, digital transformation acted as the pre requisite for the future business
as it opened the doors for innovation and the ability of breaking the mould.

15BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND SYSTEMS
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