Once a company masters its operational management through BPM technologies, it becomes possible to connect them to broader business networks and ecosystems. Companies that are part of these ecosystems can implement BPM methods within the business network and require processes and metrics to be defined and applied for managing relationships. Participating organizations can use BPM techniques to become optimal partners and increase their share of the business.

The discipline of creating a formal definition of key business processes results in the ability to draw a clear line between the parts of a process that must be carried out within the company and those that should be handled by partners. The model makes it easier to identify specific points, handovers, and information that must be transferred to partners to control the process. Return points are explicitly defined as stages in the process that are executed remotely.

How do companies adopt BPM?

When the full vision of BPM was understood, many people were frightened because they mistakenly believed BPM meant changing everything. In reality, completely transforming an organization and then supporting a new culture with technology and methods is not something that happens overnight. The only way to transform into a process-oriented organization is through ongoing efforts from both top-down and bottom-up directions. To avoid excessive frustration, it is vital to recognize small wins that occur through incremental efforts.

On the other hand, it is also very important to acknowledge that the long journey of progress unfolds over years. Mapping this course falls on program management and senior executives. The second part of this section summarizes a government program specifically designed for BPM adoption.

The shape of incremental top-down and bottom-up progress

Top-down wins occur when management adopts a new standard or encourages a new technique, and the company applies it and reaps the benefits. The advantage of this approach is that the entire organization is exposed to a new idea or technique. New ways of thinking and working gain attention because they are promoted by senior managers. These ideas may be as simple as creating explicit process maps for each department or identifying metrics that help determine the efficiency of key processes. Top-down wins are not uniform; usually, some departments adopt the recommendations more fully than others. The suggested steps are almost always incremental and small in scale, but by communicating simple recommendations, management reinforces the broader vision of moving toward BPM alignment. Each small piece of progress facilitates further changes.

Bottom-up wins occur when a department demonstrates value by applying relevant BPM tools, or when the IT department provides BPM services and technologies for use by early adopters to improve their performance. Bottom-up projects are incremental and may occur as an activity, such as implementing a new feature or rolling out a new version of enterprise applications that has been transitioned into a BPM project. The benefits of creating applications based on well-defined processes can deliver significant value even on a small scale. This is especially true for enhancing enterprise software with needed capabilities. Bottom-up wins often ignite enthusiasm among IT staff and business users who have seen BPM’s benefits and want to use them immediately.

BPM governance and long-term adoption

BPM governance provides a framework to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of all BPM-related activities. This includes aspects such as defining common terminology, creating processes for strategy formulation, planning, training and change management, providing tools and infrastructure, and learning from experience to achieve continuous improvement. The long-term BPM program concludes through a series of top-down and bottom-up wins that deliver significant benefits alongside gradual cultural change. But the key to achieving higher levels of efficiency lies in carrying out incremental projects. Smaller wins must be added along the way to larger wins, resulting in coordinated transformation that everyone is aware of. In Business Process Management: The SAP Roadmap, the authors define a governance method for BPM based on four stages.

The first stage of BPM governance, Strategy, ensures that BPM adoption goals are aligned with broader corporate goals. The building blocks that demonstrate progress include skills, incentive systems, performance management techniques, organizational structures, and technology components. At this stage, the overall approach is selected and potential challenges are identified.

In the second stage, Setup, preparation for implementation takes place. Fundamental techniques for process modeling and measurement are selected, along with methods to use them. Structures for decision-making and program management, as well as the roles required in process execution, are defined.

In the third stage, Execution, BPM is launched to support and automate processes, guided by the setup and strategy phases. The process management cycle—analysis, design, implementation, execution/monitoring—is repeated over and over using BPM tools. Process modeling is carried out across the enterprise. Performance management is applied to measure processes. Gradually, the organization evolves into decision-making, automation, execution, and process optimization, all centered on BPM.

In the Continuous Improvement stage, auditing, performance management, incentive systems, and other mechanisms are used to identify areas that require attention. Afterwards, BPM methods and techniques are applied where problems exist to improve efficiency.

The stages shown in the figure below represent an organized program that ensures the right thinking at the right time. If applied consistently over a long period, it will guide incremental progress and ultimately result in a profound transformation into a process-oriented organization