Business process management between systems is an orchestration of information flows that is defined by a workflow model, and is similar to an orchestra music score in its’ clarity of direction. BPM applied to human workflows is more like choreography. The roles and the movement through the workflow is choreographed, but the human factor requires greater flexibility.
Recently I sat down with the production manager of a large New York ad agency to promote the use of our BPM suite to manage the flow of creative projects from concept to fulfillment. Shortly into the discussion, the prospective client stated, “Our people are too creative to accept any form of process control. You could never impose a defined process on their work.”
Naturally, I could feel my argumentative side rearing up. After all, I launched and ran a very successful digital art studio in NYC in the early 1990s and still think I know a thing or two about creatives. Many projects came into the studio where we had to re-invent the process to solve the problem. I wish that we would have had a BPM system to help manage those projects. The NY studio was a production facility and not a true creative studio. Our customers were creative directors from the top ad agencies and brands.
Is it true that creatives can’t be managed by a process? Is it impossible to define a creative workflow? I for one believe that BPM technology can be successfully applied to any process.
What do you think? Is it an exercise in futility to sponsor a BPM project to manage the creative process? Let’s hear from those who have tackled this challenge!
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