From a BPM.com posting…

BPM is something that you do, not a thing you own or buy.

BPM is about improving processes.  It presumes the idea that you view business as a set of processes and BPM is the act of improving those processes.

For years, I have contended that businesses are a collection of processes.  Those processes can be formal or informal.  Many of us working within a process are looking for ways to improve those processes.

If your process is not working optimally, you will know.  The process could be taking too much time.  You may see frequent errors.  You may sense that there could be an easier way to do something.  People may be performing activities that don’t appear to be adding any value to that process.  Your customer may be having problems dealing with your company.

One of these issues will need to rise up to a level that is troublesome before you feel a need to ‘improve’ it.  If it annoys you enough or costs the company enough money, you will look for a way to ‘fix’ it.

BPM software isn’t the answer.

BPM software provides control and visibility.  If your processes are broken, you still need to find ways to improve them.  You can still follow a process on paper.  However, paper doesn’t provide the level of control that you can get from software.  Paper won’t provide the visibility that you can get from software.

You have to tell the software how you want your processes to work – so, you still need to fix them on paper.  Spend some time understanding how they are working.  Maybe you try some new ideas to see if they help or not.  When you get things working better, you might decide you don’t need software.  If you do decide to purchase software, you will be ready to tell it how you want it to work.  None of your efforts will be wasted.

Start now and get a head start on your competitors…

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