The Process Ninja

Manual Vs Automated Processes - Finding The Magic

A comment by Nimbus CEO Ian Gotts on my last blog "A Coffee Procedure" struck a chord with me:

"Great looking coffee. So you have described a process. One you want repeated accurately, one that would benefit from certain steps have photos or videos, but one you cannot automate.

That is why Nimbus Control exists. 80% of corporate processes are like this.

So to those who say BPM=automation, now I'd say its time to wake and smell the coffee"

In our rush to automate business process its sometimes easy to forget that work revolves around those funny things called "people". There seems to be a tendency to make the assumption that almost anything can be automated - but it can't. If we look at the complexity of everyday work and the decision making involved (never minding the social interaction glue that makes the business world revolve), automation is just a small part of making process work.

I believe that good process automates where possible as long as there is no negative impact to the customer experience. To me, process is the mechanism that links tasks together - it then guides the worker to complete the tasks in the best manner possible.  

Process isn't all about software, it's about putting practices in place that  enable the outcomes we want for our customers. Think about the millions of small businesses that do not have the luxury of software tools - they can still benefit from robust processes and procedures (I know because my cafe did!)

So when you become consumed by your quest to automate every process and every task you see, stop for a moment and consider:

• Do I need to automate the task, or the links between the tasks?
• Will automation negatively impact the customer outcome?
• Should I be telling or guiding the user?

There is a happy medium between manual and automated tasks in every business, and if you get that balance right that's when the magic starts to happen.

Cheers,

TPN

The Process Ninja Meets Nimbus

 
I'm a regular reader of the blogs of Ian Gotts and Mike Gamage from Nimbus, so I was really interested when I got a call out of the blue from Mark Cotgrove, Nimbus's EVP of Emerging Markets & Global Alliances who happened to be in Sydney.

Mark was kind enough to speak to me at Length about Nimbus Control - something I had been interested in doing for quite some time. Nimbus have big plans (I won't say too much about that) but I'm keen to see them improve their footprint as it's a product I was impressed by. OK, so it's always difficult when someone demos their product because they always make it look good, but I like to think that I have the knowledge to be able to cut through the bullshit.

So without writing a 10 page blog post on Nimbus Control, here's the executive summary: I liked it. Why did I like it? Well, the thing that stuck in my mind about Nimbus is that it's built as a tool for end users - not business process people. That might sound disappointing for some of you out there but it shouldn't be. Think of Nimbus as a highly evolved operations manual for staff and you are getting there. It's for the guys in the call centre or the factory floor to use as an aid to do their work - much like the chap at the end of this video fopr Nimbus's client Carphone Warehouse. 

These guys aren't interested in BPMN swimlane diagrams or enterprise architecture - they just want to do their jobs, as quickly and as simply as they can. Therein lies the difference: a focus on staff using the tool rather than a tool by which to build or automate business process. I'm not saying Nimbus can't do that, but there is a fundamental shift of focus onto the users.

I also liked a number of features of Nimbus - it's ability to manage process compliance was impressive as was the ability to map processes very rapidly (something that is extremely painful to do in some other process tools). OK, so their Universal process notation  takes some getting used to and requires a bit of a mind shift, but the logic of it does make sense to me. I am not 100% convinced that it is the easiest notation to look at and understand and I have issues with the fact that the notation can hide the complexity of processes within multiple layers, but they do assure me that there are ways to see the end to end process in a single view.

Nimbus has been criticised in some quarters as being limited from an enterprise architecture perspective, and interestingly Mark argued that the linkage of enterprsie architecture from top to bottom in an organisation can't be done, as there is a fundamental difference in the language. To a certain extent I can see the difficultly, but I'm not convinced it's an unsurmountable problem. Probably a discussion deserving a post to itself.

Until then, have a look at Nimbus Control and check out some of the interesting videos on Nimbus TV.

Cheers,

TPN

ARIS 7.1 - It's a Kind of Magic...

I was lucky enough to have been given a very comprehensive demo of IDS Scheer's ARIS 7.1 recently. I was very keen to look at this version given that ARIS is once again the golden child of the BPA Software Gartner Magic Quadrant in 2010. In short I was highly impressed - and the reason for this is simple - ARIS is not just a BPA tool - it's an Enterprise Architecture tool (and more). 

What separates ARIS from some of the others in the herd is this EA approach - it's the connectedness of the tool from the top level business strategy right down to the lowest level of detail. The ability to drill down through balanced scorecards or through the org chart, through to roles, tasks and job descriptions means that their is an interconnectedness. Furthermore, job tasks and roles can be connected with portfolio management to enable complete visibility of the organisation's resourcing.

Because the tool also integrates down through to the technology via Webmethods (2 way) or Pega Systems (1 way) there is also complete visibility of the technology layer - therefore providing you with complete visibility of the CMDB!

Data being fed into ARIS can be displayed in real-time dashboards, or input data can be altered to enable process simulation to highlight potential problems with changes to processes and to enable processes to be continually tweaked and improved.

But if you want to start off with a standard framework like ITIL, you can do that too - ARIS already has ITIL and other frameworks built into the tool ready to be used (how you want to use them).

Finally there is also ARIS's "social BPM" capability: ARIS Align - essentially, facebook for BPM - a means of communicating and collaborating with your colleagues - and this can occur wherever you are in the world as ARIS align is 100% cloud based.

So, whilst I always view the Gartner quandrant with a fair degree of skepticism, it appears that there is definately some magic when it comes to the capabilities of ARIS.

- TPN

Alan Trefler at Pega Process Symposium 2010

I was lucky enough to attend the Pega Process Symposium 2010 yesterday, and even more lucky to see the presentation by Pega System's genius CEO Alan Trefler.

Pega are a heartening success story - from their origins in 1983 when Alan borrowed money from his mother to finance the start up of the company in his bedroom to today where they are a multi-million dollar company. Pega have grown due to their unique approach to BPM - the removal of complex coding to enable process agility via business rules (that the business can change rather than the IT nerds). It has proven to be a winning formula that has the "bone collectors" like IBM and Oracle choking on their dust. But more than this, their focus on serving their customers (including Citi who have been a client since the beginning in 1983) is unique - providing support to all versions of their product since inception.

In Alan's presentation he highlighted the fact that although there has been a 10,000x increase in the innovation in computers there had been no innovation in the way we have applied them to business problems. However, Alan's view was that "BPM threatens to change all of that". To enable this to occur Alan detailed three key factors that needed to occur:

1. Directly capture objectives in technology ("business metaphors")
2. Automate the programming
3. Automate the work (the purpose)

Not surprisingly pega has done all three. It now stands as a unique proposition as a BPM product with a built-in development environment, something that Alan describes as a "enormous competitive differentiator".

Pega's focus on simplicity and agility is highly commendable, but for me what sets them apart is their commitment to their customers, whose lives they are making easier, simpler and more successful.

- TPN

Have You Met Holocentric?

I've recently become acquainted with Australian based BPM software vendors Holocentric. If you haven't heard of them you should have. I've had some basic training in the system and I have to say I'm fairly impressed with the depth of the product.

There are two main parts to the Holocentric product - one is the modeller which is where you build your processes. Like all good BPM products it provides the ability to set properties for objects, link and re-use process data to create a holistic approach to BPM. The second part is Modelpedia which is essentially a collaboration tool for discussion around the published models. I'm not an expert in the system (but I will be soon!) but I am already getting fairly excited about the possibilities of using it. For those out there stuck using tools like visio it is a quantum leap to use a tool like Holocentric.

If you are keen to find out more there are some very informative videos on their website.

I've met Holocentric and I like it - maybe you will too...

- TPN

Is BPM a Dirty Word?

 It has become increasingly popular these days to bash BPM and, in particular, to propose that BPM is dead. Whilst not wishing to sit in my glass house and throw stones after my Lean Six Sigma obituary post I don't think that BPM is dead. It does, however have a major image problem.

Part of the problem is that for want of a better reason we've given it a name - BPM. What do you mean? I hear you cry...well BPM isn't really about BPM is it? It's about what BPM achieves that is the important thing. Managing processes for the sake of managing processes isn't what it's about - it's all about making businesses make more money at the end of the day (unless you are public sector or charity of course). But making money requires looking after customers and looking after costs which is where our old friend BPM comes in.

The problem with a three letter acronym comes with the association that every three letter acronym requires an IT solution and a six figure software package. BPM or whatever we decide to call it next doesn't have to be so complicated that we have to spend millions on software solutions. Don't get me wrong I am not knocking IT completely, just saying that there are simpler and more flexible ways to get started without shelling out your hard earned company dollars. Start simple, prove the concepts, get some quick wins on the table THEN sell the six figure software solution to your company!

So whilst BPM may be starting to become a dirty word to some, it's really an irrelevant discussion as BPM to all extents and purposes is just about doing business and doing it well. The names will change but essentially the overall concepts will remain the same.

So what I'd like to suggest is that while the process academics waste their time arguing over what to call BPM next you should be quietly getting those post-it notes, brown paper and highlighters out. It's time to get back to basics and prove what we're doing can be both simple and effective.

ARIS Express Released Today - Do We Care?

The full version of ARIS Express is released today. You can download it at: http://www.ariscommunity.com/aris-express

It's advertised as the "world's first BPM tool" - I'm sure it isn't but it's a catchy strapline right enough.

The question is - do we care? Who exactly are ARIS expecting to use this product? It's obviously designed to be a visio killer, but without swimlanes it's a toothless tiger. So Visio users won't switch to it, ARIS users won't use it as they already have the full blown version and it's arguably too complex for small business owners to get their head around.

I can somewhat understand the marketing strategy - get those using visio to switch to ARIS express as it saves them some money - they'll like the product and then eventually upgrade to big boy's ARIS...and pay lots of money...or will they?

Answers on a postcard, please.

- TPN

Will ARIS Express be a Microsoft Visio Killer?

At ProcessDays 2009 I found out about a new (Free) ARIS product called ARIS Express. ARIS Express is essentially a very cut-down version of the full ARIS version designed to compete with Microsoft Visio. As a regular user of Visio I was keen to have a look at ARIS Express to see how it compares.

I should point out that ARIS Express is currently in Beta mode, so I'm not going to be too harsh on them with this review - I'm sure there is more development to come. I certainly hope so...I should also point out that I have never used ARIS so I'm an ideal guinea pig to test how easy or hard it is to switch from Visio to ARIS Express!

So, how does it stack up? Well, the interface is certainly lovely - nice colours, a small but useful array of process models. It is basic but has enough to satisfy most basic users. There is no doubt that you can create some nice looking process models with it and pick up how to use it fairly quickly. It's a little bit clunky in terms of use - for example, not being able to drag and drop shapes. The Fragments feature is nice (where you can save groups of shapes together for future use) and there are a few useful export options (although PDF export did not work for me).

Where I can see great value for ARIS Express is for small and medium businesses who do not have the capital to purchase BPM software. However, these small businesses are unlikely to ever upgrade to one of ARIS's paid solutions (surely IDS Scheer's underlying marketing strategy?) so while this is good for them I don't see IDS benefitting from it.

My main concern with ARIS Express is that if it is designed to compete with Visio then there is a certain amount of functionality that it needs to have. I can fully understand why IDS Scheer don't want to give too much away, but at this stage I don't feel that ARIS Express has quite enough functionality to compete with Visio.

The main reason for this is ARIS Express's inability to display processes in swim lanes.

Like them or lump them swim lanes are more common than a cup of tea and are a fundamental part of most organisations' process mapping. If only ARIS Express had this functionality then I really believe it would be in a position to compete.

As it stands it's a case of "close, but no cigar"...

- TPN

Process Days 2009 - Reflections & Highlights

I was lucky enough to attend Process Days 2009 this week. I attended some of the masterclasses and most of the two day conference. Overall I really enjoyed the experience - I met a lot of great process people, learned a bunch and was inspired, awed and somewhat depressed by the whole experience!

I have to say it was also a great experience to meet the guys from Leonardo Consulting - a nicer bunch of people you could not wish to meet!

At the conference there were some truely brilliant presentations (and if truth be told a few truely awful ones) but there were three presenters that really stood out for me:

- Alec Sharp. Alec is a process modelling guru and gave one of the most highly useful and practical presentations that I've ever seen. He is a brilliantly charasmatic presenter with the ability to keep everything simple (even when on the phone from Vancouver!). I'm going out to buy his book as soon as I can. In just a few slides he changed how I thought about process modelling forever.

- Professor Michael Rosemann. Prof R works at the Queensland University of Technology where he runs the http://www.bpm.fit.qut.edu.au/ - however this alone doesn't encompass all of his work - he is one of the world's best BPM gurus. He gave a few different presentations - all brilliant - and I recommend you look into some of his works and books.

- Joerg Kluckmann. Joerg is the Marketing Dude from Aris and he gave a brilliant presentation on New Generation Process Inteligence (including a fascinating presentation which included Football!) Some of the stuff that IDS Scheer are working on is really exciting. They are launching a new free Aris product (Aris Express) as well as an Aris "MashupZone". Check out the IDS Scheer website for more details.

Overall Process days was a great event and has really given me a huge amount of inspiration to keep spreading the BPM message. On the other hand I felt a little bit depressed and envious when I saw some of the big BPM initiatives that people are involved with at the moment and some of the cool software tools they are using to do it. I live in hope that I will soon get the opportunity to test myself in one of these organisations!

This is just a taster of what I experienced of Process Days 2009 and it has helped to stimulate a maelstrom of ideas in my little Ninja brain that I'll look forward to sharing with you over the coming weeks and months. Until then I encourage you to investigate some of the previous links in more detail and should you require any further details on Process Days, check out the Leonardo Consulting website.

Till then, keep spreading the BPM message.

- TPN

A bit about DST’s Automated Work Distributor (AWD) - BPM Software

Before I say anything else, I receive no payments, no special favours or anything else for mentioning BPM software sold by these guys or anyone else. I just like letting the world know about the BPM software that is out there, because process automation rocks. They did buy me a coffee, though, which was nice.

I was lucky enough to catch up with Nick Frolich (Director of Sales for DST Global Solutions) last week. Believe it or not but I was totally unaware that their product (Automated Work Distributor) even existed or who DST were. Turns out that they are the biggest supplied of BPM software to the financial service industry in the world, which makes me look pretty thick. Saying, that their clients span a multitude of different industries.They have 400 clients using AWD worldwide and have been going for 30 Years. I didn't even know they made software back then...

What 's impressive to me were a number of case studies that outlined the tangible benefits of implementing the software. Some highlights included:

• Reirement Plan saving project where AWD reduced loan processing time by 84% & reduced FTE's by 67%
• Mailroom workflow project that saved $2M over 5 years
• Life insurance project - achived 50%+ efficiency gains in processing
• Life insurance servicing project - per transaction processing costs reduced by 55% with 21% internal rate of return
• Hospital project - saved $1M by automating paper based systems

These are the kind of stats I like to see. Proof that automation of process provides tangible benefits. I'm not saying that AWD should be your chosen BPM system - that's up to you, but it's certainly a product worth looking at if you are looking at automating your business processes.

TPN