iFlowBPM New Partner

ibermatica fondo azul webiFlowBPM solution has been increasing the number of partnerships around the world. From now on iFlowBPM can count with one more partner, at this time in Spain – Ibermática.

Ibermática is one of the main IT companies operating in  the Spanish market and now is gathering efforts with iFlowBPM team in the promotion of this BPM platform on the Spanish market.

Know more about this company: http://www.ibermatica.com/


iFlow BPM – Event 2013

It will take place on May 22, in ISCTE-IUL, Lisbon, the first great iFlow BPM Event!

Participate on our seminars, understand the BPM world and know more about the benefits and the operation of iFlow BPM Platform.

 

https://www.iflowbpm.com/events/2013/

 

Participate!


iFlow BPM Tutorial Videos

iFlow BPM team developed a group of tutorial videos

 

These tutorials will help you to design, implement and execute processes on iFlow BPM Platform.

 

Take a look at Lesson number 1 – How to Create My First Process.

To see the other lessons, go to Tutorial Videos


The 8 Phases of an Innovation Management Process

 

Janne Ohtonen

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autor: Janne Ohtonen – The 8 Phases of an Innovation Management Process

 

The innovation management process has become an important part of the operations of many businesses, as the recognition of the importance of initiatives towards innovation has become much more common.
That said, while many companies do attempt to have a solid approach to creativity and innovation, too few actually focus on it as a single function. Instead, they seem to hold many separate activities in isolation, such as brainstorming sessions, pilot projects and campaigns, and vague communication with the market, and simply keep fingers crossed that it will come together in the end. While this has worked for some in the past, it is far from the ideal way of performing this important task. Instead, the best way to accomplish this is to have a set innovation activities which integrates the activity into the regular cycle of your business. The list below shows the phases in innovation management process, which will help your organization to put it all together as one process.

Setting the goals for the process

Innovation always begins with a goal in mind. It is many times based on finding the solution to a problem. Once you have this goal, it should be discussed among everyone in the problem solving team. This team may consist of you and another person, a group of people, or may even be all of your organization’s employees. It may involve others such as your customers (who can provide suggestions and feedback based on their own experience with your product or service) or other stakeholders in the business. When you establish the team for this process, make sure that you have someone representing all the parts of the process from start to the end.

Cooperation

The innovation team should work together so that instead of trying to come up with an idea separately, they can bounce ideas off one another and create a collaborative solution. This can include the use of online tools, attendance of events such as trade shows that can be inspiring and informative, or simply consist of brainstorming sessions. You might  consider having a trained business coach facilitating the discussions. There are many online tools available for real-time document sharing that might help teams that are geographically separated to still have intense cooperation.

Combination of ideas

Once the ideas are in, choose the best ones and then consider whether they can be combined to create an even greater idea. Often, strong ideas will be complementary to one another and will join well to create an even better result. As you know, the whole result can be bigger than its individual parts. And for this combination to work well, you need representatives of all parties involved in the process, because they for sure have ideas that people from other departments could not come up with. Business coaches may be useful here for making sure that all the angles of innovative aspect are covered.

Evaluation of innovation

This is an important and yet all too frequently overlooked aspect of the innovation management process. When the best ideas have been combined, fine-tuned, and polished, it is time to subject them to evaluation based on peer reviews. This helps to ensure that any ideas that have a promising veneer but that are poorly thought out will be identified before resources, funding and time have been poured into them. It also helps to select the ideas with the greatest potential from among several that appear equally capable of being successful. It is cheap to change your innovation at this stage compared to later stages. Each step you take forward will cost you more…

Testing the ideas

Once the ideas with the greatest potential have been identified, they can be tested so that they can be better developed. One of the most common means of testing a product or service idea is to create a prototype or test group. This allows the team, as well as customers and investors to have a better look at how the product will function and what changes can be made to it so that it will be even further improved. Make sure that the product or service not only raises interest but is able to generate orders also. If people say that they are interested in it, then ask them if they give you the order right away.

Execution of innovation implementation

The ideas that survive the testing process can be further developed and altered until they are ready to be executed as a part of the business offerings. The execution of implementation is a step that is unique to your business and, unless your new product causes you to have to drastically alter the typical way that your go-to-market strategy functions, then this part of the innovation management process should be relatively commonplace in your organization. It should be easier for you to move from testing to execution if you were able to generate orders already in testing phase.

Assessment of innovation life-cycle

After the execution of an idea, its implementation needs to be carefully monitored and assessed in terms of a number of milestones that should be set. Should a milestone not be reached, then changes will need to be made or the idea will need to be shut down. Remember to keep always customer in your mind also in execution phase and design your measuring systems so that they measure added value for the customer (you get what you measure and customers weight you based on that!).

 

The next step in the process is simply to start again, always finding new needs, inspiration, solutions and taking them through the cycle until they can be offered by your company. Here are some reflective questions that you can use to evaluate innovation management process in your organization:

  • Do you have a clearly defined innovation management process?
    • If yes, is it effective?
    • If no, how do you see that clearly defined innovation management process could help your organization to achieve goals better?
  • Are all the people in your organization working together towards great innovations or do they do things on their own?
  • Do you always properly evaluate and test your innovations before taking them to market?
  • Do you measure execution of providing services or products from customer’s perspective?

BPM and CRM Tango

Ashish Mathur

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autor: Ashish Mathur – BPM and CRM Tango

 

There are two industry terms – BPM and CRM – which people may be playing around separately to play there day to day business games. Let’s understand each one and see if there could be any correlation between the two.

  • BPM is termed as “holistic approach” to promote business effectiveness and efficiency. It promotes innovation, flexibility and integration with technology.
  • CRM is considered as a way for business to connect with their customers, understand them, increase profits and have better customer service.

By having achieved efficiency and effectiveness (BPM); understand customer requirements and better connection to the customer (CRM); both the terms are coined for getting profits for the business ultimately.

As the business world is moving more and more towards service orientation, the question comes how to achieve process efficiencies and do more business with the availability of many services and software around the corner.

 

One possible answer for this can be CRM with BPM practices

Some of the surveys show that many businesses are struggling to manage customer expectations due to the inability to manage their service requests in a consistent manner. The reason behind this might be that customer service people may have to interact with many systems to service the customer request, which may lead to inconsistency sometimes. The pitfall behind this approach also seems that customer service agents need some training to manage all this complexity of different systems.

One of the best examples of this could be: if a customer asked to add a new member to his insurance plan, then the service agent would have to validate the caller’s identification, and then would have to check his payment history. Finally, she then adds the new member to the policy. Each of these sub processes can be different services which require different systems/tools.

One possibility of improvement at this point could be to combine BPM and CRM which may lead to process and relationship management efficiency. Adding BPM and CRM can cover up gaps which may arise due to the lack of knowledge of different processes and handling with different systems. Another great advantage of this tango could be that it gives the customer relationship agent the same view the customer has, as an outsider (he does not think about different systems). Basically, the customer will act as a process participant in this conjunction who will help in driving the whole process.

 

Challenges

Many people are/might be finding it rigid to combine the both, as CRM is considered as easy and BPM as disruptive. It may be a challenging job to show business users the benefits of BPM to them and there customers. One clinch in this is that many CRM vendors claim to have BPM/Workflows already implemented within their solutions, which fosters the image of not to use BPM as a separate identity for the adaptation of efficiency improvement. BPM is more abstract in terms of concrete details than CRM.

 

Way to Go

If business gets ready to opt for this tango, then the question arises which one and how much: should it be Core CRM with some BPM, or Core BPM with some CRM? Actually, the answer lies in the business nature itself. Some businesses are more process driven than others. Some industries use a robust process driven approach which requires a high level of BPM capabilities raher than CRM, like Insurance or Finance; and some may need more CRM capabilities rather than BPM like in Retail. So it’s up to the business stakeholders which dish they want to pick more. It seems true that use of both in conjunction with each other will take the business efficiencies and do more business to the next level, and so is the business profit.


Mobile Devices – the Future of BPM?

Michal Rykiert

 

 

 

 

 

 

Autor: Michal Rykiert – Mobile Devices – the Future of BPM?

Company: WEBCON – http://www.webcon.com

 

Business trips such as delegations or conferences prove the usefulness of mobile devices that allow to remotely get some of daily duties done. However, those are more or less incidental cases. After all, an employee spends most of his time in office. But what if he or she does not? There are specific professions that require to be in a field most of the time. In this case mobile access to company’s BPM system is invaluable.

 

Mobile BPM in the Construction Industry

At this point you may want to get a closer look into the construction industry. For instance, people directly responsible for overseeing projects (e.g. construction engineers), often have to work in a field, and their task is to personally monitor as work progresses.
At the same time they need access to certain documents – plans, specifications etc.  What’s more, the characteristic of their profession requires to be on the move around the construction site. How in this case can they execute effective work management?

 

A laptop only seems like a good idea. It offers great performance but in the long run would not work. Firstly, batteries in today’s notebooks and netbooks can last for 2 to 6 hours. No doubt it’s too short for a standard 8-hour work day, not to mention longer shifts. Also, while working on a construction site, looking for an electric socket is a rather pointless idea and carrying back-up batteries doesn’t make sense. Moreover, in environments full of dust and other small contaminants, conventional portable computers have problems with heat dissipation– cooling systems tend to clog and cause severe damage.What else can be used? The answer is simple: tablets! Currently most of them have a display size of about 10 inches, weigh approximately 600 grams and offer good performance parameters that allow to present even more complex schemes. In comparison, average laptop weighs from 1,5 to 4 kilos (3,3 to 9 lbs) which makes carrying them around for 8 hours rather unhandy. It’s hard to imagine using them in a field with no external power supply, plus tablets beat them also in terms of time of performance: 10 hours is an average batteries’ lifespan. Additionally, when turned on, standby time is much shorter. Finally, it should be noted that tablets don’t have cooling systems. Therefore, their hardware can’t be damaged by dust and other contaminants.I know from experience thatemployees associated with the construction industry really appreciate tablets in their daily duties. They are simply more handy, universal and less burdensome. Whenever there’s a need to scan an invoice or check specification, it can be done by a tablet – quickly and swiftly. It’s worth mentioning that cameras and microphones in tablets are usually way better than those used in notebooks. 

 

With all that being said – aforementioned construction engineer (or any other person that has to be in a field and take care of paperwork) could use a laptop, PC or even take care of all necessary paperwork at the office. But why waste time and effort, when much simpler solutions are right there? A  tablet with access to an efficient BPM system (e.g. one that supports iOS, Android and Windows Phone) allows to do 80% of work that would have to be done in office. Checking specifications, creating and attaching reports, making and sending scans and much more is possible. You just need to find the right software and right hardware to make your (or your employees’) life easier.

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BPM Program Implementation – An Important Checklist for Success

Ian Lowv

 

 

 

 

 

Autor: Ian Lowv – BPM Program Implementation – An Important Checklist for Success

 

Since the emergence of Business Process Management (BPM), organisations adopting it have had a wide variety of experiences – some successful and others less so. Some would argue that because BPM is so amorphous that any project is considered to be analogous to ‘boiling the ocean’ and therefore the outcomes may vary from exceptionally successful to, in some cases, disastrous.

Typical challenges that often cause concerns during a BPM initiative include:

  • Focus on automation supersedes process excellence and continuous improvement
  • Complex transformation programs end up in failures, as the business scope is not prioritised and the program roadmap not defined in advance
  • Traditional Waterfall business requirements & process analysis phase takes  an average of 6 – 9 months  with no results to show in production for at least a year and as a result, business sponsors often get disillusioned with BPM
  • Lack of alignment between the investments across business strategy, process improvement and automation activities
  • Business outcomes and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are rarely validated in terms of actual metrics
  • BPM solutions are usually designed without considering the holistic Enterprise Architecture
  • Confusion between value of BPM platforms  and CRMEAI, ECM  platforms
  • Average time to assess BPM needs, define technology specifications, evaluate alternatives  and arrive at a technology decision takes more than 6 months
  • Role of BPM in enterprise technology stack is not standardized or defined.

 

As a management consultant and a BPM practitioner, I have been through many situations in which I have helped organisations implement new BPM initiatives and turn around less successful projects. My experience in handling such challenges has allowed me to identify the specific characteristics of a successful BPM project.

The three main steps that can help ensure the success of BPM projects  are:

  • Setting the vision, articulating the business problem and quantifying it

o  Educate IT and business teams about BPM fundamentals

o  Align stakeholders/ departments on initiative scope & priorities

o  Have a clear understanding of the business problem as it relates to business objectives

o  Identify a ‘Candidate’ process for the first project

o  Ensure business case and define KPIs for improvement

  • Mobilizing teams and delivering a solution to the business problem

o  Ensure  there is business participation in all phases of the project

o  Ensure team composition has a well balanced mix of IT, process  and business user representation and expertise

o  Ensure business transformation supersedes technology goals

o  Select suitable technology platforms (Process/Rules/Integration/UI/BAM)

o  Agree upon and adopt suitable BPM methodology & standards. Don’t adopt a Big Bang approach! Iterative approach ensures ‘Quick Wins’

o  Ensure BPM design and architecture are scalable and built for change

  • Measuring the outcomes and seeking the next business problem

o  Have clear metrics to ensure that the outcomes can be appropriately measured

o  Identify the roadmap with prioritised follow on opportunities

 

Adopting these guidelines will allow businesses to have better control over their ability to drive business change rather than react to changes placed upon them. IT will also have more flexibility to integrate existing systems that deliver solutions which are in line with business needs and end user expectations.

As new iterations of the same process or new processes are brought onboard, a momentum is created and what started out as a tactical solution becomes a strategic and dynamic process platform. In addition, the various systems that are currently used to deliver a silo capability to the various functions inside each of the organisation’s divisions can be exposed to other divisions (if appropriate) and therefore improve IT reuse and drive consistent working practices across the organisation.

I would be keen to hear your experiences and lessons learnt while implementing BPM programs.

 


The Importance of Integration Capability when Selecting a BPMS

This article highlights the importance that system integration capabilities should play when selecting a BPMS. Integration is often the largest challenges in transforming business processes and can often present one of the most difficult barriers to delivering rapid success.

Few business processes live out their life within a single system. Consider the example of winning a new customer, on-boarding them, delivering a service and gaining payment. It is not uncommon to find the following systems involved in supporting these processes:

  1. Electronic Content Management for storage of  document (ECMS),
  2. Customer relationship management (CRM) for lead and customer data,
  3. Internally hosted specialist business support systems such as accounting systems,
  4. Cloud based services,
  5. Supplier or partner hosted systems.

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 “Out of the Box” Capabilities

The first area to consider is the “out of the box” integrations the BPMS comes equipped with. It is almost impossible to find a BPMS that does not offer integration with at least one major system, with connectors to ECMS, CRM and email systems most prevalent.

The key is to understand just what functionality is exposed via the connector. Does it allow updating of data in the remote system, or simply to read data? Can it react to events and launch processes automatically, such as someone checking a document into the ECMS triggering an approval process? It is also important to understand if the remote system can easily initiate workflow within the BPMS.

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Ability to Integrate Using API’s and Database Functionality without Writing Code

Despite the growth of the cloud, the significant challenge for many organizations implementing a BPMS is to integrate with internally hosted systems. These are often specialist systems which are industry specific, and are unlikely to come with connectors to any BPMS.

Traditional integration with these systems tends to focus on developing software that will take advantage of exposed API’s or database stored procedures. It is important to know that the proposed BPMS will make this possible. Ideally, it will be feasible to interact with the API’s and database procedures via wizards within the BPMS.

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Extensibility using Code

There will of course be occasions where integration is only possible through bespoke code. Once again it is important to understand how your BPMS will support executing your own custom code.

Will it execute within the BPMS, adding to the audit trail, or will it execute as a stand-alone application outside of the main product? Will you have options to execute code in your chosen language or are you restricted to a basic scripting language?

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Connecting to Third Party and Cloud Based Services

It is becoming almost impossible to avoid utilizing cloud based services in delivering an IT Strategy. Whether it is sending SMS, creating a customer survey or finding a secure way to transfer data between suppliers or customers, the cloud offers cost effective solutions which cannot be ignored.

This means that the BPMS being selected must also have an awareness of the cloud and an ability to work within that framework. A key consideration is to review how straight forward it is to consume web services without having to write code. If the BPMS offers a code free mechanism to consume these services then the integration possibilities are greatly extended.

It is also worth understanding if the out of the box integrations are cloud enabled. Does a BPMS claiming to be integrated with SharePoint work with Office 365, or does it only work with private implementations? Finding the answer to this post procurement could result in an expensive mistake.

Summary

A BPMS rarely lives in isolation from other systems. In order to deliver rapid projects which achieve the benefits of process automation, transparency and cost reduction it is vital to select a BPMS with strong integration capabilities.

Within this article I have outlined four integration areas to consider when selecting the most appropriate BPMS for your organization.