You will end up spending more time which will delay the delivery of success, and money which in this economic environment that isn't exactly a recipe for advancement. Given that there are a few very practical steps that can be taken to achieve significant ROI while potentially transforming the company to meet the 21st century head on, why would you consider any other way?
BPM Technology
It is becoming more and more difficult to separate the technology of BPM from the practice. With many vendors hawking their products as BPM, versus the more appropriate Business Process Management System (BPMS), it is no wonder that confusion may abound.
There is no question that these technologies play a major role in realizing the benefits of a practical Business Process Transformation (BPT) endeavor. Furthermore, there is no question that a few vendors have truly remarkable products that can help, but buying the technology to achieve this results should never, not even ever, be the motivation for the activity.
The terrain is littered with the failed attempts that started with the purchase of a "silver bullet" technology (and the managers that recommended them), only to find their success as taking up space in the IT coffers and the finance groups maintenance accounts payable ledger.
Practical guidelines
Here is the short version of the types of questions that we ask at Axiom:1, Inc. when working with a new or existing client. While on the one hand we use this for structuring our engagement, it's primary purpose is to help us, and the client, get an understanding of the readiness to undertake a technology implementation:
- Is your vision and mission defined? Depending on the scope of the perceived problem space this may be at the functional, organizational or company level.
- Do you understand your processes? Especially the ones that are critical the success of the vision.
- Are there process owners?
- Do you understand your culture? Are they ready for the change?
- Do you know your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?
- Do you have a modeled process that shows benefits to Customers, Finance, Process and/or Culture?
- Do you have metrics, both performance and results oriented, in place? Are they significant and relevant?
- Do you have a plan that covers the above?
- Do you have a technology evaluation program?
- Do you have the budget?
- Is there support at the executive levels?
Getting these ducks lined up will pay dividends galore in the long run:
- A significant reduction in costs and effort when guided by a solid plan.
- Tangible support from upper/senior management.
- A clear understanding of what process changes are going to truly be beneficial to the company.
- A plan of execution including transformations of the values/people/functions where needed.
- Ownership and accountability.
- Relevant measurement and feedback loops.
- The right technology to do the job.
- Significant reduction in the "fits and starts" that accompany ill guided approaches.
More to come sports fans, stay tuned....
