Business Process Management

The best description of our approach to the management of business processes is described by Maddern et al. (2004): At the heart of practitioner understanding is the idea that all businesses have processes. Businesses provide goods and services to customers; processes are the means through which those goods and services are delivered. Critical to this perspective, is the idea that processes are universal. Given the universal nature of processes, process management, in some form, is not optional. Practitioners recognize the hierarchical nature of the process concept, and the associated terms used to describe different levels of process granularity, such as subprocesses, activities, tasks and so on. However, activity at these lower levels is not, in itself, evidence of conscious process management. Moreover, most companies establish, control and, potentially, try to improve individual processes and subprocesses under the banner of “business process management” (BPM) as part of traditional operational practice. A critical feature of the management of business processes is process management on an end-to-end basis. Such activity does not constitute conscious process management. Conscious process management involves addressing processes as a whole rather than in isolation or in fragments; to understand the totality of processes, their boundaries and interrelationships; to actively manage the totality of an organization's processes, on an “end-to-end” basis. As such, it is a management philosophy, which requires initiating intervention aimed at the delivery of a sustained capability to understand, manage and improve processes. Further, businesses manage within business silos: functional business models continue to dominate. Identification and management of end-to-end processes is needed to enable companies to overcome functional barriers, typically leading to reduced costs and improved service.