What does Business Process Management mean?

Sandhya Bhat

Business Process Management refers to the activities that are involved in identifying, evaluating and improving various business processes. Although it is popular in many industries, it is especially well-known in the IT industry. This action is used by businesses to improve customer satisfaction, effectiveness, and overall performance.

Business process management aims to reduce or eliminate errors caused by employees. Miscommunication is one of the most common causes. Employees must be able to recognize their roles within an organization and how to manage them accordingly. This system of management is more than a tool or software. It requires employees' participation to be successful.

One major difference between business process management software and workflow software is the fact that business process management doesn't rely on a specific set of tasks to achieve a desired solution. Instead, it encourages employees to contribute to improving an organization's processes.

Business process simply means the steps involved in achieving a goal. The activities can be performed by either systems or individuals. Depending on the issue, the activities may be performed in a sequence or simultaneously. It's the process of completing tasks in a way that allows you to reach your goal.

Business process management involves many processes. Some of these are more relevant to specific situations than others. The following factors are commonly used to determine the process: time frame, volume and department, difficulty, industry, and so on. Business process management cannot be achieved if all processes are included. Business process management consists of five major stages: automate, model, execute, monitor, and optimize.

A model is created during the first stage in business process management. This stage helps to determine the process involved to achieve a goal. It also allows stages to start developing without getting into detail. Automate uses the model and general ideas to create more detailed instructions. These can include instructions, rules, and other important aspects.

The execution phase monitors and evaluates the instructions from the automate phase until the whole process is completed. The monitor phase measures and analyzes any improvements. The optimize phase, which is the final stage of the process, uses the information collected throughout the process to make it relevant for future situations.

About the author: Sandhya Bhat MSc, CSSMBB, CSSE has developed several new and enhanced existing strategic methodologies to improve technology and human capital utilization, produce greater ROI on investments and streamline service delivery. She is an acclaimed author, speaker, a sought after thought leader and an avid world traveler.