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Have you as a “Stakeholder” ever taken the moment to step back and think about the performance of your Enterprise?

Review this case scenario and determine if you have observed the same within your Enterprise:

At the start of a meeting about the declining performance of the Customer Care Managers of enterprise XYZ, the attending top management team “knew” that the Customer Care Managers lacked skills and knowledge and required additional training.

By the meeting’s end, they were not so sure. During discussions several concerns unrelated to skills and knowledge surfaced about the processes of the Customer Care Managers. The presenting problem was that the Customer Care Managers could not delegate certain tasks, which caused time constraints in handling customer complaints.

As the case scenario indicates, it was thought the declining performance of the Customer Care Managers was contributed to lack of skills and knowledge, which can truly hinder performance in an Enterprise. However, as we can see the roles of the Customer Care Managers are limited by lack of delegation of certain tasks.

When one delegates within an Enterprise, he or she will direct elements such as – “tasks,” “events,” and/or “activities” to be performed by another entity: Technology or Human.

Business Process Management (BPM) enables an Enterprise to efficiently manage its processes to serve an end-result with input-perform work-output methodologies. So you can see how “Performance Architecture” is a key and integral part of a Business Process Management (BPM) projects. It provides the efficiencies to “tasks,” “events,” and/or “activities.” 

Performance Architecture

Performance Architecture in terms of BPM can be defined as the design principles required to optimize efficiencies in – tasks, events, and/or activities of the underlying Enterprise. 

Let’s use our case scenario as an example to illustrated through a Business Process Management Notation (BPMN) diagram the performance bottleneck of a Customer Care Manager.

Task = Determine if product is under warranty from a customer inquiry

As you can determine from the diagram, the Customer Care Manager must conduct the research to determine if the customer’s product is under warranty thus reducing the time to focus on “customer complaints” which SHOULD be a high priority task within the business process for “customer care.”

In another segment of the Enterprise, we have a Product Specialist that handles research and updates of product information as illustrated below.

As you can determine from the diagram, the Product Specialist manages the return method and warranty information to name a few. If you recall, it was discovered the Customer Care Managers were conducting their own research on product warranty information. Hence, this is one root cause of performance derogation to customer satisfaction. 

Now let us examine the two processes after a Performance Architecture intervention.

As you can now see, we have increase the performance efficiency of the Customer Care Manager by delegating certain customer inquiries to the Product Specialist. The Customer Care Manager’s primary task now is “handling complaints” which enhances the Enterprise’s perceived customer services as extraordinary, which in turn increases customer loyalty.  

In Summary

Performance Architecture is a subset of BPM in that it optimizes – tasks, events, and/or activities of the underlying Enterprise. The design methodology of Performance Architecture is to seek out inefficiencies in processes tasks, events, and/or activities. These inefficiencies can include but are not limited to the following:

• Duplicate or redundant tasks, events and/or activities
• Time constraints (i.e. time to complete  tasks, events and/or activities)
• Human stress (i.e. performing tasks, events and/or activities that can be delegated)
• Technology constrains (i.e. obsolete technology)

One should be very mindful not to over architect processes for performance for it may decrease or hamper scalability of the underlying processes which in itself will create performance issues.

Contact dotNet Framework Solutions for an evaluation of your enterprise!

The “Enterprise” is an entity that is formed to serve a purpose of value to society via visions, goals, and strategies. Let us review a few forms of an Enterprise. 

•  Federal, state and local government agencies
•  Non-profit organizations
•  Business companies 

All of the above-mentioned enterprises share something in common; they all have internal components that govern and guide operations. These components [must] be constantly improved to maintain and enhance the life of an “Enterprise.” 

The three “primary” components that govern and guide operations of the Enterprise are: 

• Enterprise Architecture Plan (EAP)
• Enterprise\Business Process Management (EPM or BPM)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM) 

Enterprise Architecture Plan 

The Enterprise Architecture Plan (EAP) is derived from the vision, goals, and strategies of its creators. The EAP will present the five W’s and the How of Enterprise Architecture. The following are the five W’s and the How. 

• The What of the Enterprise (Data)
• The Where of the Enterprise (Network)
• The Who of the Enterprise (Organization)
• The When of the Enterprise (Schedule)
• The Why  of the Enterprise (Strategy)
• The How  of the Enterprise (Function) 

Enterprise Architectural Principles 

The specifics of enterprise architectural principles will depend on the vertical market the Enterprise is in, the long-term strategy of the Enterprise (to-be), and the short-term imperative goals of the Enterprise (as-is). The following is by no means an exhaustive list of specifics to the architectural principles. This short list is the core elements of the architectural principles. 

The EAP should encompass some, of if not all, of these enterprise architectural principles: 

1. 1. Organization-enabling
2. 2. Value-enabling
3. 3. Brand-name advancing
4. 4. Market-share expanding
5. 5. Processes-simplifying
6. 6. Processes-minimizing
7. 7. Optimized-continually
8. 8. Customer-centric
9. 8. Scalable
10. 10. Reconfigurable 

These principles along with the five W’s and the How will lay the foundation to the construction of the Enterprise. 

Enterprise\Business Process Management

The flow of tasks, objectives, events, and transactions through the Enterprise is governed, managed, and implemented by processes. Theses processes have to be governed and management in a way that all tasks, objectives, events, and transactions flow efficiently within and outside of the Enterprise to accomplish the set goals and strategies. 

Process management in its simplest form is defined as tasks and or events that receive stimulus inputs that in turn produces a predetermined outputs (even in the case of exceptions). 

This is accomplished by and through human and technology process interactions. 

Let us use the case of an admittance or discharge to the hospital from the emergency room. 

One may feel ill enough to go to the emergency care at the local hospital. Once the person enters the doors of the ER and the receptionist greets the person, two essential processes are initiated into action. 

They are: 

• Collect information about the illness (human-centric)
• Collect information about the patient (human-centric) 

The collected information is then pushed to a database (technology-centric) for use by other processes associated to the emergency protocol. Based upon the illness or symptoms of the patient, the next [technology-centric] process will determine which doctor to summon to the assigned examination room (human-centric and or technology-centric). The doctor will then interact with the patient to determine, which course of action to take which will lead to an admittance process or discharge process. Now this is a very short and simple snapshot of actions taken for someone who may visit the emergency room but I trust you have the gist of have these processes interact for this given case. 

Therefore, you can see how Enterprise\Business Process Management is the heart of the Enterprise functionality. Processes MUST be well defined and optimized to provide best performance for an organization. This in turn will grant the enterprise agility and increase successfulness of the desired goals and strategies. 

Customer Relationship Management 

As the BPM provides functionality to the Enterprise, the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) methodology provides life to the Enterprise. Most enterprises operate in a product service-centric manner, which means they created product(s) and or service(s) without the thought of the customer in conducting business. 

A product service-centric enterprise is destined to demise for lack of customer integration. Here is a great quote that all members of Top management should hang on the wall:         

“Businesses are not paid to reform customers. They are paid to satisfy customers.” 

-Peter Drucker 

A CRM solution allows the enterprise to transform into a “customer-centric” entity. CRM in its general definition is; processes and methodologies which an enterprise uses to communicate, track, and organize its interactions with its current and prospective customers. 

A well-implemented CRM solution will provide a ROI of increased customer loyalty and continuous growth of new customers. 

In Summary 

We have learned that the Enterprise is an entity that is formed to serve a purpose via visions, goals, and strategies. An Enterprise Architecture Plan (EAP) is then created from theses visions, goals, and strategies. The EAP will capture and present the What, Where, Who, When, Why, and How of the Enterprise. 

Processes within an Enterprise are controlled through Enterprise\Business Process Management methodologies.  Processes are all tasks, objectives, events, and transactions that flow within and outside of the Enterprise. Process management in its simplest form is defined as tasks and events that receive stimulus inputs that in turn produces a predetermined outputs (even in the case of exceptions). 

The Customer Relationship Management methodology is the bridge that connects the Enterprise to the customer and the customer to the Enterprise. A CRM solution allows the Enterprise to transform into a “customer-centric” entity. CRM in its general definition is; processes and methodologies an Enterprise uses to communicate, track, and organize its interactions with its current and prospective customers.  

Contact dotNet Framework Solutions for an evaluation of your enterprise! 

I will be providing a two-part serious on business process modeling (BPM^OD , notice the superscript “OD”) for the enterprise. The architecture of the presented business process modeling is based on the following enterprise elements:

·  Value Chain

·  Expansion

·  Business Architecture\Renovation

·  Resources

The first part of the serious will examine the underlying foundation of the elements that create the modeling architecture and I will follow in the second segment of the series on the integrals of the elements.

Let us take a moment to review the definition of BPM^OD:

Business process modeling is used as a method of representing activates, tasks, and events – the processes – of an enterprise. Once the processes are captured, the model may provide the “as-is” representation that may be analyzed to improve the processes to the “to-be” state of functionality.

BPM^od is normally conducted by the internal business analysts of the enterprise or by external business process architects. Their primary objectives are to improve or create efficient and quality processes throughout the enterprise based on the captured model.

Tools that are commonly used to model an enterprise are:

·  Microsoft Visio

·  Sparx Systems – Enterprise Architect

·  MagicDraw

·  eClarus

·  Lombardi

·  Intalio

·  TIBCO – BPM+

Our Modeling Methodology

A good BPM (Business Process Management) architecture uses methods of divide-and-conquer to reduce inefficiencies, remove obsolete processes and to improve agility through refined or new processes.

This is our 50,000-foot approach to business process modeling which are concentrated in four defined Business Process Patterns (BPP’s) that are:

·  Value Chain – BPP₁

·  Expansion – BPP₂

·  Business Architecture\Renovation – BPP₃

·  Resources – BPP₄

The execution processes

BPP₁ encompasses the “Value Chain” processes. In most enterprises, the value chain processes manage incoming logistics to produce/provide an outgoing product/service.

Incoming logistics consist of entities such as raw materials, documents, capital, etc. that passes in order through the enterprise. In each stage of the processing of raw materials, it gains “value” hence the term “Value Chain.”  The result of this processing is the transformation of the stated materials into value added products and/or services of the enterprise.

BPP₂ affords the enterprise the means of growth. The “Expansion” business patterns are those that provide new development and capabilities that are required to enhance its competitiveness, such as new products, new services, new infrastructure, and new processes.

As products or services, diminish in usability, value or demand from the market, an enterprise with well-developed expansion processes will keep abreast of market change. Expansion processes are tuned to provide agility to market changes.

BPP₃ - “Business Architecture\Renovation” is the business planning processes that defines and implements the vision of the enterprise through strategies, plans, and programs.

Every enterprise begins their journey through a vision. That vision is translated into strategies of what type of widget to create, where to seek resources to build the widget, how to distribute the widget to market, and when to design a new widget. This [BPP₃ ] business pattern can be considered the fundamental root of all processes. If this pattern is not well defined and implemented then the entirety of the enterprise will render futile results.

BPP₄ is the provider to the structure of the enterprise. It manages and guides the “Resources” of the enterprise.

Resources of the enterprise include everything from the pencils to human capital that use them, from CD-ROM’s to the Network infrastructure that stores data to them and much more.

Now let us descend to 25,000 feet and review the internals of the BPP’s. Each of the aforementioned BPP’s contains two specific processes that manage and executes the activities, tasks, and events of the defined BBP. There is a third process that provides state and status information for the business patterns. These processes are:

·  Execution

·  Management

·  State/Status

The execution processes contains tactical methods to receive inputs such as raw material, documents, messages, etc. that are output as “product(s)” and/or “service(s)” to other execution or management processes, which are, communicate through and to the BPP’s.

An example of flow through an execution process is the receipt (input) of an insurance claim form from a customer with a claim for an automobile accident. This form is than converted into a request (output) for Claims Adjuster verification of the customer claim. 

The management component contains methodology that direct the execution processes by means of goals, plans, strategies, programs, resource assignments and other enterprise management directives that will produced required results.

The state and status operatives give the methodology current operation conditions and feedback to key points of interest. They are the lower levels of a Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) scheme.

We will continue in Part 2 with the functionality of individual BPP’s.

To enable Enterprise Process Management (EPM), there must be a mindset shift in top-management and a new set of leadership behavior. EPM involves the transition from communicating strategy in general or fiscal terms into observable and measureable terms of business processes.

The shift in top-management mindset must understand that the foundation of its fiscal goals is the collaboration and cumulative results of the enterprise business processes functionality. Strategy is not transformed into action without a clear and shared understanding of the accountability for advancement to the enterprise business processes. Hence, this leads to an established governance of business processes within the enterprise.

The governance of the processes will provide a stage to solidly communicate the enterprise process view, provide key accountability owners and high-level goals that all members of the enterprise will engage.

Understand that EPM does not replace functional units focus; it adds an additional tool for top-management practices that emphasize the way in which the enterprise create value for it customers.

EPM Benefits

What a ‘Process’ Is

An enterprise can solve many problems by defining their operational concepts properly. Improper definitions will make for poor operations of the enterprise.

Every enterprise operates to achieve objectives. For example:

• Sales of goods and/or services
• Hiring of personnel
• The prototyping and design of new products
• Presentation of goods and/or services to market
• Collection of capital for goods and/or services sold

These are all ‘processes’ of an enterprise. The ‘processes’ have units of ‘activates’, ‘tasks’, and ‘events’ that embody the enterprise operations. These units provide certain outcomes of the ‘processes.’ The above objectives may have the following outcomes:

• Sales – to respond to a market demand
• Hiring – to obtain skilled personnel for operational elements of the enterprise
• Prototyping and Design – to create new products/services for changing markets
• Marketing – to capture market share for the enterprise good and/or services
• Finances – to ensure capital income from good and/or services

So the essentials of a ‘process’ are personnel and/or equipment that accomplish things. A ‘process’ outcome is people and/or equipment working together. In particular this is about collaborated ‘activities’, ‘tasks’, and ‘events’ of the enterprise. A ‘process’ has an outcome: which is intended to achieve the objectives of the enterprise.

Here is the Wikipedia definition of a ‘business process’:

A business process or business method is a collection of interrelated ‘tasks’, which accomplish a particular goal.

There are three types of business processes:

• Management processes, the processes that govern the operation of a system. Typical management processes include “Corporate Governance” and “Strategic Management”
• Operational processes, processes that constitute the core business and create the primary value stream. Typical operational processes are Purchasing, Manufacturing, Marketing, and Sales
• Supporting processes, which support the core processes. Examples include Accounting, Recruitment, and Technical support

A business process begins with a customer’s need and ends with a customer’s need fulfillment. Process oriented organizations break down the barriers of structural departments and try to avoid functional silos.

A business process can be decomposed into several sub-processes, which have their own attributes, but also contribute to achieving the goal of the super-process. The analysis of business processes typically includes the mapping of processes and sub-processes down to activity level.

Business Processes are designed to add value for the customer and should not include unnecessary activities. The outcome of a well-designed business process is increased effectiveness (value for the customer) and increased efficiency (less costs for the company).

Business Processes can be modeled through a large number of methods and techniques. For instance, the Business Process Modeling Notation is a Business Process Modeling technique that can be used for drawing business processes in a workflow.

Contact dotNet Framework Solutions for your BPM consultation