Capturing Value From Business Process Improvement

If you want your organization to get the most value from improving its business processes, you?ll need clarity, vision and a holistic approach that navigates the complex linkages among the various communities that exist in every enterprise, including general business managers and technology managers.

The keys to a successful outcome include the creation of a management playbook, thoughtful and thorough scenario analysis, and targeted program development, followed by disciplined execution and tracking. And each step should be governed by collaborative decisions.

The management playbook enables you to create repeatable and documented management processes, along with a maturity advancement plan that moves the enterprise forward. Collaborative decision making brings the playbook to life. To select the target scenario, visualize interconnected business process technology models, and then establish ongoing financial measurements that track and assure enduring business impact.

Before starting a business process improvement initiative, take a close look at how your enterprise will capture measurable value. The following five-step approach delivers rapid, predictable results, beginning with an assessment of management practices and culminating with ongoing monitoring and tracking of business performance to ensure enduring results.

1. Assessment
? Assess the current state of management practices and enterprise architecture.
? Identify areas that need better management maturity, greater visibility or more transparency.

2. Road Map
? Identify the critical elements you need to obtain value from business process change: strategy planning, enterprise architecture, governance and investment management.
? Together with the core stakeholders, develop the management playbook and its associated road map.

3. Scenario: Analyze and Select
? Build scenarios that align the elements of a layered enterprise architecture: business model, process model, application model and system model.
? Identify and document the interconnections and dependencies among the architectural layers.
? Use business process improvement tools to develop one or more potential scenarios.
? Analyze the scenarios and select the one that will give your organization the best result, considering such factors as financial, risk, resources, suppliers, change management and strategic impacts.

4. Program: Develop and Implement
? Develop an enterprise architecture transformation program to reach your chosen result using the road map.
? Define the timing, investments and resources needed to execute the program and document the expected value of the transformation.
? Communicate with?and get the commitment of?all stakeholders.

5. Track Performance
? Track the enterprise architecture change program?s execution and outcomes to ensure that the program is delivered correctly and that it achieves its anticipated business value.
? Adjust the program content, if necessary, to be sure that your organization gets the most value from the changes you?ve made.

Jeffrey Bruckner is the chief knowledge officer of BTM Corporation. BTM innovates new business models and enhances financial performance by converging business and technology with its products and intellectual property.? 2010 BTM Corporation | [email protected]