| Business Process Management, or BPM, now more | | | | the process. |
| and more driven by software, has been a | | | | An Example Of Past And Present - Highly automated |
| management discipline for a long time, and it would | | | | business management systems that are being put |
| seem to be rather straightforward to implement an | | | | into place today usually need to address both |
| automated system. In reality it is not. For one thing, | | | | person-to-person and system-to-system processes. |
| business process management involves people to a | | | | One only needs to visit a doctor's office to see such |
| large extent, and it can be very difficult to | | | | a system, on a smaller scale perhaps, in action. In the |
| standardize a rather complex process in which people | | | | course of the consultation, the doctor, through his |
| are deeply embedded. In addition, the terminology | | | | laptop or notebook, can review a patient's past |
| used in BPM is not as standard as one might suppose. | | | | history, view past and present lab tests, document |
| In fact, if one were to specify a BPM software | | | | exam or diagnostic results, set up appointments with |
| application, and leave it at that, Business Performance | | | | other physicians, and e-mail prescriptions to the |
| Management software could be what turns up on | | | | pharmacy of the patients choice. Just a few short |
| the doorstep. | | | | years ago, that portion of a doctor's business |
| As companies have automated aspects of their | | | | management process involved locating and pulling a |
| business process models, each has tended to go their | | | | sometimes very fat folder containing the patient's |
| own way, and today's management systems are far | | | | records from the files, sending an aide to pick up lab |
| different from the document driven systems of 20 | | | | test results, writing prescriptions, and negotiating |
| years ago. | | | | appointments over the phone. |
| Getting back to basics, where there is an area of | | | | A business process management system used in a |
| generally common agreement, business process | | | | large corporation has to interact with many different |
| management is generally defined as a discipline that | | | | organizations as well as outside companies, clients, |
| governs the business process environment with the | | | | and vendors, making certain among other things that |
| aim of improving business operation performance, | | | | all communications received are routed to the |
| while at the same time providing flexibility and agility | | | | appropriate party or parties, and tracked. Since |
| when dealing with change. Most processes in place | | | | contemporary automated BPM systems are often |
| today, especially in larger corporations, tend to be | | | | based on preceding, non-automated processes, it is |
| highly structured, replete with software tools, | | | | little wonder that there is no such thing as a |
| metrics, and policies and procedures designed not | | | | one-size-fits-all system application. |
| only carry out business but to continuously optimize | | | | |