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Is the Approval Process Slowing Your Organization Down?

Business workflow processes that require the approval of another employee or employees before it can be completed is considered an approval workflow.

An example could be an ad manager signing approval on a piece of advertising copy, or a management approval on an employee expense or even a timecard punch or purchase order. Approval workflow software can help automate the approval process to improve process efficiency, streamline the approvals or even issue automatic approvals under specific criteria.

How Does Process Director Work?

It creates a consistent pattern of trackable tasks, which is important for legal, regulatory and/or compliance reasons. It eliminates the need for human memory, by creating timelines and processes that automatically trigger alerts for needed tasks, and creates accountability to procedures, improving efficiency.

Other advantages of Process Director approval workflow software include:
• Workflow automation with consistent adherence to workflow processes
• Simplifies the manual approval process by automating repetitious, laborious or otherwise cumbersome activities into efficient ones
• Stores electronic forms for easy retrieval and eliminates lost paperwork, ideal for audits and BPM compliance purposes
• Alerts to prevent missed deadlines and even alerts to notify of potential down time

An Example Of Process Director In Action

Leo Burnett, an enterprise marketing agency, needed a formalized, cloud-based solution to create a better sales and customer process, namely to manage client approvals on estimates. They were looking for a scalable solution that allowed clients to review and approve estimates provided by the agency, as well as a process that allowed for updates along the way. This interchanges and back and forth process needed to be streamlined to eliminate potential clients falling through the cracks.

The agency implemented the approval workflow software, Process Director. Now, specific users create estimates, and the predefined criteria allow each estimate to go through the specific and appropriate approval routes required by each project type. Approvers receive email notifications that allow them to open, review and approve estimates without leaving the system, streamlining it to the next triggered task.

The review and approval process is now uniform and consistent. Process Director routes and manages the approval process while the appropriate parties review and approve all the estimates. Ready to discover Process Director’s capabilities for yourself? The BP Logix approval workflow software is designed to meet the demands of your business needs. Process Director can simplify even the most complex systems to make them more effective and efficient. Contact us to learn more or schedule a free demonstration today.

What is EAI? EAI Definition Explained

What is EAI, you ask? Enterprise application integration refers to the approach, services and/or technologies that integrate software, hardware and otherwise disconnected IT systems in an enterprise.

Most businesses rely on several working parts in order to complete all the tasks and processes required to run day-to-day operations. Enterprise application integration works to take all the moving pieces – from vendors to customers to employees and the processes for each, into a single module.

When Is It Best To Use?

Small enterprise who only need a couple integrations typically are able to use a point-to-point integration, but large companies, those with even four or more connections between operating systems required, are better suited with enterprise application integration. Consistency across databases becomes critical when scalability matters. When the complexity of integration is high, a more stable application integration needs to be in place.

Why Does Application Integration Matter?

Simply put, communication between multiple applications can simplify and automate business processes to improve efficiency. In the past, the time, expense and learning curve were steep to implement data structure changes. Today, with enterprise application integration, those obstacles have been overcome, providing even faster implementation and ROI.

Data integration ensures consistent information across multiple systems, managers have access to real-time information, processes are automated, streamlined and simplified, and information is more easily accessed by the right people at the right time.
Development, implementation and maintenance are faster and easier than ever before.

“If you’re looking for a platform that will help you build support systems for business processes that need to be able to be reshaped and re-prioritized to maximize service delivery – particularly, business processes in which customers/citizens, partners or suppliers play key direct roles – then you should definitely consider BP Logix and Process Director.”

The Future

What is EAI doing that is impacting the future? Better business process management is key to surviving the fast-paced, technology-driven consumerism of the 21st Century. As large business moves increasingly to cloud based computing, and rapid application development allows for greater segmentation, we expect to see top, forward-thinking companies embrace application integration to increase productivity, lower costs, provide better customer service including better social media interactions and increase their agility.

What is EAI to BP Logix

Process Director BPM platform by BP Logix offers built-in database connectors, becoming an enterprise application integration tool that enables you to connect to and exchange information with your organization’s databases. Any data accessible via SQL can be integrated directly into your forms and workflow. ERP systems such as JDE/JD Edwards, SAP, or Microsoft Dynamics GP, HR applications, CRMs, or any program that stores information in a database can be integrated without scripting or coding. With Process Director, you simply select the database you wish to access, and the application integration goes to work assisting you in selecting the data, tables, and columns you need for security, consistency and growth.

Application integration is now faster and easier than ever with BP Logix Process Director. Ready to see for yourself? Contact us for a free demonstration from a BP Logix expert.

Forward thinking companies look at cloud-based technologies for improved business process management, but now, they are also looking at ways to leverage that for more customer engagement via social media. According to Statista.com, approximately 78% of Americans use social media, and nearly 2 billion people use social worldwide. (Source: 2016 Social Media Profile Stats)

With rapid application development, businesses are finding low code BPM platforms easier than ever to improve business processes, and are now including social BPM (social business process management) into the mix.

What Is Social BPM (Social Business Process Management)?

Social BPM is a strategic business process management tool that focuses on customer engagement, customer service and customer retention within your workflows connected to social media channels.
It allows you to activate a specific workflow behavior or series of behaviors based on a social media based triggering event. This means that a potential or current client could post a Tweet or Status Update (a triggering action), causing an alert, auto-response or even a service ticket to be created.

Leveraging social BPM software allows companies to engage with customers where the customer is: online.

The New Customer Has High Demands

Are you meeting today’s customer’s high expectations? Customer loyalty today is highly wrapped up in their ability to engage with a business 24/7/365. They are wanting fast resolution, and if they don’t get it, they have access to numerous competitors who can.

Brick and mortar businesses are now competing with online retailers. Service providers must be accessible to those who are looking at precisely the time in which they are looking. And, they are demanding fast responses, and likely even social proof, which comes through social media engagement. How do you then engage simply and immediately? Social BPM tools.

Examples

An airline passenger uses Twitter to communicate a maintenance concern to the carrier. The airline carrier in turn is notified and opens a maintenance ticket so the reported issue can be addressed as soon as possible and also provides an almost immediate human response to the passenger delivering outstanding customer service. This BPM intelligence (iBPMS) builds loyalty and rapport.

Social business process management is more than an auto-responder. In fact, auto-responders can hurt the customer experience if they don’t assist in solving the problem in a tangible way. The customer wants more than that. The bigger picture here is that the human behind the process can intervene quickly and build engagement and rapport for the client. This personalized engagement is the new expectation of today’s consumers.

Request A Demo

Ready to see for yourself? Contact us for a free Process Director demo from a BP Logix BPM software expert.

There are a lot of workflow tools out there. Call us biased but we think Process Director is the ultimate workflow tool for businesses. Why? Because it’s all encompassing. If you have a used workflow tool and thought, “Gee, I wish it could do this,” or “Why does it do that?!?!” You can trust that so have we.

Process Director workflow management software was born out of a need for something that worked exactly the way we needed it to in the workplace. Over the years, we’ve continued to innovate and create workflow solutions for workflow challenges, both yours and ours. The result is an all-encompassing workflow tool we are proud of.

What Process Director Can Do for You

Put simply, Process Director is a workflow management software with workflow tools that powers workflow and connects all of your organization’s systems and processes. Because it is uniquely intuitive, web-based, and robust, it can automate your processes, predict potential delays, eliminate programming, and integrate easily into existing applications.

Companies in advertising, education, financial services, government, health care, manufacturing, and more rely on Process Director workflow management software to:

● Drive growth
● Increase efficiency
● Boost visibility
● Reduce expenses
● Mitigate compliance risk
● Minimize redundancies

Process Director’s workflow automation software allows you to work smarter and faster by automating all of your organization’s critical processes and allowing you to continuously evaluate and improve them over time.

How is Process Director Different Than Other Workflow Management Software?

Unlike other BPM softwre, Process Director isn’t just for the IT department. It was built for not-as-tech-savvy employees, managers, and business owners in mind. You get automated smartforms, workflow management, document management, application integration, reports, and more, all without the hassle of:

● Coding
● Complex flowcharts
● Surprises or excuses

Unlike any other workflow tool, Process Director workflow management software tools are intuitive and dynamic, so you can count on:

● Total accountability. Every action taken by process participants is recorded.
● Greater efficiency. Process Director workflow management software directs you to the activities within your process that are consuming the most time. This allows you to focus your process improvement efforts where they will have the most impact.
● A bird’s-eye view of all of your processes. Review information about any activity, past or present, and see how different actors have performed within a given task.
● Real time analytics. Reset analytics at any time to understand what’s happening right now.

What you get is faster time-to-value, greater flexibility, and deeper insight into your business than any other BPM software.

Process Timeline

We developed an advanced BPMN modeling and business process automation software technology behind Process Timeline to work exactly how we wanted a workflow tool to work, but we didn’t stop there.

We have continued to add features to Process Timeline that enhance the user experience and allow you to manage your workflow more efficiently or more enjoyable all the time. Here are some of our favorite workflow tools integrated (and sometimes optional) into Process Timeline:

● Email notifications. Receive custom notifications that keep everyone up to date and on task in real time.
● Due date management. Process Director will alert you when a task is nearly due, overdue, and even when it’s predicted to be late. No other workflow tool can offer you this innovative, patented technology.
● Sub-workflows and business process segments. Manage more complex workflows by easily creating sub-workflows.
● Workflow management task lists. Create customizable task lists for groups and individuals.

Try it for Yourself – Request a free workflow software demo now.

Governance, Risk and Compliance Solutions With BPM Software

The goal of GRC software solutions is to reduce cost and risk. Compliance burden is specific to particular industries but one of the most common business process governance challenges come from the issues with SOX (The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), which requires certain business records be accessible to auditors for a given period of time. With heavy consequences ranging from fines to imprisonment, companies are looking for safe, easy governance, risk and compliance solutions in the form of GRC software to meet the need without breaking the bank.

Government regulatory agencies such as OSHA or the FDA, or even industry self-regulation organizations, add additional governance, risk, and compliance issues to the long list of requirements. The need for governance, risk and compliance solutions that are industry specific has some businesses looking at business process management software solutions that integrate customizable applications for the specific regulations they want to stay on top of.

Process Director Business Process Management Software

Some benefits of Process Director business process management software is that it is cloud based (no need to back up data), low code (no need to hire a programmer), and agile (no need to keep updating software as needs grow). This highly customizeable BPM software meets the need for businesses searching for GRC software solutions to reduce costs while also reducing risk.
Managers of regulated businesses and/or departments are looking for governance, risk and compliance solutions that will:

• Allow them to hold individuals accountable to regulated actions
• Handle governed documents accurately while maintaining an audit trail
• Produce accurate policies, documents, and real-time information

Process Director BPM software helps the organization stay compliant, as well as streamline business processes for a more effective and efficient organization by tracking documents, managing processes, enforcing accountability, reducing errors by eliminating redundant manual input, preventing lost documents, providing reports, and more. Adherence to policy is the most important component of governance, and fortunately, GRC software solutions like Process Director BPM software makes sure organizations with highly regulated processes are tightly protected and that every transaction is tracked in a way that can be retraced by auditors and regulators.

Government, Risk and Compliance Solutions That Minimizes The Pain of an Audit

There is no magic pill that will keep your business fully compliant or audit free. The business must have a culture of compliance with strong ethics and clear procedures, policies, and accountability in place. GRC software, however, can support a business in creating that environment and creating the practices that hold it in place.
Governance, risk and compliance solutions can take some of the sting out of an audit by addressing the auditor’s biggest concerns: Are their policies compliant? Are their processes consistent? Are they following the processes? Process Director business process management software answers these questions with:

• Managing processes and documents and in a searchable way (data is easy to retrieve)
• Maintaining records of actions taken (creates an audit trail)
• Managing electronic forms (links actions to at-time-of-event documents)
• Providing accountability with electronic signature technology and/or other user identity-tracking methods

Overall, GRC software solutions like Process Director BPM suite allows organizations to create and maintain a systematic and consistent method of overcoming challenges with governance, risk, and compliance, whereby risk is managed, costs are reduced, and processes are simplified and organized.

The use of a BPM solution allow all GRC actions to be compiled into dashboards for better analysis and information about your organizations business processes which leads to better management and accountability. The future will continue to require complex governance and risk management while also facing increases in regulatory burdens. Businesses must have a scalable and cost effective way to manage this burden, and Process Director BPM software will fill the GRC software needs organizations are looking for and so much more. Want to learn more? Request a free demonstration today!

Understanding Your BPM and Workflow Needs

It is important to assess the needs of your organization to determine whether or not business process management software (BPM software) is applicable to what you are doing. The process of analyzing your workflow efficiency needs will provide a deeper recognition of what your company needs to be more successful. Having a solid grasp of that will enable you to give more thoughtful consideration to both the BPM tools and solutions that work for you — and will help you avoid the trap that a BPM solution in and of itself can make you faster, better organized and more profitable. (Since we all are occasionally all too eager to map our needs to what others tell us they can provide)

Coming to the issue of value, which is a very personal one, to really ‘get value’ for what you buy, you have to be discerning. Product marketing teams know that there is a ‘sweet spot’ within which most customer problems exist. Around that sweet spot the key marketing messages for a product are designed.

The BP Logix marketing group partners closely with our sales and product teams to understand what our customers need. That is the foundation of the way we do business. To that end, we have helped all manner of companies and organizations derive great value from business process management — not just as a tool but, also, as a way of doing business. Some of that comes from market analysis, research and observing BPM trends — the rest of it comes from understanding and putting ourselves in our customers’ shoes. We understand the value of BPM and go to great lengths to help our customers implement BPM software solutions in a way that is applicable to their needs.

Improve Workflow Efficiency With BPM Software

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Our infographic, The Value of BPM, illustrates some of the key BPM elements that an organization needs to consider— and the degree to which some of our customers have benefited from using them. Everyone likes to see big numbers, and as you will see in the infographic, we certainly like to highlight where companies have seen an increase in workflow efficiency and reduction in cost or the elimination of redundancy. You will also recognize that the BPM examples we use in The Value of BPM point to specific BPM use cases. These are clearly specific to these individual companies, yet they demonstrate a sense for what BPM delivers towards workflow efficiency.

Working with a process-focused direction will undoubtedly deliver specific and measurable results when there is a well-articulated mapping of business needs with the BPM implementation process.

The BP Logix team is interested in why a prospect considers exploring BPM software in the first place— so we dive into that prospect’s business (with him, her or them) to understand how it is currently conducted. We look at the five key BPM elements:

• Workflow Efficiency: Does the organization experience a duplication of efforts, manual interactions, and/or delays in approvals?
• Productivity: Is an inordinate amount of time spent on singular tasks— and does lack of insight into the business limit their ability to provide direction?
• Process Change: As business needs and requirements change, does the organization adapt and, if so, how well does it adapt?
• Automation: Is the organization spending a lot of time on repetitive tasks, or trying to fit its needs into solutions that are not flexible?
• Knowledge: Does the organization recognize and act with regard to best practices and guidelines?

We could certainly tell you that your company will be faster, smarter, better and richer as a result of implementing Process Director BPM software — and leave it at that.

Please make no mistake. We think those are worthy and attainable goals. Where we see results and progress towards workflow efficiency, however, is when the goals focus on fixing workflow processes, not just on profitability. The value of BPM comes from the changes that occur on the way to becoming a better run company! That is the value we seek to provide.

Request a Demonstration

Process Director is your intelligent BPM software solution. Request a demonstration and discover for yourself how this unique enterprise business process management software empowers you to innovate, respond to market demands, and delight your customers. Or, contact us to learn more about how our BPM solutions have helped our customers conquer their workflow efficiency challenges.

What is Process Intelligence?

Process intelligence (PI) is the collection of data used to analyze business process and workflows in order to gain process efficiency. Including the element of intelligence within processes means that an additional layer of transparency is available. That ensures a deeper understanding of what is working in your business – and what needs to be modified to make that process better, more reliable, more accountable.

Process Intelligence = Intelligent BPM

Process Director BPM software is an intelligent BPM solution that requires no programming.  With its rapid application development users can apply rules, modify rules, deploy, apply and implement businesses processes with minimal effort. The resulting outcomes are enterprise-wide solutions that handle the workflow management software functions such as electronic forms, BPM application and workflow application integration with third party applications and delivery of all kinds of processes, even very complex ones.

With its built-in analytics and intelligence, Process Director is helping our customers achieve greater insights into their business operations and processes. As we discussed in our previous blog, being able to apply the intelligence learned during over the course of implementing its processes enables these companies to continuously make their processes more usable and more effective. Making decisions based on data and analysis of what's happening in real-time with their processes leads to better and more desirable outcomes.

Request a Demo

We're hoping these BPM resources will help educate you on our BPM software solution and how it can be applied to your organization. We'd love to talk with you further. Please feel free to contact us to schedule a discussion about Process Director or discuss your current situation.

What is Workflow Automation?

Workflow automation replaces manual and paper based processes with digital solutions. It ensures the right people have the correct information in a timely manner regarding what to do and how to do it. Bottom line, workflow tools create consistency. This consistency can apply to any area of business, from customer service to how a form is completed or even how decisions are made.

What is Workflow Automation To BP Logix?

4 Key Benefits of Workflow Automation

• Reduce Redundancies and Errors - Workflow automation allows consistent procedures and processes to be followed by everyone. Consider, for example, an online form with fill-in boxes. Whether customer, vendor, or employee, he/she understands the process and completes it, without a third party. This frees up time and reduces errors by offering a single data entry point that is easy to use.
• Improve Efficiencies - Applications and single source of data can reduce the amount of time it takes to locate information, communicate across broad channels, or even notify staff of global changes. Collaboration is easier as staff, vendors, and even customers have access to the needed information to take action.
• Reduce Costs - Automating workflow processes can include taking costly paper processes and making them digital. This lowers the cost of printing and paper, while also streamlining data entry, if needed. Electronic forms and applications can be used to collect and compile data for analysis.
• Improve Management - Real time information and analytics allows for better management. See if a sequenced task isn’t likely to complete on time, effecting the end product. Become aware of key indicators quickly for optimal performance and intervention, if needed. Awareness leads to faster innovation, and solid workflow processes create more agility for business.

What Will BP Logix Workflow Automation Solutions Solve?

Our workflow automation software, Process Director, has been used by a variety of companies looking for the benefits of BPM solutions. It is a workflow solution for the following problems:

Too Much Paperwork?

Legal documents, HR forms, and even sales invoices can be streamlined with Process Director. Process Director’s document management software reduces the amount of paperwork by digitizing it which can lead to tremendous cost savings in both printing and labor costs (ink, machine maintenance, filing, copying, scanning, etc.).

Too Many Tasks Falling Through The Cracks?

Forms that need review and approval by multiple departments can be slowed down by inefficiency practices. Electronic forms and centralized communication and storage can allow all users to see, approve and even be notified when certain tasks complete, or fail to complete.

Too Much Redundancy?

Field technicians filling out multi-copy forms only to have admins enter into one system, billing into another, and marketing into yet another? Process Director can bridge the gap between programs, and create more efficient workflows to better manage business processes.

What is workflow automation going to solve for your business? Contact us today for a free demonstration that meets your goals and objectives.

Image Credit: http://www.business2community.com/

Pointing a finger at a team and saying, “Be innovative,” won’t lead to success. However, creating an environment that allows for innovation, agility and a fast turn-around will. This is where a rapid enterprise application development platform comes into play.

If innovation is a core value of a company, there are several benefits to implementing an enterprise application, like Process Director.

Benefits of An Enterprise Application Development Platform

The development of enterprise applications have helped organizations in a variety of industries and sizes with a variety of tasks, including collecting more information from customers, staying in touch, vendor connectivity, and digital forms.

But it doesn’t stop there. Here are a few more ways an enterprise application development platform can benefit businesses.

Automate Processes

An enterprise application development platform can streamline processes that include repetitive tasks or data, even if the data is in multiple software platforms. It also reduces input redundancies by creating a single silo of information.

Simplify

Learning curves can be steep when new programs are introduced. Application development helps smooth out processes by combining data into its most useful form. Compiling data becomes easier by eliminating the creation of more IT work or re-training staff on a new software program.

Share Information

A single location for information, accessed by a variety of people at different security and/or access levels, allows the most current and relevant information to be used for decision-making. Consolidating information will reduce errors and foster more collaboration.

Long-Term Vision

Overall business growth for the long term is the goal of innovation, and application development takes this into consideration. Agile enough to grow and shift, low code platforms can assist with everything from getting a CRM to integrate with an e-mail campaign, manage disruptions in vendor-supplied materials, or stay compliant with changing laws.

Better Management

Enterprise application integration allows current information to be better managed and bridges the gap between software programs that don’t normally “talk” to each other. This creates a dashboard that allows for cleaner business processes.

With all of these opportunities, you and your team are freed up to focus on work that inspires, to see the big picture, to collaborate. Spending less time on the details that are now automated means more time for innovation.

Process Director for Enterprise Applications

Process Director is a perfect fit for companies looking for a complete and simple solution for streamlining business processes. Our enterprise application development platform is able to scale with business growth and innovate along the way. Continually reducing redundancies and having access to quality, high-level information, is the key to true business process management and profitability.

Ready to discover Process Director’s capabilities? Contact us to see how Process Director can simplify the most complex business systems.

There may be some confusion between low code BPM and low code platforms and it’s important to understand the differences, especially when searching for solutions for improved business process management. Let’s clear it up.

What are Low Code Platforms?

Low code platforms are a growing and changing technology to reshape the future. These platforms replace the need for coding by using form builders, drag-and-drop features, object mapping, and the like.

Low code platforms are designed to allow web applications to be made quickly by people with little to no coding experience. They are a solution for both professionals and laypeople who are looking for fast and scalable “templated” products that scale and grow with the business.

A variety of built-in services give these low code platforms the ability to be agile in a changing marketplace by automating workflow processes and streamlining data for multiple users. These platforms allow organizations to have quickly developed IT solutions to help meet their needs.

What Are Low Code BPM Platforms

Low code BPM platforms replace the BPM software development of old — that slow, expensive process of creating a solution that may outgrow itself upon release. Rapid application development (RAD) allows businesses to design IT solutions that enhance efficiency and performance without the help of IT specialists.

Being able to act quickly and provide agile BPM solutions on the spot allows a business to be more efficient in day-to-day tasks as well as keep the business on the cutting edge of customer fulfillment by staying in line with marketplace trends.

Low Code BPM Platform Solutions

Recently, PC Magazine put several low code/no code BPM platforms to the test. In their example, they had seasoned developers use the drag-and-drop tools to create a scheduling application that could:

“...add a new event (name, date/time, duration), invite users to the event, a save button to create the event, and the ability to view a list of events in calendar view or chronological list.” Source: PC Magazine, "Building an App With No Coding: Myth or Reality?"

In this test, all the developers were able to create results in less than an hour, some in as little as 10 minutes. These business process management capabilities create low-cost solutions for businesses looking to streamline business processes and better manage them.

Process Director BPM Platform

Process Director is a low code BPM platform that can support businesses with quick application solutions to streamline processes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. Create workflow and business process management solutions and implement changes before your competitor even begins to write code, even without a programmer!

With Process Director’s Process Timeline feature, you will have a patented workflow engine that updates on the fly. Respond to the most accurate information available with data at your fingertips — including alerts to when deadlines are likely to be missed and when a customer triggers a specific event. Electronic forms make handling even complex data entry a simple process that can be used with suppliers, customers, and employees.

To learn more about how Process Director BPM Platform can help your business, contact us today.

BPM vs Workflow. There can be some confusion about the differences between BPM and workflow, partly because they are used interchangeably by some professionals. The confusion is understandable. Early business process management (BPM) solutions focused on the coordination of processes--they were focused on workflow. Today, workflow is a component of a good BPM, but they are not the same.

What Is Workflow?

Simply put, workflow helps organizations to see an overview of a process to monitor results, reduce inefficiencies and incorporate automation. At its best, it serves to align the processes with the business goals and systematize how documents and tasks are completed and executed for quality and/or compliance.

Workflow software is a tool for automating the process. It can provide support for steps in the business process and can trigger alerts for the appropriate users to take action. It is a single process within a more complex system.

As an analogy, it would be the steps for making the crème in a Twinkie, but not the entire creation, assembly or packaging of such.

What Is BPM?

BPM is a larger system of processes that incorporates multiple workflows, automation tools and human capital to optimize them all. It is a system that gets all the cogs working together in harmony to create an ideal end result.

All companies use business processes to produce the end result, and BPM software streamlines those processes to create a more agile and efficient business.

“BPM has been defined as a method of efficiently aligning an organization with the wants and needs of its customers, both internally and externally.” --Jay O’Brien, CTO BP Logix, Inc.

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How Does BPM Software Work?

BPM software looks at the current state of the business and its processes and works with the management team’s goals to identify future objectives. In the most ideal situations, this team would create an ever evolving feedback loop and a continuously improving process that grows with the business. Automating workflow to make it faster, more efficient, and more consistent creates a measurable result on the company’s bottom line, while at the same time improving the organization’s compliance capabilities.

The structure of BPM incorporates policies, procedures, methods, metrics, human tasks, software tasks and IT to manage and optimize all levels of business functions.

Overall, BPM monitors, evaluates and even activates processes for better management. This allows businesses to serve more customers, have a better workforce and profit margin, just to name a few of the benefits.

BPM vs Workflow Bottom Line

The need for streamlining and automatization tools come from the increasingly competitive nature of business. Eliminating wasteful practices and procedures to achieve optimal performance allows businesses to control quality and costs and can be the difference between success or failure. So instead of thinking it as BPM vs workflow, think of it as BPM and workflow operating together to improve efficiencies. However, BPM takes it a step further by allowing multiple workflow scenarios, across multiple channels, to run in peak way. Simply put, BPM improves at the organizational level.

To learn more about BP Logix BPM tools and how they can help you, request a demonstration. Before the demo, we will contact you to learn about your goals and requirements so we can tailor the demonstration to meet your specific needs.

Process Timeline Workflow Engine

BP Logix is the only company to offer a BPM software solution (Process Director) with Process Timeline technology-- a workflow engine that incorporates the dimension of time all the way from model to execution. Traditionally, BPM software has been driven by two key factors:

1. Better outcomes from higher efficiency processes.
2. The need for appropriate controls.

However, many BPM solutions have neglected the element of time. Time allows businesses to obtain additional control over processes by allowing for prediction elements, or business process intelligence, to determine timeliness.

Imagine if your BPM software included an automated solution that could alert you when the timeline for a specific task wasn’t met, or if future tasks are at a risk of not being met? How could that change efficiency for your organization?

The Critical Element of Time and the iBPM

The element of time management is crucial to planning and oversight. Intelligent Business Process Management (iBPMS) allows for human intervention when a workflow process gets off track, or can trigger a different event in the process. Traditional BPM focuses on quality and business process governance, but adding a workflow engine with business process automation capabilities along with the predictive element of time gives the user the ability to see how later process stages will be affected by the previous ones. This adds huge value to the managed process by allowing the earliest possible notification of potential delays to allow intervention before timeline problems arise.

In workflow processes, there is a review and approval step in place, but it doesn’t answer the questions:

“When will this task complete?”

“When will this entire process complete?”

These questions are of great importance in management, because while it may be great to know you are on track to hit a specific goal, it is still important to know what is currently happening. It is similar to comparing the act of looking at a transactions in a register to discover errors, rather than simply looking at a monthly profit and loss statement.

Flowchart Model Failures

Time efficiency is achieved often through business process automation, with cost savings as the most obvious goal.

Example of Process Timeline Workflow Engine with Predicted Timelines

Outside of automation, these savings come about by removing process redundancies  and streamlining business processes, usually through the support of BPM software. More efficient use of time, less paper consumption, and business process automation can certainly tighten processes and reduce expenses, creating a higher ROI. Reduced risks and lowered costs of non-compliance issues also effect the bottom line.

A flowchart will say, “What happens next,” while Process Timeline's workflow engine will more importantly ask, “What must be completed before this step begin and how long will it take?”

The two benefits of BPM software, process efficiency and process governance, are now improved on by incorporating the critical element of a time-focused process technique, found only in BP Logix Process Director. Process Director BPM platform includes Process Timeline workflow engine, which results in even greater benefits.

Benefits of a BPM Software With A Business Process Automation Solution

1. Simple models allow businesses to go from discovery to full automation faster. Each activity is listed with its duration estimate, to create fast workflow processes. Activities can run at the same time, without complicated coding to configure parallel behavior.
2. The status of the entire process, as well as sub-processes can be determined at a glance, allowing for proactive response and the earliest notification of potential delays to allow for quick intervention.
3. Predictive nature “sees” future problems and can trigger actions to the changing circumstance so obstacles can be overcome before deadlines are missed or production halts. Process Timeline records predicted execution versus actual time, every time the process runs and adjusts the time estimates for even better management.
4. Process Director stores every aspect of the process for audits, internally or externally, for improved compliance.

BP Logix developed Process Director BPM software and the workflow engine, Process Timeline, in order to address the critical element of time in business process management. Process Timeline equips businesses to build robust process models without the need to develop code, making it a preferred BPM software solution. And because flowchart workflow automation is appropriate for some processes, Process Director has integrated both models, allowing traditional and intelligent processes to work together to create complex and manageable processes for optimal effectiveness, quality, and compliance needs. Contact us to learn more and schedule a free demonstration of Process Director today.

Improve Business Process Intelligence (BPI) with Process Director BPM Software

Businesses must be always improving in order to remain competitive and profitable. Business process management (BPM) assists businesses in creating lower costs, increased revenue and higher employee and customer satisfaction by increasing efficiencies, effectiveness and flexibility. With business process intelligence organizations can understand how their processes behave over time which is critical to both the active management and business process improvement.

Process Director is an iBPMS, or Intelligent Business Process Management Suite that takes what a standard BPM software offers and adds the process intelligence of analytics, mobile and social connectivity.

Every business process is designed to meet an objective. However, some processes require predictive analysis in order to customize or deliver an intelligent response or outcome. This is the way of the future. If a standard BPM optimizes the highest-value processes, BPI that brings in predictive analysis, makes sure every last drop of effectiveness is nursed from it.

In regards to process efficiency, many processes can be cleaned up with BPM. Adding process intelligence allows a process to be analyzed over time to allow for adjustments as the market changes. Further, the prediction can anticipate needs before they happen, allowing for intervention and/or correction.

Timelines Are Part of Every Workflow Procedure

Example of our Business Process Automation Software, Process Timeline, with Predicted Timelines

Real-time metrics allow for intelligent process improvement that creates flexibility. The need for change can come from external or internal factors -- supply demands changing, vendor supply changes, new laws and regulations -- and flexibility for business process intelligence can be the difference between profitability and loss.

Business process intelligence does more than just have automatic triggers in response to task deadlines. Timeline analytics instead view triggering events like dominoes -- missing one task will cause another to not trigger, thus missing the final objective. Process Director's patented Process Timeline software will see when the objectives won’t be met and will predictively alert users to take action or it can trigger a different process.

BPM solutions like Process Director help businesses change and improve existing processes, and takes process intelligence to the next level to create more optimization and personalization. This anticipatory analytic feature allows companies to quickly adapt in the face of change to create a competitive advantage.

BP Logix’s Process Director adds predictive analysis to greatly improve standard BPM capabilities. Ready to see for yourself? Contact us for a free Process Director demo from a BP Logix business process management expert.

The evolution of the business process management (BPM) of old. Intelligent BPM or iBPMS, is about taking BPM software and incorporating new technologies, predictive analytics and process intelligence that businesses want, need, and demand to create organizational process efficiency. That’s why top software companies are making BPMS more intelligent by including mobile and social technologies as well as incorporating more analytics and data.

“What if” process simulations and business process insights have been part of what business process management software offer, but intelligent BPM suites (iBPMS) add human collaboration and human intelligence. It allows for real-time decision management that goes beyond simply processing data and activating an automated response.

Intelligent BPM is found specifically in analytics, mobile, and social applications.

Analytics

Analytics create benchmarks in order to track and adjust. Data-driven decisions allow for more accuracy and help businesses make decisions based on fact rather than gut. This is particularly important for optimizing processes and providing predictive and/or responsive components for both workers and customers.

Mobile

Recent developments in mobile BPM technologies are allowing field employees, such as those in logistics and energy installations, to have better streamlined processes in order to create consistent, measurable, and efficient tasks.

Social

Social BPM tasks includes watching certain behaviors, particularly those by clients and potential clients, to determine what actions should be taken in order to provide a more effective and dynamic engagement.

 "Tomorrow's business operations will integrate real-time intelligence," said Janelle Hill, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner. "This will require a new approach…” SOURCE: Gartner Says iBPMS are the next step for BPM Programs

All this leads to optimization of tasks, processes, and systems, while allowing more flexibility and human guidance to create truly intelligent business process management that assists you in not just in creating efficiencies but also better meeting customer demands.

Process Director, Your Intelligent BPM (iBPMS) Solution

• Composition of intelligent process-centric applications
• Continuous Process Improvement (CPI)
• Business transformation
• Digitalized processes

Process Director intelligent BPM offers cloud based single-tenant and multi-tenant deployments, which provides flexibility for both small and robust business requirements. Because BP Logix Process Director gives key insights into each behavior of the process, it can take direct action.

For example, if a future task is in danger of running late, the system can notify the process owner. This way, the case manager or other responsible party can address the issue manually. Process Director BPM software is flexible, allowing ad hoc and improvisational tasks to be added to a process or dynamically linked via rules or established predecessors.

Process Director from BP Logix will empower your organization to do more and get better results all the while experiencing a more consistent and personalized user experience.

Ready to see for yourself? Contact us for a free Process Director demonstration from a BP Logix business process management expert.

What is Rapid Application Development (RAD)?

Rapid application development is a software methodology that allows for minimal planning in favor of rapid prototyping. Back in the day, engineers created RAD because they were frustrated with how slow it took to design software. Often times, you’d release a program only to find it was already out-of-date.

What Rapid App Development Looks Like Today

Rapid app development is now an integral part of business process management (BPM). BPM helps a company to understand and restructure information and activities used to achieve business goals. BPM process designs are used to drive process re-structuring and software development.

Standard BPM gives a business the ability to communicate and understand their internal procedures in a more graphical manner. This, in turn, allows them to more quickly and easily adjust to new circumstances, both internal and external.

Benefits of BPM and Rapid App Development

Obviously, having a BPM solution that acts as rapid application development platform is a definite plus. It brings IT development and operations staff together. Integrating into a DevOps approach improves collaboration and streamlines testing. Best of all, it results in a beneficial software that pays for itself.

What is Rapid Application Development to BP Logix?

What is rapid application development to us? It means that customers can create customized enterprise applications and BPM solutions without the need of tying up company IT resources. BP Logix created Process Director, a business process management (BPM) software solution with an easy-to-use interface. Process Director allows you to search through documents, oversee task lists, and look-up specific items without difficulty. This workflow management software is extremely customizable and allows you to modify every step of the process without the need to know code or bring in a programmer.

Most conveniently, all aspects of Process Director BPM software can be accessed from any web browser or mobile device. This smart BPM platform collects all the necessary elements of a project and makes it easy for you to access data, update information, and coordinate with other departments.

Process Director has many useful features unique to BP Logix, most notably Process Timeline and Smart Forms. Process Timeline is a patented business process automation software technology that automates business processes. Charts and data are automatically updated as the process runs, which allows for accurate, up-to-date information to be viewed with ease.

Smart Forms makes it possible to use only electronic forms throughout an entire company. The software connects the company to both suppliers and customers, so the handling of electronic documents goes smoothly. BP Logix BPM software makes handling even the most complex electronic forms a simple process that most any business user can handle.

No Programmer? No Problem.

Let’s say you need to create a new functionality within Process Director. You can do that without knowing code and without the assistance of a programmer thanks to rapid app development!

Your goal is to deliver data digitally…and fast. With Process Director, you can focus on solving business issues instead of creating software to do so. BPM that relies on low-code/no-code is relevant to business users today.

To learn more about Process Director’s business process management capabilities, which includes rapid app development (RAD), contact BP Logix.

What is Business Process Improvement?

What is BPI, you ask? Business process improvement is defined as a collection of methodologies that proactively identify, analyze, and improve on standards and processes in place at an organization. After BPM implementation, results can be identified by looking at increased productivity, customer satisfaction, product quality, and many other measurable metrics.

Business processes are unpredictable. Time to execution, costs, and deliverability are just a few ways that your processes, or lack thereof, could do more damage than good to the organization’s bottom line.

That’s why business process improvement is critical. It’s an ongoing endeavor that takes attention and finesse. Of course, some process efficiency could be done manually, but if your goal is increased return on investment, profitability, and ease, then business process management (BPM) software that offers business process automation solutions is likely the game-changer you seek.

Examples of process improvement include

• An auto manufacturer systematizes a set of manufacturing processes to streamline workflow and eliminate redundancies
• A research company creates a visual tracking system to minimize delays
• A gas company implements an electronic authentication and signature process to stay in accordance with rules and regulations easily
• A university digitizes 80+ documents and now uses keyword search and electronic review and approval to get work done quicker

Why Business Process Improvement (BPI) Matters to Your Organization

Think of business processes as critical building blocks. Done right, an effective and efficient business process will allow a company to remain viable in a competitive environment. While a process might not have a direct line to sales, there is clearly a connection.

If your business processes are wasteful or inefficient, your company will be left behind in the marketplace.

You may understand that business processes are integral to your success, but it’s also important you understand that continuous business process improvement is important, too. Change is a constant and you must be agile.

Any of these workplace shifts ring true for your organization?

• Evolving mobile technology
• Advancing laws and industry best practices
• Business growth or downsizing due to mergers, acquisitions, new products/capabilities
• Changing organizational leadership
• Shifting values and goals as your employees mature

If you can relate and feel the pains these changes bring in a business, keep reading.

What is BPI To BP Logix?

While a lot of BPM software will show you when you’ve missed a deadline, Process Timeline is a workflow timeline software uses its knowledge of your process execution history to automate and predict when each task is likely to complete, no matter how far in the future that task is scheduled to begin.

Request a Free Demonstration

Process Director is an agile BPM solution intended to help your organization grow and flex with internal and external changes that affect your business. Want to see for yourself? Contact us to learn more about our BPM solutions or request a free BPM software demo of Process Director today.

What is BPM (Business Process Management)?

What is business process management (BPM), you ask? We here at BP Logix think of the BPM definition a little more simply: business process management (BPM) is a practice of refining business processes that will improve process efficiency and profitability. Really, BPM is what it sounds like -- identifying, improving, and maintaining processes within a business.

Passing a routine piece of paper to a co-worker is a business process. It’s when you establish rules and a method, either a manual method or technology-driven method, to govern how and when that piece of paper is distributed that you enter the realm of BPM. That’s our specialty.

What BPM Is Not

It's not a job or role within the process. If you use BPM software to manage work orders, the person completing those orders is not managing BPM, they are working within it. However, the manager or admin who designs the work flow to get the job done is participating in BPM.

It’s important to be clear. Business process management does not tell you how to do your job. It informs your entire organization how a business process gets done efficiently and ensures it gets done right every time.

What is BPM Software?

• eliminate redundancies
• minimize errors
• complete work sooner
• shorten project time lines
• make decisions easier
• follow compliance requirements correctly
• reduce paper consumption
• automate processes and alleviate workloads

Your organization is different from the next. Your needs are special to you.

That’s why a customizable solution is required for success. You can see specific examples of how organizations use BP Logix’s customizable BPM software, Process Director, throughout our site. To start, check out BPM examples on the successful use of Process Director in busy organizations.

One Last Note…

So, what is BPM? While outcomes differ, business process management matters globally because of the headaches it prevents. Process Director from BP Logix will empower your organization for all the reasons we list above and so much more. Ready to see for yourself? Learn more about our free BPM software demo of Process Director and contact us today for a demonstration from a BP Logix software expert.

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With summer behind us and fall beginning, we need to find a way to stay in shape as we go into hibernation. OK, admittedly, San Diego is not a place where one has to hide inside all winter long— but since we never achieved ‘optimum beach body shape’ maybe it’s time to start.

Whether it is going to the gym, running in the neighborhood, or taking a light swim in the Pacific, we know that achieving goals takes a great deal of work and focus. The Olympics are over, football season has started and we are awaiting the World Series. Perhaps we can apply some lessons that we have learned from great athletes though. Or from all manner of achievers; hearing a world-renowned pianist, or witnessing a middle schooler spell "scherenschnitte" to win the national spelling bee.

People want to do well, even when no one is watching, because, most of the time, they feel compelled to give their best. We say this because we see this kind of effort every day among our customers. This is not hyperbole, and clearly, our customers are not trying to imitate a dolphin for 200 meters. On the other hand, we witness some incredible efforts among people using Process Director to improve how their company operates. It is those people who directly contribute to saving money, making their organizations more efficient, and ultimately, defining a way to help people perform at their very best.

The best managers, directors and CIOs are those who have a deep understanding of their organizations and how technology impacts the work going on in each department. They have made it a priority to recognize both the potential impact and the limitations of how automating a process, the dependency around timelines and understanding how work flows within and outside of a department can support business goals. Many workflow experts see their job as dropping a system into an existing structure and letting it run its course. Process Director managers, however, recognize that workflow is not a "thing". It involves a series of steps and procedures and requires implementing a technology that causes changes in the company culture — and resulting behaviors.

BP Logix customers that put workflow into practice do so in the same way that a great competitor seeks to win it all. In the parlance of that mindset, we have broken down five actions that managers take in order to make workflow successful and achieve critical business and technology objectives:

1. Get a workout plan: When thinking through potential organizational challenges, smart managers evaluate use cases and worst case scenarios, then consider how to avoid them. That gets ‘baked in’ to newer, better processes. While it sounds fairly simple, they enter into implementing these workflows as a series of dependencies that, by definition, have to adapt according to changing business needs. Even though business moves forwards, and the quarterly cadence is fairly regular, these managers are always questioning “what-ifs” and “how-tos”. That information provides them with a game plan for what to do and what NOT to do — and it usually serves as a roadmap to success.
2. Cut out the fat: Efficiency in all its many forms is the goal, and eliminating inefficiency is a fundamental construct. “Good” workflow thinkers do not just superimpose workflow on top of their infrastructure. They find ways to cut out what is not working, eliminating existing bottlenecks and obstructions so that workflow can operate as efficiently as possible from the outset. Creating a better model provides workflow users with a better way to operate. It is also a more agile way to conduct business.
3. Define goals: A blending of technology and business goals should result from a workflow solution, but users should not have to think too much about the technology that drives their usage. They should feel confident knowing that this new way of working can be adapted specifically to the goals they need to achieve. Goals will vary among groups, but an agile solution provides the foundation for realizing success.
4. Get a coach: Well, maybe it is a team of coaches (and experts). Because organizations are filled with people that have different skill sets and whose input is important. It is critical that workflow tools managers get coaching and validation from the business owners who are (or, should be) benefit from this new system. That involves opening lines of communication, being receptive to criticism, and creating a feedback loop that enables for continuous change and innovation. Good coaches do not just tell people what to do; rather, they listen, evaluate, and provide usable feedback.
5. Get out there and perform: All the planning in the world may make you really good at planning— but at some point, the button needs to be turned on and workflow needs to do its thing. Good managers will have prepared, adapted, sacrificed and taken the necessary steps to be able to step out into the limelight with confidence. Some employees may not like what you are doing, while others may find it stimulating. The key is to find the sweet spots where your solution meets and exceeds business needs so that the company works more efficiently and with greater purpose.

We applaud those who take the steps to define and execute on a smart workflow strategy. It is a road fraught with some thankless work often done in isolation; the ultimate results, however, can literally change lives. Anyone who can do that deserves a championship.

Book a free BPM software demo with us to learn more about how Process Director can help your organization with business process improvement and outcomes.