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There were more than 20 million students enrolled in colleges in the United States in 2018, and that number is forecast to increase in the coming decade. More than 2/3 of all college students receive some kind of financial help in the form of grants and scholarships. Just as admissions are critical to an institutions success, ensuring that these same students have access to funding sources is critical to the future of higher education.

Colleges and universities operate to serve their students, and the financial aid they provide reflects this commitment. Unfortunately, however, most of the processes and workflows that support grants and scholarships exist in a combination of paper-based formats and disparate digital repositories, which can make it difficult to identify and utilize the necessary data. Lacking a system for moving this data from intake to funding, colleges are at risk of preventing deserving students from being able to attend and benefit. Fortunately, process automation enables higher education institutions to facilitate the requests of students to help them fund their education.

Is Automation the Future of Education Process Management?

Automation is the foundation of simplifying grant and scholarship management. Just as workflow has enabled human resources in higher education, it is also being used by colleges and universities to facilitate the flow of that data of students, financial institutions, and universities so it can be evaluated and disbursed. Access to this data is only one aspect of the process. Utilizing it and processing it with the right permissions, and with speed, give all parties the best shot at ensuring grants and scholarships are awarded efficiently.

But the process-driven coordination of financing, collection, and student lifecycle management demands an effective workflow framework, one that incorporates activity among government bodies, non-profits (who are often the benefactors who distribute scholarship money), students, parents/guardians, and financial aid departments within the schools. Ensuring your grants and scholarship management solution has the capability to navigate this intricate web of decision-makers and groups in an organized fashion is pivotal in expediting the processes around financing students.

Streamlining all Points in the Financial Aid Process

Managing workflows for grant and scholarship awards with a platform like Process Director helps present a clear picture to scholarship and grant administrators of all aspects of the financial aid process.

Financial aid processes typically require the input of multiple sources, and not all of them exist within the same organization. Process Director can apply a case management approach which is optimized to coordinate the activity of all involved in the process. This includes university departments like the Office of Financial Aid, Admissions, Registration and Academic Records. External groups include banks and other funding sources, government agencies who disburse grant money, and private institutions and individuals who fund private scholarships.

The Tools Necessary for Comprehensive Education Process Management

Pulling all of this together demands a broad assortment of tasks that includes data that includes paper records, approvals, data sharing among applications and databases, and forms management. With so much at stake, it is essential that deadlines are met and that milestones are attained. Procedure Director generates arrangement among, and between, process phases and different information sources. The result is a system that's inclusive of participants, allowing efficiency, compliance, and consistency. The course of action is all about efficiency and speed. Process Director applies abilities for lightweight application creation, workflow automation, forms management, and integration through a process that uses these steps:

Data collection: students submit applications for grants and scholarships from a variety of sources. This data will likely include artifacts such as an essay, high school transcripts, letters of recommendation, and family tax history among others. All of these items are relevant to the deciders of how grant money is distributed.

Case management framework: Every application is tied to a unique student, and can be considered as an individual case. As a case is created, it will likely be stored in a database, LDAP repository, or cloud storage bucket. But the case is very much active as member schools evaluate the application. Process Director uses a case management approach which enables each student’s file to be moved through the processes and milestones required by financial aid committees and departments.

Distribution of funds: Process Director is built with workflow automation as a critical component, which gives those involved with financial aid evaluation the ability to create rules and processes that will distribute applications internally to important decision-makers, and externally as application data is shared among banks and government groups.

Review/Evaluation: decision-makers will not miss data or milestones when the process is managed with automated workflow. This ensures that all available data can be shared and reviewed, but ultimately, it means that all students have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their needs.

As competition among schools becomes fiercer, there is an increasingly need to provide access to all worthy applicants. Process Director provides digitally transformative education workflow solutions that include facilitating scholarships and grants management, so deserving students can benefit from a higher education experience.

Cloud platforms are rapidly being adopted by enterprises as an agile, adaptable foundation for their IT environment. The move to the cloud requires serious consideration, however. IT leaders should understand the impact on their organization and how they will need to change. But they should also understand how the cloud can provide them with a new, and fundamentally better way of using technology to support business goals. Organizations that use the cloud as a foundation for their IT and business operations are deriving true economic value and demonstrable improvements in efficiency.

It is important to think of a cloud environment in the right context: it's not so much a solution or a tool as it is a foundation for the intersection of technology and business. The cloud offers a way of managing your technology investments that is more efficient and aligned with the needs of a growing enterprise. It lowers management and maintenance costs dramatically, while also providing the scalability that allows an organization to use computing and transactional resources as needed.

Cloud platforms operational efficiency: Reduce IT maintenance and support tasks

IT teams are filled with highly specialized staff who look out for the various parts of their technology strategy. While they may be focused on specific initiatives, invariably, issues arise that require an "all hands on deck" approach to problem solving, and it will take the time and attention of even your most specialized people. When your team is working to avoid outages or handling other infrastructure issues, they are not being as productive on critical issues as they could be. Nor is your company getting the maximum benefit from their valuable skill set.

IT departments will always have KPIs around daily technology-related tasks, but imagine if you didn’t have to actively manage them. Consider the difference in staffing and cost when much of the usual heavy lifting is no longer required. Besides the reduction of fixed costs like staffing, meetings, and physical requirements, having your applications in the cloud means that you can determine KPIs for what's critical for your business, rather than your technology, and rely on the vendor to perform accordingly.

Find out from your cloud vendor how different your allocation of resources could be. Analyze what it would look like if you deployed your people to projects and tasks that will move the company forward. Doing so will benefit from efficiencies around economies of scale and distribution of responsibilities— efficiencies that can only be achieved in a cloud environment.

The shared responsibility model of security

The reputation of your brand is based on trust among your company’s various stakeholders. Providing information so business users can make better decisions creates benefits, but there is potential risk. Every endpoint that your technology touches becomes a potential security risk.

Enterprise organizations require solutions which ensure data is only accessible for intended purposes and by known users. As more data and functionality become available and usable, CIOs must find ways to make data available where it can be most effective, without opening up the organization to potential risks. Yet, as more data is used by more people on more devices in and new ways, are you able to keep up with the ever-present potential risks?

Using the cloud means you can take advantage of a platform that has the ability (and for reasons of business sustainability, the necessity) to dedicate staff and resources solely to the pursuit of protecting their tenants, applications and customer data. Consider the focus your team can place on strategic issues and initiatives if you could reduce the need to constantly stay up to date and focused on security.

Make sure you are comfortable knowing that, while your data is owned by your company, it is being handled by the vendor through their ability to continuously deliver better security solutions. Security is important to an organization’s operations, so ask hard questions and insist for proof points from your vendor to ensure risk is mitigated.

Controlling your data and how it's used is critical to a company's health, and is fundamental to the CIO's role.

Economic advantages of using the cloud

Purchasing enterprise-grade technology hardware requires a lengthy review process, an implementation phase, ongoing management, and then finally depreciation and updating tasks. Every one of those tasks is time consuming, non-productive, and expensive. They also involve the valuable time of staff whose expertise could be used far more effectively and productively.

The cloud eradicates most of these wasted costs and instead uses a more efficient model where customers are billed on a subscription basis. Even more appealing is how cloud service providers break down spending based on usage type and amount. Cloud users pay on a per-minute model, rounded down to the nearest minute. In this way, organizations can efficiently manage costs and plan for growth.

When moving to the cloud, some of the money normally allocated for management of physical resources and upgrades can be used to develop a skilled staff that’s capable of using the cloud to implement innovative new services. Additionally, the cost effectiveness of the cloud is recognized in terms of scale. Organizations can grow without having to meet corresponding needs of more hardware, networking assets, and other manifestations of legacy, on-premises environments. That level of scalability is precisely what is required for modern enterprises that need to be highly responsive to changing market and customer needs.

A new model for modern enterprises

IT departments must respond quickly to market changes as well as shifts with internal KPIs. It is incumbent upon them not just to manage technology tools, but to figure out how to best use those tools to drive an agile business agenda. Instead of spending so much time on things like implementation, upgrades and uptime, the modern IT can now use the cloud to optimize the tools at their disposal, and create optimized, and secure, business solutions.

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BP Logix helps companies change the way they operate through business process management (BPM). View our resources on the BPM basics to find foundational business process management content to help get you started on your journey.

BPM Basics: What is Business Process Management?

According to BPM.com, an online resource for the business process management industry, the business process management definition is: “A discipline involving any combination of modeling, automation, execution, control, measurement and optimization of business activity flows, in support of enterprise goals, spanning systems, employees, customers and partners within and beyond the enterprise boundaries.”

What is Business Process Management to BP Logix?

What is BPM to us? We here at BP Logix think of it a little more simply: it’s the practice of refining business processes that will improve process efficiency and profitability. Really, it means 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 process management. That’s our specialty.

BPM Basics Resources

Get the BPM basics. View our resources below created to help you on your journey to finding the right solution for your business process improvement and process efficiency needs.

Process Director

Process Director BPM software combines the easiest and most efficient process management and digital process automation software in the industry with a rich set of workflow tools offering snap-in data integration, rapid prototyping and release, and comprehensive reporting and analytics.

Check out these BPM examples to see how our customers in every sector are successfully using Process Director to prepare and deliver transparent, end-to-end digital applications offering engaging customer experience, robust business process governance, regulatory compliance, and smooth, efficient operations.

An Award Winning Platform

BP Logix and Process Director have won awards for innovation and excellence from many prestigious organizations, both domestically and abroad. Our most valued recognition, however, comes from our customers who have achieved goals beyond those they had originally imagined through their partnership with us.

Process Director offers:
• Unsurpassed ease of use
• Rapid time-to-value
• Rapid application development software

How BP Logix Works With Business and IT Users

There is a perception that some CIOs and IT Directors use Q1 to determine what they will buy in order to implement it by Q4. We know the reality, however, is that smart business people are always looking for BPM solutions to improve their businesses. Whether its Q1 or Q3, or any time before or after, they continue to seek to understand how to be more productive and efficient.

Change and flexibility are the basis for growth-minded organizations. And while change is inevitable, it cannot be totally disruptive. There are big changes (losing major customers, replacing key executives, market swings), and there are small changes (implementing a new accounting system, re-organizing functional teams). Some may be anticipated and, therefore, manageable, while ‘big change’ can impact the way you do business going forward. In either case, companies need to be prepared to deal with some level of disruption— yet keep the cadence of their business moving in the direction of their goals. Our free BPM software demonstration of Process Director keeps all of that in mind providing a customized experience based on your needs.

Put Thoughts of Business Change at Ease With a Free BPM Software Demo of Process Director

When you sign up for a free BPM software demo of Process Director, we provide a customized experience. We view our demo as an opportunity to show what our product can do in the context of your organization. Our customers often tell us that our free BPM software demos are different than other vendors. They believe that we take time at the front end to understand your needs and environment — and to then show how Process Director might enable your business to be more efficient (and more adaptable to changing requirements).

An important element of Process Director that we like to show is its business process automation software technology with built-in predictive capabilities. We understand that business priorities can change rapidly and sometimes before you are completely prepared to deal with them. Process Director was designed to enable users to make ad hoc changes to meet changing demands. And, of course, these changes can be done by end-users, not programmers.

Our free BPM software demo provides insights as to how Process Director works —and gives you a feel for the ease with which you can make changes to address your organization’s specific needs. We can point to awards and validations from customers, yet understand that their story or situation may not be yours. What takes place in your group, division, and even across the entire company is unique.  And we appreciate that —which is why we customize our demo to make it reflect that uniqueness as much as we can. We often hear prospects ask, “Is it really that easy?” We would love for you to be the judge of that yourself.

Our free BPM software demo of Process Director is best way to experience it and truly understand the nature of what it can provide   — and to then map your challenges and needs to Process Director’s workflow management software functionality and capabilities. A list of what our product can do would take reams of paper.  Our free BPM software demo will allow you to see it live and will give you a realistic notion of where, and how, Process Director could fit in your department — or company. And, of course, it helps us to have a more substantive conversation about where you want to take your business.

Reviewing new products and evaluating vendors can be stressful and time-consuming. We’re not interested in the hard-sell; rather, we hope to begin a dialogue — a constructive conversation to learn about your business and your needs. We suspect you will see the BPM benefits in Process Director after you see it in action.

The right tool is always one that addresses your needs, but is capable of growing as you expand, change and innovate.

Schedule a Free Demo of Process Director

That is what your business does, and what we strive to deliver. Contact us to schedule your free BPM software demo of Process Director today!

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.

Irrespective of how innovative and forward-thinking an organization may be, however, it also has to deal with regulatory and compliance solutions (or "governance, risk and compliance" - GRC). Whether mandated by government, industry, or by internally-driven standards, regulatory compliance solutions help companies manage their exposure to risk and ensure they are operating within legal and organizational guidelines.

Managing regulatory and compliance solutions is, however, complex. Businesses are made up of many parts, most of which operate according to their own set of KPIs and deadlines. In rare instances these different groups integrate tools, processes and strategies.  Into this scenario, fortunately, comes business process management (BPM) which is equipped to take issues like GRC and facilitate adherence to standards and guidelines.

GRC affects different businesses in different ways. There are highly regulated industries (life sciences and financial services, for example) which must comply with very strict policies− and there are others that are more concerned with ‘general’ compliance. Almost every organization will fall into one of the following three categories:

Universal Regulatory Compliance

To some degree all businesses have to concern themselves with (some level of) regulatory compliance. Not only do they need to create processes that satisfy policies and regulations, but each time a process is executed — each time an invoice is issued, an expense report is submitted, or a new employee hired — the actors, actions, and documentation regarding that process must be shown to clearly be operating within a set of guidelines. While the people and actions may appear to be unique, regulatory requirements are universal to even small organizations.

Industry-Specific Compliance

Some industries are known for the vast array of regulations and policies they insist on. Often these regulations have come about as a result of those same businesses operating previously without such policies. (Think mortgage industry in the 90s). In other cases, like life sciences and pharmaceutical companies, the lack of adherence to strict policies can have disastrous repercussions.

Routine Audits

An inescapable fact of the business world today is the audit process. While audits may appear to be a distraction from day-to-day business, they are necessary to ensure regulatory compliance with accepted policies and regulations. For businesses that operate according to those policies and are able to report on them, audits are usually not a problem. Preparing for an audit, however, can be a challenge.  Auditors want to see proof of compliance. That generally involves documentation. Businesses need to have the proper documents available and ready as part of the audit process.

No product can, by itself, ensure that a business is and will remain fully-compliant. It is up to the business managers to create a strong ethical culture and to develop clear and consistent rules in line with legal regulations and corporate values. Where BPM software can help, however, is by turning culture and policy into compliant, robust processes. Strong, compliant processes are the best predictors of a healthy and growing business.

Obviously, there are a lot of different approaches to managing regulatory compliance solutions. One of them is our BPM Compliance Edition of Process Director. It was developed to help highly regulated businesses address their regulatory compliance challenges. With Process Director as a key partner, organizations can flourish even in the face of ever-changing regulatory and business conditions. Check us out. We’ll be happy to chat with you further about your compliance needs.

--Chris Parker, Marketing Manager

Think about the number of products you use that involve some form of liquid to produce, clean or maintain that product. Consider that almost about everything you eat and wear was washed multiple times before you came into contact with it. Your apple, jeans, the gel in your hair; the floors, walls and ceilings of your home and office - they have all received a variety of ‘liquid treatments’.

Most of us don’t think about this very often —however, when we do, it is difficult to imagine any product we encounter that has not been “delivered” without the involvement of some form of liquid.

One of our customers spends a great deal of time thinking about liquids. The business of Liquid Controls is the development and manufacturing of liquid process control instrumentation and measurement products. Through their products, companies effectively use water, adhesives, chemicals and a variety of liquids. A part of IDEX Corporation, Liquid Controls is dedicated to providing high quality flow meters and accessories for accurate liquid measurement in a variety of industries. Their reach is global, and their products essential.

Learning about their business and the impact of their products has helped shape our opinion about how workflow changes the way the world operates. Without ways to monitor and manage liquid distribution, our lives would be quite different.

Like most companies, Liquid Controls relies on its intranet to provide electronic forms and information for its employees — from policies and procedures to expense reports and sales quotas. Yet its intranet had also become more of a repository of data —and less of a tool for initiating and managing processes. In the eyes of Bruce Lawrence, Group Network Manager, the intranet had the potential to provide so much more value! He sought a BPM software and workflow software solution that could apply business process management (BPM) to make things easier and more efficient within Liquid Controls.

Lawrence wanted a system that would work the way that employees worked. He initially looked for ways to process online forms, then expanded the scope to include workflow solutions. Lawrence consulted with business users to further determine what they needed and found a variety of requests: Accounting wanted to control the process for capital expense (CapEx), a manual, paper-based process at that time. (As a result of misplaced documents, Accounting was missing audit deadlines.) QA wanted all of its quality procedures online. (One of its documents required 12 signatures – and it was discovered, on several occasions, that no one knew who had the form.)

Additionally, as an ISO-certified organization, any time there is a change in any procedure, Liquid Controls had to secure signatures approving that change— as well as track documents associated with that change to ensure that information access and distribution was seamless.

For this workflow initiative to be successful, Lawrence did not have time to waste cycles on extensive back-end development and integration. A fast roll-out was important!

The Liquid Controls team reviewed trial versions of Adobe and Microsoft forms builder. They did not address the company’s workflow needs to their satisfaction. The product that did was BP Logix's Process Director.

Liquid Controls is using Process Director for applications ranging from attendance and engineering change control to shop floor work constructions. Providing the appropriate workflows to ensure that a new hire could build a product to the same tolerance as a more senior employee was one initial challenge that the company successfully addressed.(Building a flow meter, for example, requires 600 work constructions. Changes to the process are now done through one workflow. Instructions are published in real-time which makes them available to shop floor employees immediately.)

According to Lawrence, “For us in IT, the world is one of nonstop projects. There is always a queue of people waiting for us to respond to a request.” One of the benefits of Process Director for Lawrence and his team is greater transparency and insight into requests, as well as opportunities to reduce redundant work, perform better parallel tasking and standardize on requirements.

An industry that is highly regulated also deals with audits. Liquid Controls is audited at least once a year for its ISO accreditation, as well as regular Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) requirements. Once ISO-certified, procedures must be available to anyone who needs to see them. Process Director helps with business process governance making the reporting, monitoring and auditing of processes seamless and gives authorized employees and auditors access to the information they need and the approval workflows that were given.

Perhaps the biggest advantage Liquid Controls has gained from using Process Director is that the IT team does not need to write code, allowing them to focus on deploying other applications. And while employees appreciate the user interface and friendliness of Process Director. IT appreciates the business logic that lets them dive as deep as necessary to be consistent with their workflow.

Process Director enables Liquid Controls to drive from the results side backwards and to better leverage its investments. We invite you to consider whether Process Director can do the same for your business.

Learn more:

• Companies in a variety of markets are using Process Director to make their business more efficient. Read our BPM Case Studies from our customer experiences.
• Process Director offers a wide range of features. Learn more about its workflow management software.
• Get first-hand experience - we invite you to join us for a personal free BPM software demo of Process Director.

Rick Colen is not a man who wastes time. As the Deputy Director of Information Technology for Fresno County, he already has a lot on his plate managing a staff of 110 who support the needs of 7,000 users across 126 locations and 26 departments. When he's not attending to the requests of his internal and external customers, Rick is a dedicated runner, marathoner and Search and Rescue volunteer. He brings to his job the same drive and passion he brings to everything he does. Rick knows what success looks like and how to attain it.

The County of Fresno is situated in the heart of California's Central Valley. It encompasses a diverse population of over one million people who work in agriculture, higher education, healthcare and a variety of other fields. Fresno is the county seat and the fifth largest city in California. It is also the 56th most populous metropolitan area within the U.S.

Rick’s team is responsible for all day-to-day IT operations in the County, including its networks, applications, security and data. As the population of the area continues to grow, so does the need for services— and his group must be prepared to deliver a range of IT-based solutions. Rick employs a driven, but measured, approach to managing these requirements. As a trusted partner, we have been fortunate to work with Fresno County as it has adapted—and continues to adapt—to changing demands.

To meet the requirements of a growing population (whose need for services increases exponentially), the IT Department required greater visibility into the County’s business processes. Its legacy system was no longer able to provide relevant analysis, reporting, or insights into the status of IT projects. As a result, IT was unable to predict delivery timeframes with any degree of certainty — or comfort.

The time was ripe for a new business process improvement solution. Rick and his team initiated an RFP, with the secondary evaluation taking four months and consisting of evaluating six BPM software and workflow software vendors. Process Director was selected by the IT staff, working in conjunction with the Communications, Facilities and Fleet Services Departments.

“The biggest challenge we faced,” according to Rick, “was not having a mechanism for determining when a process should complete, nor having a timeline within our structure that would enable us to know, in advance, whether that process might fail altogether. Those are two of the reasons we selected Process Director.”

Ease-of-use was another reason for selecting Process Director, along with the ability to quickly develop and deploy Word-based smart forms. Being .Net-based, rather than Java-based, also figured heavily into the decision. Because Process Director also incorporates a timeline element, Rick’s team is able to see outstanding requests and projected timelines.

The first order of business for the IT Department was to update eRams, the County’s existing Electronic Request and Asset Management System. Searching for data within eRams had become almost impossible and the system itself frequently crashed. "Someone would initiate a request but it would get stuck in a queue and we had a difficult time getting it processed. It got to the point where we couldn’t add new people without breaking the system," he stated. The range of other projects for Phases II, III and beyond is growing, as the County automates and rolls out new processes.

One of the nicest benefits of the decision to deploy Process Director is the partnership that has developed between Fresno's IT team and BP Logix. Rick recognizes that he can be demanding, and BP Logix has consistently met or exceeded his needs. "If a company doesn’t have quality customer service, I won't do business with them. The BP Logix team is phenomenal to work with and you can tell that they are focused on customer service."

One of the advantages of our work with customers is engaging with problem solvers like Rick Colen. It provides us with incentive — and purpose. Addressing the needs of our customers and prospects can lead to some exciting challenges and rewarding outcomes.

Part of every day at BP Logix is spent with our customers; learning how they use Process Director, understanding their issues — and listening to their (business) realities. When we started our company, paying attention to the customer was one of our core principles. To this day, understanding what drives them — and figuring out how to help them address their needs — forms the basis of our mission.

One of the things we have gained from our customer relationships is the ability to hold a mirror up to ourselves — and to hear how we describe what we do. We have heard from many customers and prospects that they do not necessarily think of what they are doing as ‘business process management (BPM)’ but, rather, as a way to facilitate how they ‘do’ business. In other words, they are (or were) not seeking a BPM solution per se. They wanted a way to improve workflow, enhance communications and increase transactions, both internally and outside the enterprise. Some equated that to BPM. Others describe what they are doing: developing smart forms with workflows, streamlining and automating their business processes. They don’t call (or care to call) that BPM. They say they are doing workflows or electronic forms or, simply, automation.

It is fair to say that BPM, both as a concept and term, may not be sufficient to explain what enterprises are trying to accomplish. Although some people have said that BPM is dead — or even less-than-relevant —we would not say that. Rather, we might suggest that the way BPM is being talked about may be outdated. And that fault lies with the vendors.

In reviewing today’s BPM software and product offerings, we know that most vendors are focused on selling a packaged solution that addresses a set of either vertical processes— or focuses on things that BPM case management software can deliver, perhaps workflows around SharePoint or another narrowly-defined target. What is needed is a new way of thinking about, talking about and using BPM.

BPM as a term implies that data, activities and participants need active management. At one time, that was very true— but with the onset of embedded social capabilities, cloud access, and data available through mobile devices and through the Internet of Things (IoT), the action of "process management" is now shared among any stakeholders who are involved in a business outcome.

Because of its expanding use and availability, the concept of BPM needs to be turned on its head —so that everything that happens in pursuit of a desired goal is included. The creation, governance, analysis and adaptation of business processes is not relegated to a piece of software alone. Far from it! Business processes are those things that support what the business is trying to achieve — and rely on the tools available to accomplish that goal.

No business can operate without a foundation of sound, yet flexible, business processes. Part of that flexibility comes from being able to do more things with processes that might have been previously intended for more narrow purposes. Take, for example, an experience from the world of retail. Imagine a marketing process intended to deliver email notifications to customers about upcoming sales. While that may appear to be relatively simple, underneath that activity are a series of connected processes that include pulling data from a user database, engaging writers, involving the graphics department, and scheduling the mailing on a calendar. The end result is more contact with customers— contact that is the result of connecting processes and workflows that ultimately involve partnering with stakeholders.

Increasingly users are accessing their ‘environment’ through mobile devices and social channels. BPM can deliver that access where and how they work and live. What separates BPM from many other enterprise apps is that it is supported and improved as a result of bringing the business process and workflow to wherever the user can best make use of it. This level of access enables people to be more responsive. For people and companies driving results, the ability to adapt and modify, review and approve in real-time, improves decision-making and keeps things moving forward. That is what it’s all about.

Is BPM dead? Is it outdated? At BP Logix, we prefer to look at a different question: how can businesses be improved as a result of better processes and workflows? If you want to call that BPM, or process management, or workflow-enabled processes, that’s fine with us. Our purpose will not change. We intend to help customers achieve their outcomes using our tools and insights to help them create the next chapters of their business stories.

Try it out:

• Request a free BPM software demo of Process Director.

Pat’s workflow implementation is eagerly awaited

These days, I feel like I'm on the trading floor of the NYSE. People all over the company are calling on me to ensure that their needs and requirements will be part of our workflow and process implementation. Word has gotten out —in a BIG way —that changes are coming and the sense I am getting is that no one wants to be left behind. I guess what you could say that I'm a victim of my own success. My evangelizing has clearly been successful— and the result is a lot of people frothing at the mouth to begin work with new workflow software. The only problem is, we haven't even launched this yet.

We have done our exploratory work and are wrapping up requirements for this project. I'm not a sales person per se, but I've spent considerable time all over the company talking to different groups to explain what we're going to be rolling out and how it will affect them. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. After years of paper-based communication, undocumented processes, and loose triage for decision-making, plus a host of other legacy ‘systems’ for conducting business, our employees appear eager to let those things be handled for them, enabling them to focus on business goals(rather than photocopying documents and waiting for approvals that may never come.)

The things I've explained resonate with the people here because, while we may be a bit outdated with some our business practices, our intentions have never changed —our goal has always been to deliver great results for our customers by conducting business with integrity, intelligence, and a passion for doing the right things. It is with great interest that colleagues are watching the progression of this project. They see advantages that will come from a comprehensive workflow solution, and they know that rolling it out in a judicious and measured way will help them be more successful in their roles. And I have promised that we should experience vast changes that include:

1. Project modeling and implementation: Employees who are project owners will be able to list the activities associated with their projects, estimate their durations, then drag-and-drop information onto those activities that must completed before subsequent activities can begin. They will essentially become their own project managers and process owners. This is significant because it represents flexibility they haven’t had before — plus the ability to centralize (but adapt), and to decentralize (when appropriate) process creation, management and change at the departmental and team level.

2. Parallel processes: As many activities as possible will run concurrently, without the need to explicitly specify parallel behavior. Things move fast around here —so this kind of thing will encourage a more integrated approach to decision making.

3. Status and updates: Process status can be determined at a glance. At any point — even the moment the process is launched — the system can determine which activities, if any, may not complete by their due date.

4. Analytics: The system we implement will record and estimate execution times each time a process is run, and create estimates accordingly. Insight and transparency can help eliminate any issues that we (or the system, actually) uncover.

Clearly, when all this was explained, it led to some big expectations — and I'm starting to feel the heat to roll out sooner, rather than later. Add to that some confusion, or mis-information, about what we're actually doing. Our project is not just about launching a "thing". Yes, it's workflow and process automation for sure, and it's a solution that probably could even be called a "platform". But it's also a mindset and a methodology on which just about every activity our people perform will be supported. This is critical — because workflow doesn't really exist as an app; rather, it IS the human instance of the app— and that sometimes needs to be experienced rather than explained.

I'm also spending time reminding eager execs that much of the success of our project will be in the flexibility it offers. That flexibility kind of exists now— I mean, anyone can do pretty much whatever they want to achieve a desired outcome. Having workflow, however, will give us a structure and framework with triggers, actions, steps, decisions etc. that can be managed, analyzed and updated. Repeatability will occur when desirable, but so too will change (and the accompanying change management as well.)

Things are heating up and while it’s creating stress for my team, it also means engagement and buy-in. These are things we can’t provide with requirements and guidelines alone. Anticipation comes from the pairing our goals with our expected solution. While exhausting and exciting, this is where we need to be! Beyond just the challenge of delivering according to schedule and expectation is the need to continually add to the foundation of what we’re trying to accomplish. As we keep telling our colleagues this won’t be a one-time delivery. It will be a fundamental shift in how our business performs and the way we operate long-term.

Learn more about Process Pat's quest to improve his company's business operations:

• Preparing to Move Forward: With approval to proceed with his project and approach, Process Pat prepares for the upcoming changes
• The Task Before Us: As Process Pat and his team prepare to implement BPM and workflow, he gives serious thought to how his team will move their project forward

Try it out:

• Request a free BPM software demo of Process Director

Learn more:

• Workflow Management Software Features
• Case Management Solutions Capabilities

With approval to proceed with his project and approach, Process Pat prepares for the upcoming changes

When we got funding for our business process automation and workflow project, a certain level of anxiety crept into my daily routine. After all, this approach was being seen as an overhaul —not just in technology but also in how we run our business. Now that executives have started to take notice, you might think that my stress level is off the charts. Actually, the opposite is true; now that we know our direction, I'm helping my team get focused, create checklists, and develop an actionable plan. When I see how this is unfolding, it moves the needle from “freaked out” to ‘measured excitement.’

This project won't happen overnight, nor will it be onerous. Our plan is to build requirements over the next month, develop new processes after that, then roll out the workflows for an initial application. We'll assess, review requirements, and then tackle the next application. Overall, we have a goal of modifying the way we work through automating and streamlining our processes and workflows over an 18 month period. When all is said and done, my company will enable internal employees and external stakeholders (partners, customers, and suppliers) to collaborate and coordinate to make better decisions, move forward faster, and, with luck, leapfrog the competition. Our remote workers will be as productive on the road as those at headquarters— and they will feel more connected as well.

While I'm feeling confident about where this is headed, I know that this is only going to be successful with buy- in across the company. We know that the processes, and their associated workflows, have the greatest opportunity for success when matched with a willing and engaged organizational culture. Our company is nimble and able to quickly adapt, but change sometimes brings frustration— and frustration in a corporate environment means lost productivity. The LAST thing this should do is limit our ability to get things done. The whole purpose is to enable the company to grow as a result of better process, more transparency, and involving more of the right people.

Thankfully I have executive support. That's a great start, but the execs aren't the ones being asked to get comfortable with something new. It will be the project managers, analysts, business managers — in fact almost anyone who has a stake in an outcome will be part of this new process and workflow implementation. I'm realizing that we are in good shape in terms of morale, but I'm keeping my eye on a few things that will help me guide us towards a successful roll-out:

Are we ready to change?: This is not just the first question to ask, but it's also the most important thing to assess and re-assess throughout our entire project.  Committing to change is easier before the change actually happens. So my job is to know how comfortable we are and how well we maintain progress towards our goals. I'm asking myself these questions:

• Is our team adept at prioritizing projects and processes?
• Can we operate with a flexible mindset that allows us to adapt to changing business needs?
• Do our executives REALLY understand how processes will be streamlined and workflow applied across the organization?
• Do we have the skill set to know when the time is right to add additional apps?

Is disruption going to help us improve— or will it be a distraction?: The fact is, some organizations just cannot make the shift to a new way of conducting business. That's not a criticism, and in fact, in some cases, those businesses are better off not changing. I know that we are fully prepared to begin this project, but can we sustain a longer term change in our culture and how we do business? My sense is that, with a well-prepared roll out and the right planning, we can. Part of my job is to be an evangelist.  I've been going to different groups within the company to make them aware of what we're doing and the impact on them. So far, the reception has been good, but I've been grilled a few times. I have no problem with that. I'm actually glad because that means that our employees have a stake in what we’re doing! That will make acceptance and focus easier.

Are we flexible when we need to be?: There is an erroneous mantra that gets thrown around. It says “Everyone needs to be flexible.” I agree with that, but only to a point. Ultimately, if everyone is simply flexible all the time then we don't adhere to guidelines or stick with consistent processes. So part of this planning process is to get to know those places in our organization, and in our processes, where we need to reward and operate according to consistent business practices— and those places where we can continue to change by being flexible. I recognize that this is one of the benefits of implementing workflow; we eventually get to understand how to be more flexible where it will provide an advantage, but then not worry about it in places where it makes no demonstrable change.

Automating our processes and streamlining our workflows will undoubtedly change the way our organization is going to work. And that is exciting. Our Execs are always looking at our bottom-line.  They expect that we will eliminate inefficiency. The anticipated advantages are going to be huge— but only with oversight and a lot of preparation. The next step is…well, the next step is to get moving and kick things off!

Operating a company can be like taking a family vacation. While the kids find ways to distract themselves and everyone else, the parents are focused on getting from Point A to Point B with as little disruption as possible. Arriving at the destination does not mean margaritas and frolicking in the pool for the parents, either; there is parking, checking in, unpacking and feeding the group, just for starters.

So too for those who run processes and operations within a company. If they were to be asked, "Are we there yet?” the answer would be, "We're NEVER there." That is truly the right answer, because business never stops. Processes start at the beginning, finish at the end, and then do “it” all over again...and again...and again.

The remedy that ensures smooth transmission of all data through an organization to its intended destination is workflow. Workflow used to be the domain primarily of large enterprises, armed with efficiency consultants. Now, however, solutions like Process Director provide a framework for fast implementation and flexible change management. We have detailed the value derived from workflow in our BPM Value Estimator in terms of things like increased efficiency through automated routing, more productivity as a result of improved decision-making capabilities, and more effective change management, due to easy-to-change rules and process updates.

Beyond metrics, however, we find that workflow is best able to be effective when it is matched with a willing and engaged organizational culture.

We can demonstrate the effectiveness of workflow software by sharing some existing BPM case studies of our customer experiences, however your success is predicated on having a thoughtful and well-formed strategy for implementing and managing your processes and operations. That means laying out what you want to accomplish and creating the roadmap (much like our parents did for their road trip). Process Director executes the plan, but an organization must be prepared and it is essential for decision-makers to be focused on the following:

Readiness: Let's assume your organization wants to be more productive. Is it ready to organize around workflow tools that encourages productivity? That's a different question. To understand the degree to which your company can be helped by workflow, consider these things:

• • Is your team adept at prioritizing projects and processes?
  • Does your company operate with a flexible mindset that allows it to adapt to changing business needs?
  • Do executives understand how workflow can help your organization?
  • Do you have the skill set internally to identify where workflow should be applied?

Intention: Workflow can do a lot of things, but to be effective it must implemented whole-heartedly. More often than not, we see groups within a company adopting workflow because they saw it successfully implemented in other areas of the company. We also see instances where workflow is implemented, but not adopted. It is critical that the people using workflow are prepared to use it, and that it is adopted as part of their normal working behavior.

Rules: For workflow to do its intended job, it needs to operate according to rules. Process Director is great at taking complex rules and defining processes with them, however those rules have to be outlined and created. Doing this ensures that documents ‘arrive’ where they are supposed to go, documents are approved, compliance adhered to, and timelines are met. If these things do not, or cannot, happen, then the role of workflow should be reconsidered.

Workflow will undoubtedly change the way your organization works. The advantages that come from it are huge. Setting your company up for success requires focus and serious effort, but much like a family vacation, after all the preparation and running around, there comes a point where you get to sit back and see your work pay off.

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Being a buyer of BPM and workflow software can be exciting − and sometimes daunting. Promises of greater efficiency, better margins and increased productivity make the process highly engaging.  Selecting the right tools generally makes your job (and many around you) easier. If, however, you inadvertently select a product that is not the right fit or does not work as ‘advertised’ well that’s a different story.

Finding the right business process management solution is no easy task. You have to understand the needs of your users − and be able to determine how best to address them. You also need to understand the available products, how they work and what differentiates them.

Too often the conversation between vendor and customer gets directed early on to workflow management software features and BPM benefits. Many sales executives are quite deft at explaining what “our” features are, and how much better “our solution” is than competitors’ products. Throw in some demos and case studies, be a little overwhelmed at all the possibilities of a particular solution and voila! you (may) become a customer of that particular vendor (whether or not the solution is the best fit for your organization.)

Although that scenario is fairly common, it is obviously not the best way to find the specific solution you are seeking. The buying question ultimately is not really just about a product; it is more about you, your needs, your budget and how whatever you select can help you achieve your goals. The process of identifying the right solution should be more than mapping a list of requirements to a list of product capabilities. Your business is far more complex than that – and deserves a more in-depth approach and analysis.

While identifying your business needs is the first and somewhat obvious step, it is often a neglected piece of the process. Another neglected piece of the process is the time it takes to implement a solution. Long term projects are not popular at this time. Vendors are seeking to demonstrate results sooner through faster implementations and delivering projects on time and on target.

At this point, prospective implementers of BPM software might look at their organizations from the perspective of how different they could be if there was a more formal structure to initiating and managing business processes. Prospective users generally recognize that there are many parts of the business that could be positively affected by changing processes – and that business process management (BPM) software gives them the flexibility and functionality they need to create and manage new processes. The discussion at this point then is really about the business– and not so much about the product or solution. A good vendor recognizes that you cannot apply BPM solutions and workflow solutions until there is an understanding of the need.

Talking in the language of use cases is helpful. We find that this is where organizations start to consider the value of BPM. In looking closely at how other companies are implementing it, prospective users begin to see that the automation of processes, such as onboarding or purchase order authorization, can significantly improve efficiency. They note that different business groups can share certain processes -- and that geographically distributed teams can participate in the same processes, irrespective of location or time.

These prospective new users may also start to consider that implementing a new paradigm may be disruptive. (For some organizations it is far easier to continue to do a process the same way it has ‘always been done’ even if the original purpose for doing so has been long forgotten – or the person who created that process left the company long ago.)  Some organizations are basically pain-averse. With an understanding of what BPM can do to help them, however,  these organizations often come to realize that some short term disruption can lead to long-term benefits (and, ultimately, greater profitability). At that point they are willing to consider alternatives.

It is at this point that a truly substantive conversation can begin. That conversation will be about what product(s) address the company’s process challenges. Objectives for business process improvement (BPI) can be detailed and reviewed against potential solutions. A good vendor helps the customer through this process with the understanding that pairing their solution with the customer’s scenario will only work if the vendor’s solution is of value to the company. The goal is to help the business to be more efficient and effective with its business processes -- and only the right BPM application with help to make that a reality.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of what we do is talk with customers and prospects about their business vision and implementation. That helps us to not only become smarter about how Process Director is used but also enables us to bring value to our customers. We have never held the belief that a single piece of software can fit everyone’s needs. Rather, by understanding customers’ and prospects’ business vision, and learning what they truly want to achieve,  our conversations become more meaningful.

Having that kind of discussion enables us to get a better sense of what is required to address your business process requirements – and achieve your objectives. From those discussions comes clarity which, in turn, sparks a conversation about facilitating change. For us, change is the result of a more thorough understanding of ‘process.’

--Marti Colwell, VP Marketing and Business Development

We are honored to have been recognized recently by Info-Tech Research Group as a "trend setter" among companies that develop BPM software, workflow software and case management software solutions. In the Info-Tech Research Group report, Vendor Landscape: Business Process Management (BPM) Suites, the analyst firm reviewed a variety of attributes from ten vendors, including functionality, usability, affordability, architecture,  strategic importance, reach and company health. Info-Tech  determined that, among the  companies the firm interviewed, BP Logix was worthy of  placement in the "Innovator" quadrant --  and noted that we are “...pushing to automate business processes further through predictive modeling." The report, which was careful to assess both the strengths and shortcomings of the vendors it evaluated, validated the functionality of Process Director -- functionality that differentiates it from competitive products.

Info-Tech’s research perspective was illuminating -- and invigorating.  We have identified areas that we will improve on and also appreciate ‘the nod’ from some very  insightful people on Process Director's workflow management software features which they consdidered innovative and valuable. We hear that from customers - but hearing  it from a third-party gives us an incredible sense of pride and energizes us with purpose.

The Report
Info-Tech identifies the BPMS market as one that has evolved from the needs of “Business” to simplify the many processes organizations face as they grow.  Workflow software systems, document management,  application integration --  all of these are essential to an enterprise's operations. Instead of a planned and structured approach to the operation of the business,  processes had, for the most part, been  allowed to evolve naturally.  Growth was occurring in spite of, but not because of, business processes.

As businesses then tried to leverage technology  to better organize their operations, they often  found  they  lacked a way to easily integrate tasks with processes and applications -- and  were liable to complicate things further.

The Info-Tech view of BPMS is that there are some vendors who do specific things well yet fail to deliver a comprehensive solution. Content management vendors think of process as being driven by version control and intellectual property. Workflow companies produce solutions that involve moving processes along.  True BPMS vendors, in their eyes, recognize that customers need solutions that bring all the different process components together to provide a complete process lifecycle. BP Logix was recognized among some heady competition, including IBM and TIBCO, and recognized as an innovator and leader in providing value to customers. We were also acknowledged for pairing methodology with technology to create a comprehensive solution.

The market
In its report, Info-Tech looked to the future of  BPMS and found that only a select few (BP Logix among them) appear capable of  helping customers address changing business requirements. They suggest that the three key elements needed going forward are:

1. Cloud: Vendors must be able to deliver a cloud BPM version that is both cost-effective and can integrate with existing applications. BPM also being offered as a service and platform in the Cloud (BPMSaaS, BPMPaaS).
2. Social: BPMS solutions can be enhanced and optimized by using social collaboration and crowdsourcing.
3. Predictive: Historical data allows for more accurate process development and optimization.

Where does BP Logix fit?
The  Info-Tech analysis illuminated the breadth of options available in the market. While we have faith in what we consider to be the right way to do BPM, customers have very different, and sometimes unique, needs.  There are, therefore, many ‘flavors’ to address these needs.

BP Logix was noted  specifically for:

1. User interface: Well-designed software needs to be developed with users in mind. BPMS users aren't simply inputting data; they are relying on software to help make their businesses more efficient and effective.   Info-Tech  states: “BP Logix is a prime example of a user interface correctly done” and goes on to note our drag-and-drop functionality, event process format and Timeline technology.
2. Web access: Businesses  operate around the clock. Having access to  processes is critical. Info-Tech notes that BP Logix allows access to all of its services through web browsers and also supports mobile browsers on iOS devices. According to Info-Tech, we  stand out among the competition.
3. Timeline: Our patented business process automation software technology, Process Timeline,  was recognized as ”adding a real-time dimension to BPM. Info-Tech notes: “The Timeline demonstrates the interdependence of the events within a workflow… and  offers predictive modeling which analyzes historical data and creates a context-aware environment that optimizes processes and forms.”

We are proud of what the report acknowledges as our strengths and capabilities. There is satisfaction in knowing that the work we are doing is valued and validated by both third party research groups like Info-Tech and by our customers.

--Marti Colwell, VP Marketing and Business Development

In the IT department of probably every growing enterprise, there lives at least one application that receives requests for “more, better, and faster.” Marketing, for example,  wants to pull more data out of the existing customer analytic tools; Finance needs a new application to calculate international tax liabilities; and Sales, as usual, wants leads and pipeline data faster.

Every one of these groups can make a case that its needs directly impact the bottom line and deserve priority one status. (They also generally do not acknowledge that other departments may suffer as a result.) Meanwhile, IT  is putting together sprint schedules, organizing around scrum practices, and generally trying to keep its head above water. At the end of the day, requests for more applications and changes to existing ones never stop. IT starts to tread water --  and hopes it can maintain the proposed delivery schedule. Application backlog is the reality-- but not

This scenario is generally the result of three things: human nature, over-reliance on technology and unrealistic expectations. We all tend to want more, but may fail to recognize that with finite resources like IT, "more" can be elusive. Whether it's more requirements (as a result of scope creep) or more demand (for applications), more time is required to review and prioritize requests. As a result,  less time is available to deliver  the solutions themselves. Add to that the fact that IT may be thinking about having to develop a custom solution when an off-the-shelf solution may easily (and more quickly) address the need.what anyone wants to hear.

Application backlog tends to be driven by importance,  perceived importance, and/or  executive sponsorship. This isn't to say that IT doesn't have filters and requirements -- it does! And (being somewhat parochial as in the case of business processes), assisting both line of business (LOB) and IT can be  more easily accomplished than one might expect.

We've all become enamored with what technology can do for us. And, of course, we have lofty ideas about what we need and deserve. Quite often, however, the solution to what can help an organization improve its business is best done by a team who understand the requirements – in conjunction with the tool that can assist them.

The reality of working in a busy enterprise is that we just don't know what issue will take utmost priority at any given time. Smart organizations are optimized to address ‘change’ when it occurs. Customer demands, market conditions, product issues or any number of things can dramatically alter what the enterprise needs to address. And IT is generally at the mercy of these changes when an internal process or tool is part of the solution. They essentially operate a service business, serving where they are needed most. When a new ‘top priority’ is identified, other issues already in the queue are pushed back. Thereby creating the backlog.

There's really nothing unusual about this type of operational methodology. It's what works and keeps organizations on top of the most important priorities. But there's a cost associated with changing priorities. That cost is felt most deeply by the LOB manager who has a request on hold in the IT queue.
It is a foregone conclusion that a request, irrespective of how big and impactful it is, will be sidelined unless it's directly a part of either revenue generation, bottom line optimization -- or damage control. For the LOB manager, however,  changing, automating and optimizing a process can be a key issue. It affects the way the business unit is able to deliver against its goals. And that certainly has an impact on the overall business.

That leaves us with an IT team scrambling to stay on top of issues -- and departments that are less productive until their backlogged requests are addressed. At BP Logix, we are a BPM company that believes that LOB managers have the context  to understand their departmental needs and are happy to work with IT  to own and implement ( rather than build) a solution. We hear that from customers who find  that Process Director enables them to address their needs for process change without involving a lot of IT resources. Rather, with IT’s blessing, they can be self-sufficient.

Clearly, some projects coming from internal business owners demand custom development . That will always be the case.

When an organization adopts Process Director, the reduction in application backlog and process efficiency is dramatic. You'll see in our customer profiles that we're repeatedly told about how important it was for business groups to be able to own their process and use their expertise to affect changes within their organizations. Sometimes the process changes were  simple. In other cases, an entire process needed to be created, modified and/or automated. Process Director has become  popular because it is easy to use yet also has functionality that enables organizations to deal with both simple and very complex processes.

We all know that it is empowering to solve your own problems. When the business units can work seamlessly with IT to forge a solution that empowers both groups, that is a win-win. And that’s what Process Director is all about.

--Marti Colwell, VP Marketing & Business Development

We humans make thousands of decisions every day – decisions about big things and little things, critical and less important. All, however, are decisions of some nature.

In a New York Times article the writer described what he called ‘decision fatigue’, the result of so many decisions needing to be made daily by each of us. As a result of the sheer number of decisions we make,  the line between what’s truly important and not significant is blurred.. This happens to the  extent that  we make many decisions without giving much thought to what we are actually  deciding. Due to our habits and internal ‘wiring’ (formed over many years), most of these decisions are simple and rapidly determined: Will I wear the blue shirt or the red shirt? How much cream will I add to my coffee? What time do I need to leave the house to get to the meeting?  The decisions we make in the vast majority of cases do not have major repercussions. We live, we decide, we move on. If the blue shirt turns out to have been a fashion mistake, we live with it, without significant ramifications.

Companies, however, look at decision-making very differently. Employees make major decisions every day that impact the future of their companies.  And there is a trusted relationship between employer and employee that dictates that the employee make those decisions in the best interest of the company. But there's a huge difference between making decisions and making informed, intelligent, and qualified decisions. If you and your employees are moving the company along based on anything short of informed decisions, you may not achieve the best possible results and, in some cases, may be heading completely in the wrong direction.

The only way to make perfect decisions is to know the future. Would that we could develop a product that did just that! In the absence of a crystal ball, however, the best we can do is to anticipate (or you could say ‘predict’) the future. Here again, though, there are variations to what constitutes a prediction. A guess is a guess. Included in a guess, however, are ideas and biases drawn from someone’s experience.

We don't make Magic 8 Balls -- but our flagship product, Process Director, provides business process automation software technology with Process Timeline. With that comes the ability to identify, analyze, anticipate and, yes, predict the direction in which a process is going. We call that process intelligence. Having that ability means our customers are able to glean more insights into their running processes -- and at earlier points in time.

As processes tend to be iterative, this capability allows our customers to correct and adapt to changing environments in real-time. The feedback, data and historical information they receive from more instances translates into the ability to optimize these processes. It also acculturates a habit of taking raw data and turning it into actionable information.

If your organization can do this, then changes to your business, whether internal or external, will cause far fewer reverberations. Applying process intelligence will give your organization advantages over number crunchers and corporate tarot card readers.

Much of what accounts for process failures (or the inability to deliver according to requirements) is a result of what a process ‘absorbs’ along the way. Scope creep, perhaps, but also the human element. We naturally learn during the course of executing a process -- and are then inclined to want to include that new information. Does that make our result any better we ask? The more prudent question is: Did we avoid possible problems and roadblocks because we now have insights into what could happen -- or what we could do differently?  Adherents to a belief in process intelligence and BPM software will answer that question with a resounding “Yes!”

Traditional BPM solutions provide a discipline and the tools to get from problem to solution. As organizations are becoming increasingly more complex, a tool that helps them derive data and provides intelligence about the processes themselves delivers a major differentiator from other business process tools. Transparency leads to insight which leads to more and better information – and, ultimately, more effective processes.

From initiating business rules to delivering an on-time, as-promised results, BPM software can make a difference. And you will discover that you are not only achieving organizational success, but also that your organization is getting smarter about its processes as well.

-- Marti Colwell, VP of Marketing & Business Development

When you spend so much time focused on solving a certain type of problem, it's easy to get caught up in "circular" thinking. At BP Logix, we appreciate that each situation brings with it a history of issues and pain points, and culturally, that improving a situation requires sensitivity and awareness. While business process management (BPM) thinkers are not known for being shy about their opinions, we also recognize that there's no such thing as one, and only one, way to introduce, implement and manage BPM software.

What we do, however, firmly believe is that a successful BPM software implementation is always flexible and makes allowances for organizational change when needed -- or mandated.
The goal of BPM is to have a system and framework that provide a usable and functional model which, in turn, drives change at both the behavioral and outcome level. We refer to that as "lean BPM." Inherent in lean BPM is the ability to combine the vision and goals of traditional BPM with practical methods for achieving a business process automation software solution with management and oversight.  Lean BPM is also nimble BPM. And implementing it will dramatically change the way you operate your business.

Part of what makes lean BPM nimble is speed. After all, if you know where there are issues with your business processes, there's no reason to spend countless hours immersed in PowerPoint presentations and lengthy debates. The sooner you identify the issues, the sooner you can resolve them -- and the faster you'll impact the bottom line.

Implementing a new methodology means learning new tools which, in turn, requires getting comfortable with them as quickly as possible. The more familiar the tools are (or the more they work like tools you have used previously) the faster you can reach a comfort level and embed them within your daily operations.  Ideally, your new tools should give you deeper insights into how your business runs, helping you become more aware and better informed.

That is one of decisions we made when developing Process Director. We thought it was important to incorporate the look-and-feel of tools users know and have used previously but we didn’t stop there.  While our interface lends itself to developing rules definitions and changing processes easily– it doesn’t stop there. We don’t believe in trading off rich functionality for a friendly interface. Instead we offer both. Simplicity does not mean lack of sophistication. To the contrary……

A lean BPM fully understands the needs of business users and recognizes that these users may not be highly technical. In turn, that means that the tools that facilitate BPM must be fairly easy to use and easy to manipulate -- at the end of the day, they need to impact the business, but without disrupting the processes that make the business what it is. A successfully implemented BPM solution must be flexible enough to adapt with the needs of the business and its users.

Inherent in implementing anything new is the cost factor. Spending a lot of money for only incremental gains is generally not a good business decision. All customers want cost-effective and rapidly deployable BPM solutions. Look, for example, at our profile on NEC Labs. It wasn't just our ability to meet their technical needs, but our interface and pricing that led to their decision -- and the relationship. Many of our customers are able to demonstrate cost (and time!) savings as a result of implementing a lean BPM.

Fast-moving organizations are adaptable and resilient. Their ability to embrace change is embedded within their systems and their process. Ultimately, having a system and framework that helps the business adapt and succeed is one of the most important metrics for BPM. It is also the reason that more and more organizations look at BPM as a way to adapt and evolve. The ones we work with, our customers, are also realizing major bottom-line benefits as well.

--Marti Colwell, VP of Marketing and Business Development

Peter Drucker famously said that the purpose of business is to "create and keep customers." We could not agree more.  We realize that a customer doesn’t become a customer by having a CIO with a budget write a check. While that certainly contributes to the bottom line, what Professor Drucker is talking about, and what we value, is the ability to work with organizations with whom we can form a relationship -- one where both parties learn from and contribute to one another.

Identifying a need is not, however, the most essential aspect of developing a customer. We can certainly make the case that every company would do well with their business process improvement (BPI) -- and that we, of course, have a BPM software and workflow management software solution that will do just that. Providing a working solution then moving on to the next ‘opportunity’ does not a customer make. What we look for is not just the need, but also the willingness to work together to define the viable solution.

The first step in arriving at that solution is readiness. Readiness is more than a desire to improve. Organizations with whom we have worked have shown not just a willingness to implement a solution, but have also prepared themselves to ‘modify’ the way they operate their business processes. That preparation is what we call "readiness" -- and that aspect of the customer life cycle (preparing to be change and doing the necessary things in order to change) is probably the single best indicator of potential success.

The following factors, and the ability to address them, usually help organizations determine how ‘ready’ they are to tackle existing problems and move forward with innovative solutions:

• Redundancy: Is your organization currently using multiple systems to assess and process the same information? Are you prepared to identify and use a single, optimized tool for data collection and processing?
• Identification: Is there a clear understanding in your organization about roles and tasks? If not, can you create a model that aligns tasks, people and expectations?
• Task assignment: In order to keep processes and tasks moving forward, how do you currently address tasks and task review? Can you identify specific responsibility for specific tasks?
• Approval process: Is there clear definition as to who reviews and approves tasks? Are you able to change the nature of your organization so that approvals and decision-making can be handled by identified individuals and/or groups?
• Productivity: Is there a loop in which decisions and actions keep getting routed and delayed? Is it possible to assign specific individuals with authority to make decisions and advance the process?

As someone interested in making your organization more efficient, thinking through these issues will help you understand how ready you truly are – or are not. And it's worth noting that any organization can take concepts, BPM solutions and workflow solutions and apply them -- but without a buy-in and a willingness to change, it will be a far greater challenge.

This is the essence of what a customer really is to BP Logix: not an individual or committee interested in just buying our product, but one who has shown a willingness to work with us to create truly effective solution-- for them. And we know they won't stop there. They will recognize that as their needs change and new challenges arise, they will continue to reach out to us to find new ways to work together to adapt to a changing environment.
And that's what Drucker was talking about: addressing an organization’s ability AND its readiness. That's how we create and retain customers -- and help them to do what they do, better.

--Marti Colwell, VP of Marketing and Business Development