The Leonardo Blog

Chances are, if you're watching this video, either you or somebody you know, is in the profession of business process management, or BPM. Business process management professionals have a very unique role to play in any organization. They get to see across processes, across the organization - not just siloed departments. This view can bring so much value across the organization. Not to mention that a lot of BPM professionals are fairly smart. Having said all that, why aren't people in the whole entire organization just absolutely raging at their door, wanting them to work at every single project, every single piece of work?

I believe that the primary focus of every organization should be the understanding, management, and continual improvement of the business processes by which customer value is created, accumulated, and delivered. Not the only focus, of course, but by far the most important. This is the essential message of process-based management and once that message is heard, the need for both process management and process improvement is obvious, urgent, and compelling. Let me explain what I mean by, and why I believe in, the ‘primacy of process`. This blog is deliberately short (if I had been in a hurry I would have written a longer one!) because I would like to find a way to succinctly define the key message of process-based management. Have I achieved that? Please let me know. Process? Why “process”? The simple view of a process is that it is a collection of cross-functional activities that transforms one or more inputs into one or more outputs. I also include all of the resources, people, systems, infrastructure, policies, regulations—everything that is required to execute and manage the process. Processes are important because this is how organizations get work done. Primacy? Why “prime”? Cross-functional business processes are the only way organizations can deliver value to customers and other stakeholders. By themselves, the separate functional areas of an organization cannot deliver value to external parties. An organization`s resources are managed ‘vertically` via the organization chart. Value is created, accumulated, and delivered ‘horizontally` across the organization chart. It follows that an organization executes its strategic intent via its business processes. The sequence from strategy to execution is shown in the breakout box, From Strategy to Execution. The only way an organization is able to exchange value with its customers and the way in which it executes its strategy—sounds prime to me!

Before using a full-scale and full-blown solution design or product, your ideas need to be tested first in a quick and cheap manner using low fidelity prototypes. Prototypes are the less expensive and simpler versions of your solution or product that are used as a model to determine what still needs to be fixed, added or improved before your solution or product is realized. Create the Best Innovative Solution Prototypes Easily Prototyping business idea early and rapidly helps turn brilliant ideas into successful products or solutions. It helps detect and solve problems early on. When you prototype a business idea early, you are able to eliminate uncertainties and improve the accuracy of your idea. It also allows you to explore more ideas and exchange thoughts early on with concerned parties. Prototyping decision matrix exist to help designer understand which type of prototype would work the best at a specific point of time of business development. Such matrix would identify the nature of prototype like service, product, system or space. This provides the pathway for multiple prototyping techniques. Here is an overview of some prototyping techniques.

Ideation activities are sure to bring in a lot of ideas but in most situations, not all ideas are implemented. It is very important at the earliest phase of idea generation that there are already guidelines on how to choose which ideas are in the best interest of a project or an organization.