The Process Session is a weekly video series posted on The Leonardo Blog that discusses all things BPM and Enterprise Architecture.

Today, Marco talks about Process Capability.

Please let us know if you have any ideas for future topics for The Process Session. 

Video Transcription - Process Capability

Thank you joining me today in The Process Session.  We’ve been discussing the 7 Enablers of Business Process Management over the last few weeks. Today we're discussing Process Capability.

7 Enablers of BPM Overview

What they are made up of is:

• process architecture;
• the measures that measure the process within that Architecture;
• a process governance model where you have process owners that set certain targets, respond to them, measure them and ensure this continually loops around and then outside of these measures/controls you generate process improvement projects to respond and drive back into a control where you want it to be.
• During this cycle we often forget the importance of change and to put change right at the start of the whole process improvement. We’ve embed change into this – this is your change management within the process.
• That often requires a change in mindset in the organisation. We often say that BPM is 90% mindset and 10% toolset – so it’s important to get the mindset of the organisation ready so your team can appreciate the change and benefits that this can provide them.

Process Capability

What are the capabilities we are looking at to drive successful process improvement? Today we’re looking at the business process capability within an organisation to allow them to get successful change, successful improvement and process management. 

These are the key capabilities you will required in your business to achieve this in your organisation:

1. Everyone in your organisation needs to understand the basics of business process management. We want 5000 process analysts not 5. You don’t only 5 people doing this is our business, you want everyone contributing to this change. That is very possible – just to varying levels and degrees. Everyone should understand the value that BPM provides
2. What are the process improvement and management methods do you use? Do you use Lean or Six Sigma? What are the methodologies that you don’t use within your organisation ? How do you select the right group of people to build these capabilities.
3. You want idea generation. “Innovate – now!” – That doesn’t just happen. You need to understand how we do that and what methods do we use.
4. Process Change Management needs to be understood. How do you do it in your organisation?
5. You need a methodology for performance measurement.
6. You need to understand the process governance structure. Who does what and what is the role of the process owner?
7. You need to understand the tools, the language and the conventions that you speak in order to model and analyse our business processes.

Tips for Implementing Process Capability

This doesn’t need to be a costly affair or intricate. Some of the ways you can do this easily and efficiently are:

• Maximise the use of people in process improvement projects. Engage everyone you can to varying levels/degrees/commitment/time to expose them to this thinking;
• Communicate it broadly across the organisation as to how process improvement is operating
• Get external process thinkers that are knwon for talking process in various areas. They can speak into your organisation to teach and share.
• Educate – go to conferences, go to webinars and there is a plethora of information online
• Publish your process information – make sure that anything that is modelled or designed is communicated effectively and is pulled from the organization and consumed. Otherwise it is ineffective if it is sitting there not being used.
• Visit other organisations to see how they implemented business process management

Next week we are going to talk about process support and discuss how we go about implementing all we’ve discussed in the last few months in a sustained way for your organisation.

Thanks – have a great week.