--- title: What Are The Consequences of Unbalanced BPM? description: To achieve and sustain process-based management we need the full mix of 7 fundamental enablers of BPM. Find out what the consequences of unbalanced BPM and learn that a proactive plan and tracking mechanism are needed for each enabler to ensure success. image: https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hubfs/2019%20Blog%20Images%20new%20Logo%20Poistion%2020.png --- [![LeonardoUST_CMYK-1](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hubfs/LeonardoUST_CMYK-1.svg "LeonardoUST_CMYK-1")](https://www.leonardo.com.au/) [![Talk to Us](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/430417/7eb77b0e-c703-49d8-930c-a6d73a5e986f.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/430417/7eb77b0e-c703-49d8-930c-a6d73a5e986f) ![cross-icon](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hubfs/cross-icon.svg?t=1536031936288 "cross-icon") ![business-design](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hubfs/business-design.svg "business-design") ###### [Business Design](https://www.leonardo.com.au/business-design-consulting-advisory) ![process-automation](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hubfs/process-automation.svg "process-automation") ###### [Process Automation](https://www.leonardo.com.au/process-automation) ![data-integration](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hubfs/data-integration.svg "data-integration") ###### [Integration & API](https://www.leonardo.com.au/integration) ![platform-engineering](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hubfs/platform-engineering.svg "platform-engineering") ###### [Platform Engineering](https://www.leonardo.com.au/platform-engineering) ![Event_bg](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/3842749/hubfs/Backgrounds%20/Event_bg.jpg?width=2000&name=Event_bg.jpg "Event_bg") # The Leonardo Blog ## [What Are The Consequences of Unbalanced BPM?](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/what-are-the-consequences-of-unbalanced-bpm) Written by [Roger Tregear](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/author/roger-tregear) On March 21, 2019 [** ](https://au.linkedin.com/in/rogertregear) [**](http://twitter.com/rogertregear) - [Automation (2)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/automation) - [bpm (3)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/bpm) - [BPM - Business Process Management (111)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/bpm-business-process-management) - [BPM/EA Technology (25)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/bpmea-technology) - [Business Innovation (5)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/business-innovation) - [CXM (1)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/cxm) - [EA - Enterprise Architecture (7)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/ea-enterprise-architecture) - [Intergration (12)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/intergration) - [**](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.leonardo.com.au%2Fwhat-are-the-consequences-of-unbalanced-bpm) - [**](https://www.twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.leonardo.com.au%2Fwhat-are-the-consequences-of-unbalanced-bpm) - [**](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.leonardo.com.au/what-are-the-consequences-of-unbalanced-bpm) [All Posts](https://blog.leonardo.com.au) # What Are The Consequences of Unbalanced BPM? - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) ![2019 Blog Images (2)-3](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/2019%20Blog%20Images%20(2)-3.png?width=1024&name=2019%20Blog%20Images%20(2)-3.png) As some readers will know from my previous writing, for example [here](https://www.brcommunity.com/articles.php?id=b814), [there](https://www.brcommunity.com/articles.php?id=b818), and [everywhere](https://www.amazon.com/Reimagining-Management-Roger-Tregear/dp/1366442849/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1532764118&sr=1-1&keywords=reimagining+management), I take a broad view of [BPM](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/creating-sustainable-process-based-management), seeing it as a management philosophy, preferring the term process-based management over business process management. A brief summary of that view is as follows. *An [organization's](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organization) resources are managed 'vertically' via the organization chart. Value is created, accumulated, and delivered 'horizontally' across that chart, i.e., via cross-functional processes. Value is accumulated across, not up and down, the functional organization as the various parts collaborate to create, accumulate, and deliver value in the form of a desired product or service. It follows that an organization executes its strategic intent via its business processes. In this context, where cross-functional processes are key to the delivery of value and execution of [strategy,](http://www.bptrends.com/resources/glossary/strategy/) the improvement and management of processes is critical to the optimization of an organization's performance. BPM is not a one-off project, nor an IT system; it is a management philosophy.* Discovering, documenting, improving, and actively managing cross-functional business processes exposes opportunities for getting more and better work done with the same, or perhaps fewer, resources. The power of process-based management is in understanding how work gets done and, based on that understanding, eliminating impediments, streamlining activities, and removing waste. The focus is on how the processes, including all the people and resources involved, deliver value to the customers and other stakeholders. This cross-functional focus is missing in most organizations, where it is replaced with an internal management emphasis guided by the organization chart. My experience working with many organizational types in many countries to create and sustain process-based management allows me to conclude that there are seven elements that must come together to support process-based management: - Discovery, understanding, and documentation of the organization's processes in a hierarchical model — [Process Architecture](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/the-case-for-process-architecture) - Defining process performance measures and measurement methods, collecting and reporting performance data — Process Measurement - Responding to process measurement data by taking appropriate action to address actual or emergent performance anomalies or opportunities — Process Governance - Continuously discovering processes that can perform better and finding ways to close the performance gaps — Process Change - Creating an environment where the organization, its people, and their teams are always conscious of the processes in which they participate — [Process Mindset](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/5-challenges-to-improving-a-process-mindset) - Developing tools and skills required throughout the organization to identify, analyze, improve, and manage business processes — [Process Capability](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/improving-bpm-capability-and-credibility) - Providing support to develop, sustain, and realize the benefits of process-based management — Process Support. These seven enablers are shown in Figure 1. ![enablers of BPM Graphic](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/enablers%20of%20BPM%20Graphic.png?width=400&name=enablers%20of%20BPM%20Graphic.png) Figure 1. 7Enablers of BPM. A Mobius strip is used to highlight the interdependencies between the elements and to emphasize that all are important, and each is necessary but not, by itself, sufficient. These 7Enablers of BPM come together to create and sustain process-based management. If developed simultaneously at a pace appropriate to the organization, these elements significantly increase the likelihood of creating sustained process-based management. The 7Enablers is a collective of mutually-supportive prerequisites for successful and sustained process-based management. The core artifact is the process architecture since documenting the key processes is the necessary first step. Once documented, process performance measurement targets can be established, and governance arrangements defined to show who should respond to performance gaps and opportunities. These first three enablers (architecture, measurement, governance) are the 'physical infrastructure' on which the rest is built. Continuous process change is the cornerstone of process-based management. Without process improvement, and its companion process 'innovation', all else is waste. For process management and improvement to become ubiquitous, it must be embedded in the organization mindset. Having a central specialist group to do all process work does not scale, and it is necessary to build the capability for identifying, analyzing, improving, and managing business processes throughout the organization. Coherent support is required for all involved. ## Missing Enablers Much has been written (see previously-mentioned references) about the effect of each of the enablers, and of the full set, on achieving and sustaining process-based management. To further understand the nature of each enabler, it is instructive to consider what happens if an enabler is missing or not working properly. What are the consequences of a missing enabler? In Table 1 we consider the impact of each enabler (alone) being missing from the management mix. ![table](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/table.png?width=690&name=table.png)Table 1. Missing enablers. To achieve and sustain process-based management we need the full mix of all seven enablers to be developing together. Lose any one of them and the balance is upset, leading to failure. It is not enough to just hope that each enabler will develop automatically. A proactive plan and tracking mechanism are needed for each enabler to ensure success. Any missing enabler will stop the development of process-based management. [![Download the 7 Enablers of BPM whitepaper](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/430417/ec31ccf1-2a44-4d10-8585-bbf35256269c.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/430417/ec31ccf1-2a44-4d10-8585-bbf35256269c) ![Roger Tregear](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hs-fs/hub/430417/file-1601910334.jpg) ###### Roger Tregear Roger is a Consulting Associate with Leonardo. He delivers consulting and education assignments around the world. This work has involved many industry sectors, diverse cultures, and organization types. Roger briefs executives, coach managers, and support project teams to develop process-based management. Several thousand people have attended Roger's training courses and seminars in many countries - and Roger frequently presents at international business conferences. Roger has been writing a column on BPTrends called Practical Process for over 10 years. This led to the 2013 book of the same name. In 2011, he co-authored Establishing the Office of Business Process Management. He contributed a chapter in The International Handbook on Business Process Management (2010, 2015). With Paul Harmon in 2016, Roger co-edited Questioning BPM?, a book discussing key BPM questions. Roger's own book, Reimagining Management, was published in 2016. - Recent - Popular - Categories ### Lists by Topic - [BPM - Business Process Management (111)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/bpm-business-process-management) - [BPM/EA Technology (25)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/bpmea-technology) - [The Process Session (23)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/the-process-session) - [Process Modelling (18)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/process-modelling) - [News (14)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/news) - [Intergration (12)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/intergration) - [EA - Enterprise Architecture (7)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/ea-enterprise-architecture) - [Platform (6)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/platform) - [Business Innovation (5)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/business-innovation) - [Red Hat (4)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/red-hat) - [bpm (3)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/bpm) - [Automation (2)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/automation) - [Process Automation (2)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/process-automation) - [Process Mining (2)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/process-mining) - [Regulatory Optimisation (2)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/regulatory-optimisation) - [Video (2)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/video) - [process (2)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/process) - [redhat (2)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/redhat) - [CXM (1)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/cxm) - [RPA (1)](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/topic/rpa) [see all](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/what-are-the-consequences-of-unbalanced-bpm#) ## Subscribe and Get The Latest News ## Related Posts ## [UST Acquires Leading Australian Process Transformation Company Leonardo](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/ust-acquires-leonardo) UST Acquires Leading Australian Process Transformation Company Leonardo - Strategic acquisition further strengthens UST’s position in the dynamic ANZ market Melbourne, Australia, 21 February 2024:UST, a leading digital transformation solutions company, has announced the strategic acquisition of Leonardo, a leading provider of business process improvement, automation, and integration services in the ANZ region. The acquisition by UST will empower Leonardo to expand its market reach and enhance its service offerings for clients, combining Leonardo's in-depth process expertise with UST's technology leadership, digital transformation capabilities, and global credentials, and strengthening UST's position in the Australian market. - [Daniel Weatherhead](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/author/daniel-weatherhead) - 5 min read - Feb 21, 2024 9:00:00 AM ## [How to Present Business Process Models to Stakeholders](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/presenting-business-process-models-to-stakeholders) Has an audience member ever interrupted in the middle of a presentation about process analysis to ask, “Can you show us the process models in a simple PowerPoint slide?” – or, ”I don’t want to look at the green and purple boxes, just show me the flow!” Perhaps you then felt that you had wasted some of your efforts in modelling the process with too much detail or in the wrong way. Embarrassed and demoralised, you must have wondered how else could these models be presented. Well, you are not alone! This is a common dilemma when there is a need to present process models to a variety of audiences. There is both art and science in presenting the right level of process detail to the right group of stakeholders, especially if they are not familiar with the process modelling language. Effective presentation is even more critical in larger and complex end-to-end process improvement work and in new automated business model implementations. You may need to use multiple model types to describe the same business processes to various audiences. Hence, it is very important to understand who the stakeholders are and what they would like to see before your audience with them. This article proposes an approach to the effective presentation of business process models based on three key elements: understand, organise, and communicate. - [Daniel Weatherhead](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/author/daniel-weatherhead) - 7 min read - Oct 10, 2023 10:00:00 AM ## [What Are The Most Important Questions In Business Process Management?](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/what-are-the-most-important-questions-in-business-process-management) She who dies with the most answers wins. We seek the truth. We want to know the answers. Paul Harmon started me thinking recently when he invited members of the BPTrends Discussion group on LinkedIn to “describe the purpose of Business Process Management in 160 characters, including spaces and punctuation.” Not easy to do – have a go at it yourself. It felt like I was crafting The Ultimate BPM Answer, which, of course, begged The Ultimate BPM Question. That got me thinking that The Ultimate BPM Problem is that we have plenty of answers and not enough questions. So put all the answers aside for a moment and help me to work out what are the most important questions in Business Process Management? - [Roger Tregear](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/author/roger-tregear) - 6 min read - Jul 30, 2023 10:30:00 AM ### Subscribe to Email Updates [![LeonardoUST_CMYK](https://blog.leonardo.com.au/hs-fs/hubfs/LeonardoUST_CMYK.png?width=791&name=LeonardoUST_CMYK.png "LeonardoUST_CMYK")](https://www.leonardo.com.au) Leonardo drives continuous process improvement through technology and has worked with many leading enterprises in APAC to enhance the performance of their business processes through architecture and automation as well as integrating their applications, platforms and data to enable disruptive technologies. **What We Do** **Resources** ##### Company 2022 ©Incotrade Australia Pty Ltd trading as Leonardo Consulting  |  All rights reserved   |   ACN 066 273 256. |  [Privacy Statement](https://www.leonardo.com.au/privacy)  [**](http://www.facebook.com/leonardoconsultingAU) [**](https://www.linkedin.com/company/leonardo-consulting/) [**](http://www.twitter.com/leonardoBPM) [**](http://www.youtube.com/leonardoconsulting)