Business process management may be a term you have or have not heard of, but it will become ever more important as time goes on. Also referred to as BPM, this is where improvements in efficiency, reduction in error, and innovation in business processes are initiated. This is an incredibly important part of business, that has long taken a ton of time to think about, implement, and manage.
Business Process Management Explained
Every task a business undergoes in the process of providing a product or service to its customers is a process that has many different steps involved in its completion. Just think about a typical business and imagine all the different tasks the employees must take part in for the company to operate and function. Each task is broken down into constituent parts and together, these form a business process.
Depending on the size and nature of your company, there could be just a few or countless processes that are involved. To help improve efficiency and find ways to do a certain task better, management creates business process documentation where the steps in each task are laid out, step-by-step, and can be evaluated for efficiency or simply better ways of achieving the same thing.
It is easy to see both how important this part of business operations is as well as how much time it can take. Not to mention, anything that involves human management will be open to human error, which can reduce efficiency and cause a lot of issues.
This is why so many companies, large and small, are moving to automated business process management tools. These are powerful tools that make it easier to document, track, manage, and change any part of the process to streamline operations and make the business run more smoothly.
Key Features to Look For
There are tons of automation tools out there and they aren’t all created equal. When considering automation software for business process management, there are some key features you will want the software to have so you can maximize the benefit it provides to the business. Software suites such as those offered by Comindware will include these important features.
Automation
Though there are tons of software suites designed to help streamline business process management, not all of them automate these functions. Automation will help dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes to create and analyze these processes, find places they can be optimized, and then re-evaluate them. Any tool you consider should have an automation feature.
Easy Interface
Drag-and-drop builders use a visual interface for business process modeling. This makes it easier for all parties involved to use, as the learning curve isn’t nearly as steep. It is structured intuitively and is open to use for far more people than just those who are tech-savvy. Most people are familiar with software that utilizes the drag-and-drop function and will be far easier to train new employees on as no technical skill is necessary.
Rules-based Workflow
Business process management entails creating a detailed breakdown of a specific business task into its constituent parts. This will be accompanied by data collection to manage the effectiveness of a process and determine any areas where it can be improved.
With automation software that utilizes rules-based workflows, the software will move through the various steps logically based on rules that will be laid down by the various users. This will help determine how a process should be undertaken and can guide a process.
Workflow Monitoring
Since you are looking at efficiency and ways to improve it, you need some way to track the specific task. You want software that allows you to easily monitor progress on a given process so you can easily see how well you are sticking to deadlines if there are any issues in the defined process and more.
Cloud Technology
By now, most people at least have a basic understanding of the cloud. It is an off-site means of storage that provides remote access from a range of different places and protects it from any potential issues with the business site itself. Meaning, if something happens at your business, say a leak, you don’t have to worry that the machine that has the software installed may be damaged. All information is stored offsite, which increases its security and accessibility.
This is not the entire story. Feel free to check a full list of business process/ workflow management features and trends in this blog.
Conclusion
Business process management is an incredibly important part of business management in general as it helps you understand how the processes involved in the business are undertaken as well as showing you areas that could be improved. Enhanced efficiency is part and parcel of a successful business and with powerful automation software, this aspect of a business is easier to manage than ever before. Information can be logically defined, monitored, and securely protected offsite to ensure the safety of your data and information. Don’t trust, but check your own how workflow automation software can benefit your business.
