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Business
Process Management Articles
Deciding on the Right Level of Business Process
Documentation
Sandra
Lusk, BPM Institute Newsletter and Website, March 19,
2008.
While the reasons for doing process documentation should be
clearly communicated and accepted, it is equally as important that
the type of documentation required be understood and consistent to
meet the needs of the organization. When an organization does not
fully understand the types of process documentation it has or needs,
it is in danger of not only lacking what it needs for periodic
reviews, audits, financial and operational compliance but also for
sustaining the health of the organization. Monitoring and continuous
improvement of business processes requires that they be documented
to the level of detail needed to be effectively communicated,
understood and applied.
The Human Performance
System
Alan Ramias, Performance
Design Lab, BPM Institute Website and Newsletter, February 15,
2008.
The human performance system (HPS) is a model that
describes the variables influencing the behavior of a person in a
work system. The model is based on several important tenets: a.
Every organization is a complex system designed to transform inputs
into valued outputs for customers. b. Every performer, from CEO to
line worker, inside any organization is also part of a unique
personal performance system. c. When an individual fails to
produce a desired outcome in an organization, it is due to the
failure of one or more components of that person’s
HPS.
Competing with Process
Innovation
Jim
Sinur,
Global 360, BPTrends Website and Newsletter, March 4,
2008.
While most organizations are discovering the monetary and
time saving rewards of BPM, there are a growing number of
organizations that are using BPM to innovate with processes. While
process innovation delivers the “hard” benefits of saving time and
money, it can also bring about some surprising “cool” softer
benefits as well. In this column, Jim Sinur presents examples of
soft benefits that have come about in organizations that have
embraced leveraging processes for innovation.
Business Process Management : The Right Way to Do
It
Smita Sharma, BPTrends Newsletter and Website, March
4, 2008.
In
her experience as a Business Process Management consultant, Smita
Sharma has encountered many BPM initiatives gone awry, because they
are undertaken from an IT perspective and ultimately become just
another IT application. The solution, she maintains, is a paradigm
shift in which BPM is embedded in the organization’s culture.
Integrate Process
Towers
Steven E. Arbogast, BI Review Newsletter and Website,
March 13, 2008.
While there are any number of things that can go wrong
within a process tower, the greatest exposure tends to exist at the
handoffs, when one process tower interacts with another. These are
the “message in a bottle” moments, when an entire deliverable hangs
in the balance, and the smallest misinterpretation can result in
project failure.
Ventana Research Assesses the Use of
BI in Operations
Editorial Staff, DM
Review Website and Newsletter, March 18, 2008
Benchmark research from Ventana Research, sponsored by DM
Review, substantiates the view that operational BI is an important
tool for performance management.
Business Process Management Focus Shifts to People,
Change
Linda Tucci, SearchCIO Newsletter and
Website, February 6 2008.
It's
not your daddy's BPM. A new economic reality is forcing some
companies to look more broadly at their business processes and move
from a "build-to-last" approach toward designing business processes
that are built for change.
Business
Process Outsourcing Articles
Pros and Cons of Offshore
Locales
CIO Insight Newsletter and Website, March 4,
2008.
Not all nations are alike. A look at
the pros and cons of top outsourcing destinations.
How Will Outsourcing and Offshoring Impact Women in
Technology?
Keith Hanks, CIO Insight Website and Newsletter,
March 18,
2008.
Women
have played a key role in technology from the first computer program
in the 1800s to C-level leadership positions today. How will
outsourcing and offshoring affect their roles in the future?
Outsourcing: The Pros and Cons of
Offshore Remote Infrastructure
Management
Stephani Overby, CIO Insight Newsletter and
Website, March 18,
2008.
Remote infrastructure management outsourcing—the hot buzzword
for off-shoring IT operations work—is big business for India's IT
services providers and a competitive imperative for U.S.-based
outsourcers. But it may not be right for you.
Indian MRO Industry: Moving Up The Value
Chain
ValueNotes Database
Newsletter and
Website, March 19,
2008.
The Indian
Market Research Outsourcing industry is estimated at $148 m in FY07
and is expected to reach $450 m by 2010 at CAGR of 35%. The growth
will be largely driven by rapid expansion of its operations and
simultaneously moving up the value chain.
5 Lean Tools and Principles to Integrate into Six
Sigma
Shubhajit
Roy,
Tata Consultancy Services, iSixSigma Newsletter and Website,
March 17, 2008.
Increasingly, organizations that use Six Sigma
are making an effort to integrate Lean into their existing
process-improvement framework. For many, combining Six Sigma's focus
on process quality and Lean's emphasis on turn-around time results
in more high-impact, quick-hit projects. To gain this advantage,
however, organizations must face a difficult obstacle: integrating
Lean without creating ripples in the existing Six Sigma structure.
If the Lean introduction is not done properly, it can lead to more
pitfalls than successes.
Middle-Out Change is Difficult - But
Doable
Eric
Carter, George Consulting Group, ISixSigma Finance
Newsletter and Website,
March 19, 2008.
There are many
stories written about successful top-down change, but few about
successful middle-out change – probably because the latter is much
more difficult to achieve than the former. Sometimes, however,
middle-out change is the only option – and with the right leader,
success is possible. The following story, which took place at a
North American-based publicly traded company, serves as an
example.
5 Tips for Applying Six Sigma from
Three Top Hospitals
Elaine Schmidt, iSixSigma
Healthcare Newsletter and Website, March 12,
2008.
Six
Sigma leaders from three of America's premier healthcare
institutions recently shared their experiences with iSixSigma
Magazine. These institutions are applying the method in order to
improve operations and, ultimately, patient care. They offered the
following advice for hospitals considering deployments of their own.
Although some basics apply to Six Sigma deployment in any setting,
Belts who use this tool in a healthcare environment face special
challenges - and deep rewards. Advice from those who have
successfully improved processes at top hospitals may help others to
do the same.
Notable
News
The Benefits of Outsourcing for Small
Businesses
New York Times Website, January1,
2008.
Small companies routinely outsource their
payroll processing, accounting, distribution, and many other
important functions -- often because they have no other choice.But
not many businesses thoroughly understand the benefits of
outsourcing. It's true that outsourcing can save money, but that's
not the only (or even the most important) reason to do it.
What Will a Recession Mean for IT
Outsourcing?
Deb Perelman, eWeek Newsletter and Website, March 6,
2008.
Analysts
don't think a recession is likely to slow the pace at which U.S. IT
jobs are going overseas.
India's Outsourcing Industry Sets
$50B Revenue Target
AFB Website,
January 28, 2008.
India's outsourcing industry on Tuesday set itself the
goal of lifting revenue almost five-fold to 50 billion dollars by
the end of 2012 by tapping new markets and a booming local
economy..
IT Firms Cross-sell Additional
Services to Beat Slowdown Blues
Vishwanath Kulkarni, liveMint.com Website, February 4,
2008.
For Indian IT vendors, the current exposure to the IT budgets
of large Fortune 500 firms is small.
The
Evolution of IT Jobs
Julia King, CIO
Newsletter and Website,
February 20, 2008.
Outsourcing, globalization and the commoditization of
technology have changed the shape of IT departments and the jobs in
them. Seven companies show how these trends are changing their IT
shops. Central IT departments may soon become a vestige of the past.
Insurance IT Spending Slowdown Already Upon Us,
TowerGroup Says
David West, The Tower Group,
Insurance and Technology, March 5,
2008.
While past profits will soften the blow on IT
spending, the current down market will result in budget constraints
for North American insurers. But spending on improving ease of doing
business, agency support, customer interaction and enterprise risk
management likely will increase.
Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan Web-enables Critical
Business Functions
Lori Widmer,
Insurance and Technology, March 6,
2008.
In today's
customer-centric business environment, it is critical for insurers
to have a holistic view of their customer relationships. But with
three policy administration systems; one life and annuity system;
and separate systems for claims, billing, payments, and online
documentation and forms, Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan ($470
million in P&C premium; $10 billion in life & annuity
assets) was challenged to create a single customer view.
Bank Tech Spending in
2008
Jim Eckenrode,
The Tower Group, Bank Systems & Technology, February 21,
2008.
Though banks’ IT budgets are likely
to shrink if economic conditions worsen, demand for technologies
that improve efficiency and integration, client engagement, and
security and fraud management will continue, according to TowerGroup
research.
Notable
Events
7th Annual Lean, Six Sigma and Process Improvement in
Healthcare Summit April 1-4, 2008,
Las Vegas, NV. WCBF.
4th Annual Lean and Six Sigma Summit
April 29- May 2nd, 2008, Chicago, IL.
WCBF.
Shared Services
For The Public Sector May 5 - May
7, 2008. Alexandria, VA. IQPC
Telecoms Business Process Management
May 12 - May 15,
2008. Prague, Czechoslovakia. IIR
Conferences.
Shared Services
Exchange June 8 -
June 10, 2008. Ponte Verde Beach, FL. IQPC
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