Business
Process Management Articles
Four Pillars for Business Process
Automation
Lic. Ramiro Cuentas
Gonzales, BPMInstitute Newsletter and Website, January 28,
2009.
If we want to enter in an automated processes schema, the
principle problem that we must resolve is the modeling of the
current and proposed context. Based on my experience in
process automation I can say that there exists a high-priority
necessity for the correct evaluation of the current activites of the
process one wishes to automate in order to assure the successful
future implementation of the automation of the said process, based
on four fundamental factors: maturity, process definition,
organizational culture, and managerial
drive.
Closing the IT and Business
Divide
Daniel J. Madison, BPMInstitute
Newsletter and Website, February
11, 2009.
Millions of dollars spent, countless hours wasted, and
frustrated business users seem to be fairly standard outcomes when
IT and business try to work together. While this problem seems
apparent, little progress has been made. What is
happening?
The Systems
Viewpoint
Charles L.Owen, BPMInstitute Website and Newsletter, February
16, 2008.
Systems thinking has been around for quite a while; in the
1960's it was the subject du jour. Very good articles and books
were written then bringing cogent ideas from academic study to the
rest of the world - two of the author's favorite books were C. West
Churchman's The System's Approach and The
Design of Inquiring Systems. But times change, and
there is good reason to look again at the systems approach.
Improving Process Model Quality to Drive BPM Project
Success
Glenn Smith, BPM.com Newsletter and Website, February 6,
2009.
In recent years, use of BPM systems
as a platform for custom business application development has
accelerated. Many organizations have achieved significant
benefits in efficiency, consistency and transparency of their
business operations. Unfortunately, other organizations have
achieved less than expected. In some respects this is not
surprising. Developing applications on a BPM platform is a new
development paradigm, and in some aspects it requires a new mindset
to ensure a successful outcome. A key element is re-thinking
the approach to initial process design.
Practical Process: The Compelling Reasons for
BPM
Roger Tregear, Leonardo
Consulting , BPTrends Newsletter and Website, February,
2009.
Roger Tregear explains his enthusiasm for BPM and presents
issues such as what creates success, what causes failure, and most
importantly, perhaps, how to sell BPM to management.
Creating a Process-Focused
Organization
Dennis
Rohan, BPTrends Newsletter and Website, February,
2009
A true process-focused organization
cannot emerge until the company resolves the divide between
technical functions such as BPM, which supports organization-wide
change, and those functions that back shorter range process
subsystems improvement techniques such as Lean, Six Sigma, TQM, and
Quality Circles.
Tips for Avoiding Common Metrics
Challenges
Abash Chandra, Tata Consultancy Services,
iSixSigma Newsletter and Website, February 23,
2009
Missing the right metrics poses a great risk
to business decision-making processes. Decisions made in the absence
of data or with the wrong data can result in cost overruns, schedule
slippages, quality issues, dissatisfied customers and canceled
projects. With the right metrics and an efficient analysis
framework, however, companies can baseline current performance, set
performance targets, identify opportunities for improvement, and
enable course correction to meet goals and objectives.
Process, Product and People: 3P Approach to
Quality
K.Sundararajan, iSixSigma Newsletter and
Website, February 16,
2008.
Quality
management should be a holistic approach. Process, product and people are the three key elements of
a company’s quality system and all of them need to be focused on for
an overall improvement in performance.
Business
Process Outsourcing Articles
Top Emerging Outsourcing
Cities
Business Week,
Tholons Globalization Review Newsletter and
Website, February 2009.
Meet Tomorrow's Outsourcing Centers -
Companies are
finding that in some cases, the best place to send work offshore is
off the beaten path.
The Indian BPO Industry: Batlling The Economic
Downturn
The ValueNotes Newsletter, and
Website, February 18,
2009.
The current
business environment is not quite encouraging. Several businesses
have a not so bright outlook for the coming months. The total 'value
of contracts' witnessed a significant dip in 2008 as compared to the
previous year.
Imperatives in
Offshoring
The ValueNotes
Newsletter, and Website,
February 11, 2009.
Offshoring
has been driven by the ubiquitous 'cost advantage' offered in a
lower cost location. In a scenario of financial instability in
global markets, questions about India post-Satyam and 26/11, the BPO
industry is facing increasing margin pressures
Will The Economic Downturn Impact Publishing Industry
and Offshoring?
The ValueNotes Newsletter, and
Website, February 4
2009.
As the
world is coming to terms with the widespread impact of the financial
crisis, every company in the industry is playing cautious. Leading
publishers of STM and educational content have been performing well
at an average growth of 5-6% over the last few years compared to the
newspaper publishers that have been grappling with survival issues.
How will the global publishing industry fare in an economically
challenging environment? And how will their difficulties impact
offshoring?
Selecting the Best Business Process Improvement
Efforts
J. De Layne Stroud, CSI De Leeuw, iSixSigma Financial Services Newsletter and
Website, February 4,
2009.
A business process improvement (BPI)
effort is a systematic approach to help any organization optimize
its underlying processes to achieve more efficient results. I use
"effort" rather than "project" because I have found that using this
terminology results in more motivation and less pushback on the part
of Green Belts. After all, effort is truly what we are
striving for.
Understanding the Purpose and Use of
Benchmarking
J.Delayne Stroud, DeLeeuw
Associates, iSixSigma Newsletter and
Website, February 19,
2009.
Benchmarking
is a way of discovering what is the best performance being achieved
– whether in a particular company, by a competitor or by an entirely
different industry. This information can then be used to identify
gaps in an organization's processes in order to achieve a
competitive advantage.
Adjusting Continuous Improvement in Hard Economic
Times
Chris Jordan,
Snowden Consulting, iSixSigma Newsletter and Website, February 9,
2009.
The events of
the last few months can only be described as an economic perfect
storm. Both junior companies and large conglomerates around the
world went from planning their next multi-million (or billion)
dollar expansion to putting projects on hold and cutting production,
seemingly overnight. The focus should now be on managing costs,
controlling expenses and improving efficiencies. It is the perfect
time for continuous improvement initiatives to step up and show
their worth. These initiatives, however, need to adjust their
strategies so that the most value is returned in the shortest period
of time.
Notable
News
Wal-Mart's IT Group Has Come a Long
Way: Is India Next?
Thomas Wailgum, CIO Insight Newsletter and Website, February 18,
2009.
Wal-Mart, famous for its high-flying IT group that until
recent years refused to use packaged applications instead of
home-grown apps, is now reportedly evaluating a business process
outsourcing (BPO) contract in India. Outsourcing tasks such as
procurement, merchandising and payroll would be a stunning new
chapter in Wal-Mart's IT story.
Top 10 Outsourcing Vendors Score Big in Indian IT
Services Market
Zafar Anjum, CIO Insight
Newsletter and Website, February 17. 2009.
The
top ten leading vendors cornered a 39 percent share in the US$4.8
billion Indian IT services market in 2008.
13 Reasons Outsourcing Deals Don't Get
Done
CIO Insight
Newsletter and
Website, February 4,
2009.
Demand for outsourcing
dropped 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 from the previous
quarter, according to sourcing firm EquaTerra’s poll of outsourcing
service providers and its own advisors. The study also investigated
the primary reasons why outsourcing deals get delayed, altered or
killed altogether.
How to Make Offshore Outsourcing
Deals Withstand Crisis Situations
Dean Davison, CIO Insight Newsletter and
Website, January 16,
2009.
The Satyam fiasco. Economic
recession and budget cuts. These 5 tips will help IT departments
create effective contingency plans to transfer services back in
house or to another service provider when the unexpected happens.
Satyam's Crisis Will Spawn New Outsourcing
Models
Marianne Kolbasuk
McGee, InformationWeek
Newsletter and
Website, January 28,
2008.
In the past, IT services
vendors often resisted terms clients tried to include in their
offshoring contracts. But in the aftermath of Satyam's financial
fraud mess, outsourcers will be more willing to bend on client
demands, especially if they're anxious to pick up work from Satyam's
ex-customers.
Business Intelligence Makes Insurers More-Competitive
Risk Managers
Anthony O'Donnell,
Insurance and Technology, February 10,
2009.
For most insurers, business intelligence means point
solutions at best. But those carriers that weave analytics into the
fabric of their organizations are equipped to drive more precision
in pricing and greater profitability to the bottom
line.
Research Reveals Most Agents Are Using Real Time
Functionality
Katherine Burger,
Insurance and Technology, February 10,
2009.
Increasing numbers of agents and brokers are leveraging
real-time technology tools to handle policy rating and sales, manage
customer inquiries, and deliver service, according to new research
produced by a coalition of organizations that represent the
independent agency system.
ERM Push Among Banks
Intensifies
Maria Bruno-Britz,
Bank Systems & Technology, February 19,
2009.
Financial institutions are taking a
more serious look at enterprise risk management as they seek ways to
cope with the new risk-averse banking
climate.
Notable Events
13th
Annual American Shared Services Week
March 22
- March 27, 2009, Orlando, FL, IQPC
Gartner Business Process Management
Summit
March 23 - March 25, 2009,
San Diego, CA, Gartner
10th Annual Process Excellence Summit London
April 21 - April 22, 2009, London, UK.
IQPC
10th Business Process Management Summit
April 27 - April 29, 2009, Miami, FL.
IQPC
9th Annual Shared Services & Outsourcing
Week
May 11 - May 14, 2009,
Budapest, Hungary, IQPC
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