Unit 2.4

Business Process Management (BPM)

IT 233: Business Information Systems

What is BPM?

Business Process Management (BPM) is a management discipline that treats business processes as strategic assets to be continuously improved.

It is not just a technology or a one-time project.

Systematic Approach: A structured way to manage and optimize.
Strategic Alignment: Ensures processes support business goals.
Holistic: Encompasses people, systems, and data ("The Orchestration").

The BPM Lifecycle

BPM is a continuous cycle of 5 phases:

Design: Defining the ideal process.
Model: Visualizing and simulating.
Execute: Implementing (often with software).
Monitor: Tracking performance in real-time.
Optimize: analyzing and improving data.

Then the cycle repeats!

Interactive: Sequence the BPM Lifecycle

Instructor: Ask the class to order the phases before checking on screen.

Sequence the BPM Lifecycle

Click the phases in the correct order (1 = first, 5 = last)

Phase 1: Process Design 📝

Before you can improve, you must define.

Identify: What are the existing processes?
"As-Is" vs. "To-Be": Map the current state and design the ideal future state.
Strategic Goals: ensure the process design actually helps the business achieve its objectives (e.g., faster delivery, lower cost).

Interactive: As-Is vs To-Be Sort

Instructor: Have pairs sort statements, then Check Answers together.

As-Is vs. To-Be: Sort the Statements

Click a statement to select it, then click a column to place it

As-Is (Current State)

To-Be (Future State)

Phase 2: Process Modeling 📊

Visualizing the Flow

Who does what?
When does it happen?
Where are the handoffs?

"What-If" Analysis

Simulate the process before building it.
Test different scenarios (e.g., "What if order volume doubles?").
Ideally done without disrupting actual operations.

✏️ How Processes Are Drawn: BPMN Basics

BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) is the standard "language" for process diagrams. Version 2.0 was published by the OMG in 2011.

Symbol	Name	Meaning
◯ (thin circle)	Start event	What triggers the process
▭ (rounded box)	Task	A piece of work done by a person or system
◇ (diamond)	Gateway	A decision point: the flow splits ("Approved? Yes / No")
→ (solid arrow)	Sequence flow	The order of steps
◉ (thick circle)	End event	Where the process finishes

Swimlanes group tasks by who performs them, so every hand-off is visible.

🎬 Watch: BPMN in 70 Seconds

What-If Process Simulator

Drag the slider to change daily order volume and see how process metrics respond

Daily Order Volume: 100 orders

Phase 3: Process Execution ▶️

Turning the model into reality.

This phase often relies on a BPMS (Business Process Management Suite).

Automation: System handles routine tasks automatically.
Human Intervention: System routes tasks to the right people when human judgment is needed.
Enforcement: Ensures everyone follows the defined rules.

🎬 Watch: Software Runs the Process

Phase 4: Process Monitoring 📹

You cannot manage what you do not measure.

Real-time Tracking: Monitor individual cases (e.g., "Where is Order #123?").
KPIs (Key Performance Indicators):
- Cycle Time (How long does it take?)
- Defect Rate (How many errors?)
- Cost per Transaction
Dashboards: Visual displays for managers to spot issues immediately.

KPI Identification Challenge

🎬 Watch: Process Mining

Phase 5: Process Optimization 🔧

Closing the loop.

Analyze Data: Use the monitoring data to find bottlenecks.
Identify Improvements: What can be done better/faster/cheaper?
Feed back to Design: The output of Optimization becomes the input for the next Design phase.

This creates a cycle of Continuous Improvement.

🏥 Illustrative Example: BPM Lifecycle for Hospital Lab Reports

Hypothetical hospital with made-up numbers for teaching, not a real case.

Design: Goal: blood-test reports reach the doctor within 3 hours, not the current 6.
Model: Draw sample collection → lab → verification → report in BPMN. A what-if run shows the single verifying doctor is the bottleneck at peak hours.
Execute: The BPMS routes normal results for automatic release, and sends only abnormal results to the verifying doctor.
Monitor: The dashboard shows average cycle time falling to 2.5 hours, but the error rate for mislabelled samples stays at 2%.
Optimize: Add barcode labels at the collection desk, and feed this back into the next Design round.

Improvement: (6 − 2.5) ÷ 6 ≈ 58% faster, and the cycle continues.

BPM Suites (BPMS)

BPMS is an integrated set of software tools that automates and manages BPM processes.

Core Components

Modeling Tool: Drag-and-drop designer.
Workflow Engine: The "brain" that moves tasks.
Business Rules Engine: "If X, then Y" logic.

BPM vs. BPI vs. BPR

How do they fit together?

Concept	Focus
BPM	Holistic Discipline
BPI	Incremental Improvement
BPR	Radical Redesign

Quick check — BPM, BPI, or BPR?

Instructor: Call on a student/group to classify each Nepal scenario.

Classify the Business Change

☂️ How BPM Unifies BPI and BPR

BPM is the umbrella: the ongoing system for managing all processes. BPI and BPR are two tools it can choose between.

The Monitor phase reveals how each process is performing.
In Optimize, managers decide: is the gap small? Use BPI (tune the existing process).
Is the process fundamentally broken, or has strategy changed? Use BPR (redesign from a clean slate).
Either way, the result goes back into Design, and the BPMS executes and monitors the new version.

Without BPM, BPI and BPR are one-off projects. With BPM, improvement never stops.

🧪 Activity: Model a Leave Request in BPMN

In pairs, 2 minutes: An employee requests leave. The manager approves or rejects it. If approved, HR updates the leave record and the employee is notified. Sketch it with BPMN symbols and two swimlanes (Employee, Manager / HR).

◯ Start: employee needs leave → ▭ Submit request (Employee lane)
▭ Manager reviews → ◇ Gateway: Approved?
Yes → ▭ HR updates leave record → ▭ Notify employee → ◉ End
No → ▭ Notify employee with reason → ◉ End

Count the lane crossings. Each one is a hand-off a BPMS can track automatically.

Summary & Key Takeaways

🎯 BPM is a Discipline: It's a continuous management practice, not a one-off event.
🎯 The 5 Phases: Design -> Model -> Execute -> Monitor -> Optimize.
🎯 BPMS: Technology that enables scalable BPM by automating workflow and monitoring.
🎯 Agility: BPM allows organizations to adapt quickly to change by continuously tweaking their operations.

Exam Practice 📝

Short answer

What is business process management (BPM)?
List the phases of the BPM lifecycle.
What is a BPMS?

Exam Practice 📝 (continued)

Long answer

Explain the BPM lifecycle with an example of a process from a college, bank, or hospital.
Discuss the role of business process management suites (BPMS) and how BPM unifies BPI and BPR.

Revise the answers in the full note.

Discussion

Why is it important to "Model" a process before "Executing" it?
Can you have BPM without software (BPMS)? Why or why not?