The truth is that BPM will typically require elements of all of these approaches, so CIOs must thoroughly understand the types of processes they want to transform and how the BPMS will fit into their unique enterprise architecture.

The category is maturing: 2006 has seen continued growth in the number of formal BPMS RFPs issued by corporations. Because most of the leading BPMSs can easily address the requirements found in a typical package selection or pilot project, CIOs must expand on typical due diligence to include real-world scalability testing, hands-on involvement of business users, and careful evaluation of similar customer implementations. Many vendors will be able to meet the functional checklists; the goal is to ensure a good fit with the organization’s approach to operational innovation.

Integration Is Key

BPMS solutions should be integrated for reasons of both speed and innovation. Be wary of BPMSs that require the process definition to be exported from one module and then imported into the next (such as between definition, simulation, execution and reporting modules). This "bucket brigade" approach increases development time and discourages process innovation. According to Anico’s Kirkham, every BPM solution must go through multiple iterations both to discover the right process and to change with the needs of the business. This requires tight coupling between the process models and the actual execution and management of those processes.

As important as the BPMS feature set is how well the platform brings people and other applications into the new process. Cincinnati Bell leveraged the ability of Bluespring Software’s BPMS to bring Microsoft Office apps into its quote-to-cash process. The new process reduced deal cycle time by 65 percent and finance labor time by 75 percent by eliminating manual activity related to the interaction between sales and finance on the viability and pricing of custom orders (see related graphic on www.051506.com).

In part of the new process, financial analysts receive prepopulated spreadsheets via e-mail. They conduct the necessary analysis and then e-mail the spreadsheet back so that it can go on to the next step in the process. The Bluespring software orchestrates this process and provides the necessary linkage to financial data and other systems. "The benefit is that you don’t change the way people work, you just eliminate the administrative tasks and let them focus on the parts of their job that add value," says Chip Burke, VP of IT for Cincinnati Bell.

BPM and SOA

A good first step to implementing a BPMS is to "develop a simple and flexible integration architecture, especially if the BPM application will be used as a monitoring or orchestration layer placed on top of existing transactional applications," says Dennis Korevitski, former director of supply chain systems for T-Mobile. If a service-oriented architecture (SOA) or middleware layer already exists, BPM platforms can leverage this investment by rapidly orchestrating available services into a business process. For example, T-Mobile implemented Lombardi Software’s TeamWorks BPMS to recover lost revenue from a complex returns process. The process involves customers and OEMs as well as internal financial and customer care groups. TeamWorks was able to take advantage of some existing integration points in T-Mobile’s Tibco infrastructure, allowing the BPM team to focus on improving the process.