Overview
Business Process Management (BPM) is a systematic management approach aimed at improving the performance of an organization and its processes. This approach enables the company to define its processes and organize their realization (Lahajnar & Rožanec 2016). A business process is a set of logically interrelated actions or tasks, the implementation of which leads to the expected result (Hammer 2015).
Almost all organizational operations can be attributed to business processes (Harmon 2019). There are many methodologies and approaches, such as Six Sigma, Lean, and TQM, on how to improve the quality of corporate activities. None of these, however, provide a complete solution that encompasses all endeavors of the organization (Hammer 2015). The 7FE project framework was developed to address this issue.
Traditionally, project management has not been viewed as a critical aspect of BPM. Jeston and Nelis, however, claim that “without a well-run project implementation is destined to failure” (2014, p. 49). They also believe that without proper management, implementations of BPM projects will not succeed. The 7FE framework concentrates on improving the management of BPM projects to enhance all business processes. Among all the phases of this framework, the Implement phase is the most critical one.
Importance of Develop and Implement Phases
According to the 7FE framework, there are ten phases when implementing a BPM project. The Develop and Implement steps take place after the management determines an organization strategy and process architecture for all BPM projects to ensure their consistency. During the Develop, the project team prepares all components that are required for implementation. This phase is as detailed as possible, from creating requirement sets for any software solutions that will be used or created, to chairs, desks, and buildings for people involved. The Implementation phase is where all designed activities and processes are fulfilled.
The Implement phase is one of the last parts of the 7FE framework but is considered at the start of each project. The decision on how the project will be implemented will influence many parts of the project, such as the design of the processes, how they will be developed, and how they will be tested (Jeston & Nelis 2014). This decision will continually evolve over the project lifecycle, accepting that the method implementation may alter (Jeson & Nelis 2014). The Implement phase shapes the Develop phase despite coming after it. Thus, the role of the Implement phase is more predominant as its influence remains throughout the whole lifecycle, so this fact must not be overlooked.
Conclusion
The 7FE framework provides tools to successfully design and develop BPM projects that are consistent throughout the organization. Each organization may sequence the phases differently. The magnitude of importance of each stage is also subject to a differentiation between various companies. The Implement phase determines the overall course of the project and dictates what resources are required and how the project is designed. Other steps, including the Develop phase, are influenced by the decisions on implementation, thus are of lesser importance than the Implement phase.
Reference List
Hammer, M 2015, ‘What is business process management?’, in JV Brocke & M Rosemann (eds), Handbook on business process management 1, Springer, Berlin, pp. 3-16.
Harmon, P 2019, Business process change: a business process management guide for managers and process professionals, 4th edn, Morgan Kaufmann, Cambridge, MA.
Jeston, J & Nelis J 2014, Business process management: practical guidelines to successful implementations, Routledge, London.
Lahajnar, S & Rožanec, A 2016, ‘The evaluation framework for business process management methodologies’, Management: Journal of Contemporary Management Issues, vol. 5, no. 4, pp. 47-69.