19th Century BPMS

I sometime find it useful to describe a BPMS (Business Process Management System) in terms of things and people that you probably would have found in an office or factory in the 1890s:

At the center of the BPM system is a Process Manager who makes sure that each Process runs smoothly.  The Process Manager uses Process Definitions to know what all the steps of each process are, the proper sequence in which each step should be performed and which people should perform each step.

The Process Manager hands out assignments to each worker - updating each worker's Task List to insure that each worker knows what to do and when to do it.  The Process Manager also passes along any information from previous Tasks that the workers doing the remaining Tasks may need.

If a worker doesn't finish a Task on schedule, the Process Manager may escalate the Task. Escalation could take many forms - the Task might be reassigned or perhaps the worker's supervisor might be informed - It's all laid out in the Process Definition.

A great Process Manager can manage many instances of many different types of processes simultaneously (that was probably rare in the 19th century).

The workers do the work (just like they did in the 1890s) performing whatever activities are assigned to them by the Process Manager.  When a worker finishes a Task the Process Manager must be informed.

Workers in the 1890s were given detailed instructions that told them exactly what to do to accomplish their current Task along with Forms to record any information that the Process Manager or other workers needed.  In today's world the workers rely on software to guide them through each task (often in the form wizards).  Most BPMS systems run these wizards using Task Engines that can execute any Task Definition, but often custom applications are developed or adapted to perform specific Tasks.

The Process Managers primary job is to keep every process running... But that's not enough.... Are the processes efficient at accomplishing their goals?

• Workers want to know how they are doing relative to their peers.
• Bosses want to know how well their workers are doing and whether or not the company's goals and obligations are being met.
• Owners want to know how today's performance compares with that of last year... and how next year's perfomance might be better.

Everyone needs to be able to Visualize their processes in meaningful ways that can help answer their questions.

The Process Manager records all of the raw data necessary to track each process instance, but often relies on someone else to crunch the numbers and produce the meaningful reports, charts and graphs that help make sense of the processes.  I call this someone else the Process Visualizer for lack of a better title.  I'm sure there were people in 19th century offices who performed a similar function.

Ultimately it's the Process Visualizer that sets a BPM Sytem apart from a Workflow System. Without visibility into a process you can only guess on what changes might improve it. BPM is about enabling Continuous Process Improvement - so that Visualizer is key.

Their are many vendors of BPM Systems in the world, and many might take issue with some aspects of my analogies - but I think that most will agree with my broad characterizations.  

BPM Systems are made up of relatively mundane parts that would sound familiar to most 19th century Businessmen - the concepts are old - it's our technology (and people who know how to use the technology) that is making these BPM concepts transformational. 

Just imagine what could have happened in the 1890s if there had been a great Process Manager and Process Visualizer in every office and factory.