Process Management | What is Process Management? [Quick Guide]

Key Process Management Capabilities

Analysis

Business analysts review current workflows, interview participants, and discuss desired outcomes with management. The goal is to gain an understanding of how things are done and if the results are aligning with the business expectations. For instance, “What is the current method for handling customer merchandise returns and what has the impact been on revenue and profit?”
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Definition

Process definition is a significant undertaking and involves scoping, prioritizing, and mapping business processes. Some efforts will simply begin defining the future, desired state while others, depending on the situation, will map current state processes first.

Monitoring

Key performance indicators need to be established (often in the process definition phase) so metrics can be tracked against them. This can be done through reports or dashboards and can focus on the macro or micro indicators (an entire process vs. process segments).

Optimization

With effective tracking in place, an organization can effectively steer operations toward optimization or process improvement with agility. This means using process management tools in identifying process bottlenecks, resource issues, etc., and finding ways to improve the process on a regular basis. Business Process Optimization (BPO) is the redesign of processes to foster efficiency and strengthen the alignment of individual processes with a comprehensive strategy and goals. A BPM initiative may include BPO efforts but it also provides a robust framework for driving the organization through the major changes that arise from regulatory policies, adoption of new technologies, restructuring, growth, or marketplace dynamics.