A transformed business needs transformed processes, too

All effective business transformations require a closer look at the processes that are driving operations and that constitute the core of the transformation. This point is sometimes forgotten by companies who are focused on large technology delivery programs. They overlook the need for business process management (BPM), which means they are at risk of either under-delivering on business value or even failing to deliver it entirely.

Accenture works with all major BPM software providers on client projects, so I have frequently seen how BPM can be a key enabler for a major change program. What’s even better is that it’s never too late to apply BPM to a transformation project — before, during or after — to increase business value. BPM is vital to help businesses move further and faster so they can keep pace with change.

There are many technologies and capabilities under the BPM umbrella — for example, business process design, process mining, monitoring, analytics and automation. Each has merits in its own right, but at Accenture, we are a strong advocate of bringing the various elements of process lifecycle management, process mining and automation together in a holistic approach to BPM — managing the flow of data to optimize the interactions among people, processes and technology. The key is helping our clients move forward faster by creating more intuitive, data-driven organizations that use their processes as a way to truly flourish. Making that happen depends on what we refer to as “The How Effect ” — how you define your BPM destination, how Accenture can help you understand the workings of your current business processes, and then determining how to best get you to your destination — leveraging things like automation to improve the end-to-end business experience both internally and externally.

For an organization that doesn’t start from zero, BPM typically begins with process mining to understand how business processes are working, interacting and performing. This gathers data for a precise, real-time view of how the organization really works. This has often been an eye-opener in many of the projects I’ve been involved with. Almost every time we apply mining capabilities, users are often extremely surprised about the number of variants they actually run, for processes that were considered “standard.” When those variants are identified and analyzed, processes can be optimized so that data can flow freely and be used everywhere, enabling analysis and continuous improvement across all dimensions.

Overcoming challenges
Most companies have some existing BPM capabilities in place — for example:

· Appointed process owners

· Process management software — e.g., business process repositories and automation tools

· Process improvement skills and programs

· A BPM organizational unit/center of excellence

At many enterprises, however, these capabilities are not implemented consistently. For example, process documentation is outdated and not comprehensive. Or they may not be sufficiently embedded in digital transformation journeys.

BPM in RISE with SAP

SAP refers to BPM as “business process intelligence” (BPI) and it has bundled BPI, based on its recently acquired Signavio solutions, in its RISE with SAP offer. I believe this gives SAP clients a great way to put BPI into practice. It would be a missed opportunity if this valuable component were left on the shelf during a major business and technology program, because BPI lays the foundation for the intelligent enterprise of the future.

BPI solutions from SAP provide end-to-end capabilities for strategic process transformation and the reinvention of customer experiences. Process intelligence delivers next-generation process mining at scale, providing powerful fact-based insights into potential risks and ongoing improvement opportunities for smarter business decisions.

With process intelligence from SAP Signavio, organizations can:

· Run in-depth process analysis for actionable improvement

· Evaluate change alternatives and implement leading practices

· Establish smart diagnostics to test weaknesses and run simulations

· Optimize processes for RPA, hyper-automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning

· Power SAP S/4HANA transformations

· Specify accurate customer behaviors for improved journeys

BPM in SOAR with Accenture

SOAR with Accenture combines our industry content, cloud expertise, extensibility architecture and end-to-end delivery services, optimized for deployment with RISE with SAP.

We apply our holistic BPM approach, which is in sync with SAP Business Process Intelligence, to any SAP S/4HANA-based business transformation — using SAP’s solutions to help you accelerate and de-risk the platform transformation by:

· Establishing process mining capabilities to visualize how processes are executed in reality.

· Using roles in the BPM network for program staffing (e.g., design authority, change agents).

· Establishing process automation to reduce effort and increase reliability for adjacent processes (platform input).

· Creating monitoring capabilities to track benefits of the digital transformation.

· Using mining capabilities to manage change triggered by frequent release upgrades such as SaaS solutions.

We draw on a leading portfolio of research and thought leadership to define your process architecture as a whole so that you can seamlessly weave new processes into the fabric of your business. We make process the glue that binds human ingenuity and technology together, which ultimately helps you achieve your business goals.

And we create an enhanced BPM capability for clients by using:

· Process monitoring to ensure processes remain streamlined

· Process mining insights to identify automation opportunities beyond the platform scope

· Enhanced process mining capabilities — e.g., simulation and risk management

In today’s business landscape, operating with old, legacy processes is one of the biggest obstacles to digital transformation. Time-honored processes and routines can get in the way of a transformation because people are so focused on what they usually do that they have a hard time performing in a new process environment. This situation requires effective change management programs.

I’d love to hear from you about your experiences with BPM, and how Accenture can help you with your own business transformation.