Choosing your first BPM Project

One of the key questions organizations implementing Business Process Management (BPM) often ask is “Which project should be implemented as the first project?”. The answer to this question is very important since the first project is the initial proof point for the entire BPM initiative. Organizations should select the first project carefully focusing on delivering measurable results in a short span of time since it can set the pace for the entire BPM implementation. Here, let’s explore few do’s and don’ts for choosing the first BPM project.

DO’S:

Measurable: The first project can be referred as a benchmark to understand the business value of future projects. Hence, the first project should provide measurable business value that can justify further investments.

Quick: The first project is a good place to demonstrate the end results in short span of time. So, the first project should deliver in quick turnaround time with limited time scope to achieve the business value quickly.

Address the pain point: Make sure the first project solves a pain point that BPM addresses easily rather than just replacing an existing system. It will be good to focus on addressing a pain problem and show immediate return of investment to move quickly into BPM.

Focus on featuring capabilities: It’s a good practice to focus on featuring the capabilities of the product selected for implementing the BPM in the first project. This will help the key participants to understand the major features of the product that helps to build the base for future projects.

DON’TS:

Complex integrations: Avoid complex integrations with external dependencies. This can cause delay in delivering the first project on time perhaps due to technical difficulties such as integrations that are not well defined or that do not follow open data exchange standards.

Projects without a clear vision:  Avoid projects that do not have a clear vision or have poorly defined requirements.

Projects with large data transformation: Avoid projects with large data transformations or migrations. These projects may be quite time consuming for a first implementation and might not add any new business value to the organization.

Don’t just replace the system: Don’t just replace a system without improving it. If an application simply replaces a system that already exists, then it’s hard to demonstrate the business value of BPM implementation. Always make sure that the first project is adding value and improving the existing system and not just replacing an older way of doing something.

To summarize, it is important to choose the first BPM project which can provide a measurable success story and it can be a foundation for future projects. The above Do’s and Don’ts can serve as good guidelines to choose your first BPM project. Should you require expertise for your first BPM implementation, please contact us at info@polariseme.com