Seeing the BPM Process is Believing

I recently commented on this eBizQ forum on "What is the single greatest benefit of BPM?" here:

"The biggest benefit to me is the simplistic view: that BPM represents the process that actually gets executed, in a visual model that the business can actually understand.

The "dirty little secret" of integration heretofore was that while we made neat little whiteboard sketches or UML diagrams, the business process itself would be implemented and coded behind the scenes by technicians in a way that probably didn't resemble the process at all.

The inability of business stakeholders to be involved in real process design - because it used to be an exclusively technical endeavor - is exactly what created disconnects between requirements and delivery. So in my opinion, the visual model of an executable business process itself is the most important benefit of BPM."

This got me thinking further about how both the business expert and the software dev/test organization should get a literal big-picture view of any analogous technical activity, rather than work from two different blueprints or interfaces.

Why was a computer with a mouse better, when at the time an expert user could certainly work much faster using keyboard shortcuts? Why is a multi-touch phone better, when discrete keys clearly require less dexterity and produce fewer input mistakes? Sometimes the long-term capabilities of a more interactive UI supercede any immediate productivity hit.

Thinking of testing or development activities in a BPM view will involve some tradeoffs in efficiency over specialized interfaces, but may net better results as delivery will be much closer to requirements. In the long term, new methods for collaboration can arise from the presence of a shared visual interface as well.

We've certainly taken this to heart in thinking through shared aspects of test and dev interactivity and making our LISA Pathfinder product have a more collaborative, process-oriented UI. While both testers and coders need to drill down into specialized tools, there is something to be said for a common view that all teams can use to speed up interaction as service-based software and cloud applications become more complex and interconnected.

Comments

[outsourcing tech support]

May I ask if what is the relevance or help of BPM in Business Process Outsourcing? I would like to read some from you post. Thanks much!