Every business is a collection of processes. They coordinate how every department and system needs to operate in order to fulfill their responsibilities and accomplish the shared business goals.
In this section, you will find guides on how these processes should be managed, documented, and optimized, and why it is important for every organization to invest in BPM.
What is business process management (BPM)?
The BPM Institute defines business process management (BPM) as the "definition, improvement, and management of a firm's end-to-end enterprise business processes in order to achieve three outcomes crucial to a performance-based, customer-driven firm":
- Clarity on strategic direction
- Alignment of the firm's resources
- Increased discipline in daily operations
As your business grows, so does the importance of BPM. The way your organization operates inevitably becomes more complex over time: there are more people, more tasks, and more steps, all of which need to be arranged in the most efficient way possible. That is the ultimate objective of business process management.
Process mapping
Process mapping gives you a visual view of how work moves from start to finish. A map can show the steps involved, where decisions happen, how work passes between people, and where delays or unnecessary steps may be hiding.
It is especially useful when a process has become difficult to explain or when different people have different ideas about how it is supposed to work.
Process documentation and SOPs
A process map shows the flow of work, but people often need more detail to carry it out. Process documentation records the instructions, responsibilities, exceptions, and other context someone needs to follow a process without relying on memory or word of mouth.
When a procedure needs to be performed consistently, that documentation may take the form of a standard operating procedure (SOP). SOPs are especially useful for recurring work where missed steps, errors, or staff changes can disrupt operations.
BPM software
Software can help teams make processes visible and keep the written instructions close to the work itself. What you need depends on whether the main challenge is mapping the workflow, documenting it in detail, or keeping both in one place.
Process mapping tools
These guides compare tools for visualizing workflows, mapping business processes, and creating flowcharts.
Process documentation tools
If the main goal is to keep procedures clear and easy to update, start with software built around shared process documentation.
