Business Architecture & Management – Information Systems

Architecture is (normally) about buildings, cities and infrastructure (and the like). You can see it around you and everybody has an opinion about it. You either like the style of that building or you don’t and all the nuances in between.

Between the Style of an organization and the goal it pursues (although not everybody shares this approach of goal-oriented organizations) unfolds the area of systems.

Systems are a response to functional needs. A library provides the function to exhibit the public word. Accessibility is therefore an additional non-functional requirement.
Once you or your organization is aware of the functional requirements it can start building Systems providing the appropriate Construction.

This Function-and-Construction matching exists of three pairs, like the three pairs of wings of a building:

  • The organization (human resources and organizational structure) that responds to the business process.
  • The information and functions that are accommodated with systems.
  • And the non-functional requirements that are solved with infrastructure.

The metaphor of a building is not exactly appropriate, because between the different wings and each floor there are many connections…

In that way, the systems that companies use are accommodated on the middle floor and play a central role in the organization. The structure of the systems exhibits much of the style and the business priorities.

This is a list of the systems of which one or more could be present in your organization:

  • ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning. Systems that manage the internal operation.
  • SCM – Supply Chain Management. Dedicated to the management of information with third parties.
  • DMS – Document Management System. Controlling the flow of documents.
  • CMS – Content Management System. Organize content that is to be shared by everyone.
  • HRM – Human Resource Management. Systems that are to manage the human resources.
  • CMS – Contact Management System (e-mail responders for example).
  • DWH – A Warehouse of corporate client and product data.
  • TCS – Telecom Systems. A wide area of systems that manage telephone traffic.
  • …etc.

If you think that this list represents the left or right wing on the second floor, you can imagine that many powers influence this area. Every company, with whatever size, struggles with area. First because it is prominent and eye-catching; everybody is dealing with it. Managing information systems is like managing politics; everybody has an opinion about how it should be. The challenge is about managing new business and taking these systems with you…on your way…

© 2006 Hans Bool

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Business Process Management Software Leads to Efficiency

Business process management (BPM) is a concept that has been around for many years, but it really came into existence as we know it in the early 1990′s. Now, BPM software is used across many industries to not only track processes, but to improve them. Many financial institutions (FIs) rely heavily on BPM software during day-to-day business dealings. This article outlines the basic steps of BPM and how it benefits FIs.

Tracking

Using BPM software gives FIs the capability to track the many processes in their day-to-day business. Let’s use the example of a consumer applying for a credit card in the bank branch. An employee must enter the application information into the system. The system tracks which employee is entering the data, captures the required information, and passes it to the next task in the workflow. Each task is thoroughly documented and tracked through the system. This allows the FI to scrutinize the processes and their efficiency through the looking glass of the technology that makes up a BPM platform.

Reporting

Because each task within a process is tracked, the FI can review how each task contributed to the process as a whole and identify where improvements can be made. BPM software allows for advanced reporting so managers can see what processes are efficient and where potential bottlenecks are located. They can look at information such as how long, on average, it takes to open a simple account, or what type of manual review is taking the longest. This step is very important in the grand scheme of things because without accurate reporting, a FI would have no idea where to start the next step: improvement/automation.

Improvement/Automation

After the FI determines which processes need additional refining, they can then start the improvement/automation phase. Automation of processes makes decision making fast and consistent across the enterprise, which not only improves the decisions of the FI, but increases compliance with fair lending regulations which outlaw discrimination in lending. The improvement process includes automation for two reasons: first because of consumers’ demands for financial products when and where they want them and second, to decrease overhead costs by eliminating the need for manual processing. Innovative business process management software streamlines the improvements and automation of inefficient processes, which reduces the time and investment needed to make changes.

Through tracking of processes, accurate reporting, and easy improvement and automation, business process management software helps FIs to modify, create, and implement processes that will make their entire institution function more efficiently.

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Business Process Management 101: BPM Defined

Lean enterprise and business process improvement, business optimization, cost cutting TQM, quality, Six Sigma, business reengineering and other such-like initiatives, falls within the cadre of business process management.

It forms the cradle, feeding ground and impetus for making sense of, improving and capitalizing on the intricacies, dynamic elements and events that occur in our planning, conducting, practice and execution of modern business in the new economy and digital age.

It is about objectively, stepping back, diagnosing, base-lining and analyzing, then streamlining and making things more effective, changing for the better, improving, sustaining, and optimizing the processes and desired results! It attempts to objectively study, assess, measure, adapt, refine, sustain and improve business processes, defying the over-reliance on at times pure speculation, past knowledge, intuition or other ‘expert’ opinion or interpretations. It gives business wings and freedom to pursue a higher calling and standard.

Core business processes like budgeting and even capital expenditures, manufacturing, operations and even transactional, administrative processes from part of this coordinated undertaking and endeavor, introducing it into all areas of the business, conquering new frontiers, moving boundaries and bars, pursuing the gold-standard of business practice (OK, or at least get a better handle on things to start with!) Measurement tools, metrics, assessments, diagnostics, performance statistics all become critical inputs for the successful execution of the business enterprise.

At its truest core and in its purest form, BPM is a philosophy and practical method utilized in business practice today, to bring, enable, plan and structure for and into success. A deliberate attempt and approach or business management strategy, taking proactive, co-creative, data-driven, statistical and scientific method, troubleshooting and problem-solving into the business arena, optimizing efficiencies, minimizing waste and the organizations who choose to pursue it, to new heights of performance excellence and positive business results, growing profit and world-class breakthrough!

Business process management is often seen as all organizational activities that deal with optimizing or adapting these processes, as changing situations and business needs dictate. Continuity, process design, execution and monitoring, results over time, with a forward-looking eye always on the future and opportunity, human-driven processes and even workflow systems, relational data and enterprise content management strategies and solutions all find a home under this encompassing umbrella as does a lot of the quality and continuous improvement methodologies businesses choose to pursue.

The Principles of Business Process Management (BPM) and Business Process Improvement (BPI), is well known. Here is a brief synopsis of the premise, rationale, as well as the key elements of the strategy and approach with their implications for business:

o Changing the status quo, by placing your focus in the right places, at the right time, all the time! Outcomes-based and focused, results-driven and oriented, BPI proposes synergizing and optimizing all steps and elements within and through processes, by focusing on the outcome itself and not as much the routine, accepted specific tasks required to get you there and getting rid of ineffciencies.

o Customer-centric, focused and driven in all acitivity and endeavor, regardless.

o Efficient, systems and process above all – not automation for example, for the sake of using technology or getting on the band wagon of another ‘fad’ or initiative.

o The value of frequent benchmarking and measuring, ,taking the pulse, testing the waters, direction and health of your business. Gold-standards and points of reference that are quantifiable, attainable, and realistic are at the order of the day.

o Roles and responsibilities, ownership and accountability for processes and outcomes.

o Process controls and regular progress checks built in, planned, executed well and responded to, including halting the process if it gets of track or it looks like failure is imminent.

o Pursuit of deliberate planning, process-standardization and commonalities and having no mere ad hoc approach to business processes anymore – it simply is NOT accepted practice, considered good enough any more to thrive, saving money and effort as a new economy business!

o Immediate and consistently impelementing as well as executing with success over time, sustaining the efforts

o Utility and purpose of accurate metrics and measurements and implementing action based on them.

A final word in closing: In our customer-driven and empowered economy, these approaches, strategies and tools, provides us the context and means whereby we can enable enterprise capabilities and capacities, to unfold into and through business processes across applications and organizational boundaries – pro-active, co-creative and dynamically-organic way, while doing so in planned and disciplined, data-driven, monitoring and objective fashion. Which inevitably leads to us proposing to an extent, yet another refined or even new persepctive on things!

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How Insurance Companies Benefited With Business Process Management Software (BPMS)?

Insurance companies continue to face intense pressure to improve performance, increase profitability, deliver superior customer service, and increase shareholder returns. In recent years, Business Process Management (BPM) has emerged as a proven technology that helps insurers meet these business objectives and gain competitive advantage. Following are some of the key advantages delivered by BPM for insurance companies.

Benefits

Improve profitability & lower expense ratios:

Process automation leads to significant cost savings due to reduction in manual effort, elimination of unnecessary tasks, and so an overall increase in operational efficiencies. BPM deployed on an enterprise-wide scale helps companies increase profits and improve their business performance, thus making them potential candidates for better financial ratings.

Improve customer service and agent management:

BPM allows insurance companies to automate flow of information, notifications, and alerts with agents and customers, thus allowing better and more up-to-date access to information. BPM speeds up processes, reduces lag time, and ensures that tasks do not fall through the cracks.

Deliver superior underwriting results:

BPM makes it possible for insurance companies to standardize on a common underwriting process. Each division can use different rules but access the common process, thus allowing for better control and monitoring. Underwriting personnel can concentrate on knowledge-based functions of their roles and return better results.

Increase productivity:

BPM software enables seamless integration of workflow tasks with back-end systems, thus removing the need for mundane tasks such as manual reconciliation, visual data verification, and typing-based data entry. Process automation and integration also improves the agents’ productivity, giving them another reason to align with a carrier besides price or increased commissions.

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