Information Technologies as the Base of the Business Process Management Implementation

Abzetdin Adamov, PhD
Department of Computer Systems and Networks
Qafqaz University, Baku, Azerbaijan
aadamov@qu.edu.az

IT and BPM both are about an improvement of the quality of processes, and facilitating managerial issues. Will it be effective to couple IT with BPM? Is it obligatory to combine these two approaches in order to be successful in business process improvement? Are these two approaches interrelated? If yes, which one plays a supportive role? This article is going to provide answers to those important questions devoted to the role of the IT in BMP implementation.

Keywords: BPM, Business Process Management, Information Technologies.

1. Introduction. Information Technologies in Business

Todays economic reality is of increased competition, informed and demanding customers, commoditization of products and services, and relentless pressure to cut costs. Companies are again being asked to do more with less. To stay competitive, organizations constantly strive to improve their business processes. Many companies continuously conduct programs that attempt to improve their productivity and quality, and they frequently do so with the facilitation of Information Technologies (IT) through automating existing processes. The continuous improvement model is used to get a detailed understanding of the current process while generating metrics that describe the effectiveness of the process. But continuous improvement efforts may have limited effectiveness in an environment full of strong business pressures. Therefore, a new approach may be needed. Implementing Business Process Management (BPM) technology offers significant opportunity for efficiency and effectiveness through optimizing business processes.

A number of disciplines conduct this research including: information systems (IS), human computer interaction, information sciences, telecommunications, computer supported cooperative work, and science, technology and society. IS is an arrangement of equipment, resources, and procedures, often computerized, that are required to collect, process, and distribute data for use in (typically) managerial decision making in business organizations. Humans attracted to easy solutions to complex problems. When organization can't perform business operation quickly enough, organization trying to find solution in automation. But according to Bill Gates automation is only effective when applied to efficient operations.

Information technology has a surprising way of changing our culture radicallyoften in ways unimaginable to the inventors. The World Wide Web provides a dazzling array of information servicesdesigned for use by peopleand has become an ingrained part of our lives [1]. The adoption of computer-based IS is creating significant changes in the way individuals perform their duties. Thus, change, facilitated by the implementation of IS, is revolutionizing business processes [2]. Earlier research [3] determined that small business was mainly using IS for accounting and administrative purposes. Research conducted in the 1990s [4] noted a growing interest by small business in employing IS in daily operations.

2. The Nature of the Business Process Management.

Sometime in the late 1980s there was a wave of disenchantment with the return on investment in IT in much of corporate America. Why had huge investments in IT throughout the 1980s not resulted in corresponding increases in productivity and performance improvement? There were many explanations given. But most obvious was that, Perhaps organizational processes, structures, and designs were not "work-friendly". It was not possible to take advantage of IT to improve business performance with rigid hierarchical structures and complex procedures. IT were automating the mess. There was a crying need to find new ways of doing business that would yield quantum leaps in performance. That could only be done by both radically rethinking how to do business and bytaking advantage of the capabilities of IT. The fire of business process reengineering had been ignited.

IT has been used for several decades to improve productivity and quality of the business functions by automating existing processes. Information technology has changed business processes within and between enterprises. More and more work processes are being conducted under the supervision of information systems that are driven by process models. It is hard to imagine enterprise information systems that are unaware of the processes taking place. Although the topic of business process management using information technology has been addressed by consultants and software developers in depth, a more fundamental approach has been missing. Only since the nineties, researchers started to work on the foundations of business process management systems. As a result, many questions still wait to be answered.

A business process consists of a set of activities that are performed in coordination in an organizational and technical environment. These activities jointly realize a business goal. Each business process is enacted by a single organization, but it may interact with business processes performed by other organizations. Business process consist of activities whose coordinated execution realizes some business goal.

BPM is not simple concept nor is it simple to implement it is extremely complex and difficult. While the introduction of technology can be a useful contributor for many organizations, BPM doesnt always require technology to be successful. It is far mere important to get processes right before you consider the implementation of technology. People think under what the technology could do for the organization, rather than what it needs to do for the organization.

Automation and efficiency gains and return-on-investment across a wide range of business needs and functions, including accounts payable, procurement, human resources, order management and more. However, it is important to remember that in most cases the technology plays a supportive role. The primary role is organizational and managerial in nature. On the other hand, without IT, most BPM and business process reengineering (BPR) efforts do not success [5].

Business process management wins the triple crown of saving money, saving time and adding value. It also spans the business and technological gap to create synergy, with proven results. Although the expectations for BPM are high, there are ways to fail, and we expect some projects to do just that. The ingredients for failure include, but are not limited to, the following [6]:

• Technology-driven thinking only
• Staying at too high a level and never dipping into the technology levels
• Not having a business-driven methodology (for example, Six Sigma)
• Internal political problems
• Not enough education and training
• Cultural aversion to process
• Lack of commitment

The general approach of business process reengineering is a holistic view on an enterprise where business processes are the main instrument for organizing the operations of an enterprise. Business process reengineering is based on the understanding that the products and services a company offers to the market are provided through business processes, and a radical redesign of these processes is the road to success. It is in essence a performance improvement philosophy that aims to achieve quantum improvements by primarily rethinking and redesigning the way that business processes are carried out [16].

Redesign of business processes often means a need to change some or all of the organizational information system. The reason for this is that information systems designed along hierarchical lines may be ineffective in supporting the redesigned organization. Therefore, it is often necessary to redesign information systems.

As we enter the 21st century, the rapid progress in the capabilities of the Internet and information technology infrastructures are enabling enterprises to create value in new and exciting ways. In this customer-centered high velocity environment an enterprise's business processes must be fast, focused, and flexible. Competitive pressures and value creation opportunities have never been greater for enterprises to redesign their business processes.

In other words BPR has been defined as the critical analysis and radical redesign of existing processes to achieve breakthrough improvements in performance measures (such as cost reduction, time reduction or quality improvement) [7].

BPR requires taking a broad view of both information technology and business activity, and of the relationships between them. Information technology should be viewed as more than an automating or mechanising force: it can fundamentally reshape the way business is done. Business activities should be seen as more than a collection of individual or even functional tasks: by taking a process view to maximize effectiveness.

Information technology and BPR have a recursive relationship. Information technology capabilities should support business processes, and business processes should be developed in terms of the capabilities which the enabling technology can provide.

The information systems group may need to play a behind-the-scenes advocacy role, convincing senior management of the power offered by information technology and process redesign. The biggest obstacles that BPR faces are [8, 9, 10]:

• Lack of sustained management commitment and leadership;
• Unrealistic scope and expectations;
• Resistance to change.

A large variety of IT tools can be used to support redesign and BPR. Special BPR software enables the capture of the key elements of a business process in a visual representation made up of interconnected objects on a time line. The elements of this visual representation usually include activities, sequencing, resources, times, and rules. BPR software is much more than drawing or flowcharting software in that the objects on the screen are intelligent and have process and organizational data and rules associated with them.

4. Business Process Modeling with IT

To capture the complexity in business process management, different abstraction concepts are introduced. A traditional abstraction concept in computer science is the separation of modelling levels, from instance level to model level to metamodel level, denoted by horizontal abstraction (Figure 1.). Aggregation can also be used to cope with complexity, motivating another type of abstraction. At a higher level of abstraction, multiple elements of a lower level of abstraction can be grouped and represented by a single artifact [11].
Figure 1. Levels of abstraction

The simulation model is used to predict the performance of new designs incorporating the use of information technology. By running the simulation through time it is also possible to gauge how changes at an operational level can lead to the meeting of strategic targets over time [12].

Business process models specify the activities, with their relationships, that are performed within an appropriate activity. There are many standards to graphically describe business processes and their relations. One of widely using is Business Process Modeling Notation (BPMN) has been proposed as a graphical notation to combine the advantages of a simple and convenient notation and clear semantics.

BPMN consists of one diagram called the Business Process Diagram (BPD). The BPMN Business Process Diagram has been designed to be easy to use and understand, but also provides the ability to model complex business processes. An example of a collaborative business process model is shown in Figure 3. The notational elements in business process diagrams are divided into four basic categories, each of which consists of a set of elements. Flow objects are the building blocks of business processes; they include events, activities, and gateways (Figure 2.). For more detail information about BPMN address to appropriate tutorial [13].
Figure 2. Business Process Modeling Notation: categories and elements.

5. Business Process Management Systems as IT Implementation of the BPM

A key function of BPMS tools is to support the documentation of business processes in a tool suitable for business users or business analysts. Earlier tools were able to document process models, but not in a format that could support easy reuse and/or modification. BPMS tools capture processes as business metadata and store the metadata in SOA-enabled repositories for use by IT and the business. There are many BPMS products on the software market (Table 1.), but only a few of them support the ability for end users to change business rules on the fly, thereby enabling them to directly optimize operations without having to involve IT.

Forrester has predicted that the BPMS (business process management system) market will grow from $1.2 billion in 2005 to over $2.7 billion in 2009. What is driving this growth? The tools are forging tighter links between IT and business users and significantly enhancing the effectiveness of process improvement efforts. Specifically, BPMS tools support [14]:

• Capturing process models as business metadata.
• Connecting the physical and digital worlds.
• Enabling real-time, end-user process monitoring.
• Process optimization.
• Using an SOA registry/repository.

BPMS offerings are adding support for enterprise content management and team collaboration, advanced task management, and a design environment shared by business analysts and IT process designers [15].
Figure 3. Collaborative business process diagram.

Table 1. Well known BPMS products on BPM market.

The conclusion that IT is an amplifier of management performance. In other words, a well managed company will gain strategic advantage from its computing investments. Conversely, a poor managed company will just make matter worse for itself by spending money on computers. Business Process Management are the activities that a business manager performs, including monitoring and optimizing business processes or adapting them to new business needs. BPM is also a synonym for the set of tools that support business managers activities. A clear understanding of the business manager is essential to changing or streamlining business processes. The BPM is used to get a detailed understanding of the current process while generating metrics that describe the effectiveness of the process, while IT plays a supportive role. This quotation from W. Edwards Deming, founder of the quality movement, is illuminating: "If you can't describe what you are doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing." Any business process improvement project is an attempt to answer the fundamental question of "How do we organize our activities so that we can minimize inputs, maximize outputs, and maximize value?".

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