In completing a recent project for a leading life insurer, we were in the familiar position of stressing the extent to which Business Process Management (BPM) strategies and techniques are more than just Automated Work Flow (AWF) "on steroids." The project objective was to improve the business requirements process for AWF applications. The client realized that their current practice for gathering business requirements followed a traditional text-based approach, and that this method was neither efficient nor effective in handling AWF initiatives.

The client wanted to introduce a standardized graphical notation for drawing business processes in a workflow that would be readily understood by all stakeholders, including the business managers who own the processes, the business analysts who create and refine requirements, and the technical developers responsible for implementing the automated processes. The Business Process Management Notation (BPMN) standard was acknowledged to have the potential to meet this objective.

The goal of the project became the development of an agreed-upon methodology across all stakeholders for documenting business processes—one that has a comprehensive view and that uses available tools for all future workflow projects.

Our first step in tackling the project was to establish ten principles that would serve as guidelines for the development of the methodology. We then developed client-specific Visio templates, using a publicly available BPMN Visio stencil coupled with Nolan's proven method for cross-functional process mapping that has been evolved and enhanced over many years. We led the client team through the charting of two different processes, including reviews with all stakeholders. The goal was to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach and to build adoption for the technique among the client's team. Refinements were introduced along the way, and a detailed how-to manual for building Business Process Diagrams was developed for use by current and future team members.

As a result, client business analysts are able to set up, draw, and store Business Process Diagrams for multi-step processes and sub-processes, using the detailed guide that was the primary deliverable of the project. The business owners are receptive to the methodology, saying, "The chart is much better than forty pages of documentation." The IT developers welcome the process. Their comment: "This is great, because we are typically unable to see the end-to-end process, and we have to eke out who is involved and what are their needs."

For all of these communities, a prototype repository was established on an intranet so that business analysts and IT personnel can have easy access and reuse key work products for future applications.

As we often advise our clients, the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words" definitely applies when developing process models and requirements. A graphical approach to capturing business requirements adds value in terms of speed, clarity of communication, and simplicity for the business community (process owners) and the IT developers. Furthermore, the use of readily available standards and tools, such as BPMN and Visio, keeps costs and complexity low while speeding the overall development life cycle. Using proven business process management techniques does not require replacing an existing AWF system with an expensive BPM system.

Every company has its own systems, standards, and competencies that influence how processes and requirements are developed—some are more effective than others. We work extensively in the realm of process management, and I would welcome hearing about your experiences and your questions on this topic by emailing me at don_himes@renolan.com.