Practical assessment of the nature of business processes

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present a framework enabling the quick and practical assessment of the nature of business processes, necessary to select business process management (BPM) tools and methodologies in accordance with the actual nature of BPs in the organization. The lack of such compliance reduces or delays the results, or it can even cause the failure of BPM implementations. To avoid this risk, organizations should be aware of the nature of their processes prior to planning and implementing BPM. The article summarizes extensive literature studies and experiences resulting from the practical implementation of business process management in organizations with diverse types of business processes. Developed in accordance with the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology, the Business Process Nature Assessment Framework (BPNAF) uses an approach that combines business process management with the management of the knowledge used and created in the course of the process execution. The article presents the concept of the business process space and the Business Process Nature Assessment Framework (BPNAF) based thereon, which enables the quick and efficient assessment of the nature of business processes in an organization in terms of their unpredictability and knowledge intensity. The presentation of the results enables the objective recommendation of the selection of implementation methodologies, HRM policies, or IT systems supporting BPM in line with the real nature of business processes implemented in the organization, in a way that is understandable to both specialists and non-specialists. The article is dedicated to researchers, but above all to practitioners using BPM. The application of the presented BPNAF allows managers to choose the methodology and tools supporting the management of business processes, but also human resources or knowledge, in accordance with the objective nature of the processes and the needs of the organization. The simplicity and speed of analysis, as well as the ability to directly use its results in the initial implementation of business process management, mean that the benefits of using the BPNAF are much greater than the effort or preparation costs involved. An important limitation of the work is the fact that the analysis of the business process space and, consequently, the BPNAF are limited to only two dimensions: unpredictability and knowledge-intensity. The article presents the original concept of the business process space and the author's model of the BPNAF framework based on its two-dimensional version. The supplement of BPM implementation methodologies with the use of the results of this work is of key importance for the success or failure of implementations.