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Chapter 9 • Organizational Change and Business Process Reengineering 257

BPM has functionalities obtained from application integration, process modeling and
monitoring, and rapid application development tools. BPM software helps to model processes
graphically and execute these processes within the business. The software also serves as a tool
to measure the process performance, identify the bottlenecks, and then make adjustments more
easily at a quicker pace. BPM software improves the method in which people and the applica-
tions work. The firms get more agility by developing more new processes as required by
dynamic business environments. In short, BPM software is a set of tools that helps a company
in extraction and management of the business processes efficiently. 30
Smaller companies will have simpler workflow that can be easily managed, but as they
grow, the workflow gets really complex and hard to keep under control and hence BPM comes
into picture. BPM software helps to overcome workflow bottlenecks and improve productivity.

Benefits of Implementing BPM 31
•Smooth business operations in an organization require communication and synchronization.
BPM software aids in facilitating those efforts, resulting in high productivity.
•The employees become more efficient, because the workflow bottlenecks are removed
using BPM software and thereby reducing the idle time of the employees. This increases
productivity.
•High efficiency means reduced costs, and hence BPM software helps companies to cut costs.
•Employees feel better to work in an organized business processes architecture that was created
using BPMS.
•Improved workflow results in better-quality products and services and thus BPMS makes
customers happy and improves customer loyalty.
Three governments have implemented BPM projects:
•Kent County, Michigan—BPM software was used to streamline processes like accounts
payable and invoice management.
•The City of Norfolk, Virginia—BPMS was used to lower construction permit turnaround
time from 19 days to a few days.
•The Supreme Court of Louisiana—BPMS was used to lower the time staff requires to issue
Certificates of Good Standing to attorneys from three to five hours a day to one hour a day. 32

Following are some of the major features of BPM software to manage business processes:
•Process modeling and simulation—Users can directly use the software to design the
processes that need to be automated, graphically. BPM software has drag-and-drop
features to develop processes.
•Systems integration—BPM software lets other information systems like ERP to be
connected to the processes, and hence information can flow between the systems.
•User interaction and collaboration—BPMS has Web forms and other user interfaces to
help the user to enter inputs and make other changes to the process.
•Process execution and monitoring—BPMS lets job to be routed through the process steps
and sends notifications electronically and also tracks performance indicators of processes.

30 O’Connell. Measuring IT’s Effectiveness to the Business.
31 http://office-software.suite101.com/article.cfm/bpm_software_improves_corporate_workflow
32 Boyle, B. (April 2008). Business Process Management: A New Way to Conduct Operations. Government Finance
Review, 24 (2).