Process Modeling: A picture’s worth a thousand words

The saying “A picture’s worth a thousand words” isn’t always true. It’s certainly not true when it comes to process modeling.   Why? Pictures are flat.  They have two dimensions.   Models have three dimensions.  A process model can have many dimensions.  A detailed process model is the result of process discovery.   What is Process Discovery? […]

Workflow and BPM: What’s the difference?

I am often asked “What’s the difference between workflow and BPM? Are they not the same thing?” Vendors typically offer either workflow or Business Process Management software.  Some larger software vendors offer both. Workflow is standard functionality included in many Enterprise Content Management (ECM) software systems.  Once you understand workflow you’ll understand why. A Business […]

Candidate Business Processes for Documenting and Analysis

Compliance: with increasing regulation around fraud, terrorism, Sarbanes-Oxley, data protection, and quality-management systems, processes must be consistent and traceable. With processes managed in various locations, many of them ad hoc in nature, unintended non-compliance occurs as efforts to keep employees up-to-date lags changing regulations. Documenting business processes and their control points is an important means of insuring (and documenting for […]