Today AIIM released its latest report on BPM (Business Process Management). The report (freely accessible), is based on a survey of over 800 individuals representing organizations of varying sizes, predominately from North America. One finding in the report makes one wonder, "When will we ever learn". The report's introduction provides a quick chronicle of the BPM market, its roots in workflow, a subject and technology I have covered for nearly 2 decades. When workflow was a nascent technology, the single greatest challenge to implementing organizations was the need to plan, to "deengineer" a process, redefine it, and to provide adequate training and acclimation to the process participants. Well, it is now nearly 20 years later, the technology has become far more sophisticated, and today, the number one biggest challenge – yeah, you guessed it.
Survey respondents were asked to identify the single most important obstacle they needed to overcome (or did not overcome) in undertaking a BPM initiative. By far, the number one biggest obstacle sited was "Underestimated Process & Organizational Issues". BPM cannot be railroaded down an organization's proverbial throat. Managers and users must be given a clear understanding of the efforts that are involved, the costs that will be incurred, and the changes that will result. Education is a necessary initial step for nearly everyone in the organization (not just the technician) where BPM is concerned. Indeed, when asked the level of need for vendor independent BPM training and education in their organization, respondents most powerfully agreed on a dire need. A full 70% identified a moderate or greater need, with 4% indicating the need was urgent.
