Consistent processes still lacking, study says

Almost half of organizations lack consistent practices, according to a recent survey. Management of processes is reactive, lacking any formal strategy.

The AIIM Market IQ on Business Process Management (BPM) survey collected data from more than 354 business users, and only 3% felt their organizations had achieved process excellence. “This is disappointing and shocking,” says AIIM vice president and report co-author Carl Frappaolo. “Despite decades of market attention on process excellence — from the manufacturing industry into the world of “knowledge workers” and across all industries — it’s been a long, slow journey, and many have yet to embark on the journey. The damage lies in the fact that processes are the core of any functioning organization.”

The study found that 57% of respondents have no specific group or individual responsible for BPM initiatives.

“It is unfortunate that more organizations have not addressed BPM more strategically“, says Frappaolo. “Among those organizations that have, we found that 52% achieved a positive ROI in three years or less. Another 15% achieved ROI in five years or less. This is in stark contrast to AIIM Market Intelligence ROI findings concerning functionality like Security, Enterprise 2.0 and Findability. While such technologies have their upsides, they are often “soft” benefits, difficult to measure in hard dollars. In the case of BPM, the benefits can be far more tangible, and directly impact the heart of an organization – the process. A full 70% of those who reported executing an ROI, indicated direct cost savings as an achieved benefit.”

The AIIM Market IQ on BPM is available at aiim.org/BPM.