Key Reason for Business Process Management Implementation Bound to Fail

What if I can tell you straight up that your Business Process Management implementation will fail. I’m 99% confident with my words. This seems terrifying right! 

Analysis shows that only 20% of IT projects are completed on time. BPM projects have a higher failure rate due to inexperience and the limited scope of implementation. You are at the cutting edge of technology if you implement a BPM project using current tools and standards that are still irregular. Your failure rate will be even elevated. 

We will be discussing the main causes of BPM failures in this article. It is easy to identify the cause and then find the solution. Implementing the solution is the most difficult part. Communication is a major reason for failure. It is simple to encourage more communication. Implementing better communication is not easy. 

What Fails in Business Process Management Implementation 

BPM implementation is not only cutting-edge, but it also has a unique aspect that sets it apart from other IT projects. BPMS Software is a crucial element for automation. It can span across multiple departments. Because it is a business process, it must be implemented across the entire organization. If the handoff is not working well, the interface between departments is the weakest point of a process. 

In the past, every department purchased the best-of-breed application that would suit its needs. The business process was not taken into depth. This was partly due to the absence of a process steward who would have identified optimization parameters throughout the process. 

Communication – We mentioned the fact that communication, or lack thereof, can lead to project failure. Now communication must be enabled not only within the department but also between departments. The more complex an organization is, the more likely there are for politics and fiefdoms.

It can be difficult to reach an agreement on simple matters. A project manager must work in partnership with the process steward to ensure success in this area. Executive support is required to break down the walls between fiefdoms. If a consensus-based approach fails to work, a dictatorial approach might be the only option. A deadline may be set by the sponsoring executive to “Come to a conclusion within X days or you will have live with what I propose.” 

Architecture – I’ve seen many BPM projects fail because of weak architecture. The reason this happened was that the architecture was not well-designed or the teams could not reach a consensus. It is not sufficient for different applications to publish their interfaces, expecting the consumer to use them. Sometimes, an architect who is proficient in one area of business can be promoted to a higher position.

The result is that he or she may have a biased view of the solutions. It is possible to designate an architect who can understand the business problem and the process in order to manage all interface definitions between departments. An architectural team can be a compromise if one architect does not have the necessary domain knowledge. Another option is executive support for one architect who can work across departments without being bullied. 

Executive support – This is because the nature of the BPM project spans departmental boundaries. The BPM implementation must be justified from the top with full support throughout the process. Senior management must be active in fighting politics and maintaining a healthy environment. This can be difficult. One way to build trust is to make sure that department heads meet regularly in a relaxed atmosphere. Or else, the implementation could fail. 

IT alignment in business – IT can get distracted by the desire to use the latest technology and not address the business problem. This is just the nature of technical people. Technology is what drives them. Sometimes, it can overwhelm the business needs if it isn’t properly monitored. 

Management should monitor the progress of each project through several methods. Management should insist on regular meetings, updates, and maybe even a way for them to “look into” the implementation in real-time – by looking at bugs reports or making it available to continuously showcase the features that are being implemented. 

Integration – Although integration is an important part of any IT implementation, it is often overlooked. We need to be certain that two groups building a bridge are meeting in the middle. The BPM architect has one responsibility: to ensure consistent and clean interfaces. Changes to these interfaces must be approved by all parties. However, it is best to have them reviewed by all architects involved to make sure that there are no ripple effects. 

Testing – Companies often give lip service to testing. While the business may believe they have enough testing time, the implementation team pushes testing to the end. Testing is compromised when functionality is not completed by the end, but the deadline is still the same. Sometimes, the implementation team simply hopes that the system will work. It is inevitable that it will not. 

Management must insist that testing cycles begin in the early phases of a project to reduce this risk. Management must have visibility into the testing process, plans and results to ensure that testing goes according to plan and does not compromise other features. Management should be able to enforce the mindset that “testing is as important as implementation” and should push for the delivery date, rather than release a partially tested system. 

Wrapping Up 

I have covered the main causes of Business Process Management implementation failures in this article. To avoid costly errors, you must monitor it and fix them. This requires common-sense management techniques. Execution is key. Many important aspects should be considered before buying BPM Software. 

If you were willing to implement safe BPM.bpmEdge BPMS from PERICENT is a low-code business process management software for building and operating workflow-driven business applications. It offers an innovative, unique, and faster approach along with great flexibility and deeper insight into your business process than any other business process management solution.