BP Group – Process & Performance News – February 2009
A periodic update for all things process

Welcome to February's newsletter. There's lots of interest so get up to speed and join the discussions onsite. Here we have distilled some of the headlines and key messages so grab a coffee and enjoy!

Features Seventeen New Discussions (17) Articles, Updates and Downloads
Running business processes | Designing business to be flexible | The unfied theory of process |
The 3 P's of Process, Project & Performance |
Fifty people feel strongly | BPM - Top Down or Bottom Up | Lean Six Sigma is dead? | All News
Spanish Articles | Here's two for the Spanish members from the South American tour in late 2008 > MÁS ALLÁ DE LA CALIDAD TOTAL < > Procesos con el cliente el centro <

Certified Process Training - 2009 program
> February - March - Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, US, India
> April - May - Australia, Argentina, Hungary, US & UK

BP Group Linked-in | Exceeds 1200 members in 4 months
Executive One Day Seminar| Theo Priestley (BPGroup's Chair of Innovation) |
Edinburgh, Scotland - Thursday 12 March

Ongoing Discussion...
Trying to figure out how BPM works is like solving a giant jigsaw puzzle. You can approach it in one of two ways. Using the “top down” approach (Process Architecture) , you start with the image of what the solved puzzle should look like, and use this to decide which pieces to ignore and which pieces to search for. The other approach is “bottom up” (Six Sigma), where you focus on the individual pieces themselves. You study them for unusual features and look for close matches with other puzzle pieces. If you don’t have a picture of the puzzle’s solution, the “bottom up” method is sometimes the only way to proceed. Lacking a good framework for understanding processes, organisations have been forced to stick with the “bottom up” approach. This tasks is Herculean if not impossible, with a puzzle as complex as an organisational structure.

Join the debate now with David Collett, Alex Samarin, Tony Puah, Mohammed Thiab and others

So my question to you is What does it mean to be a flexible company? What does that look like?
I need tangibles, not ethereal explanations. I would like responses to tell me exactly what I would need to do if I were CEO of a company to have it be flexible, capable of adapting to unexpected events. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Join and comment here.

In this day and age, we have frameworks galore. Risk frameworks, Business Continuity Management, Programme Planning, Compliance, process architectures, SOA, ITIL.

Has anyone ever tied the lot together into one overarching framework ? Do we really need several languages that really tell the same story ? Can a true BPM framework unify them all or are we in danger of putting all our eggs in one basket ? (and ultimately wresting control of them all and placing them in the hands of one individual...) Lets get creative and kick this around a bit. Dr Strangelove ;-)

Join the debate now with Thomas Olbrich, Nilson Musa, Ian Louw and Bob Gehman

Work done within organizations are either process work or project work. Projects have a defined beginning and end while processes are ongoing. If companies do not have a way to manage their projects they will see them spiral out of control, take longer to complete and cost much more. If companies do not manage their processes the same type of results can be expected. Supporting both of those forms of management is Performance Management. Here is where roles and responsibilities are clearly defined along with the expectations through the year.

Eds note: This is a busy discussion and clealy presses several hot buttons.

Visit the ongoing debate here....

John Corr, Chair of the FS SIG started this debate asking whether LSS had run its course. Needless to say this is an emotive issue with many people very positive or very negative. Views are polarised - what do you believe? You can join the debate with recent contributions from over 20 participants

Ongoing - Join the debate here -

Executive Seminar - surviving and thriving

Partners BPGroup, CityProcessManagement, Process Maverick Limited and Elements of Change bring you a one day agenda for Senior Executives.

Find out more and Register for the Seminar here (first come first served) which will be hosted by the Scottish Malt Whisky Society in Queens Street, Edinburgh. (Early Bird discount of £450 GBP.

Platinum sponsors:
If you haven't met City Process Management they are a global firm specialising in helping
financial institutions - here's their claim to fame and a link:

"We help financial institutions struggling with the challenges of delivering
accelerated cost reduction within your IT and back office operations.

Our promise - to increase your productivity by at least 15% within 90 days,
even when Lean and Six Sigma have stopped delivering for you.

Our fees are guaranteed against delivering your results."

To learn more about how you can achieve these results go to www.CityProcessManagement.com

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BPGroup Linkedin - Join the discussion, network and participate in our Special Interest Groups

BP Groups main forum. general discussions, networking and special offers. Join Here.		The Financial SIG, chaired by John Corr, CEO of City Process Management.		The Innovation SIG chaired by Theo Priestley, Head of BPM & Organisational Performance Process Maverick Limited.