subject: Routing - One Of The Success Secrets Of Bpm Software [print this page] What makes a BPM based foundation distinct from others? If you start counting the factors the number would be endless. Higher productivity, streamlined lifecycle management, reduced expenditures, higher agility, visibility, technological integration, and improved customer service- these are just a few to name with.
Well, all these key features come with process automation i.e. integration across technologies, people and processes. And, in order to track and manage these business priorities, you need the help of BPM software. Simply put, Business Process Management software can address nearly all complex nature of business interactions.
But what makes the BPM software compatible and competent to every essence of business process automation?
Before we indulge into the secrets, let us find out in brief - how does this software work in an organization?
Work methodologies of BPM software:
BPM software draws out company's existing applications into electronic workflow diagram. This is to monitor, extract, format and distribute information to systems and people; in line with business events or rules. Once the complete process mapping is done, one can test the workflow in a virtual environment. You can plug various assumptions and forecasting to determine the required time duration and costing of the process as well.
Virtual test environment will allow you to remove bottlenecks and improve the effectiveness. Even after the tested process is deployed, there is always provision for configuration and re-configuration of companys applications. The workflow trigger points enable all these information services. Thus BPM software can track and report the whole system information.
ROUTING SYSTEM - leveraging success to BPM software:
The credit of BPM software goes to its smart ways of routing work. Modern BPM software can render different methods of routing work and they are evolving with more sophisticated and intellectual options.
Why proper routing is essential?
While conducting business, many actions and decisions need to be taken on ad hoc basis to counteract special issues. Hence the business process should have the ability to route the right information to the right individuals or computer applications at the right time. This needs flexible, automatic and range of routing methods. In fact, while designing a business process, a recipient is specified for each step and that recipient decides the routing of a business process. Therefore it really needs to be powerful, flexible and customized.
Here are the various functional aspects of routing methods offered by BPM software to accommodate changing responsibilities:
Name-based routing:
The simplest means of assigning and directing work where each task is assigned to an individuals name. This approach looks simple and only applicable to the smallest organizations with relatively small scale business process.
Role-based routing:
While addressing the limitation of name-based routing, this method assigns the task to a job function responsible for performing the task. Since the process is independent of individuals and the job function, organizational structure are static, the frequency of change is less in role-based routing. Hence it is easier to put into practice as well.
Relationship based routing: This works by establishing relationships among job functions. Here the companys organization chart dictates the relationship among recipients such as supervisor, manager or their previous steps.
Groups: This routing method works when collective opinion or input of more than one individual is required such as sales forecasting procedure by all regional managers in an organization.
Sequential groups: This navigation method is required in such business process improvement, where it is necessary to automate document reviews, signing, and approval- all these tasks within a group.
Queues: With this routing method, BPM software assigns the tasks to a common or shared inbox in the form of a queue. The queue is associated with the group and any member of the group can pick up the next task from there.
There are other routing methods available such as skill based routing, dynamic routing, relative relationship based routing, etc and that makes BPM software compatible for people-oriented business process management.
