A Short Glossary of Business Process Terminology
The editors at Solutions Review have compiled a short glossary of fundamental business process terminology to help active and aspiring professionals expand or sharpen their expertise.
Business process management (BPM) is the systematic approach of designing, executing, monitoring, and optimizing business processes with technology, continuous improvement strategies, and other methodologies to improve overall business performance, customer satisfaction, and employee productivity. However, the terminology can be daunting if you’re at the beginning of your business process management career. To help you find your footing, the Solutions Review editors have compiled a glossary of short-and-sweet definitions of the terms and concepts you should know about. The glossary is organized alphabetically.
A Glossary of Business Process Terminology
Adaptive
In business process management, “adaptive” refers to an organization’s ability to adjust its processes in response to environmental changes, like customer needs or competitive pressures. Adaptive business process management involves designing processes that can be easily modified or reconfigured to respond to changing circumstances. This may include using flexible technologies, such as automation tools or process modeling software, that can be quickly updated to reflect new requirements.
Business Process Design
Business Process Design is the creation of new or improved business processes to achieve a specific organizational goal or objective. It involves identifying the key steps and activities required to complete a particular task or achieve a desired outcome and defining the roles and responsibilities of the individuals or departments involved in the process. The process may include a combination of manual and automated steps and the integrating of various technologies and systems.
Business Process Modeling Software (BPMS)
Business Process Modeling Software (BPMS) solutions are computer software tools that help organizations model, design, implement, and manage their business processes. BPMS solutions typically provide a graphical interface that allows users to visually map out the steps, tasks, and activities involved in a particular business process and the flow of data and information between them.
BPMS solutions can create many process models, including simple linear processes, complex branching processes, and more sophisticated workflows involving multiple participants and decision points. They may also include process analysis and optimization features, such as simulation tools and performance metrics that allow users to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies in their processes.
Business Process Management
Business process management (BPM) is the systematic approach of designing, executing, monitoring, and optimizing business processes with technology, continuous improvement strategies, and other methodologies to improve overall business performance, customer satisfaction, and employee productivity. For example, BPM solutions are built to help organizations manage and optimize their business processes. These tools typically provide a range of features for modeling, designing, executing, monitoring, and analyzing business processes.
Cloud Deployment
Cloud deployment refers to deploying BPM software solutions on cloud-based infrastructure rather than on-premises infrastructure. This means that the BPM software is hosted and managed by a third-party cloud service provider, and users access the software over the internet rather than from a local network. A cloud deployment strategy can help organizations achieve greater agility, efficiency, and innovation in their business processes while potentially reducing costs and improving security.
Digital Process Automation (DPA)
Digital Process Automation (DPA) is an approach to business process management (BPM) that emphasizes digital technologies that automate and optimize business processes. A DPA platform aims to streamline workflows, improve efficiency, and reduce costs by eliminating manual tasks and leveraging intelligent automation tools. With these tools, companies can automate repetitive, low-value tasks, such as data entry or document processing, and enable faster and more accurate decision-making.
Intelligent Business Process Management Suites (iBPMS)
Intelligent Business Process Management Suites (iBPMS) combine traditional Business Process Management (BPM) capabilities with advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP). These solutions help organizations optimize their business processes by automating routine tasks, providing real-time insights and analytics, and enabling more agile and responsive decision-making. They typically include process modeling and design, workflow automation, process monitoring and optimization, and AI-driven capabilities such as predictive analytics, machine learning algorithms, and intelligent automation.
Mobile Deployment
Mobile deployment refers to deploying BPM software solutions on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. This means that the BPM software is optimized for mobile devices and can be accessed by users anywhere at any time. Mobile deployment can help organizations achieve greater agility, efficiency, and innovation in their business processes while enhancing user collaboration, productivity, and convenience.
On-Premise
On-premise refers to the practice of deploying BPM software solutions on hardware and infrastructure that is owned and managed by the organization itself. This means the BPM software is installed and run on servers and other computing resources located on the organization’s premises rather than a cloud-based infrastructure. On-premise deployment can offer organizations greater control, security, and compliance, but it may require more upfront investment in hardware and infrastructure and ongoing maintenance and support.
Predictive Analytics
Predictive analytics uses statistical algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyze historical data and predict future outcomes. These analytics can improve business processes by providing insights into potential issues, bottlenecks, and opportunities for optimization. For example, predictive analytics can identify process steps likely to cause delays or errors and recommend changes to the process design that can reduce the risk of these issues occurring.
Process Diagram
Sometimes called a Process Flow Diagram (PFD), process diagrams are graphical representations of a business process that illustrate the flow of activities, tasks, and decisions involved in executing the strategy. A process diagram typically consists of interconnected symbols and shapes representing various process elements, such as tasks, gateways, events, and flows.
Some typical process diagrams used in BPM include flowcharts, swimlane diagrams, and BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) diagrams. Each type of diagram has its own set of symbols and conventions for representing different types of process elements and may be used in other contexts depending on the needs of the organization and the complexity of the process being modeled.
Process Mining
Process mining refers to using data analytics techniques to analyze and visualize business processes based on event logs or other types of process data. Process mining can help organizations identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and other opportunities for process improvement by analyzing the actual behavior of the process rather than relying on assumptions or models.
Process mining typically involves three main steps: data extraction, process discovery, and process analysis. During data extraction, event logs or other process data are collected from various sources, such as enterprise systems or Internet of Things (IoT) devices. During process discovery, this data is analyzed to create a process model that visualizes the sequence of activities and tasks involved in executing the process. Finally, during process analysis, the model is analyzed to identify inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and other opportunities for optimization.
Process Modeling
Process modeling is the practice of creating a visual representation of a business process using a standardized notation or modeling language. Process modeling typically involves mapping the sequence of activities and tasks involved in executing the process and the inputs, outputs, and dependencies between different process elements. This is usually a critical component of BPM software, as it provides a common language and visual framework for stakeholders to understand and discuss business processes. By creating a shared understanding of the process and its elements, process modeling can help identify areas for improvement, optimize resource allocation, and promote consistent and efficient execution of the process across the organization.
Robotic Process Automation (RPA)
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that uses software robots (or “bots”) to automate repetitive, manual tasks within business processes. RPA bots are typically configured to mimic the actions of a human worker, such as navigating through software applications, entering data, and triggering responses based on specific inputs or conditions. By automating manual tasks, RPA can free human workers to focus on more complex and strategic work while reducing the risk of errors and improving overall process speed and accuracy.