WHAT IS BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT (BPM)?
BPM dates at a glance
- BPM100 Business Process Management Methodology: 6th-7th July
- BPM130 SAP Business Architect by IDS Scheer: 8th-9th July
- BPM300 Business Process Management Governance Overview: 13th-15th July
Business Process Management is a new top down implementation methodology for SOA, using standard procedures, practices and documentation, in addition to our standard implementation methodology, ASAP.
It is specifically aimed at CIO’s and Business Process Experts and helps develop and constantly improve business processes using the 4 stages below:
1. Calibration – create clear goals, define success.
2. As-Is Analysis & Definition – find weak areas and priorities these.
3. To-Be Process Design – address weak points, where appropriate using pre-packaged software.
4. Solution Transformation – identify systems or services and define system landscape.
The key function of BPM is to deliver the best business processes in an efficient and timely manner. These processes may or may not require IT systems support, but certainly any SAP implementation consultant should be interested in this area and its related certification, as SAP is fast moving from Solution Consulting to Process Consulting.
Starting at the top, the highest level is to investigate and document the present business process (As-Is) and to document a desired business process (To-Be). To make this procedure quicker SAP is utilizing standard ARIS models, process notation BPMN (Business Process Management Notation) to record the business process and also a new offering called Customer Process Innovation (CPI). CPI is a set of reusable descriptions of business processes that can speed up the start of a project and will be freely available and published on the SDN business process expert community (http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/bpx).
BPM not only documents but also links into Service Orientated Architecture and SAP standard applications for speedy implementation of change. This now enables you to not only use the original SAP applications, but in addition utilize the new Enterprise Services described in the Enterprise Service Repository published on www.sdn.sap.com by SAP and its partners. If you are running the SAP NetWeaver CE (Composite Environment) it allows you to access services which allow you to build your own composite applications. Thus you make the systems best suit your business needs as described in the BPM project methodology.
This is done thanks to the new BPM tool called SAP NetWeaver BPM 7.1 (previously known as "Galaxy") - due to be released later in 2009 - which will allow the business analysts to utilize services (e.g. screens, functions and interfaces) stored in the Enterprise Service Repository or external providers catalogues e.g. UDDI’s. At the lowest level if the services are not available the business uses the documentation created earlier to tell the developers what reusable objects they need created. In the case of SAP this would be using ABAP or Java using the relevant development tools.
Overall the flexibility and speed of BPM and SOA mean that the ongoing cost to business of managing innovative change, and thus in maintaining the competitive advantage is kept low. It also helps in ensuring project deadlines are on target and achieved.
SAP Education is now offering a range of courses covering the BPM methodology, governance, and the use of SAP NetWeaver BPM 7.1, along with both Associate and Professional level certifications. For further course information and dates please access the education portal by clicking on the relevant course link below: