Pascal On BPMS

Before getting in too deep, I need to define a few terms, not so much because you don’t know what they mean, but so you know what I mean when I use them.

And since I can’t be talking about BPMS (Note to self, need to define what a Business Process Management System is) without talking about Business Processes. So here goes.

The definition I like to use most is the one Thomas Davenport crafted in Process Innovation: Reengineering Work Through Information Technology (1992):

“A process is thus a specific ordering of work activities across time and space, with a beginning and an end, and clearly defined inputs and outputs: a structure for action.”

It brings the process to the center of the stage, it focuses on how work gets done, how the various activities should be combined, ultimately to provide value (to the customer), or at least to keep things in order.

This however, leaves a critical dimension out: the participants of the process, whether these are people, systems, or even other processes. The process in itself does not “do” anything, the participants do. So with this in mind, when I later talk about business processes, here’s what I’ll mean:

“A Business Process is a specific ordering of Activities across time, space and participants. A Business Process has a Beginning, an End, and clearly defined Inputs and Outputs and Steps.”