Isn’t Business Process Management too much planning and too little doing?

Yes, and that is one of the biggest threats of activities around business process management. In many organisations most of the defined business processes are never really implemented and executed in daily life. That is pure waste of money, time and effort. So, how to do it right? Here are some ideas:

• Start small. Achieve measurable success with process documentation and improvements on a small scale in one dedicated business unit. After the first achievements you can enhance your activities to other business areas.
• Involve the people. Ask the people who execute the processes. If suppliers and customers are part of the processes ask them. Run structured workshops to gather all available input. You get their knowledge and – even more important – their buy-in.
• Be clear about–measurable–objectives  and ownership. Who is accountable for the business process and what are the objectives to achieve? Do we want to become faster, save money, satisfy the clients? Prioritise. It’s difficult to achieve everything at the same time.
• Ensure execution. Never stop with a documented process. Make it easy to apply for the people. And then, follow up. That last step is often forgotten, and binders full of great process descriptions disappear in dusty shelves.