Best Business Process Management (BPM) Software

Business process management software (BPMS) is a type of software solution that helps organizations plan, model, automate, and improve processes that achieve organizational goals when completed. BPMS supports business project management activities by improving business processes from start to finish.

The software, sometimes called a business process management suite, typically includes several technologies:

• Workflow engines: automate the task flow to complete a business process.
• Simulation and testing tools: help analyze processes' behavior.
• Business rules engines (BRE): enable users to change business rules without coding.
• Process mining tools: Discover, visualize and analyze the tasks that drive business processes.

There is a new kind of next-generation BPM suite, known as an intelligent BPM suite (iBMPS). These solutions include real-time analysis, business activity monitoring (BAM), artificial intelligence (AI), and complex event processing (CEP). The goal of these technologies is to further process automation and improve processes.

Managing business processes ensures efficient processes and helps operations run smoothly. This results in increased business agility, better service, and product innovation.

Modern business process management comprises six phases that ideally should form a continuous loop of improvement:

1. Documentation

The practice of business process management starts with an understanding of the status of the process. This includes identifying any task related to the process and gathering all documentation related to who is responsible for each activity, how long it takes to complete the process, and the frequency at which this particular process is used. 

2.  Assessment

With the collected information, you can assess the situation. The goal of this stage is to get a clear picture of where the organization’s process stands in terms of efficiency. As part of this stage, you can break the processes down into multiple tasks. Then identify potential bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

3. Modeling

Here you represent the process using BPM software. This will give you a visual layout of how the process unfolds. You can make initial adjustments and fix details and conditions so you can have a clear idea of the sequence of events and how the data flows through the process.
4. Implementation

It’s time to try your model. Be sure to test it with a small group of users first so you can quickly fix any inconsistencies. If the process includes managing sensitive data, be sure to restrict permissions to only authorized users.

5. Monitoring

When you open the process to the live workflow, it is important to monitor how it runs. The software uses different metrics to measure efficiency and to identify where it works well and where there are bottlenecks.

6. Adjustment

As a final step, it is important to analyze how the overall process is flowing. Remember that processes are dynamic, so you will need to adjust the process regularly as needed.

Business process management (BPM) software supports BPM activities, helping organizations to have more effective, efficient, and agile workflows. The right BPM system can improve processes and help you meet organizational goals.

There are numerous Business Process Management Software (BPMS) offerings out there, each one with its specific features. You’ll have to assess what is the best combination of features for your organization.

What should you look for when looking for the perfect BPMS? Here is a list of key features to consider:

1. Easy modeling: An intuitive interface and graphic modeling of processes are critical to achieving the level of visibility you need. This feature enables users to quickly design and adjust processes without coding. The system should also include enterprise architecture modeling to allow for end-to-end process modeling.

2. Project management integration: Integrating project management means you can have visibility of both processes and projects. This enables teams to share data and resources, optimizing end-to-end workflows like product development.

3. Easy data collection, management, and analysis: Every organization generates huge amounts of data every day. The analysis of these data can provide actionable insights to make processes more efficient. The system should leverage artificial intelligence techniques to capture, process, and analyze data.

4. Collaboration features: Efficient process management requires the collaboration of several teams. Functions like easy document sharing, message boards, and approval cycles are a given for an organization’s workspace. A BPM system should be able to integrate collaboration features to streamline processes.

5. Mobile friendly: In these days of remote and hybrid working, companies cannot afford to have a system that is not mobile-friendly. Look for a solution that has customizable dashboards and an intuitive interface.

6. Multiple-environment functionality: With most companies’ workloads in the cloud, many BPM solutions are designed to work with cloud environments. However, some organizations use a hybrid environment due to security or regulations requirements. If that is the case with your organization, look for a BPM solution that can work both on-premises and in the cloud and transition smoothly from one to the other.

7. Key performance indicators (KPI) measurement: The BPM system should adapt to track the exact combination of key performance indicators your company uses. This means there should be real-time monitoring of business processes and how they impact the KPIs.

8. Adaptive case management: This feature is geared to help with the management of unstructured business activities that don’t fit with the formal BPM approach. If your BPM solution has this feature, it can transition from BPM to case management and no process goes unmanaged.

9. Data and document management: Organizations nowadays create large amounts of data, including documents. Proper document management enables organizations to leverage important information. Additionally, data management is required by data privacy regulations.

BPM software helps organizations to improve their processes, making them more efficient and gaining a competitive edge in digital transformation. There are numerous benefits of implementing business project management and particularly of deploying BPM software. Here are some of them:

• Reduces risks: A BPM enables companies to monitor how the resources are being used and how the workflow is running. Then managers can detect inefficiencies and anomalies.
• Increases agility: Making processes more efficient helps with digital transformation processes. Organizations with agile and streamlined processes can adapt better to changes.
• Optimizes processes: A BPM gives complete visibility of the organization’s operations. Then it is easier for managers to quickly optimize processes as needed.
• Improves collaboration: With BPM software, teams can see the processes in a centralized dashboard and share data and documents, thus collaborating easily.
• Automates repetitive tasks in workflows: BPM software allows organizations to automate repetitive or time-consuming tasks on workflows. For instance, to create an easy approval cycle.
• Supports compliance: Most companies t need to comply with several regulations and standards, such as ISO, PCI-DSS, GDPR, and HIPAA. Companies that are non-compliant can expect hefty fines and other penalties. BPM solutions help companies comply with auditing and reporting, user management, and quality process requirements.