As businesses grow and mature they develop ever more processes that increase in length (number of steps), complexity (number of decision points & branches), actors (people required to interact with the process) and touchpoints (interactions with other data sets, applications or systems). Keeping track of and monitoring all of these processes as they grow and evolve becomes a major headache. As a result a plethora of software tools have emerged over the years to help organisations capture, model, control, implement and automate all of these processes. However, as these tools have proliferated in number and capability they have created a bewildering array of options and introduced new challenges themselves that leave the uninitiated struggling to know which tool to adopt, for what purpose and how to use it. In this article we’ll look at some of the common tools and then explore some of the challenges employees face when trying to adopt and use them.
Lets start by looking at the various types of tool and some of the leading examples of each:
1. Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) Tools
As a starting point these are tools that help users create, visualise, and analyse business processes using the BPMN standard, a graphical notation for describing processes. Some examples include:
- Lucidchart: A popular tool for diagramming and visualising business processes with BPMN and other flowchart styles.
- Visio (Microsoft): Although not exclusive to BPMN, Visio is widely used for process modelling and diagramming, including support for BPMN symbols.
2. Workflow Automation Tools
Once you’ve understood and visualised your process you need a way to implement it such that it requires as little human effort as possible. These tools automate manual, repetitive tasks and processes using predefined rules and actions, improving efficiency, productivity, and reducing human error. Examples include:
- TIBCO: Provides workflow automation and integration tools that are often used in large-scale enterprise environments.
- Zoho Creator: A low-code platform for automating business workflows and building custom apps with process modelling features.
3. Business Process Management (BPM) Suites
These are more comprehensive pieces of software that cover the role of both of the above types of tool and help organisations design, model, execute, automate, and improve business processes, from start to finish, with the goal of continuous improvement and optimisation. Examples include:
- Pega BPM: Offers comprehensive BPM tools that include process modelling, automation, and optimisation capabilities.
- IBM Business Process Manager (BPM): A powerful tool for process automation and improvement, offering process modelling, execution, and monitoring.
4. Low-Code Automation Platforms
Implementing and automating processes often requires coding work especially where there touch points with various applications and systems across an organisation. These platforms consist of visual development tools that allow users to design and automate business processes with minimal or no coding, empowering both developers and non-technical users to build applications and workflows quickly. Examples include:
- OutSystems: A low-code development platform that allows for process automation, integrating easily with existing systems.
- Mendix: Provides a low-code platform for building applications and automating business processes.
5. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Tools
Another approach to both capturing, modelling and automating processes is to use RPA tools. These automate repetitive, rule-based tasks by emulating human actions on a computer, allowing users to build, deploy, and manage “software robots” to perform processes without human intervention.
- UiPath: One of the most popular RPA tools, allowing businesses to automate repetitive tasks with robots. It integrates well with various process modelling frameworks.
- Automation Anywhere: Another leading RPA tool that facilitates automating business workflows, from simple tasks to complex processes.
6. Process Mining and Optimisation Tools
This final category of tools come into play when processes have become so extensive and complex that it’s no longer possible to know exactly what it is. Process mining is a data-driven technique that analyses event logs from IT systems (like ERP, CRM, etc.) to understand how processes are actually being executed. They help businesses understand their processes, identify inefficiencies, and find opportunities for improvement and automation. Examples include:
- Celonis: A market leader in process mining, Celonis helps organisations visualise, analyse, and improve their business processes.
- Minit: Offers process mining and analytics tools to analyse workflows and optimise processes based on real data.
Larger organisations typically end up choosing a combination of these tools depending on their specific needs, such as enterprise-level automation, business analysis, or low-code development. Using these tools can be highly beneficial for organisations, but there are a significant number of challenges that people commonly face. These can range from a steep learning curve, technical difficulties to organisational and cultural barriers. In our next post we’ll explore these challenges in more detail.