Business Process Management, continuous improvement and enterprise architecture: In the jungle of governance

Abstract

Business Process Management (BPM) is fundamental in IT/IS systems requirement specifications and is also well positioned in Enterprise Architecture (EA) frameworks and practices. Continuous Improvement (CI) relates to agendas of lean, six sigma, and incessant push for increased effectiveness of the organization. This paper is developing a position of EA-driven BPM as being long-term, strategic and “slow”, whereas CI is short-term, operational and “fast”. A case study is presented, where CI is furthermore locally based and BPM is centrally based in a larger organization. This leads to conflicts between BPM and CI where the corporate value of both is eroded as IS initiatives on ERP implementation are prolonged and CI initiatives fail to match to-be scenarios. This paper discuss EA as a mediator, where EA is communicating business opportunities to “positive” CI initiatives and aiming at stopping “negative” CI initiatives. An EA-based process tracing mechanism is suggested and demonstrated connecting business processes, ERP, and silo-based elements for CI initiatives. Furthermore, a CI project management tool is discussed to outline screening opportunities for EA-based CI reviews. An agenda is developed to ensure that CI projects are developed according to the Enterprise Architecture and developed along the organizational architecture and not as silo projects. Furthermore Enterprise Architecture is in such case not alone to induce changes and EA must develop methods to synchronise and coordinate with other change processes.