Vision, goals, strategy, and KPIs for the overall BPM initiative
Vision, goals, strategy, and KPIs for the overall BPM initiative
Creating a vision of a desired outcome from the BPM initiative is one of the first responsibilities of the strategy element of a BPM CoE. This vision should articulate the current state that gave rise to the need for BPM within the organization, the high-level challenges that must be overcome by using the BPM initiative, and what the shape of the organization will look like after these challenges are overcome.
The goals for the BPM initiative should be measurable and clearly in support of the vision. We suggest following the SMART paradigm, which is the industry standard framework for creating goals. SMART has the following meaning:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Realistic
- Timely
Taken together, the vision and the goals should complement each other in creating a standing business case for BPM throughout the organization.
An important note is that the vision and goals stated here are not limited to the BPM CoE itself, but rather to the entire BPM initiative, which can include all other organizations related to governing, operationally executing, or benefiting from BPM.
These goals must be a good mixture of end-states beyond which the problem can be considered solved, and a set of in perpetuity goals that should continue to carry and support your journey toward full BPM maturity.
After the first draft of the vision and goals are in place, the strategic element of the BPM CoE is responsible for creating high-level guidelines, key strategic decisions, and a sequence of significant planned events. The sequence should form a timeline that supports the achievement of the goals, and thus, the vision. The guidelines, decisions, and the event timeline can serve as a planning and strategy guide that informs the overall BPM initiative at various stages of maturity, in areas of technology and also business strategy.
Depending on the ambition of the vision, the effort required to achieve the goals, and the aggressiveness of the timeline, you can elaborate or abbreviate the level of detail required of the strategy to suit the situation.
Key performance indicators
A crucial point to understand is that the creation of the vision, goals, and strategy will not by itself achieve any benefit for the organization. What is required to realize tangible benefit is to also own the driving of your ideas to tactical depth, by being actively involved in individual BPM projects, and by using the projects as vehicles to advance your strategy. The immediate results of those projects will create benefits that might initially seem unrelated to the enterprise goals and strategy, but are in fact leading indicators of improvement that directly affect the mandate of the BPM CoE. These leading indicators are commonly called key performance indicators (KPIs).
KPIs must be predetermined by the strategy element of the BPM CoE, as the framework within which evidence of strategic progress is gathered.
Supporting activities
Activities can be initial and perpetual.