A playback is the execution of a portion of the solution or an ad hoc demonstration. It is also an opportunity to involve the participants of the process in a concrete and valuable way. The business users should run the playback, with coaching where needed. Each playback provides validation that the process is headed in the correct direction and fosters business ownership, expectance, and sponsorship of the solution.

Each BPM project should have at least four milestone playbacks.

Milestone playbacks should have the following audience:

• All business participants (at least one representative of each group)
• All business stakeholders in the process
• Report consumers (decision makers)
• Process owners
• Process developers
• Engagement manager
• Sales team (at least for initial playback)

The audience needs to be aware of what portion of the process they are focusing on. This situation also anchors conversations and questions on the elements of the playback instead of wandering off the path toward process discovery of other areas.

A playback within the iterative lifecycle is expected to create questions and suggestions that feed into subsequent playbacks. With each milestone reached and each playback exercise completed, the business participants play a stronger role in the development. They become more familiar with the solution and contribute to the outcome.

Tips for a playback strategy:

• Demonstrate return on investment (ROI) using established metrics. If metrics have not been determined, it is of immediate priority to do so.
• Custom reports and scoreboards need to be tested and refined as much as the process itself. Do not wait until the last playback to show a report.
• Scoreboards should be designed before the process is modeled.
• Explain how the scoreboards and reports relate to the process metrics and facilitate management decisions.
• Practice the playback demonstration. Technical problems during a playback can undermine stakeholder confidence in the solution.