The Value of a Formal Business Process

Repository

Over the past few years, a large number of organizations have initiated some type of Business
Process Management strategy. These strategies have taken many different forms from
requiring individual business units or departments to document work procedures to
enterprise-wide recognition of the importance of aligning business processes with the
financial and operational health of the organization. At one end of the spectrum countless
binders detailing individual work procedures line the cubicle shelves while at the other end
automated tools are used to maintain and integrate business processes with the daily
execution of critical applications. In the latter case, they are often considered core assets of
the organization. How an organization stores the information about its business processes
presents a clue as to whether they are considered merely nice-to-have documentation or true
business assets. As documentation, they are used primarily as reference material for the daily
activities of the organization. However, as often happens with documentation, it quickly
becomes out of date and adherence is difficult to monitor and enforce. As assets, integration
with the automated tools of the organization provides a means to ensure timely maintenance
and adherence.

A Business Process Repository is a central location for storing information about how an
enterprise operates. This information may be contained in various media including paper,
film or electronic form with a storage mechanism appropriate to the medium. Electronic
repositories range from passive containers which store process artifacts (also referred to as
process objects) to sophisticated tools that serve as active participants in monitoring,
executing, managing and reporting on business processes. They come in the form of
Document Management Systems, Process Modeling Tools and Business Process Management
Systems. Administration of a Business Process Repository includes activities such as storing,
managing and changing process knowledge (objects, relationships, enablers, attributes,
business rules, performance measures and models) for an enterprise. It includes creating the
repository structure; defining and maintaining procedures to ensure changes are controlled,
validated and approved; mapping processes to applications and data, and providing the
required infrastructure to enable effective and consistent use of the models in the repository.

A repository of business processes provides a central reference location to ensure consistent

communication about what each process is, how it should be applied, who is responsible for
its successful execution, a clear understanding of the inputs or triggers and what the expected
results should be upon process completion. It maintains information needed to adequately
define measure, analyze, improve and control business processes. It helps to promote and
support the understanding and acceptance of the cross-functional nature of many of the
enterprise’s business processes and facilitates collaboration across functional business units
by enabling and enforcing a methodology that focuses on the end-to-end process.

Object-based repositories also store information about the individual objects used by the
Business. These objects are reused throughout the model providing consistency and
simplifying maintenance. Consistent use of common objects avoids redundancy and
contradictory information about a business artifact as the object only exists once in the
repository but can be visually represented in multiple places. This allows the impact of a
change to an object to be immediately visible wherever that object has been used.
A centralized Business Process Repository is critical to the success of the enterprise’s business
process strategy by providing a blueprint to manage and control how process change is
introduced and implemented into the enterprise. It also becomes the system of record for
information on process ownership, technological enablers, business rules and controls, both
financial and operational. It may serve primarily as documentation about the enterprise’s
business processes or may be used to simulate various scenarios to evaluate process
improvements and to detect and analyze problems. It can also be used to identify and validate
the appropriate solution. Sophisticated repositories can be interfaced with the enterprise’s
applications to enforce defined business rules. Today there are a large number of products
available for modeling and storing business processes and we are starting to see more that also
have the capability of simulation and integration with other applications. In addition to
numerous whitepapers and studies available on the BPM Institute website, the 2006 BPM
Suites Report Release 2.0 and the BPTrends 2006 Enterprise Architecture, Process Modeling
and Simulation Tools Report contain reviews on many of the leading products.

While there are many roles involved with managing a central Business Process Repository,
recognition that business processes are valuable assets of the Enterprise requires Management
to play a key role in providing the resources and support needed to promote and maintain the
repository. Understanding the value of the Process Repository is required to provide sufficient
direction and resources. A variety of reports should be available to provide Management with
the information necessary to make informed decisions. This information, whether applied to
manual, automated or semi-automated processes, should include:

Time required to complete the process

Frequency of execution
Amount and type of resources required (i.e. people, equipment, computer cycles)
Cost of executing the process (includes direct and indirect costs)
Owners and stakeholders of a process
Applications and technologies including those that enable the process and those that are
enabled by the process.
Details of the computing, financial and operational controls for each process, also known
as compliance activities.
Adherence to Regulatory requirements
Value to the organization.

In addition to reports, analytical tool sets should be made available that use the repository
information together with other key strategic data to identify and prioritize improvement
initiatives. By making strategic decisions from a cross-functional Business Process
perspective, the potential for improving one area at the expense of another can be minimized
or eliminated.

Administration of the Business Process Repository also involves ensuring that

adequate measures are taken to protect the integrity and physical security of the
repository;
it performs at an optimal level;
access to the repository is controlled and meets defined availability requirements;
standards and administration procedures meet the needs of the organization and are
adhered to.

A formal change control procedure needs to be in place and adhered to. This procedure
includes how to request check-out/check-in, check-in/check-out criteria, approvals required,
timelines, and conflict resolution. When any component is checked out, a change freeze
should be implemented.

Administration of the Business Process Repository is a critical component of managing

business processes that should be taken as seriously as the administration of any other
company asset. As the blueprint for process management within the organization, it not only
provides a common frame of reference and method of consistent communication, but it is also
the system of record for information on process ownership, technological enablers, business
rules and controls, both financial and operational. Effective and consistent administration of
this valuable asset is critical to developing and maintaining the holistic nature of the
enterprise’s processes through promotion and acceptance of their cross-functional nature.

Sandra has over twenty years experience in system and process design and development
working with utility, transportation, logistics, insurance and banking organizations in the
US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Wales, UK. She has taught at Algonquin College in
Ontario and at the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology. As a Senior
Business Process Management Consultant, her responsibilities included development of a
BPM Governance, training, mentoring and support of business improvement initiatives. A
graduate in Computer Science from the University of Regina, she is a certified Project
Management Professional (PMP) and is currently President of the Association for Business
Process Management Professionals, Portland Chapter.