PROJ6009 Business Process Management and Systems Online Tutoring

Throughout any module in a classroom, a teacher always aims to give high-quality learnings to the students. However, not all students can understand the concepts equally. Usually, it is considered that once a module has been completed in the classroom, there is nothing new to learn. However, the above consideration is countered by the use of reflective statements. Reflective statements are used by the students to show their learnings over the course of a module. The insights from the reflective statement demonstrate the analytical skills and critical thinking of a student. In this reflective paper, I am sharing my learnings over the course of the module ‘business process management and systems’.

Before I started studying the module, I used to think that any activity in an organisation can be done by simply allocating it to an individual employee, however, over the course of this module I realised that there is a need for coordination among different activities in an organisation, and therefore despite working individually on an activity each employee is part of a larger team. Also, I learnt that business process management has a life-cycle that is divided into four phases: design and analysis, configuration, enactment, and evaluation. However, each organisation needs to ensure that its BPM has three key capabilities including the ability to manage change, the ability to respond fast, and the ability to leverage efficiency. By ensuring these capabilities in its BPM, an organisation can ensure that its BPM life-cycle is fast, efficient, and dynamic.

Initially, I was under the impression that the same solution can be applied to different organizational settings. However, I realized over the course of this module that to develop any solution for an organisation, there is a need to understand the existing process and the expected process. Based on the above evaluation, I think that a BPM system must be designed to ensure the transition from the current state to the proposed state is smooth. The designing is crucial as it must capture all the requirements of different stakeholders. Another reason why designing is crucial is that if any change needs to be done in the system it is comparatively less time consuming and also less costly than doing it in the subsequent phases (configuration and enactment). The reason behind the increase of time and cost in the subsequent phases is that the complexity of the process (in terms of what has already been achieved and what changes need to be done) increases drastically in each phase.

I also learnt that in any stage of BPM, there is a need to constantly monitor the progress. This can be done through the use of analytics in designing and implementation. The use of analytics helps in generating higher value for both the business as well as the customer. When combined with the process flow, analytics tools can optimize the business process. Prior to this module, I was only aware of the descriptive analytics tools, however, this module introduced me to predictive and prescriptive analytics. I consider this learning to be crucial as it changed the way I look at analytics. Earlier I used to think that understanding the historical data and the current data should suffice the information requirements of an organisation. However, I learnt that the information from historical and current scenarios can be used to make predictions for future scenarios. In my opinion, this is crucial as it can help an organisation to plan and develop its strategy accordingly. While I understand that future is uncertain and predictive analytics may not be hundred percent accurate however I strongly believe that it is a better alternative than no planning as a no planning scenario reflects an organization’s inability to respond to future challenges and opportunities. Instead, if an organisation has done some level of planning, it will be a better alternative than no planning. I also learnt that the insights from the historical and current data can also be used to develop an optimization model. This optimization model can help the management of a business to make decisions accurately.

Before this module, I had elementary knowledge about six sigma. However, I used to think that it is just some jargon, and does not have any real-time application. However, during the completion of the module, I am happy to be proven wrong as I came across a concept called Lean Six-Sigma. This concept helped me to understand how the workflow can be improved by eliminating waste and the process can be improved by reducing variation. While I understand that several models have been developed as part of the framework however I can state that my previous statement can describe lean Six-Sigma in its simplest form. I also learnt that most of the processes in an organisation are becoming more technology and automation oriented, therefore it is necessary that the BPM can always be integrated with the ERP system of an organisation.

Over the course of the module and the case study project, I learnt a lot of key lessons, that I would like to summaries as: first, the BPM must be a strategic fit in an organisation. Second, the BPM must be a continuous activity and not a one-off activity. Third, by developing capabilities, the BPM should enable an organisation to enhance its performance. Fourth, the BPM should aim for integration across the business. Fifth, the BPM should be embedded in the structure of the organisation to ease the decision-making process. Sixth, the BPM should integrate the interest of different stakeholder groups. Seventh, the BPM should promote mutual understanding and shared meaning. Eighth, The BPM should create strategic value. Ninth, the BPM should not be costly for the organisation. Tenth, the BPM should be open to increase the role of technology in the organisation.

The above learnings that I acquired over the course of this module changed my perception towards BPM and I am hopeful that the new insights that I have acquired will help me not only in my academic life but also in my professional life.