Exploring the intersection of business process improvement and BPM capability development

Abstract

Purpose Despite an obvious connection, business process improvement and business process management (BPM) capability development have been studied intensely, but in isolation. The authors thus aim to make the case for the research located at the intersection of both streams. The authors thereby focus on the integrated planning of business process improvement and BPM capability development as this is where, in the authors’ opinion, both streams have the closest interaction. The authors refer to the research field located at the intersection of business process improvement and BPM capability development as process project portfolio management. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach The authors structure the field of process project portfolio management drawing from extant knowledge related to BPM, project portfolio management, and performance management. The authors also propose a research agenda in terms of exemplary research questions and research methods. Findings The proposed structure shows which business objects and interactions should be considered when engaging in process project portfolio management. The research agenda contains exemplary questions structured along the intersections of BPM, project portfolio management, and performance management. Research limitations/implications This paper’s main limitation is that it reflects the authors’ individual viewpoints based on experiences of several industry projects and prior research. Originality/value This paper addresses a neglected research field, opens up new avenues for interdisciplinary BPM research, and contributes a novel perspective to the ongoing discussion about the future of BPM.

A Practitioners’ Point Of View On How Digital Innovation Will Shape The Future Of Business Process Management: Towards A Research Agenda

“…Action-based research [15] Conference BPM in general Literature review, researchers' expertise [16] Journal BPM in general Literature review, researchers' expertise [17] Journal Process improvement…”

Communication Papers of the 2018 Federated Conference on Computer Science and Information Systems

“…The IT network also presented six new perspectives represented by the following concepts: quality-management [46][47], process-logic [48][49] [50], continuous-improvement [51][52] [53], process-orientation [54][55], supply-chain [15][56] [57], and process-quality [58][59]. For management, only the traditional-bpm concept was represented [43][44] [45].…”

Bettering the business process

“…According to Lehnert et al (2017), BPM involves activities such as the identification, definition, modeling, implementation and execution, monitoring, control, and improvement of processes. The processes involved are divided into three types: core : collections of events, activities, and decision points involving actors and objects that collectively lead to valuable outcomes; support : those that ensure that core processes continue to function; and management : plan, organize, communicate, monitor, and control corporate activities. …”

“…As such, it is integral for organizations to integrate the planning of these two streams of development. To do this, Lehnert et al (2017) use BPM, project portfolio management, and performance management as theoretical angles from which to understand the intersection of business process improvement and BPM capability development.…”