Management should then identify specific activities whose automation would have a noticeable effect on corporate performance. "Every organization runs hundreds of batch processes," says Meta Group analyst Val Sribar. "The CIO or business management should look for the specific processes--perhaps four or five which, if taken out of batch and moved closer to real time, would have the greatest positive effect on the organization."

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

Once processes are targeted, they can be redesigned and automated to create discrete closed-loop BPM processes focused on specific local tasks. This enables management to change business methods and win the support of the comparatively small groups of people involved in these specific processes, and enables the IT organization to build, test, and debug manageable automation solutions without risking business disaster if a component crashes.

Over time, the organization can add more of these specific BPM loops. Because they are all built on top of a single business and IT architecture of standards, these individual loops can eventually be integrated. Also, when a superior new technology or solution appears, it can be plugged in and the older technology swapped out, because the system is based on standards.

User action: Users should apply the principles of closed-loop BPM to specific business processes where automation, faster response times, and a close link between business planning and execution will have the greatest positive impact on the enterprise. They should focus first on processes that are highly sensitive to sudden changes in the business and market climate, such as budgeting and project funding. To succeed at BPM, organizations need to maintain a realistic understanding of the complexity of business processes and human behavior as well as the amount of effort required to change them.