In marketing and technology, software gets the credit for the improvement and the success of internal operations. Software is not the Fairy Godmother, but it can quickly turn a stage coat into a pumpkin if an organization does not apply the process before BPM. In The “P” in Business Process Management, Galen Gruman mentioned, when working with BPM tools, it's essential to emphasize that the effort is about business processes (not just the tools)."

Many times, organizations are looking for automation solutions but rely on the selected software to magically take care of their problems. Software does not work unless there is something and someone (or team) to power it. The something I am referring to is the system or process of the business function that the software will facilitate. Building a scalable and repeatable process can streamline the completion of any simple or complex task for long-term growth (HubSpot).

Companies like Motorola are showcasing how the marketing and IT departments are working together to develop processes before jumping headfirst into the software. “Looking at processes is so important before you can do BPM. [Not doing so] is why a lot of organizations haven’t got much value from it,” says Patty Morrison, CIO at Motorola. Getting started is similar to a standard decision-making process: identify the challenge, create steps to solve the challenge and establish a system to flow through the steps.

Once the process is established, it will protect the integrity of the software, lead the functionality of the tools and hold all participants accountable, just like a Fairy Godmother would. The process is the "why" or reason within the organization of the functions. The software is the "how" or the system in which the process operates. As a consultant, clients want to jump right into the solution by telling me what technology and/or software that they need. However, the first phase in my engagement is to analyze how things are done. Building out use cases, walking through the sales process, or even mapping out content against the buyer's journey for marketing campaigns are necessary before assigning SaaS solutions.

Have you worked on a team to create and implement a process for BPM success? How did that process save time and costs in the end?