You’ve gotten to the point where you’re spending more time dealing with operational issues than running your business. Your team is producing more spreadsheets than ever before, and you have no idea where each project is in the process. You use separate software for different functions. You’re aware that the information is available, but it’s buried in emails and spreadsheets. Then there are the customers; when do you finally get a go at customer-centric behaviors when the document needed to complete a process is still missing? You need a solution, and you think it’s BPM, which is excellent.
However, there is a lot of BPM software, and this presents you with the challenge of choosing the most suitable one for your company. The best solutions are supposed to align with your organizational goals and visions. This article details the twenty things you must consider while choosing a BPM solution for your business.
Things To Consider When Selecting BPM Software for Your Company
The Problem
What problem do you intend to solve? Business processes differ with organizations and therefore have different needs. Are you looking for a simple system to automate business processes within your company, or do you require one that can accept integration with other managing software?
For instance, you may want data from your workflow software to flow into your accounting or ERP software. Going for a lesser software would undoubtedly create another business liability in the future. If you’re not sure which software to look for based on your organization level, it’d be best to consult a specialist.
The Cost of Purchasing a Software
Purchasing software because it has many features is not a wise decision. The majority of the features provided may be irrelevant to your business. When you decide to buy something, make a basic budget outlining your must-have features within your price range. Make a list of lists that aren’t so important or necessary. This will assist you in determining the value you expect the software to bring to your company.
Keep in mind that the cost of the software does not always correspond to the value it provides.
Easy Onboarding
You should select software that your employees or staff can easily and quickly adapt to. The only disadvantage of choosing complex software is that it takes significantly more time to understand the tool, which will impact productivity and efficiency, but with time, it will prove the best decision.
If the solutions your business needs are complex, then implement them on time. Doing so will ensure that your protocols and processes, including employee training, are up and running smoothly. Understanding software features ahead of time will help you plan your business operations accordingly.
Improved Teamwork
Business process improvement is all about teamwork and is an important consideration when selecting BPM software. How will the tool you choose encourage your teams to use it actively? Will the team’s output improve? Will it contribute to the exchange of ideas and feedback? Yes, it has to be yes. Because they facilitate improvement, these suggestions will ultimately lead to business success.
Software Flexibility
Any tool you select for your business must be scalable and adaptable. As business requirements change, so will the role of your BPM software. As a result, having a rigid tool can limit scalability. You may require technical assistance whenever you want to make a minor change or add features. If your software is too complex, and every change or step will need the help of a developer, not only will you get behind on projects, but it will also significantly increase the company’s costs. Fortunately, there are low-code or no-code software that can provide the solutions you need.
Integration With Other Web Tools or Systems
The system you are looking to purchase for your business should have features that allow integration with other systems within your organization. The whole point of getting the BMP solution is to enhance productivity through automation systems. Therefore, if the BPM system doesn’t provide that, it serves no purpose.
A BPM system should communicate with all existing software and other third-party systems. Users will have to manually transfer data from one system to another to complete processes without these powerful integrations.
You can use REST APIs, other connector sets, and built-in connector libraries to integrate external functionalities into workflows. These integrations should also include detailed API support and webhooks.
Remote Operations
The whole point of automation software is to make operations easier- more productivity and less effort, including being able to access the system from anywhere. This doesn’t mean the teams will no longer work, but they get to put the extra effort into other value-adding tasks.
The days of handling everything from the office are long gone. The most recent events in the world have accelerated remote working. Boundaries will not define where you work. As a result, the BPM software you select should be accessible at all times and from any location.
Compatibility With Company’s Business Culture
Note that process-based management is more than a management model; it is a reality that you must incorporate into a company’s culture to begin operating with a focus on processes rather than departments and vertical hierarchies.
On the other hand, a tool must be tailored to the company’s existing culture; otherwise, it may face employee resistance.
It is not about selecting the best software on the market but rather the best for your specific situation. Some businesses, for example, have far more complex processes than others.
Software Updates
Take any of the best software companies – their products and services are constantly updated. When purchasing a BPM tool, ask the vendor how frequently they update their products and how they will communicate with you.
You should also find out if service restrictions during updates occur, as this could impact business operations.
Security Features
Data security is critical when selecting software, so you must understand how data is collected, secured, and shared within the system. You would be integrating this system into your business operations and, most likely other software solutions within your organization. How well can you trust its security? Understand how it protects your sensitive information from cyber-attacks. You can accomplish this by thoroughly reviewing the security page or software features that you are considering purchasing. Have the documents reviewed by your legal team before signing anything.
Vendor/Customer Support
In any business, customer service is critical as it directly bears the success or failure of your company. It would be best to choose a vendor with a strong support team to assist your employees with the software and its use.
Always review the customer support feature provided by the vendor you choose. This may entail contacting the vendor to inquire about the support team’s availability, response time to queries, or even basic onboarding information. It’s also a good idea to ask about their support options, such as phone, email, or a chat box, so that when your employees or staff need help, you’re sure about the availability of the vendor’s support team.
Improved Business Processes
A good BPM software shouldn’t just be about adapting to your organizational hierarchy and rules to achieve your business goals. It should also be able to keep records of data and processes, analyze them, and use the result from the analysis to help you find better ways of doing things within your organization.
For example, a business must continually aim customer-centric and build conducive customer relationships. If, after a while, you implement different processes with your software solution and the result that comes in, you should be able to use the data to decide on which method increases your customer base and stick with that.
Reporting Tools
A good BPM solution should include a reporting feature that allows you to create detailed graphs and reports without exporting data to another program.
It should have the following capabilities:
- Monitor key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify bottlenecks, inefficient processes, and underperforming employees.
- Calculate the cost of delays and overdue processes using service level agreement (SLA) reporting.
- Collect detailed information on which tasks are behind schedule and who is responsible for them.
Role-Based Access
Not everyone within the organization should have the authority to access the system, so the BPM solution must come with features that allow your teams access to the system based on user roles from different locations. You should be able to assign roles to team members within the system, and restrict each user to their task areas, thus ensuring that no action or inaction happens without the authorized personnel’s approval. Not only does this help protect your company’s data, but it also ensures that you can keep track of events at all times.
A user-based access feature will ensure that your organization’s data is well-managed and promote effective collaboration among all departments in your marketing teams. When collaboration is effective, creative processes can proceed quickly with a short time to market, allowing your company to quickly gain market share control.
Reliable Document Management
Document uploading and generation are part of some of your processes. When choosing a BPM platform, consider how the system will integrate documents with processes. Do you want to keep documents outside the platform or use the BPM as your primary document repository? Whichever you’d like to employ, make sure the BPM you choose has the necessary connectors.
Business Architecture and Taxonomy
Business architecture helps organizations design and execute set down business strategies, effectively run their operations, and achieve strategic goals. A 360-degree view of the entire business architecture provides a business-value-centric view of all business processes by the department. Therefore, you should look out for BPM platforms that support business process mapping and organizational structure design, as that will help increase the visibility and transparency of your entire organization.
Organizational Collaboration
The importance of collaboration between teams in an organization, especially during a crisis, cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, from content sharing to internal messaging and discussing business topics, BPM solutions should provide a central user portal or knowledge base where users can share information, communicate more quickly, better understand business processes, and plan their work.
Mobile Optimization
The workforce landscape is gradually shifting toward remote working. The pandemic impact of remote working has opened our eyes to the flexibility and convenience that the digital era provides. As more people use mobile devices, BPM solutions must be mobile-optimized, as users have a low tolerance for applications that they can only use while sitting at a desk. Members of the team must be able to customize their working environment and access the BPM platform from anywhere, even if they only have a smartphone.
Single Sign-On Feature (SSO)
You may need a single sign-on feature for any new software based on your IT policies if you manage a large corporation. SSO enables users to log in to multiple independent software platforms using a single set of credentials. The SSO feature assists your IT team in granting access and tracking activity.
Some BPM systems provide Single Sign-On, but their capabilities may be limited. Check to see if they have the type you require.
Administration Management
Even the best business process management system makes mistakes from time to time. You must be able to react quickly to changing circumstances and change the course of the process. You might also need to make a process change from time to time as it becomes more expensive when you always have to count on a technical expert to help. Your administrators or high-level users should be able to handle these situations with little assistance, and you should only get a BPM solution that leaves space for one.
In Conclusion
All of the above considerations will undoubtedly help you make the best BPM implementation decision. However, above all, only move ahead with a vendor you fully trust. The BPM tools are supposed to increase your company’s productivity, so you must understand your business requirements while evaluating the software. Any software you choose should make completing your jobs and tasks efficient and straightforward for you and your team, rather than being difficult to adapt and understand.