workflow vs business process management

How a road trip can spell out the difference

Workflow vs Business Process Management

SUCCESSSTART

Business Process Management (BPM) includes:

Designing processes

Executing processes

Managing tasks

Continual optimization

WHY THE CONFUSION?

Workflow = Coordinating Processes

Here are 3 analogies to betterexplain the difference…

To prepare for a road trip, you need to manage a number of things:

Supplies and gas Planning your route Timing everything just right

A short road trip from here to there?

THE ROAD TRIP ANALOGY1.

That’s a workflow.

But what if your job was traffic control?

Traffic involves many individual cars making individual trips.

In the master control center, you are monitoring how the traffic flows and optimizing traffic patterns in real-time.

You also analyze past traffic issues and redesign the roads themselves to optimize future traffic flow.

That’s BPM.

Say you take a roadtrip to the zoo, and your kids just saw a movie about the ocean so they’re super-excited to see the turtles first.

As soon as you arrive, they make a bee-line for the turtle enclosure.

One goal, one focus.

THE ZOO ANALOGY

That’s a workflow.

2.

What about the zookeeper?

He designs and maintains the habitatsof both the turtles and all the other animals.

He measures daily feeding, interactions and optimizes the enclosures so the animals stay healthy and the visitors have a great time.

That’s BPM.

After the zoo, it’s time for ice cream!

One child LOVES chocolate, so the choice is simple:

Two scoops of chocolate ice cream in a cup.

That’s a workflow.

THE ICE CREAM ANALOGY3.

Let’s say the other child has broader ideas about what makes a good ice cream treat.

Every time it’s different:

Flavor Sauce Sprinkles

Multiple dynamic options are considered and combined into a great end result every time.

That’s a littlemore like BPM.

WORKFLOW

Simple routing with no optimization.

Workflow is a component of BPM.

BPM

The technology and art of optimizing your operations.

Constantly measuring, adjusting and optimizing the

flow of the business.

Design processes

Execute with ease

Manage tasks

Continually optimize

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