Business Process Management
Business Process Management, or BPM, includes:
- Process design or engineering - the invention of new processes;
- Process definition - the description of existing processes;
- Process documentation - the capture or codification of processes (a component of KM); Process analysis and control; and
- Process improvement.
Process design and definition include describing what must be done and how it is to be accomplished. After defining a process, it must be documented using a flowchart, a process map, or even a simple checklist. Until the process is described and documented, one cannot be assured that a process is in place. At that point, the process can be analyzed, evaluated and improved as required.
Process improvement may result from gradual, continuous improvement or a dramatic reinvention or re-engineering of the process.