A Framework for a Bpm Center of Excellence

BPTrends ▪ September 2009

A Framework for a BPM Center of Excellence

A Framework for a BPM Center of Excellence

Leandro Jesus, Andre Macieira, Daniel Karrer, Michael Rosemann

Abstract A BPM Center of Excellence (CoE) is a governance mechanism that is widely adopted by organizations aiming for a consistent and centralized roll-out of BPM initiatives. This Article debates and groups a list of services that could be offered by a centralized BPM Center of Excellence, and proposes three capability levels for the structured progression of the CoE offerings. The level of detail of analysis goes beyond previous proposals and facilitates the design of such a CoE according to different levels of BPM maturity.

BPM Governance and the Need for a Center of Excellence

In recent years, several organizations have made significant investments in a multitude of Business Process Management (BPM) initiatives. Practice has shown numerous examples where BPM projects led to significant transformations of organizations, such as increased operational efficiency, new service offerings, process automation, performance monitoring enhancement, structural re-design, and improved compliance, to name just a few. However, the uptake of Business Process Management is partly hindered by the fact that BPM as a discipline still lacks a natural home. Consequently, and combined with the high interest in BPM, it is not uncommon that multiple BPM initiatives with different purposes are conducted in an isolated way inside an organization, leading to a limited utilization of synergies and a diminished return on BPM investment. This makes the BPM adoption more difficult, because most of the efforts become costly, piecemeal efforts, and there is no consolidation of BPM benefits leading to limited economies of scale and overall credibility. One of the significant challenges in the BPM adoption is assuring consistency in the delivery and sustainability from the executed action, leading to an...