Having trouble deconstructing your business in terms of processes? Try this exercise on for size. Imagine how a process would flow if you and only you had to perform the entire thing. Pick a particular key activity, and begin looking at all the tasks that enable that activity to be completed.…

We here at APQC read with interest the recently posted Business Process Manifesto from BP Trends Associates. The manifesto is aimed at cleanly defining what business processes are and their context within an organization. As the lead for the effort Roger Burlton has again facilitated a thought…

Love risk but hate loss?  You're not alone. “This new market strategy is great… but what if we lost one of our key clients?” “This product has the potential to make a huge splash… but should we stray too far from what we are known for?” “This improvement proposal could improve our…

Yesterday, I hosted a Webinar all about the new “Business Excellence” content in the Knowledge Base. If you are at all curious about the latest and greatest that we have in process management, measurement, benchmarking, and innovation, check it out here: Now in the Knowledge Base: Business…

No one knows who first said it, but a popular saying asserts: "You don't know where you're going until you know where you've been." I'd like to offer an equally, if not more important, statement that can be applied to process management and improvement: "You don't know where you can go if you don't…

Luckily, you didn't have to actually be there this time. We wrote it all down in New Product Development: Embracing an Adaptable Process - EXFO Case Study. In the fall of 2010, I joined APQC's Collaborative Research team on a trip to Canada, where we visited the Quebec City offices and…

Process management can become a very insular activity. Process-focused teams pore over business documentation, interview key employees, and painstakingly map out the way the organization conducts business. As definitions are written, designs drawn up, and reports presented to executives, some teams…

No, not the “seven tenants of process management.” We’re not asking you to get seven experts to move into your facility, pay rent, and magically imbue your business with process management power. Tenets, my friends. How do you know if you are really managing according to processes? How do you…

Whew! A new APQC Collaborative Research study has just launched: Harnessing Enterprise Quality Measurement to Create Business Value. This summer, we’ll be investigating the ways top organizations measure quality. And with the hot, hot Houston summer upon us at APQC, there’s no better time to stay…

This is a serious pet peeve of mine. Many business professionals think of business process management (BPM) purely in terms of the technological tools that enable it. Countless vendors sell “BPM” as though you can buy it in a box, hire a developer, and magically experience fully integrated BPM…