Adam Smith

An important early description (1776) of processes was that of the economist Adam Smith in his famous example of a bolt factory. Inspired by an article in Diderot's encyclopedia, Smith described the production of a pin as follows:[7]​.

Smith also recognized for the first time how production could be increased through the use of the division of labor. Previously, in a society where production was dominated by artisanal products, one man would perform all the necessary activities during the production process, while Smith described how work was divided into a set of simple tasks, which would be performed by specialized workers.[3]​ The result of the division of labor in Smith's example resulted in an increase in productivity by 24,000 percent (sic), that is, the same number of workers made 240 times as many pins as those who had been producing before the introduction of the division of labor.[7]​.

It is worth noting that Smith did not advocate division of labor at any price per se. The appropriate level of division of tasks was defined by the experimental design of the production process. In contrast to Smith's view that was limited to the same functional domain and to the activities involved that are in direct sequence in the manufacturing process,[7]​ today's process concept includes cross-functionality as an important characteristic.[8]​.

Frederick Winslow Taylor

The American engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor greatly influenced and improved the quality of industrial processes at the beginning of the century. His Scientific Management Principles focused on standardization of processes, systematic training, and clearly defining the roles of management and employees.[3] His methods were widely adopted in the United States, Russia, and parts of Europe and led to new developments such as "time and motion study" and visual task optimization techniques such as Gantt charts.

Peter Drucker

In the latter part of the century, management guru Peter Drucker focused much of his work on simplifying and decentralizing processes, which led to the concept of outsourcing. He also coined the concept of the knowledge worker — differentiated from manual workers — and how knowledge management would become part of an entity's processes.[9]​[10]​.

Other definitions

Davenport (1993)[11] defines a (business) process as:

This definition contains certain characteristics that a process must possess. These features are achieved through a focus on the business logic of the process (how the work is done), rather than taking a product perspective (what is done). Following Davenport's definition of a process we can conclude that a process must have clearly defined boundaries, input and output, that it consists of smaller parts, activities, that are ordered in time and space, that there must be a recipient of the resulting process - a customer - and that the transformation that is taking place within the process must add value to the customer.

Hammer & Champy (1993)[12]​ the definition can be considered as a subset of Davenport. They define a process as:

As we can notice, Hammer & Champy have a more transformation-oriented perception, and place less emphasis on the structural component – ​​the limits of the process and the order of activities in time and space.

Rummler & Brache (1995)[13]​ use a definition that clearly understands the organization's external customer focus, stating that.

The above definition distinguishes two types of processes, primary and supporting processes, depending on whether a process is directly involved in creating customer value, or deals with the internal activities of the organization. In this sense, Rummler and Brache's definition follows Porter's value chain model, which is also based on a division of primary and secondary activities. According to Rummler and Brache, a typical characteristic of a successful process-based organization is the absence of secondary activities in the primary value stream that is created in the primary customer-oriented processes. The characteristic of processes spanning the blank space on the organization chart indicates that the processes are embedded in some form of organizational structure. Additionally, a process can be multifunctional, that is, it spans several business functions.

Johansson et al. (1993).[14]​ defines a process as:.

This definition also emphasizes the constitution of links between activities and the transformation that takes place within the process. Johansson et al. They also include the top of the value chain as a possible recipient of the process output. Summarizing the four definitions above, we can compile the following list of characteristics for a business process:.

1. • Definability: it must have clearly defined limits, entrance and exit.

2. • Order: must consist of activities that are ordered according to their position in time and space (a sequence).

3. • Client: there must be a recipient of the process' result, a client.

4. • Added value: the transformation that is being carried out within the process must add value to the recipient, either in an ascending or descending manner.

5. • Embedding: a process cannot exist in itself, it must be embedded in an organizational structure.

6. • Cross-functionality: a process can, but does not necessarily have to, span several functions.

Often, the identification of a process owner (i.e., the person responsible for continuous improvement of the process) is considered a prerequisite. Sometimes the owner of the process is the same person who is performing the process.

Workflow

Workflow is the procedural movement of information, material, and tasks from one participant to another.[15]​ Workflow includes the procedures, people, and tools involved in each step of a business process. A single workflow can be sequential, with each step contingent on the completion of the previous one, or parallel, with multiple steps occurring simultaneously. Multiple combinations of individual workflows can be connected to achieve a resulting overall process.[15]​.

Business process reengineering

Business process reengineering (BPR) was originally conceptualized by Hammer and Davenport as a means to improve organizational effectiveness and productivity. It involved starting from a blank slate and completely recreating important business processes as well as using information technology for significant performance improvement. Unfortunately, the term became associated with corporate "downsizing" in the mid-1990s.[16]

Business process management (GPN)

Although the term has been used contextually with the mixed effect, business process management (BPM) can generally be defined as a discipline that involves a combination of a wide variety of business activity streams (e.g., automation, modeling, and optimization) that strives to support an enterprise's objectives within and across multiple boundaries, involving many people, from employees to customers and external partners.[17] An important part of business BPM support consists of the continuous evaluation of existing processes and the identification of problems. the ways to improve it, resulting in a cycle of global organizational improvement.

Knowledge management

Knowledge management is the definition of knowledge that employees and systems use to perform their functions and maintain it in a format that can be accessed by others. The Duhon and the Gartner Group have defined it as "a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, capturing, evaluating, recovering and sharing all of an enterprise's information assets. These assets may include databases, documents, policies, procedures, and knowledge and experience previously not captured in individual workers."[18]

Total quality management

Total quality management (TQM) emerged in the early 1980s as organizations sought to improve the quality of their products and services. It was followed by the Six Sigma methodology in the mid-1980s, first introduced by Motorola. Six Sigma consists of statistical methods for improving business processes and thus reducing product defects. customer and waste reduction.[19]​[20][21]​.

Information technology as an enabler for business process management

Advances in information technology over the years have changed business processes within and between companies. In the 1960s, operating systems had limited functionality and the workflow management systems used were tailored to the specific organization. The 1970s and 1980s saw the development of data-driven approaches as data storage and retrieval technologies improved. Data modeling rather than process modeling was the starting point for building an information system. Business processes had to adapt to information technology because process modeling was neglected. The shift towards process-oriented management occurred in the 1990s. Enterprise resource planning software with workflow management components such as SAP, Baan), PeopleSoft, Oracle and JD Edwards emerged, as did enterprise process management systems (EBMS) later.[22]​.

The world of e-business created the need to automate business processes among organizations, which in turn raised the need for standardized protocols and web services composition languages ​​that can be understood across the industry. The Business Process Model and Notation (MNPN) and the Business Motivation Model (MMN) are widely used standards for business modeling. companies.[23]​.

The most recent trends in GPN are influenced by the emergence of cloud technology, the prevalence of social media, mobile technology, and the development of analytical techniques. Cloud-based technologies enable businesses to acquire resources quickly and as needed, regardless of their location. Social media, websites and smartphones are the latest channels through which organizations reach and support their customers. The abundance of customer data collected through these channels, as well as through call center interactions, emails, voice calls and customer surveys has led to enormous growth in data analytics which in turn is used for performance management and improving the ways in which the company serves its customers.[24]​.

Business processes comprise a set of sequential sub-processes or tasks with alternative paths, depending on certain conditions as applicable, performed to achieve a given objective or produce given products. Each process has one or more necessary inputs. Inputs and outputs can be received or sent to other business processes, other organizational units, or internal or external stakeholders.[1]​.

Business processes are designed to be operated by one or more functional units of the business, and emphasize the importance of the "process chain" rather than individual units.

In general, the various tasks of a business process can be performed in one of two ways:[1]​.

1. • manually.

2. • through business data processing systems such as ERP systems.

Typically, some process tasks will be manual, while some will be computer-based, and these tasks can be sequenced in many ways. In other words, the data and information being handled through the process can pass through manual or computer tasks in a given order.

The above areas of improvement are equally applicable to policies, processes, detailed procedures (sub-processes/tasks) and work instructions. There is a cascading effect from improvements made at a higher level to those made at a lower level.[25]​.

For example, if a recommendation to replace a given policy with a better one is made with appropriate justification and accepted in principle by the business process owners, then corresponding changes in consequent processes and procedures will naturally follow to enable implementation of the directives.

Business processes must include up-to-date and accurate reporting to ensure effective action.[26] An example of this is the availability of purchase order status reports for supplier delivery tracking as described in the effectiveness section above. There are numerous examples of this in every possible business process.

Another example from production is the process of analyzing line rejects that occur on the store floor. This process should include systematic periodic analysis of rejections for reasons, and presenting the results in an appropriate information report that identifies the main reasons, and trends in these reasons, for management to take corrective action to control rejections and keep them within acceptable limits. This process of analysis and summarization of line rejection events is clearly superior to a process that simply investigates each individual rejection as it occurs.

Business process owners and operators must realize that process improvement often occurs with the introduction of the appropriate transaction, operational, highlight, exception, or M.I.S. reports, as long as they are consciously used for daily or periodic decision-making. With this understanding, we hope that you will be willing to invest time and other resources in improving business processes by introducing useful and relevant reporting systems.

Scope of control

The span of control") is the number of subordinates that a supervisor manages within a structural organization. The introduction of a business process concept has a considerable impact on the structural elements of the organization and therefore also on the span of control.[27]​.

Large organizations that are not organized as markets need to be organized into smaller units – departments – which can be defined according to different principles.

Information management concepts

Information management, and the organization's infrastructure strategies related to it, are a theoretical cornerstone of the business process concept, requiring "a framework to measure the level of IT support for business processes."[28]​.

• - Outsourcing of business processes.

• - soaAgenda - Articles about BPM and business process approach in IT.

• - Blog by Professor Óscar Barros, Ph. D. from the University of Wisconsin, on Business Engineering.

• - Web page that contains BPMN standard definitions of specific business processes by industrial sector.

• - Barros, Oscar: Business process reengineering, Editorial Dolmen, Chile, 1994.

• - Davenport, Thomas: Process Innovation, Harvard Business School Press, USA, 1993.

• - Hammer, Michael: Re-engineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1990, pp. 104-112.

• - IBM: Business Systems Planning-Information Systems Planning Guide, GE20-0527-3, USA, 1981.

• - ISO: International Standard ISO 9001 - Quality management systems – Requirements, ISO Central Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland, 2000.

• - Zachman, J.A.: Business Systems Planning and Business Information Control Study: A comparison, IBM Systems Journal, volume 21, number 1, p. 31, 1982.

• - Ould, M.: Business Processes: Modeling and Analysis for Re-Engineering and Improvement, Wiley, 1995.

• - Gomez Gutierrez, Marco Vinicio: Proposal to improve the admission and enrollment processes of the Technological Institute of Costa Rica using a BPM methodology, 2014.

Adam Smith

An important early description (1776) of processes was that of the economist Adam Smith in his famous example of a bolt factory. Inspired by an article in Diderot's encyclopedia, Smith described the production of a pin as follows:[7]​.

Smith also recognized for the first time how production could be increased through the use of the division of labor. Previously, in a society where production was dominated by artisanal products, one man would perform all the necessary activities during the production process, while Smith described how work was divided into a set of simple tasks, which would be performed by specialized workers.[3]​ The result of the division of labor in Smith's example resulted in an increase in productivity by 24,000 percent (sic), that is, the same number of workers made 240 times as many pins as those who had been producing before the introduction of the division of labor.[7]​.

It is worth noting that Smith did not advocate division of labor at any price per se. The appropriate level of division of tasks was defined by the experimental design of the production process. In contrast to Smith's view that was limited to the same functional domain and to the activities involved that are in direct sequence in the manufacturing process,[7]​ today's process concept includes cross-functionality as an important characteristic.[8]​.

Frederick Winslow Taylor

The American engineer Frederick Winslow Taylor greatly influenced and improved the quality of industrial processes at the beginning of the century. His Scientific Management Principles focused on standardization of processes, systematic training, and clearly defining the roles of management and employees.[3] His methods were widely adopted in the United States, Russia, and parts of Europe and led to new developments such as "time and motion study" and visual task optimization techniques such as Gantt charts.

Peter Drucker

In the latter part of the century, management guru Peter Drucker focused much of his work on simplifying and decentralizing processes, which led to the concept of outsourcing. He also coined the concept of the knowledge worker — differentiated from manual workers — and how knowledge management would become part of an entity's processes.[9]​[10]​.

Other definitions

Davenport (1993)[11] defines a (business) process as:

This definition contains certain characteristics that a process must possess. These features are achieved through a focus on the business logic of the process (how the work is done), rather than taking a product perspective (what is done). Following Davenport's definition of a process we can conclude that a process must have clearly defined boundaries, input and output, that it consists of smaller parts, activities, that are ordered in time and space, that there must be a recipient of the resulting process - a customer - and that the transformation that is taking place within the process must add value to the customer.

Hammer & Champy (1993)[12]​ the definition can be considered as a subset of Davenport. They define a process as:

As we can notice, Hammer & Champy have a more transformation-oriented perception, and place less emphasis on the structural component – ​​the limits of the process and the order of activities in time and space.

Rummler & Brache (1995)[13]​ use a definition that clearly understands the organization's external customer focus, stating that.

The above definition distinguishes two types of processes, primary and supporting processes, depending on whether a process is directly involved in creating customer value, or deals with the internal activities of the organization. In this sense, Rummler and Brache's definition follows Porter's value chain model, which is also based on a division of primary and secondary activities. According to Rummler and Brache, a typical characteristic of a successful process-based organization is the absence of secondary activities in the primary value stream that is created in the primary customer-oriented processes. The characteristic of processes spanning the blank space on the organization chart indicates that the processes are embedded in some form of organizational structure. Additionally, a process can be multifunctional, that is, it spans several business functions.

Johansson et al. (1993).[14]​ defines a process as:.

This definition also emphasizes the constitution of links between activities and the transformation that takes place within the process. Johansson et al. They also include the top of the value chain as a possible recipient of the process output. Summarizing the four definitions above, we can compile the following list of characteristics for a business process:.

1. • Definability: it must have clearly defined limits, entrance and exit.

2. • Order: must consist of activities that are ordered according to their position in time and space (a sequence).

3. • Client: there must be a recipient of the process' result, a client.

4. • Added value: the transformation that is being carried out within the process must add value to the recipient, either in an ascending or descending manner.

5. • Embedding: a process cannot exist in itself, it must be embedded in an organizational structure.

6. • Cross-functionality: a process can, but does not necessarily have to, span several functions.

Often, the identification of a process owner (i.e., the person responsible for continuous improvement of the process) is considered a prerequisite. Sometimes the owner of the process is the same person who is performing the process.

Workflow

Workflow is the procedural movement of information, material, and tasks from one participant to another.[15]​ Workflow includes the procedures, people, and tools involved in each step of a business process. A single workflow can be sequential, with each step contingent on the completion of the previous one, or parallel, with multiple steps occurring simultaneously. Multiple combinations of individual workflows can be connected to achieve a resulting overall process.[15]​.

Business process reengineering

Business process reengineering (BPR) was originally conceptualized by Hammer and Davenport as a means to improve organizational effectiveness and productivity. It involved starting from a blank slate and completely recreating important business processes as well as using information technology for significant performance improvement. Unfortunately, the term became associated with corporate "downsizing" in the mid-1990s.[16]

Business process management (GPN)

Although the term has been used contextually with the mixed effect, business process management (BPM) can generally be defined as a discipline that involves a combination of a wide variety of business activity streams (e.g., automation, modeling, and optimization) that strives to support an enterprise's objectives within and across multiple boundaries, involving many people, from employees to customers and external partners.[17] An important part of business BPM support consists of the continuous evaluation of existing processes and the identification of problems. the ways to improve it, resulting in a cycle of global organizational improvement.

Knowledge management

Knowledge management is the definition of knowledge that employees and systems use to perform their functions and maintain it in a format that can be accessed by others. The Duhon and the Gartner Group have defined it as "a discipline that promotes an integrated approach to identifying, capturing, evaluating, recovering and sharing all of an enterprise's information assets. These assets may include databases, documents, policies, procedures, and knowledge and experience previously not captured in individual workers."[18]

Total quality management

Total quality management (TQM) emerged in the early 1980s as organizations sought to improve the quality of their products and services. It was followed by the Six Sigma methodology in the mid-1980s, first introduced by Motorola. Six Sigma consists of statistical methods for improving business processes and thus reducing product defects. customer and waste reduction.[19]​[20][21]​.

Information technology as an enabler for business process management

Advances in information technology over the years have changed business processes within and between companies. In the 1960s, operating systems had limited functionality and the workflow management systems used were tailored to the specific organization. The 1970s and 1980s saw the development of data-driven approaches as data storage and retrieval technologies improved. Data modeling rather than process modeling was the starting point for building an information system. Business processes had to adapt to information technology because process modeling was neglected. The shift towards process-oriented management occurred in the 1990s. Enterprise resource planning software with workflow management components such as SAP, Baan), PeopleSoft, Oracle and JD Edwards emerged, as did enterprise process management systems (EBMS) later.[22]​.

The world of e-business created the need to automate business processes among organizations, which in turn raised the need for standardized protocols and web services composition languages ​​that can be understood across the industry. The Business Process Model and Notation (MNPN) and the Business Motivation Model (MMN) are widely used standards for business modeling. companies.[23]​.

The most recent trends in GPN are influenced by the emergence of cloud technology, the prevalence of social media, mobile technology, and the development of analytical techniques. Cloud-based technologies enable businesses to acquire resources quickly and as needed, regardless of their location. Social media, websites and smartphones are the latest channels through which organizations reach and support their customers. The abundance of customer data collected through these channels, as well as through call center interactions, emails, voice calls and customer surveys has led to enormous growth in data analytics which in turn is used for performance management and improving the ways in which the company serves its customers.[24]​.

Business processes comprise a set of sequential sub-processes or tasks with alternative paths, depending on certain conditions as applicable, performed to achieve a given objective or produce given products. Each process has one or more necessary inputs. Inputs and outputs can be received or sent to other business processes, other organizational units, or internal or external stakeholders.[1]​.

Business processes are designed to be operated by one or more functional units of the business, and emphasize the importance of the "process chain" rather than individual units.

In general, the various tasks of a business process can be performed in one of two ways:[1]​.

1. • manually.

2. • through business data processing systems such as ERP systems.

Typically, some process tasks will be manual, while some will be computer-based, and these tasks can be sequenced in many ways. In other words, the data and information being handled through the process can pass through manual or computer tasks in a given order.

The above areas of improvement are equally applicable to policies, processes, detailed procedures (sub-processes/tasks) and work instructions. There is a cascading effect from improvements made at a higher level to those made at a lower level.[25]​.

For example, if a recommendation to replace a given policy with a better one is made with appropriate justification and accepted in principle by the business process owners, then corresponding changes in consequent processes and procedures will naturally follow to enable implementation of the directives.

Business processes must include up-to-date and accurate reporting to ensure effective action.[26] An example of this is the availability of purchase order status reports for supplier delivery tracking as described in the effectiveness section above. There are numerous examples of this in every possible business process.

Another example from production is the process of analyzing line rejects that occur on the store floor. This process should include systematic periodic analysis of rejections for reasons, and presenting the results in an appropriate information report that identifies the main reasons, and trends in these reasons, for management to take corrective action to control rejections and keep them within acceptable limits. This process of analysis and summarization of line rejection events is clearly superior to a process that simply investigates each individual rejection as it occurs.

Business process owners and operators must realize that process improvement often occurs with the introduction of the appropriate transaction, operational, highlight, exception, or M.I.S. reports, as long as they are consciously used for daily or periodic decision-making. With this understanding, we hope that you will be willing to invest time and other resources in improving business processes by introducing useful and relevant reporting systems.

Scope of control

The span of control") is the number of subordinates that a supervisor manages within a structural organization. The introduction of a business process concept has a considerable impact on the structural elements of the organization and therefore also on the span of control.[27]​.

Large organizations that are not organized as markets need to be organized into smaller units – departments – which can be defined according to different principles.

Information management concepts

Information management, and the organization's infrastructure strategies related to it, are a theoretical cornerstone of the business process concept, requiring "a framework to measure the level of IT support for business processes."[28]​.

• - Outsourcing of business processes.

• - soaAgenda - Articles about BPM and business process approach in IT.

• - Blog by Professor Óscar Barros, Ph. D. from the University of Wisconsin, on Business Engineering.

• - Web page that contains BPMN standard definitions of specific business processes by industrial sector.

• - Barros, Oscar: Business process reengineering, Editorial Dolmen, Chile, 1994.

• - Davenport, Thomas: Process Innovation, Harvard Business School Press, USA, 1993.

• - Hammer, Michael: Re-engineering Work: Don't Automate, Obliterate, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1990, pp. 104-112.

• - IBM: Business Systems Planning-Information Systems Planning Guide, GE20-0527-3, USA, 1981.

• - ISO: International Standard ISO 9001 - Quality management systems – Requirements, ISO Central Secretariat, Geneva, Switzerland, 2000.

• - Zachman, J.A.: Business Systems Planning and Business Information Control Study: A comparison, IBM Systems Journal, volume 21, number 1, p. 31, 1982.

• - Ould, M.: Business Processes: Modeling and Analysis for Re-Engineering and Improvement, Wiley, 1995.

• - Gomez Gutierrez, Marco Vinicio: Proposal to improve the admission and enrollment processes of the Technological Institute of Costa Rica using a BPM methodology, 2014.