Explore the intricacies of process hierarchy in BPM, as discussed in three client meetings by an industry expert. Discover key strategies for effective process management and ownership.
A new blog post of Caspar Jans was published on Feb 28, 2025 with the original title:
Process Hierarchy and Organizational Politics
Overview:
In this insightful blog post, Caspar Jans shares reflections from three client meetings focused on process hierarchy. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining both a functional and an end-to-end process hierarchy for effective governance and management. The discussions reveal complexities and varied strategies for different organizational contexts.
Core content:
- The process hierarchy involves a functional hierarchy, detailing high-level domains like Finance and Marketing, which are decomposed into individual processes.
- End-to-end hierarchies connect processes crossing functional borders, like procure-to-pay, essential for holistic process management.
- Assigning ownership in end-to-end processes can be politically challenging; impacts on execution guide ownership decisions.
- Variations in process execution across regions or products must be considered within the process hierarchy framework.
- Despite similar discussions, client meetings arrived at different conclusions, underscoring diverse application of process hierarchy principles.
Learnings:
- Understanding the dual structure of process hierarchies enhances process governance and management across organizations.
- Recognizing the implications of functional vs. end-to-end hierarchies helps navigate complex organizational workflows.
- Strategically assigning process ownership considers both impact and organizational politics, fostering smoother collaborations.
- Adapting process hierarchies to account for regional or product differences is crucial for effective execution and stakeholder satisfaction.
- The interplay of shared knowledge and specific outcomes illustrates the need for tailored approaches in process management.
The original content was published in English.
