Discover insights on structuring business processes effectively through functional and end-to-end hierarchies, featuring valuable perspectives from recent client discussions on best practices in BPM.
A new podcast episode of Caspar Jans was published on Feb 28, 2025 with the original title:
S04E02: Process Hierarchy and Politics
Overview:
In the latest episode, the discussion centers on establishing an effective process hierarchy within organizations. It highlights the importance of maintaining both functional and end-to-end process hierarchies while addressing potential ownership challenges.
Core content:
- The author experienced three client meetings focusing on the same topic: process hierarchy in business management.
- Two hierarchies should be maintained: a functional hierarchy and an end-to-end hierarchy for effective governance.
- Functional hierarchies decompose domains into business processes while end-to-end processes span multiple functions.
- Assigning ownership in end-to-end processes can be politically challenging within organizations.
- Different conclusions may be drawn across meetings, but the core discussions often remain consistent.
Learnings:
- Understanding the dual hierarchy structure is key to effectively managing business processes.
- Recognizing the variations that exist across regions or product lines can refine process management approaches.
- Ownership assignments should consider the processes with the greatest impact on end-to-end executions.
- Challenges in process ownership may arise and should be navigated with sensitivity to organizational dynamics.
- The insights from client discussions can help in tailoring strategies specific to different business needs.
The original content was published in English.