Manager’s Checklist of Questions to Ensure Successful Business Process Automation

Business process management and workflow software build on the value of the data stored in your enterprise, using it to drive work efficiently across the enterprise. The topics below are designed to help managers to ask critical questions of themselves and their vendors so they can evaluate potential solutions. They are not designed to steer the reader to specific solutions, but rather to ensure the buyer is aware of some of the options, pitfalls, and barriers to success so informed decisions can be made.

Functionality and Ease of Use

____ Is your BPM/Workflow solution part of an integrated enterprise content management (ECM) solution with products that are designed to function seamlessly? Is it a new addition to an ECM suite as a result of a merger or acquisition that might affect communication with the rest of the suite? Or is it a standalone product?

____ Does the solution enable you to carry out all elements of BPM, i.e., design, model, execute, monitor, and optimize your business processes?

____ Is the solution browser based? Does it allow browser-based access to all of your tasks and documents?

____ Does the BPM/Workflow solution let you make changes to processing rules on the fly as they are necessary? For example, if new regulations require you to make a procedural change, or organizational restructuring results in major hierarchical changes, how easily and quickly can your system adapt?

____ How substantial are the tracking and reporting capabilities? Can you extract data from multiple places within and outside of the system simultaneously? Can you deliver specified data to a single screen for easier decision making?

____ Does the solution allow workers to flow single pages of a multi-page document (may be preferable for security reasons)? Can you flow multiple, specific pages from a document? Entire folders and sets of folders?

____ Can associated documents and folders—for example, a college admission form, SAT scores, school transcripts, etc.—be gathered together and sent as a package within the workflow to facilitate the end user’s review?

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

____ What is the total cost of ownership for the solution? Is it costly, medium, or low compared to other options? Is traditional licensing the only purchasing option? Is subscription-based pricing or another alternative offered that might help you keep a strong cash flow?

____ Does the solution permit an unlimited number of workflow transactions and web services calls when integrating with other software systems? Are you charged for concurrent users, by the transaction or service call, or when certain volumes are reached?

Services

____ How extensive are the professional services offered by your vendor? Does the vendor offer product training with appropriate documentation, customized training, custom application development to meet unique needs, process analysis and workflow design, business continuity planning, and disaster recovery? Will you have the support and services you need as your organization grows and changes?

____ Are step-by-step instructions and tool tips included to help end users, especially to ease the transition to the system, bring new users onto the system, or help them understand and use a feature or function they only need occasionally?

____ Is sufficient documentation available regarding how to administer, use, and maintain the products?

Integration

____ Are there easy-to-use integration tools that make it possible for workers to maximize the use of data stored in emails, faxes, line-of-business applications, and legacy systems for pertinent business processes?

____ Does the solution enable you to access BPM/Workflow functionality behind the scenes, within workers’ familiar software applications? If, for example, a manager using claims software regularly needs to access, package, and forward claims with client payment history, can the request be carried out within the existing claims software via seamless integration?

____ How effectively is records management addressed by the solution? As documents reach the end of the active lifecycle, can you automate records retention, disposition, migration, and backup?

BPM as Part of an Integrated ECM Suite

____ If the solution is part of an integrated ECM suite, does it offer single sign-on to all functionality within the suite, or does it require users to switch in and out of applications to access documents, task lists, functionality, and other software systems?

____ Is the software easy to use? Does it offer customizable work spaces that allow users to view information and work on tasks in the ways that are most productive for them?

BPM/Workflow Standalone Products

____ If the BPM/Workflow solution is a standalone product, and you need data from other applications in order to make decisions within the processes you are automating, can it integrate with other applications where relevant data is housed?

____ If you choose a standalone product, what measures are in place to ensure document security and appropriate feature rights relating to those documents? Can you ensure that only authorized persons will be able to retrieve, view, manage, approve, sign, or otherwise act on documents related to the automated processes?

Questions to ask yourself about your team:

____ Do we have a passionate project leader on board who understands business and can bridge the gap between IT and business needs?

____ Do we have a solid project plan in place with timelines, expectations of the vendors and ourselves, milestones, benchmarks, a communication plan, training plan, and testing?

____ Do we need to add staff resources temporarily to enable our employees to focus on the implementation? Would it be better for us to tap into the resources of our vendor or an outside consultant?

____ How will we communicate the project goals to managers and end users? What incentives can we offer to ensure staff embraces the project, and to empower them to succeed?

Examining your needs and comparing them to your favored solutions is essential before you make an investment. If you evaluate your options thoroughly, understand what you are getting, and feel confident the choice you are making is right for you, you are well on your way to success.

For more information or to schedule a demonstration, please Contact DocFinity now.