JULY 2017CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM9picking a workflow vendor with an extensive mobility toolset is of the utmost importance.In My ExperienceI have implemented workflow solutions in both the defense and the financial services industries, and I've learned digital transformation through workflow is industry and vendor agnostic. Regardless of the vendor or industry, the results are the same:· Significantly reduced process cycle times· Transparency into process bottlenecks· Process optimizationThose results lead to reduced costs, far less paper, and significantly improved customer experience. The best part about workflow solutions is once you successfully implement a single business process workflow, then the process of realization for additional workflows--regardless of the line of business or functional area--becomes easily repeatable.Where to Begin1. Select a few appropriate vendors. Review standard IT resources, reports, and periodicals for vendors that meet your criteria. Will this be a business-driven tool or will it require IT-driven involvement? Are IT development resources required?2. Set up three to five vendor calls. Evaluate the vendors on business need and choose wisely. You would want to select a workflow vendor that is willing to partner in the creation of the first workflow. A good vendor will put skin in the game to bring both business and IT staff up to speed on tool usage, workflow creation, and workflow optimization. Select a vendor that can provide best practices and use cases on adoption.3. Once a vendor is selected, immerse your staff in the tool. Whether business-driven, IT-driven or both, the tool must be usable by the staff it is intended to support. I have seen many workflow projects and implementations fail because those who are primarily responsible for using the workflow tool don't receive necessary training. It takes tool-specific knowledge, business process knowledge, and process optimization knowledge. I recommend using IT and business staff who are knowledgeable in Lean Six Sigma methodologies­this creates a common vernacular for IT and business teams to communicate goals and expected outcomes of workflow technologies.4. Start small--go after the low-hanging fruit. We all know of a project in digitization and automation that will save us hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars, but that's not the workflow project to start on! Generally, the large projects take too long to realize tangible results. So you should start small and select an appropriate business partner who is willing to be a change agent. This provides the IT and business partners the opportunity to learn the tool and create organizational buy-in. Also, the best place to start any workflow effort is in finance. Finance teams make great partners in expressing the benefits to internal organizations by verifying the results.5. Repeat step four and go incrementally larger in project scope. Once you obtain the first success with workflow, your ability to implement additional workflows will become much easier. Change can become exponential!The Future of WorkflowArtificial Intelligence (AI) will play a major role in the future of workflow optimization. iBPMS workflow solutions are already providing suggestions to optimize your workflow and create greater transparency into workflow processes and, eventually, AI engines will automate workflow optimization. So you should have your processes ready! If your organization is seeking Digital Transformation, start with workflow. While technology can and does create innovation, it is the people and business processes that still drive change, disruption and transformational behaviorDavid Threm
< Page 8 | Page 10 >