BPM and BPA: What’s the difference and which do you need?
Ankita Sharda
Senior Human Resource Executive || Hired for Adidas & KPMG (ex-clients) | MBA, Talent Acquisition- Corporate HR.
What is Business Process Management?
BPM is a more comprehensive and wider approach to achieve process efficiency. It does not depend on automation, but rather on designing, modeling, deploying, monitoring, and optimizing company-wide business processes. The goal is to gain maximum productivity and efficiency in day-to-day activities.
This is usually implemented as an organization-wide approach. It needs a constant search for new ways to simplify and further improve the workflow of the business.
1. Design
Most systems include a data collection method and a workflow to process it. Create your template and decide who will be the owner of every task in the workflow.
2. Model
Represents the mechanism in a visual interface. Fix information such as deadlines and conditions to provide a clear picture of the sequence of events and the flow of data through the process.
3. Execute
Execute the process by testing it live with a smaller group first, and then open it to all users. Please make sure that you limit access to confidential information.
4. Monitor
Keep a keen eye on the process as it runs through the workflow. Use the right statistics to identify progress, assess efficiency, and identify problems and bottlenecks.
5. Optimize
As you analyze, notice any changes that need to be made to your form or workflow to make it more efficient. Consider measures to improve the business process.
What is Business Process Automation?
BPA simplifies business processes through technical solutions that automate manual repetitive tasks. This helps the workforce to restructure time to more important issues when routine work is completed in much lesser time through automation.
Business Process Automation concentrates on decreasing the number of manual tasks. This leads to higher efficiency and productivity.
A variety of tools and applications have been developed with this purpose in mind. The risk of human error during processes such as data input is removed along with other potential obstacles.
1. Objective
Business process management (BPM) aims to improve process productivity, operational quality, and cost efficiency by providing an overall picture of all workflows included in the business process.
Business process automation (BPA) focusses on the automation of repetitive manual tasks across a wide range of business processes in the organization.
2. Scope of BPM & BPA
BPM aims to disrupt the process itself to accomplish the goal of improved efficiency and optimization.
Whereas BPA strives to improve efficiency by technical means. It does not change the core of the systems but makes them simpler and more efficient.
3. The time required for the execution
You don’t need to spend as many hours configuring the automation software in Business Process Automation, as you will need to process the whole methodology in Business Process Management.
4. Implementation of BPM & BPA
The complexity of implementation is another important difference. The adoption of BPM is a huge effort. You’re likely going to readjust your corporate ideology for yourself and your team.
BPA has a much easier configuration. It often comes as a software/application/device that you only need to customize to suit your needs.
5. Importance of Technology
BPM is not confined to technology. Technology is also just one element of many. It also focuses on the methodology, procedure, and ideology of the company.
BPA, on the other hand, a software-based solution, is highly dependent on technology. This transforms the manual tasks into automated tasks.
6. Impact of BPM & BPA
The impact that BPM & BPA practices can have on each situation is often unique. At the surface level, BPA can appear to have less effect because it is less complex. Still, that’s not always the case. It’s possible to massively improve the outcome by automating a basic operation.
At the same time, it is not easy to get hold for businesses to completely change their way of doing business through business process management.
Can BPM & BPA work together..?
To get the best benefit out of them, they need to be incorporated together. Most businesses view BPA tools as a simple solution that can quickly resolve all obstructions without any extra work. However, that may not always be the case.
On the other hand, simply adding business process management (BPM) to your organization without any technical approaches is also short-sighted. Because this approach focuses on optimization, there is no reason to neglect automation tools.
By integrating both BPM and BPA into the workflow of the organization, you can expect to get the best results. Automation of time-consuming and labor-intensive work allows working people to concentrate on developing other business operations. At the same time, learning how to take advantage of the time gained by automation is just as crucial. The implementation of some sort of BPM and BPA in combination should be a priority for each organization.
Conclusion
BPM and BPA when implemented together effectively can drive your organization to an extraordinary level of efficiency, deliver the best for your employees and customers, and accelerate time to business outcomes.