Theadoption and feasibility of blockchainvary based on several key factors including:

Type of asset(physical/digital)

Technology maturityin the industry

Existing standards and regulations

Thestrength of the surrounding ecosystem

“The feasibility of blockchain implementations depends on the nature of the assets being managed, regulatory environment, technology readiness, and the maturity of the surrounding business ecosystem.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 10 – BPM Technology

Process models should be created toaccurately and sufficiently represent how a process works, ensuring alignment with real operations and objectives. It’s not limited to a specific department (like IT), but used across roles for analysis, improvement, and communication.

“A process model is a representation of the actual or desired process, sufficient for its intended purpose, such as understanding, analysis, communication, or automation.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 2 – Process Modeling

Top managementplays a key role insponsoring and supportingchange but isnot directly responsible for implementingdetailed change measures. That responsibility lies withproject managers, process owners, and operational teams.

“Leadership is responsible for setting direction, removing obstacles, and sponsoring transformation efforts. Execution is delegated to implementation teams and process leaders.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 7 – Process Transformation

Their support includes:

Vision and direction

Governance and sponsorship

Empowerment of teams

At the conclusion of design, it's essential tovalidate process performancebefore full-scale rollout. Techniques such as:

Role playing(walkthroughs with stakeholders)

Prototyping(a scaled or digital mock-up of the process)

Direct observation(to evaluate realism and clarity)

These help ensure the process works as intended under real conditions.

“Testing the designed process through techniques like role play and prototyping helps validate process flow, decision points, and user experience before deployment.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 5 – Process Design

This validation step helps:

Identify missed dependencies

Expose potential bottlenecks

Gain early stakeholder feedback

Aprocess repositoryis a centralized system forstoring, organizing, and managing process models. It ensures that models areeasily accessible, version-controlled, and traceable. This promotes consistency and collaboration across the enterprise.

“A process repository is an electronic system used to store process models and associated documentation. It provides version control, change management, access control, and facilitates governance.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 7 – BPM Technology

Benefits include:

Centralized access to approved models

Change tracking and audit trails

Standardization across teams and departments

In modern BPM practices,Design ThinkingandAgilemethodologies are increasingly applied to process design. They encourageuser-centered, iterative, and innovative approachesto designing processes that are more adaptable and responsive.

“Applying Design Thinking to process design ensures that customer needs are addressed from the start. Agile principles allow for iterative testing, feedback, and refinement.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 5 – Process Design

Benefits include:

Faster feedback loops

Continuous improvement from real-world usage

Higher customer and employee satisfaction

BPM Centers of Excellence (CoEs)are typically structured as either:

Centralized: One core team managing process standards and support across the enterprise.

Decentralized: Localized teams within departments with process support tailored to specific needs.

“CoEs can be organized in centralized or decentralized models depending on governance preferences, organizational culture, and the scale of operations.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 8 – Enterprise Process Management

Executive engagement is critical to ensuresustained commitment and authorityto enable and lead organizational change required by BPM initiatives. This alignment ensures BPM is integrated into strategy and culture.

Process metricsfocus on measuring theoutcomes and effectivenessof a process, not product specs or project data. This includes evaluating process impact on customer experience and operational reliability (e.g., MTTF).

“Metrics such as customer satisfaction, cycle time, and defect rate provide insight into how effectively and efficiently a process meets its goals and customer needs.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 6 – Process Performance Management

These are oftenoutput-oriented, such as:

Delivery time

Customer complaints

SLA adherence

BPM is not merely a response to market pressure—it is adisciplined approachthat integrates strategy with operations through effective process design, execution, and management.

“BPM is a disciplined approach to identify, design, execute, monitor, and optimize business processes. It is used to align processes with strategic goals and ensure operational efficiency.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 1 – Introduction to BPM

Process performance measurementis a cornerstone ofgovernance, as it enablesobjective evaluation, supports alignment with strategy, and informs management decisions about which initiatives to prioritize or adjust.

“Effective governance requires continuous performance measurement that aligns with strategic goals and allows the enterprise to monitor and control initiatives.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 6 – Process Performance Management

ModernBPMS solutions use SOAto integrate with legacy applications. Thispreserves existing IT investmentswhile enablingfaster adaptation and interoperabilityacross systems.

“BPMS platforms often leverage SOA to enable seamless integration with legacy systems, promoting flexibility, scalability, and accelerated process adaptation.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 10 – BPM Technology

ARACI chart(Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, Informed) is aresponsibility assignment matrixused to clarifywho does whatin a process or project. It is a powerful tool forrole definition and communication, ensuring that there is no ambiguity regarding task ownership.

“A RACI matrix is a tool to define the roles and responsibilities for process tasks and deliverables. It prevents overlaps or gaps by assigning one or more roles to each activity using RACI codes.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 9 – Process Organization

Typical RACI roles:

Responsible: Who performs the task

Accountable: Who owns the result

Consulted: Who provides input

Informed: Who needs updates

Whilemonitoringis about observing and collecting performance data,controllingis the activity of using that information toregulateand adjust the process to ensure it stays within acceptable thresholds. It is an essential management function in BPM.

“Controlling involves actions taken to regulate process performance, using the output of monitoring to ensure the process meets predefined performance objectives.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 6 – Process Performance Management

Controlling includes:

Applying corrective actions

Reallocating resources

Adjusting performance expectations

Modern BPM repositories are integrated with enterprise systems toenforce business rules, ensuringcompliance, consistency, andautomated decision-makingacross processes.

“Repositories embedded within BPMS enforce process logic and business rules, enabling automation, consistency, and compliance across applications.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 10 – BPM Technology

Process analysisidentifies inefficiencies, waste, and opportunities for improvement in the current ("as-is") state. These insights form thefoundation for designing the "to-be" process, making analysis a prerequisite for effective process design.

“Process analysis delivers insights that become the foundation for process design, ensuring the redesigned process addresses current issues and achieves desired performance.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 4 – Process Analysis

This relationship is critical in theBPM lifecycle, where:

Analysis precedes design

Analysis provides data to justify improvements

Design is aligned with strategic and operational goals

Continuous process improvement (CPI)is a key concept in BPM that supports theongoing evaluation of performance metrics, enablingevidence-based adjustmentsthroughout the process lifecycle.

“CPI is the foundation for sustaining operational excellence, ensuring that processes are consistently measured, analyzed, and optimized to meet evolving business needs.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 6 – Process Performance Management

Change management in BPM is holistic — addressingprocess redesign impacts on operations, supporting technology, and the organizational structure. It ensures all elements of the enterprise adapt smoothly to the change.

“Successful BPM initiatives require change across operational procedures, enabling technologies, and organizational roles. Change management ensures these areas transition in sync.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 7 – Process Transformation

Covered areas:

Operations: Daily workflows and job roles

Technology: Systems and tools

Organization: Structure, culture, and behavior

Support processes are essential for enabling the operation of primary processes. Theydo not directly deliver value to customers, but they providecritical resources, infrastructure, services, and support that allow primary processes to function effectively.

"Support processes include IT services, HR, finance, and other internal services which provide resources and capabilities for primary process execution."

– Chapter 1, ABPMP CBOK®

EPMis about embedding BPM principlesacross the entire enterprise, beyond isolated projects. It focuses onenterprise-wide process ownership, standardization, and strategic governance, making itcomprehensive and long-term.

“EPM is the organization-wide integration of BPM concepts, characterized by strategic alignment, governance, and continuous improvement across all business areas.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 8 – Enterprise Process Management

Theprocess owneris accountable for theend-to-end lifecycleof a process — from itsdesign and development, through toexecution and performance monitoring. This ensures consistent alignment with business goals and customer needs.

“The process owner has the responsibility for the design, implementation, execution, and continuous improvement of a business process. They ensure the process meets performance goals and strategic objectives.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 9 – Process Organization

While BPM enhances understanding of process roles, flows, and performance, it doesnot focus on general business skills training. Its core principles includealignment to strategy,transparency, andperformance optimization.

“BPM is not a training program in business skills; it is a discipline for understanding, managing, and improving processes across the organization.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 1 – BPM Overview

When analyzing processes, it is important to evaluate thecultural contextin which they operate. This includes examiningleadership style,employee acceptance of change,training availability, andquality practices, all of which affect process performance and transformation success.

“Cultural context categories include leadership alignment, workforce acceptance of changes, training effectiveness, and the existing quality mindset within the organization.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 4 – Process Analysis

Understanding these aspects helps:

Assess readiness for change

Identify resistance points

Tailor improvement initiatives accordingly

Process redesignrefers to theplanned set of activities aimed at fundamentally improvingan existing process. It goes beyond tweaking—it involvesre-engineering the way the process works, often to achieve significant performance breakthroughs.

“Process redesign is the act of rethinking and radically altering existing processes to achieve dramatic improvements in performance measures such as cost, quality, service, and speed.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 5 – Process Design

Key aspects:

Eliminating non-value activities

Simplifying process steps

Leveraging new technologies

Process ownersare accountable for theend-to-end performanceof a business process but are not always in charge of the personnel executing it. Their role iscross-functionaland focuses on ensuring the process deliversconsistent and measurable outcomes.

“The process owner manages the design and performance of the process, including its cross-functional coordination. They typically do not have direct authority over all individuals involved but are responsible for process outcomes.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 9 – Process Organization

Core duties include:

Managing process improvement initiatives

Aligning KPIs with goals

Collaborating across departments

UML(Unified Modeling Language) is a standard used insoftware and systems engineeringto model system behavior, architecture, and design. While it’s not BPMN, it can still be used inbusiness process analysiswhen systems behavior needs to be represented in tandem.

“UML is a general-purpose modeling language in software engineering, often used to visualize system architecture, including use cases, sequence diagrams, and activity flows which support process analysis.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 2 – Process Modeling

RPArefers to the use ofsoftware botsthat replicate human interactions with digital systems toautomate repetitive, rule-based tasks, without modifying existing infrastructure.

“Robotic Process Automation uses software robots to mimic user interactions with applications. It automates routine tasks across systems by simulating human behavior.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 10 – BPM Technology

ABPM CoEsupports process management across the organization by providing:

Standards and methodologies

Training and coaching

Tools and templates

This ensuresconsistency and maturityin BPM practices across functions.

“The BPM CoE plays a strategic role by developing and promoting standards, methods, training, and best practices throughout the organization.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 8 – Enterprise Process Management

The processes selected for analysis should bealigned with the strategic goalsof the organization. Prioritizing those withsignificant impactensures that the effort yields measurable results and supports transformation objectives.

“The selection of processes for analysis should be based on alignment with business strategy and their potential to deliver measurable performance improvement.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 4 – Process Analysis

Criteria for selecting high-impact processes include:

Frequency

Cost impact

Customer interaction

Regulatory requirements

In BPM,measurement should focus on process outputs, not merely internal activities. Output-focused measurement ensures that the process isassessed based on results delivered to the customer or stakeholder, supporting value creation.

“Effective process measurement begins with identifying the output and outcome the process is intended to produce. Measuring outputs aligns with customer expectations and business value delivery.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 6 – Process Performance Management

Why output-focused measurement matters:

Reflects process effectiveness

Aligns with customer satisfaction

Links directly to business goals

KPIsare used to measure the performance ofbusiness processes, not just individual employees. They provideobjective datato assess how well a process is functioning in delivering its intended results.

“KPIs should reflect the strategic intent of the organization and be closely linked to the goals of a business process. They are not limited to personal or individual performance.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 6 – Process Performance Management

Valid KPIs:

Are tied to organizational objectives

Are measurable and actionable

Provide insight into process success or failure

Abusiness processis defined as astructured set of activitiesdesigned to produce a specificoutput or resultfor acustomer or market. It involves inputs, tasks, decision points, and outputs.

“A business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. It involves a defined start and end point, inputs, steps, and outputs.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 1 – BPM Overview

While business processes may include stakeholder interactions (Option C) and internal activities (Option D),the most accurate and complete definitionis thesequence of activities aimed at a result.

StatementAisNOT truebecauseEnterprise Process Management (EPM)— not just BPM — provides thehigh-level strategic assessmentand governance across the organization. BPM operates at various levels, including tactical and operational, whereas EPM is thestrategic layerof process governance.

“EPM integrates all BPM activities within a strategic framework that includes governance, enterprise-wide performance assessment, and alignment with corporate goals.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 8 – Enterprise Process Management

Aneffective process designis structured hierarchically — beginning withhigh-level subprocessesthat are broken down into detailedtasks and steps. This granularity ensures the process isunderstandable, executable, and measurable.

“A process must be decomposed from macro-level subprocesses to detailed tasks and steps. This layered decomposition ensures traceability and allows process owners to manage and optimize at various levels of granularity.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 5 – Process Design

This hierarchical clarity ensures:

Better training and onboarding

Easier automation and monitoring

Targeted performance improvement