《Continuous improvement with BPM》.pdfVIP

Continuous improvement with BPM and EA together Smart work in the smart enterprise Claus Torp Jensen (ctjensen@) 10 February 2010 Senior Technical Staff Member IBM This article describes the principles for aligning and interconnecting BPM and EA from a business perspective. The primary audiences are leaders and architects who need to understand how to effectively combine BPM and EA as a key differentiator for successful enterprises in their drive toward continuous business improvement. Management summary Planning for change is a necessity for most modern enterprises, yet plans that are never executed have very little value. Continuous business performance and services optimization is derived from proper coordination between planning and execution. This in turn requires a firm understanding of the lifecycles of the enterprise, as well as the establishment of appropriate collaboration and governance processes. While Business Process Management (BPM) and Enterprise Architecture (EA) each have value on their own, IBM believes that they are naturally synergistic, and best when done together for better business outcomes and strategic alignment of business and IT. When done together, BPM provides the business context, understanding and metrics, and EA the discipline for translating business vision and strategy into architectural change. Both are, in fact, needed for sustainable continuous optimization. It is important to realize the value of direct collaboration across BPM and EA boundaries. Only when supported by appropriate collaboration and governance processes can BPM and EA roles work effectively together towards the common goals of the enterprise. This article describes the principles for aligning and interconnecting BPM and EA from a business perspective. The primary audiences are leaders and architects who need to understand how to effectively combine BPM and EA as a key different