Responsive process management

Responsive process management (RPM) is a distinctive form of business process management characterized by a high degree of real-time responsiveness to operational conditions and events. RPM derives its heightened operational responsiveness from its integration of several technology-enabled capabilities, the most important of which are:
* Real-time visibility across an organization and its environment. The foundation of responsive process management is the ability of process owners to see what is happening across the organization and in key parts of the operational environment, in real time. This comprehensive real-time visibility spans geographic locations, organizational divisions, and technology systems.
* Continuous analysis of operationally-relevant data. Also driving the responsiveness of RPM is the continuous analysis of real-time visibility data so as to render the data operationally meaningful. Because responsive process management places a premium on rapid, intelligent response to a high volume of constantly shifting information, the analysis of real-time visibility data is ongoing and highly automated.
* Real-time agility in process execution. Responsive process management leverages enterprise visibility and continuous analysis to optimize process execution in real time. To the extent possible, the organization’s operational processes are automated or semi-automated, and process execution is designed to incorporate the real-time operational intelligence that the platform continuously generates. Where appropriate, the process execution system triggers operator participation, again leveraging real-time operational intelligence.
* Timely process change. Another defining attribute of responsive process management is the ability to quickly update existing processes or create new ones. Complex heterogeneous information technology systems coupled with the need to maintain business stability often impede organizations’ ability to respond to change. Responsive process management focuses on expediting such responses. Here the emphasis is on tools that speed the design, development, deployment, and adjustment of processes.
In summary, responsive process management is the technology-supported capacity to see and analyze operationally-relevant conditions and events in real time and to rapidly apply that operational intelligence to process execution and process improvement. The aim of this acute responsiveness is to enable the organization to quickly detect and rectify emerging problems or inefficiencies, and to recognize and capitalize on opportunities before they pass.
Background
Market Trends Driving the Business Need for Responsive Process Management
Several recent market trends have combined to drive the business need for responsive process management, including:
* Intensified competition. Globalization and reduced barriers to entry (as a consequence of phenomena such as outsourcing and cloud computing) have intensified the competitive pressures in most industries. In this context, businesses must be highly responsive to their operational environment, or else risk a loss in competitive standing.
* Empowered consumers. The internet has enabled consumers who are dissatisfied with a product or service to broadcast their grievances to a wide audience through online forums, blogs, and the like; and to quickly size up and switch to a competing provider. Again the pressure on businesses is to very rapidly recognize and respond to emerging issues before bad publicity spreads and customers are lost to eager competitors.
* Fragmented operations. In the typical modern business enterprise, operations are fragmented across multiple geographic locations, organizational divisions, and technology systems. This operational fragmentation drives a need for integrating platforms that can provide coherent, comprehensive visibility across the enterprise.
* Accelerating environmental change. As is often observed, the pace of economic, social, and technological change to which modern businesses must adapt is accelerating. This fast-shifting playing field favors enterprises that are able to rapidly adjust and optimize their operational processes.
* Economic recession. Recent weakness in the global economy has put most businesses in the position of trying to maintain profitability despite soft demand. In this circumstance, a premium is placed on process optimization, toward the end of using limited resources efficiently while still maintaining customer satisfaction
Enabling Technologies
Responsive process management is a culmination of several complementary technological developments. The technological groundwork for RPM was laid by advances in these areas:
* Proliferation of operationally relevant data streams. For the typical enterprise, the quantity and variety of operationally relevant live data streams have grown markedly in recent years. Internally, disparate IT systems for call management, order management, issue tracking, shipment tracking, supply chain management, and social media tracking generate a continual flow of relevant data, as do distributed point of sale (POS) systems and radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags. Externally, live data feeds of potential relevance to process owners include interest rate, foreign exchange rate, and equity market feeds, as well as RSS news feeds. These internal and external live data streams are just a few of the potential sources of raw material for a responsive process management platform.
* Enterprise data integration. Enterprise data integration technologies aggregate data from diverse sources and in diverse formats, and integrate that data to provide users a uniform, holistic view. Since responsive process management requires seamless enterprise-wide visibility, enterprise data integration is an essential precursor technology.
* Complex event processing. Complex event processing (CEP) technologies enable predefined analytical operations to be continuously performed on high volume live data streams. For example, data streams can be continuously analyzed to see if they match against predefined patterns or cross specified boundaries. In a responsive process management environment, complex event processing transforms real-time visibility into actionable operational intelligence.
* Business transaction management. Business transaction management (BTM) technologies enable users to drill down into, trouble shoot, and adjust individual transactions, including transactions that may span multiple IT systems. In the context of responsive process management, BTM technology provides the ability to apply real-time operational intelligence to a particularly important type of process execution - individual transactions with customers, suppliers, or partners.
* Business process management. Business process management (BPM) systems facilitate the design, development, deployment, and adjustment of automated and semi-automated business processes. In a responsive process management environment, BPM technology allows updated business rules to be applied to existing processes on the fly, in response to real-time operational intelligence; and allows new processes to be created and implemented when accumulating intelligence indicates that change is called for.
Defining Technical Attributes of a Responsive Process Management Platform
While responsive process management platforms may vary in particulars, the following are the essential technical attributes of the * An RPM platform includes the requisite core technologies for:
** Enterprise data integration
** Complex event processing
** Business transaction management
** Business process management
: Ideally each of these component technologies is highly programmable and configurable, so that operators can specify live data sources, event patterns to watch for, automated responses to specified events and event patterns, and so on.
* An RPM platform’s component technologies are seamlessly integrated to present operators with a single, coherent system controllable through a unified console. In a case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, an RPM platform’s close integration of complementary component technologies allows business users to gain enterprise-wide visibility, to transform that visibility into actionable operational intelligence, and to apply that intelligence to process execution and process improvement.
* An RPM platform accesses real-time streaming data from specified sources, before the data has been stored to databases. The orientation is toward what’s happening now, rather than what has happened.
* The business process management module of an RPM platform includes elements that accelerate the design, development, and deployment of new or updated processes. These might include, for example, tools that facilitate timely collaboration between business analysts and developers, and process libraries that enable efficient reuse of existing models and code.
Responsive Process Management Usage Examples
Responsive process management platforms have their greatest potential value in complex, dynamic operational environments in which organizations can benefit from being able to monitor and analyze key event streams in real time, to respond quickly to specific events or event patterns, and to continuously fine tune automated or semi-automated processes. Sample usage scenarios for RPM platforms include:
* Clearing and settlement management for securities firms.
* Fraud detection and response for banks.
* Claims processing for insurers.
* Schedule disruption management for airlines.
* Revenue management for travel and hospitality businesses.
* Integrated trouble management for telecommunications providers.

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