Complex systems development efforts require robust and effective Systems Engineering processes.  Such systems are typically decomposed into architectural segments and, just as frequently, those segments are contracted to different organizations.  While these organizations may operate in a similar manner and have the same contextual understanding of the system's requirements, the ability to manage these requirements and their changes across organizational and architectural segments can mean the difference between success and failure.  When work performed on different architectural segments is done with different processes or in multiple stove-piped information systems, common problems include:

• Lack of process visibility, which translates into less accurate or missing schedule updates
• Higher overhead, needed to manage the flow and translation of information across disparate systems, divisions and/or vendors
• More rework, often as the result of human error introduced from the symptoms listed above

All of this translates to higher cost for the customer and reduced competitive advantage for the performing organization(s).

A structured approach to addressing these challenges with BPM provides:

• More realistic schedules (and associated earned value) through greater process transparency
• Reduced overhead through the integration of back-end development tools and associated repositories
• Lower production maintenance costs through more effective and cost efficient change control
• Lower cost of quality through built in process auditing capabilities

RunningFix has successfully demonstrated BPM methods and technology for complex Systems Engineering requirements change control processes including back end integration with IBM's Telelogic DOORS requirements management tool.

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Process maturity has become a critical aspect to ensure consistent quality, manage regulatory requirements, and contain costs. Process maturity, however, comes at a cost associated with the overhead needed to manage the process environment and ensure organizational compliance. This overhead can quickly become a burden when faced with frequent changes driven from economic, political or social forces, and runs counter to the objectives of having and maintaining mature processes in the first place.

Business Process Management provides the mechanism to achieve your organization's process maturity goals while keeping the process overhead in check. BPM provides the mechanisms to create and execute processes that:

• Are consistently repeatable
• Are executed as documented without deviation
• Are enforceable
• Feed automated and consistent measures collection
• Feed real-time measures reporting
• Feed built-in process auditing and artifact collection
• Enable data-driven process optimization

These capabiltiies are particularly applicable to industry models (such as CMMI or ISO) that specify the requirements and oversight needed to achieve published maturity levels.

RunningFix has successfully implemented BPM methods and technology to satisfy the CMMI/DEV model at Maturity Level 3.

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Enterprise Architecture recognizes the complexity within an organization and structures it into models that align and interrelate to describe how it achieves its mission.  Without an enabling mechanism, however, that architecture remains just a model.

Business Process Management bridges the various layers of Enterprise Architecture, to bring otherwise static process models (as in the BRM) to life as functional software applications.  In so doing, BPM both facilitates and helps to actually create the organizations Service Oriented Architecture (described in the SRM).  It bridges disparate components of the organization's technology infrastructure (TRM) which helps drive a more consistent and less redundant data architecture.

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As a process improvement methodology, Lean Sigma has been proven effective in numerous industries and Government organizations to reduce process waste and lower costs.  It has, however, traditionally been limited to observable processes because of the need to base process improvement on quantifiable data.

Business Process Management brings Lean Sigma to information based processes.

Considering the multitude of information systems, data repositories, and email accounts that constitute the majority of information based processes, it's not hard to see how difficult it would be to accurately and consistently measure them.  BPM provides this capability through:

• System integration features to bridge disparate information systems and repositories
• Automated measures collection and real-time reporting
• Integrated data-driven process analysis and optimization engines to support continuous process improvement

RunningFix has certified and experienced Lean Sigma consultants that understand how to execute the DMAIC methodology within a BPM environment.

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Although equipped for more substantial organizational transformation, Business Process Management platforms provide a turn-key environment for rapid application development by:

• Abstracting away lower level details typically associated with object oriented development
• Providing pre-built connectors for most standard system interfaces
• Enabling more simplified application deployments
• Simplifying the creation of reusable components

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