Processes have always existed in human activity: from the way in which we make our bed to  the construction of a rocket, we systematically follow a process in a conscious or unconscious manner for different operations.

When it comes to business activities, processes have become important since the division of labour in the 18th century. This emphasised their importance and they are thus regarded as a source of wealth. Since then, we have deepened our knowledge and identified their importance in production in parallel with that of sharing information and after the acronym CIO (Chief Information Officer), CPO (Chief Process Officer) emerged. It was, an illustration of the recognition of the importance of processes within general management structures.

By means of dividing processes, we can identify the tasks which contribute more or less added value. Thanks to the ease of access to information,  we try to optimise them, especially by focussing on the optimisation of tasks which create the most value and by eliminating those which are less effective.
In this context, computer science has contributed to the problem of the optimisation of processes the tools necessary to reduce the time it takes to perform a task and  thus allow everyone to devote themselves to specific tasks capable of generating more added value.

However, in these beginnings, computer science has not addressed the issue as a whole, as it has responded only to specific needs without concerning itself with a possible dialogue between the different tools. It has curbed the responsiveness of colleagues and made their work more onerous.

A recently developed tool,  Business Process Management thus addresses this problem by creating dialogue between the different parts of the information system (integrated management software packages, GRC tools and « in-house » applications …), thus creating an orchestration platform between the latter, but also providing a collaborative space for the enterprise. where there is complete interaction between departments. Users are at the centre of this measure and the computer tools are the structure which orchestrates the different exchanges of information, man-to-man, man-to-machine and machine-to-machine, without the constraints of time and space, while ensuring that there is monitoring and a historical record.

In this edition of W4 Actu, we invite you to find out what the basic advantages of  Business Process Management can contribute to your organisation and the methods of implementation, as this kind of approach is not as conventional as it may appear.

Enjoy your voyage of discovery!