While our team is still busy with the final analysis of the data from the ‘Quality in Process Management Survey’ we conducted together with the University of Applied Sciences Koblenz over the past few months, let me kick off the discussion with a few general observations:
Even though business process management still ranks as one of the leading topics for senior management (as it has for the past 10 years or so), the quality of the processes designed, implemented and operated does little to suggest that much attention is paid to delivering something that comes even close to the importance attached to it.
With just 4% of companies claiming that their processes are ready for operations once they leave the project phase and more than a third of companies having to invest substantial effort to re-work processes to turn them operational, it seems that a lot of the BPM initiatives are a far cry from anything that could be called successful...
Would it be too much to ask that in future all processes come equipped with the following sticker:
It seemed at first that the news agencies were recycling old stories when reports broke of a major fraud case at UBS. Not so. It’s a new case that has come to light. But while most may find the the volume involved grabbing their attention – $2bn is not exactly small change – the more interesting aspect lies in the apparent failure of the internal control and audit processes. The BBC website today carried a report saying that the alleged offender actually reported his illegal activities himself.
