Definitions for "Business Process Management"
Keywords:  shepherding, bpm, aberdeen, fad, hunch
Business Process Management defines, enables, and manages the exchange of enterprise information through the semantics of a business process view that involves employees, customers, partners, applications and databases. It has to be capable of modeling a process, brokering that process, delivering it with straight through processing (STP), and then managing it, all within a single environment. Because of its far reaching implications for the ability of enterprises to adapt, it is much more than a technology fad but a management issue that needs to be on senior management's agenda, driving the IT support of the business. (Source: Aberdeen Group)
The design of business processes is key to efficient systems. Even the most sophisticated computer system will not be effective unless the processes are well defined. Business process management optimises the business processes in an organisation and then ensures these are delivered by the computer system.
Refers to aligning processes with an organization's strategic goals, designing and implementing process architectures, establishing process measurement systems that align with organizational goals, and educating and organizing managers so that they will manage processes effectively. Business Process Management or BPM can also refer to various automation efforts, including workflow systems, XML Business Process languages and packaged ERP systems. In this case the management emphasizes the ability of workflow engines to control process flows, automatically measure processes, and to change process flows from a computer terminal.
The strategic component of Six Sigma methodology.