I went to Gartner's Business Process Management Summit 2010 in London this week with low expectations.
I'd attended the same event in the same hotel three years ago - and felt like a fish out of water. The focus back then was totally on technology. It was a BPM geekfest. The answer was automation and success was just about choosing the right application.
This year's Summit was far more intelligent and engaging. The discussions and presentations reflected a much more wholegrain view of BPM, highlighting essential aspects previously overlooked:
- Change Management: BPM as the enterprise framework where stakeholders collaborate on the design and deployment of change
- Engagement: BPM as a means to foster a culture of continuous improvement, involving end users and harnessing their creativity
- Virtualization: BPM as a platform for orchestration of end-to-end service delivery in a multi-sourced world
- BPM and BI: 'Process management without metrics is just hope' - Bill Rosser
- Governance: BPM as the framework for managing the natural tension between agility and compliance.
Gartner's focus is the CIO, so there was still a lot of BPM technology stuff - and that was fine. What gave it meaning was the continual Gartner references to the need for business-led projects, the need for a common language between the business and IT, and the focus on end-to-end business process performance [not just the automated parts].
This Summit was also more fun because it was more participative. The house lights came up. We voted. It seemed more of a conversation.
So, in that spirit, and in Gartner's inimitable style, let me make two Gammage predictions:
By 2012, 80% of Gartner's BPM Summits will be co-hosted with the IQPC Lean Sigma Operational Excellence events, bringing together business and IT in a dialog that will be fruitful for both sides
By 2013, 80% of Gartner's BPM Summits will include a Nimbus keynote.
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