From the process approach to BPM

Defining, implementing, managing and improving processes have become common practice in companies and organizations of all sizes and in all sectors of activity, and more particularly in those based on operational performance management or management system certification standards.

However, several perspectives coexist in the process approaches and associated results.

From the Taylorian division of labor to today's collaborative, agile and partner-centric enterprise, managerial practices have integrated multiple methods and tools, including the process approach. It's worth bearing this evolution in mind to better appreciate the current moment, characterized by a hybridization between standardization and a holistic perspective, combining standard processes and customized processes deploying the company's differentiating value propositions to its customers.

Indeed, after a high point of organization and process standardization, the current trend, of which BPM is a vector, highlights specific, cross-functional, end-to-end value chains, aligned with a corporate strategy establishing particular competitive advantages.