Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First off, I have to admit I am not objective about this review. Artie Mahal is a good friend and we have worked together developing the methodology he describes in this book. That said, I'll be as objective as I can.
Artie began his process journey at Mars North America, when his boss asked him to take charge of a business process change project. He went on to become the head of BPM at Mars North America, to train process change agents throughout the corporation, and to help the company become a mature process-focused organization. When Artie retired from Mars North America he formed his own consulting company and also joined with BPTrends Associates. While at BPTrends Associates he has worked with Roger Burlton, me and others to develop the BPTrends Associates Methodology. We refer to the methodology as a "best practices" methodology because we did not set out to create a new methodology, but simply to structure the existing business practices that have developed over the past thirty years into a consistent, systematic framework that companies can use to solve process problems.
Artie's contribution to the development of the methodology has been significant, but much more significant, to my mind, has been his contribution to our training and consulting practice. Artie's extensive experience at Mars guarantees his ability to help organizations when they begin to develop their own process resources. He's been there and done it, and can tell you about the problems they had and how they overcome them. And, in the past few years, he's consulted with lots of other companies and learned about their problems and guided them through the beginnings of their own process journeys.
To my mind, however, Artie's greatest strength is as an instructor. Artie Mahal is one of the most knowledgeable and gifted instructors I have known. He brings an unbeatable combination of enthusiasm, empathy, knowledge, and energy to his classes. His students learn; but more important, they catch a spark and become enthusiastic about what they can do with the ideas Artie provides.
BPTrends Associates is currently working on a Methodology Handbook that will systematically document all of the steps and techniques we teach in the BPTrends Associates Methodology. Naturally, when I got Artie's book I looked to see whether he would be preempting our Handbook. Artie certainly does describe the BPTrends Associates approach, but he does so in his own friendly and enthusiastic way. This is not a methodological handbook - this is a book that is very like a conversation with Artie. He's sits you down, talks to you about the kinds of problems you will likely encounter and then suggests what kinds of approaches you should consider.
A quick glance at the contents will give you a feeling for the scope of the book:
1.Enterprise Business Model
2.Business Process Hierarchy
3.Business Process Blueprint
4.Anatomy of a Process
5.Process Knowledge
6.Business Models
7.Process Configuration
8.BPM Methodology
9.BPM Competencies
10.BPM Services
11.Software Tools
12.NewAge Foods Business Process Case Study
Everything is here - goals and strategies, alignment, scope diagrams, cause-effect diagrams, flow diagrams, process measures, redesign strategies and ideas about how to roll out a process. The focus is clearly on redesigning a broken process and the example walks readers through the steps of doing just that. But it does much more because it provides Artie's stories and his suggestions along the way.
When I first started writing books, I used to worry about who my audience was. (Publishers always ask you that.) After awhile I realized that my audience was myself: I write books to organize and explain things to myself. At the beginning of the book, Artie talks about being asked by his manager to take over a major process redesign project and looking for a guru to help him - and meeting Roger Burlton. Well, that was many years ago, and Artie has become a guru in his own right. I believe he has written this book to be the book he would have bought to help him when he was first given that assignment at the beginning of his career.
If you have ever wished you had a very practical friend who could sit down and talk you through just what's involved in improving how work gets done at your organization, this is the book!
I expect this is the book I will be recommending to those who are new to process work for the foreseeable future.
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How Work Gets Done: Business Process Management, Basics and BeyondRediscover how your organization works and where it can be improved by using simple, yet powerful techniques!
How Work Gets Done will provide the business or IT professional with a practical working knowledge of Business Process Management (BPM). This book is written in a conversational style that encourages you to read it from start to finish and master these objectives:
Learn how to identify the goals and drivers important to your organization and how to align these with key performance measures
Understand how business strategies, business policies, and operational procedures need to be connected within a Business Process Architecture
Know the basic building blocks of any business process - Inputs, Outputs, Guides, and Enablers
Learn how to create a BPM Center of Excellence in your organization
Acquire the skills to establish a BPM methodology addressing Enterprise-level, Process-Level, and Implementation-Level priorities
Learn how to build a Process Competency Framework encompassing all BPM stakeholders
Obtain the knowledge to improve a process step-by-step with easy to use techniques and templates such as swimlanes and flowcharts
How Work Gets Done is a clear, concise, and well-navigated journey into the world of Business Processes and Business Process Management. From a practical introduction through advanced topics around methodology and competencies, it is suitable for business process newcomers and seasoned practitioners alike. It should be required reading at all levels of every organization. Eugene Fucetola - Global Application Messaging and Integration, Operations Manager, Mars Information Services
If you have always wished you had a very practical friend who could sit down and talk you through just what is involved improving how work gets done at your organization, this is the book!Paul Harmon - Executive Editor, Business Process Trends and Chief Methodologist, BPTrends Associates
Artie Mahal has done something that was thought to be impossible - produce an easily readable book about business process management. He paints pictures with words, offers many easy-to-grasp analogies, and stimulates with simplifying charts of complex concepts. Leon Fraser- Lecturer, Rutgers Business School
Chapter Listing:
Chapter 1 - Enterprise Business Model
Chapter 2 - Business Process Hierarchy
Chapter 3 - Business Process Blueprint
Chapter 4 - Anatomy of a Process
Chapter 5 - Process Knowledge
Chapter 6 - Business Models
Chapter 7 - Process Configuration
Chapter 8 - BPM Methodology
Chapter 9 - BPM Competencies
Chapter 10 - BPM Services
Chapter 11 - Software Tools
Chapter 12 - NewAge Foods Business Process Case Study
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