Organizations should carefully evaluate their needs and compare offerings from multiple vendors before purchasing expensive business process modeling software. An evaluation team can determine needs and develop a request for proposal to select capable vendors. Considerations include compatibility, industry standards, customization, and cost. Choosing the right software can improve ROI and lead to business process optimization.
Business process modeling software is expensive to purchase and requires training, time and effort to implement. The software must serve the organization for a certain number of years. The use of the software will affect the business process of the organization. It is important for organizations to carefully evaluate their technical, functional and support needs and compare the offerings of several business process modeling software vendors to choose the one that offers the best value.
An organization may first want to establish a small business process software evaluation team to determine the needs of the organization and develop a request for proposal (RFP). The team can consist of executives and employees who have a broad range of skills in the areas affected by the software. An RFP produced by this team may be sent to a select few vendors that appear capable of meeting the organization’s requirements.
The evaluation team will consider the features and functionality of the software and compare those with the needs of the organization. The types and formats of the models produced will be important. The ability to generate code from templates for developing software applications could be critical in some situations. If process models will be used in software development, the models generated by the new system must be compatible. Other features that can be evaluated include reporting, document management, form fillers, business rule engines, and user management.
A business process server is special software that can provide the ability to use process templates in workflow design. Technology and humans interact with workflows to run their businesses. If this feature is required, it may affect the evaluation of the software.
In some cases, modeling software must meet certain industry standards, such as business process modeling notation. Informal standards may encourage some business computing modeling software products to be well accepted in certain industries. The evaluation team may want to consider software that has been successfully implemented in its industry.
Software support, both during implementation and after installation, can be a vital consideration. Business process modeling software can be complex to implement and maintain. The assessment team will want to determine whether a software vendor’s support is appropriate for the organization’s needs.
Some organizations will be able to use certain software as-is, while others may need to customize it. The assessment team should evaluate whether customization will be required to meet the organization’s requirements. Customization increases expenses up front and can increase costs in the future when upgrading. In general, it’s less expensive to avoid software customization.
The cost of the software will be a major consideration. This should be weighed not only in terms of initial outlay, but should also take into account the lifetime cost of ownership. Some factors in cost of living may include seat licenses, maintenance, customizations and annual license renewals.
Choosing the best business process modeling software can help your organization improve return on investment (ROI). Business process modeling software allows the organization to capture and map the current business process. When a business process reengineering initiative is undertaken, it can lead to business process optimization. Business process modeling software is a key component of business process management, which also incorporates business process mapping and business process monitoring.
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