Mastering Your Organization's Processes: A Plain Guide to BPM [Hardcover]

John O'Connell (Author), Jon Pyke (Author), Roger Whitehead (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"If you are a manager and new to BPM, and want a serious introduction to the issues involved in using BPM in an organization, this is a great way to come up to speed on the key issues. Similarly, if you are a BPM manager and going to be building a case for BPM in your organization, you will also find this book very useful." - BP Trends, Paul Harmon

"With many diagrams and footnotes throughout, and a glossary of terms and suggestions on further reading, the book tries to enable the non-specialist reader to take a broad and informed view of business processes. Free from technical imperatives, and ideal for non-technical managers, this book will also appeal to MBA and business studies students."
Abstracts of Public Administration, Development, and the Environment

Product Description

Understanding and improving your organization's business processes is vital in today's economy. Using non-technical language, this book describes the importance of these processes and the internal and external forces that shape them. It then explains the kinds of computer software available for improving and managing business processes in a flexible way. Detailed case studies illustrate that successful process management depends on attention to the human, organizational and financial factors involved, as well as the strategic implications. Ideal for non-technical managers, this book will also appeal to MBA and business studies students.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 290 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (March 27, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521839750
• ISBN-13: 978-0521839754
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #769,419 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last a Simple to Read Comprehensive Book on Process, July 16, 2006

By	Mark McGregor "Author, Speaker & Performance ... (Redditch, UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Your Organization's Processes: A Plain Guide to BPM (Hardcover)

This is the book that most people thought would never be written. So many people have been urging Jon Pyke for so many years to get down on paper what he really thinks. Of all the people in the process space, Jon is probably the most widely misquoted! It has been all too easy for people to say "Well, what Jon actually meant was!" and then turn it to suit their own purpose, now we can all get to find out what Jon actually thought!

This book is a veritable treasure trove of information, every page fact with some fact or factoid of note. There will be those in the BPM community who may find aspects of what Jon has to say hard to swallow. But, Jon more than most has the right to state his views and give corrections to the origins of some of the terms. As CTO of Staffware from 1992-2004, potentially the only truly successful vendor of the workflow era, Jon was in effect the father of workflow and by that fact the de facto father of BPMS - not that some would like to acknowledge that fact.

The book although jam packed with information, is a very easy read and, in the opinion of this reviewer at least, is probably the most complete, logical and digestible explanation of what process are and why they are important I have seen.

Full of tips and tricks on what to do and what to watch out for as you - in the name of the title - Master your Organizations Processes. The book does not set out to be a cook book, but instead guides your thinking and provides plenty of checklists to help you on your way. This approach is to be applauded, as all too many a good book on process has been spoiled by the first you do this, then you do this approach. The reality is that one size really does not fit all.

Its nine chapters are strongly focussed on success in business and never do you get the sense of technology for technology's sake - pretty good going for a former CTO! The chapters also contain lots of good case studies which certainly help and are easy to relate to.

If I had one criticism of the book it is that by its definition of BPM as technology it propagates (in my opinion) the lie that BPM is technology rather than using the more widely accepted term BPMS for the technology to support the management philosophy that is BPM.

The book is an absolute must read for any business, systems or process analyst in order to make sure that they stay focussed on what is really important - business results. It's non-jargon, non-technical style means that for any Manager it will serve as a great introduction to process management and will prove invaluable to them in the selection of processes to improve, tool selection and technology selection..

Now of course all we have to do is wait and see where Jon pops up next, it is now 2 years since his departure from Staffware, Jon what are you up to, when we will we be seeing the latest from you in the process space?

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not really a book on BPM but on BPMS instead, July 17, 2009

By	Jose Davi Furlan (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This review is from: Mastering Your Organization's Processes: A Plain Guide to BPM (Hardcover)

If you are looking for a BPM literature this book is not the one you should buy. It brings BPM as "the use of a particular kind of process automation software" whereas BPM is "a disciplined approach to identify, design, execute, document, measure, monitor, and control both automated and non-automated business processes to achieve consistent, targeted results aligned with an organization's strategic goals" accordingly to ABPMP CBOK. That could be a book on BPMS (Business Process Management Systems) -- if you read "BPMS" whenever you find the acronym "BPM" inside the book, things start to make sense. I bought the book to read about BPM not BPMS, so, for me, it was worthless.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good one to understand the basics, September 3, 2009

By	SRJ (India) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mastering Your Organization's Processes: A Plain Guide to BPM (Hardcover)

The author has presented the significance and purpose of the Business process... Good for beginners and to understand the basics. A must have in our book shelf...