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The article illustrates how Business Process Management (BPM) requires businesspeople to rethink their strategy for success. BPM has the ability to change the information technology (IT)-to-user-enhancement cycle. The first step toward proper positioning is educating staff members on BPM-specific skills, techniques and viewpoints, starting with the IT organization and eventually extending to the individual project teams that select a BPM-based approach. Businessmen must also remember that BPM is not a transaction processing system. And it is important for businessmen to know the principle that applies to BPM, which is, if one sees everything as a process to be explicitly modeled and executed, he is likely overstepping the bounds of good design.

This article presents an interview with Steve Carr, founder of Carr Amplifiers, on the implication of information technology for the guitar amplification market. Allegedly, many amplification vendors are applying digital modeling techniques to create a variety of sounds. Digital modeling amplifiers offer radical, new digital approaches that allow many options for tone modification. Such amplifiers also seek to re-create legendary tones, where manufacturers are attempting to model famous amplifiers of the 1960s, such as the Vox sound of the British invasion, or some of the classic Fender sounds. For Carr, the tube amplifier is the only viable form of amplification for guitar. According to Carr, the modeling amplifiers are a new technology, almost like the first transistor amplifiers being made in the 1970s. Apparently, original guitar amplifiers were tube-based and hand-wired.

The author comments on the importance of process memory. In order for a process to work effectively, you have to remember what you have already done, where you are now and what comes next. This is process memory. Process memory is an absolute requirement if someone wants to succeed in the process world. One should not make customers maintain the state of the process. One should take pride in his work and keep his eyes on the ball. If he masters this, then he is well on the way to process excellence.

The article offers several Synthetic Mental Visualization Scenarios to determine if a person has a cat-like process curiosity which is essential in business process improvement. It details how the author was able to discover the reason for the dimming of cabin lights at airplanes when taking-off. It emphasizes the importance of asking or inquiring about something that is unknown. It states the reason for the practice of a local utility company worker of placing orange traffic cones in the front and back of his vehicle when parking.

A quiz concerning business process management is presented.

The author reflects on cautionary tales for dealing with business process management (BPM). BPM gurus need a healthy respect for process gravity--the knowledge that what they do in one part of the process can subtly or drastically affect the other parts. They need to develop a whole process vision. If a BPM practitioner naively optimizes part of a process, he will almost certainly harm the overall process. Seeing the whole process requires radical cultural and organizational changes.

This article presents a narrative of everyday experiences of the author related to business process management (BPM). I bought a new garden hose recently. Normally, this would not be newsworthy, even in my small town where lesser purchases often make the front page. However, there is a BPM lesson here. When I uncoiled the hose from its circular cardboard packaging, I noticed there were safety instructions written on the back of the cardboard. It was a basic litany of safety instructions. I read a few more warnings and then saw the clincher, this hose not labeled for sale in California. The lesson, you are as unlikely to get away with a single pure process that fits everyone all the time as you are to sell an unlabeled garden hose in California.

The article presents thoughts on business process management (BPM) and best practices. Process discovery is like picking blackberries. Expect to get something good and tasty, but also expect to get dirty in the process. We need to stop creating infantile and demeaning images of the users of BPM systems. People are tougher than we think. Our BPM systems will be an insult to their intelligence if we take a paternalistic attitude toward users. Users of BPM systems however, are also capable of misleading you as you attempt to redesign systems.

Presents tips in conducting business process management (BPM) meetings. Significance of presenting simple process design during the meeting; Disadvantage of telephone conferencing; Language command required in tackling process design.

Addresses some aspects of Business Process Management (PBM). Opinion on the soft side of PBM; Reaction of listeners after hearing PBM; Definition of Business Process Management.

Presents a discussion about the personalities involved in designing business process management tools. Details of conducting a performance evaluation; Importance of considering the source of the affected process; Contribution of a support structure to a process' performance.

This section presents an article on the three good business process management personalities. The author wishes all processes were like Scouts. They would be trustworthy, friendly, courteous, thrifty and reverent. A good process should inform as it goes, explain its purpose and actions and provide a contextual roadmap. As a rule of life, the author doesn't believe in psychic powers. Psychics, however, do represent an interesting avatar--the predictive process. Psychics seem to be able to read the situation and make educated guesses--guesses so good they resonate with their customers.

The author reflects on process avatars that are a bit too flexible for their own good and calls them out by names. We all know a lovable Aunt Alabaster. She is an anachronism, a living museum of the past, glued to a lost time. I know processes that are just like Aunt Alabaster. They reflect company policy of the past--before the merger, or before the rebate date was extended, or before this morning, when the bank verbally qualified one for that special web-only rate. In the process-land, however, the process-to-reality delay may be out of synch by mere minutes or hours. I love classic films, The Seventh Seal and Citizen Kane are among my favorites. But there is one film that tops the list for its ironic brilliance, its commentary on man's existential struggles, and its tortured gestalt. That film is The Muppet Christmas Carol. One of the normally articulated characters was the Ghost of Christmas Present--a hulking giant who had the distinction of a fading memory. This character rapidly aged as the day passed, becoming forgetful exactly like many processes out there. It is an integration issue--these broken processes just forget to pass the information on down the line. One system hands over its part of the process and the recipient, often a human in a call center, does not get the full story.

This article discusses two business process management personalities. The Stepford Process needs no explanation. The process is a pre-scripted-flow for every possible option as determined by the owner of the tools. These flows are linear, scripted uninterruptible, and unable to deal with any ad hoc redirection. They are sterile but efficient. The Drill Sergeant Process is similar to the Stepford Process. Drill Seargent Processes are the mean one of the sterile, step-by-step rigid process masters. All demand that you follow their views with no deviation, but the Drill Seargent threatens you if you fail to comply. There are some process flows where there seem to be accepting some legally binding agreement each step of the way if a person wants to go to the next step. The Business Process Management tool is Sergeant Carter the user is Gomer. These processes are also perfectly awful.

This article presents the author's comments on the disembodied personality of business process management. An explicit process is a bodiless embodiment of personality, one containing quirks that will persist long after the supplier of said quirkiness has gone on to his or her reward. I cannot prove it, but I believe that it is impossible to divorce the physical manifestations of complex rational thinking from all degrees of underlying personality. Your process will reflect the essence of who you are; or rather, who the creators of the process are or were. For example, I was in a hurry to a meeting, but was almost out of gas. I stopped to fill up and pay at the pump device software with my Visa. Before I could pump, I had to let the little machine engage me in a conservation: "No," I did not want a car wash. "Yes," I did want a receipt. "No," I have enough life insurance, thank you. Finally satisfied with our conversation, the machine let me select may gasoline grade and it started the pump. The personality of the system was one of benign arrogance, benign because it was not a direct affront like some systems I deal with, but arrogance nonetheless, since I had to defer to a silicon boss for those precious seconds. I do not like the authority that comes from software products and their disembodied personalities. To confront process personalities, we need to give them names, to find their missing bodies.

This column offers some best practices for business process management. First, the author warns organizations against allowing amateurs tackle process problems. According to him, the best process people are the ones who know what they are doing. Second, organizations need to be careful when introducing new processes (and business process management) at the same time as document management, integration technology, new organization structures, new management, new products, new vision, etc. Third, if it is the organization's first time using process technology, it should not set itself for visible failure. Some process problems are so bad they require multiple passes to get them right. The author advises organizations to not expect their first process design to be their last as they try to solve a business problem. According to him, organizations should start with that expectation that their process tool is a start and not the end to solving a process management issue. Some process problems are permanent. Organizations may have to terminate angry and disruptive people, have to kill parts of the business, or have to leave parts of the business alone. The author notes that there are no spotless processes.

This article considers how organizations can use Business Process Management tools to enshrine their need for ignorance, arrogance and isolation. According to the author, Business Process Management allows an organization to express its vision for process flow. Many companies knowingly use processes to regulate their employees and customers. They do this to constrain action, hoping to enforce lower costs in the process. Power corrupts absolutely, and the author notes that Business Process Management allows an organization to enshrine power plays as process best practices. According to him, power without humanity is not a best practice; it is arrogance. Meanwhile, the author also notes that if an organization expects to have a continuing business relationship, it should not automate its interactions as if it is operating a vending machine. He warns organizations not to use their tools to keep customers from getting to the proper people, quickly. The author argues that what is important is the process mentality. Automation reflects the process culture of the company. According to him, if a company reeks of arrogance, it should expect its Business Process Management implementations to stink.

This article presents the author's observation on the soft side challenges of Business Process Management (BPM). The ying and yang reality of technology and humanity represent a dangerous and unpredictable blend. Technology is cold, rigid and impersonal--it marches forward, trying to obliterate all inefficiencies in its way. Humanity is warm, flexible and personal--it inches forward, questioning innovation along its way, even as it gobbles it up. If one select a BPM product that does not have all the features one need or that fails to implement a key BPM standard, that is a hard mistake. Hard mistakes are easier to fix than soft mistakes--one find another product or pay to have the vendor add the missing bits. Soft mistakes are not as easily fixed, because they are rooted in social challenges. Social challenges can be defined simply as human resist; human acts irrationally; humans do not like being fenced in. BPM is a change agent; humans resist change. In short, and in street vernacular, BPM messes with people and people do not like being messed with. Organizational design, methodological prowess, process discovery styles, process education and other concepts are considered soft simply because they are too wiggly to address casually and be considered resolved.

The article presents guidelines in developing a personal philosophy of information technology (IT). The first guideline is to fear the wisdom of the masses. If we could have followed this guideline during the dot.com days. many of us would have been better off. The second guideline is to know your motivation. Knowing this will tell you how much of a slave you are to the technological imperative. We always need people who chase dreams, but be aware of why you are doing what you do. The third guideline is to never assume that you are creating a better world. All our technology is changing the world. In many cases, the changes are beneficial. But a lot of what we have done has not created a better world. If you follow these guidelines, you will know more about your IT motivation and mindset. Ignore them, and you may look back and wonder about the rationality of the new world that you created. On the other hand, if you ignore these guidelines, then maybe you are not the type to look back and assess the fruits of your labor, at least not yet.

This article focuses on business process management issues as of September 2004. Musicians debate analog versus digital techniques for sound recording and reproduction. In the field of business process management, analog is the flesh-and-blood world of human-driven processes, while digital is the automated approach. One can express oneself to a human about a customer service problem and, most of the time, have that analog warmth. Now, to be clear, flesh and blood is expensive, and has limits, so vendors are attempting to model human characteristics where possible. Just as amp vendors are trying to model a classic VOX 1960s tube sound, information technology vendors are attempting to recreate a classic customer service sound. Human service will be expensive and beautiful, but it will be boutique. The masses will go for the cheaper, more sterile models, such as the digital modeling approach that strips out the flesh and blood. This is certainly the trajectory, but it is still a long way from full fidelity reproduction.

This article discusses a philosophy of information technology in relation to the music industry. Questions regarding the effect of advances in the music industry was discussed. The effects of technological determinism and the technological imperative are changing the creation, marketing, and distribution of sounds. Changing musical styles and technical innovation in music creation are the two main themes running parallel in the state of music industry. Changes to musical equipment used for sound production, amplification and modification, specifically guitar amplifiers and effects, was considered. One of the biggest battles in amplifier and effects innovation is the analog versus digital battle and the current reverence of vintage equipment. Musicians buy vintage effects because they believe they work better. Many of the boutique effects manufacturers have waiting lists for their products, products that respect the glory days of the past, often leveraging long-ago created electronics circuits.

The article presents the author's opinion on the social aspects of information technology (IT). We have good uses of technology and we have bad uses--at least in my eyes, on a particular day, depending on how I feel. To the midnight banker, the Interactive Voice Response is a welcomed friend, confirming a balance. To the film-developing industry, digital imaging systems are a threat to years of training and sales of their solutions. While I am excited about the potential offered by technology, I am also worried about the society we are creating in the process. We make out money on technological innovations and that is where we channel our energies. But we have an uncomfortable balancing act to perform. Not all advances in IT make us better off. This is why I am going to address the philosophies of perceived inevitability of technology and its blessings and woes. Technological determinism believes that steady technical progress is a given, and that man is always better off because of these advances. The technological imperative, describes a mindset that most of have adopted. It views technological progress as a genie out of a bottle. A field of dreams. These two terms represent optimism and inevitability in action.

This article deals with information technology and purchasing postage stamps from the U.S. Postal Service. The post office would not just sell their postage stamps, they would present a book of generic stamps to customers.

This article focuses on the philosophy of information technology (IT). A discussion on the philosophy of IT is controversial for the fact that few people are enjoying IT. Novelty has a bad history within IT. Most of the Internet industry failure was attributed to the way people embraced novelty over substance. People where intrigued by new and unusual and no longer cared about old and proven. Good novelty is exploration, which is a requirement in a world where new technologies come out on a daily basis. Novelty allows forward movement through experimentation and enables people to become familiar with a new technology in an innovative way. If properly done, novelty is exploration and experimentation. For IT to become successful, it should discover a new process, technique, application or source of information.

Presents information on business activity monitoring (BAM). Significance of BAM to a computer software; Characteristics of BAM; Views of clients on BAM implementation; Need for experimentation.

Presents information on the styles of business activity monitoring (BAM). Disadvantages of an automatic BAM; Role of BAM in guiding business process responses and business flexibility; Factors to consider in implementing BAM.

Focuses on the evolving styles of Business Activity Monitoring (BAM). Use of BAM in televisions; Role of BAM in video games; Benefits of BAM systems.

Discusses the application of real-time rule in business activity monitoring. Use of the computing platform On-Board Diagnostics II in automobiles; Information on real time rule; Factors that contributed to the prevalence of real-time application.

Provides information on the Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) software. Uses of BAM; List of BAM requirements; Ways to determine a company's BAM readiness.

Offers facts about the Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) system. Descriptions of several BAM deployments; Techniques used by vendors to monitor processes they model and execute; Features of a BPM tool.

Focuses on Business Activity Monitoring (BAM), which provides real-time access to critical business-performance indicators to improve the speed and effectiveness of business operations. Goal of BAM; Components of BAM; Semantic loading of BAM.

Presents a test to determine one's attitude towards application integration in the field of information technology. Reason for the persistence of integration; Characteristic of integration technology innovation; Best way for an enterprise to maintain a robust software base.