BPM Consultant & Tool Expert: What Do They Actually Do?

In every organisation, BPM is the most important three-letter word, at least that is what we think. We have already made several videos where we explain in detail what BPM is and why it is so important. But with this blog, we take it a step further. Not only do we explain the process (believe us, we are good at it), but we also focus on what we do on a daily basis. What does a BPM consultant do? And a BPM tool expert? Where do they focus their attention? And how important is the technology in this expertise? We will take you there.

BPM-consultant: content is key

A pilot drives an airplane, a dentist looks at your teeth, and a BPM consultant does... Yes, what does a BPM consultant actually do? That question is often asked to us. It's time to explain. It all starts with processes. To be precise, to make processes run smoothly. What do the processes look like now? Which roles help you to obtain the right output? And how do we best record that? These are all questions that are addressed. To arrive at a good answer, you step through a number of phases. At each stage, you approach the process from a different angle and view it with a different perspective.

But BPM starts with collecting and documenting information. We do this during the process documentation phase. During this phase, you work together with various stakeholders to put down content, maintain it, and take it to a higher level. Important partners are the process owner, process expert, process architect, and enterprise architect. All these stakeholders have an important role in coming up with, maintaining, and validating BPM content. Once the content has been approved, the BPM consultant works closely with the BPM tool expert to put the content into the tool. With all this newly acquired knowledge, you make the transition to the process design phase and the process implementation phase. During these phases, the work mainly revolves around the (ERP) change process. Together with the change management and project management team, the consultant ensures that everyone knows, understands, and applies the new way of working.

And then the process analysis phase begins. Because in addition to managing and maintaining content, a BPM consultant has another important task: optimization. Important here is to collect requirements, validate the data, and set up the dashboards. From a technical point of view, connecting data is a common challenge (more on that later). Fortunately, in this phase, the consultant works closely with the tool expert.

BPM Tool Expert: Technology Makes Everything Possible

The BPM tool expert thus supports the BPM consultant in the final phase (aha!). An important task, but certainly not the only one. One of the first things that needs to happen falls under user management. Here, new users are created, rights are adjusted or assigned. Some activities overlap with database management. As an expert, you are at home with all the tools.

One of those tools is ARIS. This allows you to manage multiple databases, each with its own purpose. Keeping all those separate environments manageable and maintaining them requires a lot of time and knowledge. Because a tool, it gets better and more efficient all the time. Versions quickly get an upgrade, but the settings and functionalities also need to be updated continuously.

As mentioned earlier, preparing data is one of the biggest challenges. This is how it works. Data is extracted, transformed, and then loaded into the tool. Together with the BPM consultant, the expert works on the dashboarding and validations in Signavio. Using process mining in Signavio, for example, shows hidden trends or interesting observations. Finally, the expert is also responsible for training colleagues and users. These courses often cover how to use the tool or how to extract information from the dashboards. Naturally, the BPM tool expert is up to date with the latest market developments. Our customers always receive the best advice.

Meet our BPM colleagues on the working at McCoy (Dutch). You are also welcome at our office. We would be happy to give you a tour.