Process Management Lifecycle.

The proper design and execution of processes can lead an organization to outperform, both in quality and efficiency, another organization offering the same products or services. This fact has triggered the need to look for a management model to optimize activities.

The process-based management model considers the organization as a system of interconnected processes and seeks to optimize key processes as much as possible.

According to Dumas, La Rosa, Mendling and Reijers, every process undergoes a continuous management lifecycle.  Whenever an organization raises a business problem, it must start the process identification stage to define its scope and interrelations. The output is the architecture of the analyzed process. It is essential to define the performance metrics of each process –which are typically associated with cost, quality, flexibility, and time– so that the organization may properly channel its improvement efforts.

After identifying the processes and their metrics, the discovery stage begins, through which it is possible to understand the business process thoroughly. The output is a business model that shows how work is being currently done. Then the process analysis stage starts, where problems are identified, documented and prioritized according to impact and resolution effort.

The next stage is process redesign, which aims to identify changes in the process that will allow the organization to meet its performance objectives. Changes are then executed in the implementation phase, and finally, during the process monitoring stage, it is determined whether the processes are working as expected. In case of deviations, corrective actions should be taken. In this process, new problems may arise; if so, the cycle would start again, and repeat continuously.