Business Process Digitalisation (BPM)

For internal processes that live in paper forms, email threads and spreadsheets. Process discovery, redesigned flows and clear decision rights before anything is automated.

When this matters

Requests travel by email, approvals wait on someone's desk and the latest version of a form is whichever spreadsheet was sent last. Nobody can say where a request is or why it stalled. Automating the current form as it stands would only make the confusion faster.

During employment I worked with teams on a BPM platform that moved paper and Excel-based internal processes into digital request forms, approval flows and task tracking. Early in my career I worked on SharePoint workflow systems for a corporate client. Both taught me to redesign the process before automating it.

Decisions it helps make

Which processes to digitalise first, and which to retire
Who approves what, and what happens when someone is absent
Which data each step needs, and where it should come from
Which parts can be reusable workflow components across departments

Vintage rubber stamps, a date stamp and an ink bottle in a glass display case, beside a pile of worn leather-bound books and old library cards. — Rubber stamps and record books from a library’s working past.Credit: "SANDNES BIBLIOTEK … Vintage rubber stamps ink stationery library cards old books" by Wolfmann, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

How an engagement could work

DiscoverWalk through each process with the people who run it, documenting steps, delays, workarounds and decision points.
RedesignSimplified flows with clear decision rights, exceptions and data requirements, agreed with process owners before any build.
SpecifyA data model, form and approval definitions and a prioritised automation backlog ready for the chosen platform or team.

A good fit

Departments where approvals and requests still run on paper, email or Excel
Organisations planning a BPM or workflow platform and wanting the processes ready first
Teams with an existing workflow tool that is used inconsistently

Not a fit

Requests to configure a specific commercial BPM product as a certified partner
Processes that are regulated in ways requiring formal legal or audit sign-off before redesign

Outside this work

Platform licensing, certified product configuration and legal or audit approval of regulated processes are outside this work. Implementation can be discussed separately.

Working together

Scope, format and terms are agreed case by case. Process owners need to be available, because the redesign depends on their knowledge.

Questions answered

Why not just automate the existing form?

Because the form usually carries old workarounds, unclear approvals and duplicated data. Automating it as it is makes those problems faster. A short redesign first tends to save more time than the automation itself.

Which BPM tools do you work with?

The work is tool-neutral. I have worked on a custom enterprise BPM platform and on SharePoint workflows. The output is a specification that any suitable platform or team can implement.

Can this cover HR or administrative processes?

Yes. Requests, approvals, leave, documents and other administrative flows are typical candidates, as long as the process owners take part in the redesign.

A page of a general-store ledger from 1910, filled with handwritten entries in ruled columns of names, items and amounts. — A general-store ledger, 1910–1911.Credit: "Patterson's General Store Ledger" by Patterson's General Store, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Talk it through

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