A Guide to Automating Tasks Using Business Process Management Software

Efficiency is the key to a booming business today. Business owners and directors are always looking for ways to streamline their business model, eliminate redundancy, and speed up their task management workflows. A greater number of organizations than ever have software for recording and tracking business processes, known as enterprise business process management software. 

Aproove is a leading enterprise BPM and task management software provider. Today, our team has put together a comprehensive guide to automating tasks and increasing efficiency with business process management to help companies stay ahead of the game!   

Understanding Business Process Management (BPM) Software 

BPM software automates, optimizes, and streamlines workflows, leveraging computer hardware, software, and systems to model, execute, and monitor workflows. These workflows are instrumental in how people, systems, applications, and devices work together. BPM software enforces process rules, maintaining a consistent approach to process execution and mitigating errors and oversights.

Key Benefits of BPM Software 

More efficiency: Business process workflow software automates routine tasks to quicken their completion and free workers to concentrate on value-added activities.

Consistency: Automated processes and tasks produce the same output every time, eliminating human error that can lead to a variance in the quality of work. 

Affirming Accuracy: Automated processes clearly and efficiently do what they should. 

Improved Teamwork: BPM applications and task management software facilitate improved teamwork by helping all team members stay on the same page and work toward shared goals. 

Better compliance: Business process workflow software helps guarantee that all the correct steps are taken to keep your company in line with any local and international standards and regulations. 

Scalability: BPM and task management software can scale to accommodate more work and more complex processes over time.  

Steps to Automate Tasks Using BPM  

The following describes the steps for automating any task using bpm tools. The Aproove Work Management team outlines this guide for seamless implementation and maximum results. 
 

1. Identify and Document Processes

The first step in automating tasks is knowing precisely what to automate. These are the repeatable, time-intensive processes that follow a set process sequence. After that, document the details of these processes – which should include the following:

Process Name: A clear and descriptive name for the process.

Process Steps: A detailed list of all the steps involved.

Inputs: What is needed to start the process, such as information or raw materials? 

Outputs: What is produced at the end of the process.

Roles and Responsibilities: The individuals or teams responsible for each process step.  

2. Analyze and Optimize Processes 

Before automating, it is crucial to analyze and optimize the identified processes. This involves:

Finding Bottlenecks: Determine which process phase slows output or causes more errors.

Eliminating Redundancies: Remove any unnecessary steps or duplicate tasks that do not add value.

Streamlining Workflow: Simplify the process by combining or rearranging steps to improve efficiency.  

3. Choose the Right BPM Software

Having good business process workflow software and task management software is crucial for succeeding at automating your business processes. Benefit from Aproove Work Management software’s versatile features and ease of use.  When selecting business process management software, use the following considerations:

Ease of Use: The software should be intuitive and easy for employees. 

Modularity: Look for modular solutions that can be modified individually instead of doing a significant rewrite and starting again. 

Customization: The best software lets you customize it to fit your organizational needs, which becomes an even more significant factor as your company matures and grows.

Integration: It's crucial to ensure that the business process management software can seamlessly integrate with your existing systems and tools, providing confidence in its compatibility.

Scalability: Choose software that can grow with your business and handle increased workloads. 

4. Design and Implement Automated Workflows

Once you have the proper BPM and task management software, it is your job to configure your automated workflows. You do this by:

Mapping the process: Use the business process modeling tools of the BPM solution to draw the process flow, involving all process steps, decision points, and dependencies.

Define Rules and Conditions: Describe the rules and conditions that the process must comply with; determine what triggers it and what defines the necessary conditions to move from one step to another.

Checking the Workflow: Before going live, test your automated workflow to make sure it operates as you planned. Find and fix any defects that crop up in testing.  

5. Monitor and Optimize Automated Processes

Of course, the above features only the initial steps in getting your processes and tasks up and running. Automation needs monitoring and maintenance to achieve ongoing effectiveness and efficiency. Aproove Work Management software provides a powerful set of monitoring and reporting capabilities to help you track the ongoing performance of your automated processes. Activities include: 

Tracking KPIs (key performance indicators): Measure the efficiency and effectiveness of your workflow through key performance indicators. 

Spot opportunities for improvement: Learn to use performance data to identify areas for improvement.  

Tweak the Automation: Relentlessly tune and optimize your automated task workflows to refine and enhance their performance and fix any emerging problems. 

Best Practices for Successful Automation 

The Aproove Work Management team offers the following best-practice advice to help you get the most benefits out of your business process workflow when it comes to automating tasks and to make it more likely that the automation is successful and transparent for employees and customers. 

1. Involve Key Stakeholders 

Get everyone on board who is interested in task automation. This includes both frontline employees who will use the BPM software and those whose tasks are being handed over. They can provide insight into what tasks you should realistically automate and how best to make it work.

2. Start Small

Start small with an easy-to-automate process, then give yourself time to learn how the BPM software works and refine your technique before moving on to more complicated methods.

3. Provide Training and Support

Train employees in using the business process management software task management software, and the new automated workflow. Ensure hands-on support in answering employee questions and problems.

4. Regularly Review and Update Processes

Since business processes are fluid and prone to change, regularly review and update your automated task workflows.

5. Focus on Continuous Improvement

Automation isn’t a one-off event; seek to continually improve your processes and leverage new business process management software features and capabilities to improve performance and productivity.  

Automating tasks with BPM tools is a great way to improve efficiency, accuracy, and employee collaboration. If you and your colleagues are running your workflows manually without the option to create automated rules, you could learn from the steps outlined by the Aproove Work Management team here and follow the best practices for automation success.

Doing so will ensure you can simplify and optimize your workflow, reduce manual effort, and help your business fly!