Roles in process management

Every system needs clear responsibilities. Therefore, the position of the Chief Executive Officer up to the Data Protection Officer is determined in each organization. At the same time, persons responsible for the organizational controlling and for the effective implementation of process management are required. Generally, these are referred to as roles. Hereby, all aspects from the overall responsibility up to the systematic support in the IT-area have to be taken into consideration. Due to this, it is a critical success factor for organizations to determine all essential roles as well as to accomplish sufficient measures for the building of competence for all managers and employees concerned.

BPM Akademie has therefore analyzed the essential requirements of all roles in advance and has designed systematic education- and advanced training offers for each role. We will prepare you for the successful implementation in your process management role. Subsequently you will get an overview of the, from our point of view, primary roles in process management.

Role descriptions

CPO- Leader Process management

Besides the comprehensive systematic tasks, the CPO also has the requirement to anchor the process-oriented controlling already in the strategic controlling of the organization. From our point of view the CPO is a member of the management level and establishes a sustainable process orientation in organizations as essential success factor of the value- and customer oriented alignment. Subsequently you can see an extract of the challenging task portfolio of a CPO:

• Transformation of the corporate strategy in the process management
• Definition of the process management strategy and the derived targets
• Development, documentation, maintenance and publication of the process model
• Design of the change process
• Anchor process management as management process in organization
• Definition of technique standards
• Assure compliance of the processes
• Coordination across the areas of operation
• Buildup of a process oriented organization

Process manager

The process manager is in charge of a target-oriented and strategic controlling of a process. The core actions involve the target-alignment of the own processes at other processes as well as the choice of sustainable ratios for the measurement of the success of the process performance. All resources needed for the process controlling and the process accomplishment are centrally coordinated by the Process Manager. Essential tasks include amongst others:

• Strategic controlling of the processes
• Buildup and accomplishment of a functional process controlling
• Planning and securing the accomplishment of the process performance
• Competence and resource planning of the processes
• Coordination with other processes (interfaces)

Process owner 

The Process Owner supports the process manager at the operational accomplishment of the process. In day-to-day business he is oftentimes responsible for the operational management of the process. Alternatively the process owner is appointed as sub process manager on the next level of the process model. The core responsibilities include amongst others:

• Operational controlling of the process
• Buildup and accomplishment of a functional process controlling
• Planning and accomplishment of the operational process performance
• Operational competence and resource planning of the process
• Coordination with other processes (interfaces)

Process management-consultant

The Process Management Consultant – in-house or external – supports and accompanies all leading roles in process management. This includes on the one hand the buildup and implementation of systematic components of process management (e.g. Process controlling) and on the other hand the content-related shaping and target-oriented leading of single processes. Therewith the key activities can be seen in project related actions. The essential tasks include amongst others:

• Analysis and design of corporate-wide and process specific process management methods
• Assistance in the analysis and optimization of processes in a surrounding with well-defined process targets
• Locating of weak points in the performance and formulation of methods of resolution
• Compilation of project plans and attendance in implementation
• Accomplishment of project activities and consulting of all roles in process management
• Formulation of company specific concepts for the adjustment of the organizational structure or for the accomplishment of alteration projects

Process management-Coach

The process management coach – in-house or external – supports all roles of process management in the effective and efficient implementation of the defined role-specific tasks. Therefore the process management coach has a coaching and accompanying role compared to the residual process management roles. Subsequently, you can find an overview of the essential tasks of a process management coach:

• Examination and analysis of the compliance with the corporate-wide process management methodology
• Further development of the process management methodology with respect to role concepts, organizational integration and process rules
• Coaching of the persons responsible in process management to complete and implement their role specific tasks
• Coordination of process interfaces and assistance in the clarification of arising conflicts
• Assistance of process management projects by positioning of procedure models and methods of change management
• Sparring partner for content-related discussions with the process owner

Process management assistant

The process management assistant supports the process manager or process owner in the accomplishment of all tasks. For this reason, he is the ‘ right hand’ and guarantees the compliance with all methodic and content-related guidelines of the particular process. In addition, he is endued with adequate expert knowledge to run existent IT-systems operationally in the process. Concrete tasks include amongst others: 

• Description and shaping of processes
• Investigation of process information
• Analysis of process performances
• Analysis of weak points in the process and formulation of room for improvement
• Documentation of all process information

Process participant

For all activities described in the process, process participants for the accomplishment of the process need to be determined. The target-oriented performance accomplishment is assured by these roles. Due to this, process participants need to have a basic understanding of process management as method and of the concrete requirements in the operational accomplishment in individual process steps. Additionally, the process oriented thinking- and working method in a consistent value- and customer orientation to the point of the permanent improvement of all process steps is a fundamental component of these role requirements. Core tasks include:

• Corporate oriented co-organization of target processes
• Realization of customer requirements in the process accomplishment
• Application of all defined process methods and process documents
• Measurement of the concrete process performance in the own process environment
• Permanent improvement of the process performance

Process controller

The process controller is an internal consultant of all leading roles in process management, including the CPO to the process owner. Fundamentally, he accompanies the target oriented controlling of the process model and all processes regarding strategic and operational requirements. Furthermore, he supports the development of the leading processes of process management and the efficient execution in all processes. Subsequently, the essential tasks will be summarized briefly:

• Shaping of leading processes in process management (e.g. process planning)
• Attendance at the strategic determination of process aims and ratios
• Consultancy of the CPO regarding the coordination of all processes
• Consultancy of the process manager and process owner regarding target achievement
• Buildup of an efficient process reporting and effective IT-reporting systems

Process auditor

The process auditor is the in-house person responsible for assuring a target oriented and efficient process execution. He systematically tests weak points in the execution by focusing on the adherence of all adopted and considerable process requirements. Therewith the disciplined process execution is aided as well as systematically identified requirements – also from a legal point of view (e.g. legal compliance) – form the core of the activity. Subsequently, the essential tasks will be drafted briefly:

• Assessment and inspection of all process descriptions and documentations
• Application of maturity models for the assessment of the methodic and content related process efficiency
• Analysis and development of measurements of improvement for the process execution
• Guarantee the transparency of the compliance requirements
• Assure adherence of the compliance requirements

Process management IT-coordinator

The process management IT coordinator fills the interface between business and IT. He is, similar to the business analysts, responsible for the transfer from the functional to the technical process model. Furthermore, he is in charge of the integration of the IT/SOA and the BPM – Governance. The process management IT coordinator possesses a high knowledge of the requirement management and has an overview of SOA- and BPM-technology. Beyond that, he knows the basics of operational process management and has an apprenticeship in project management.