Days in the Life of a Business Process Expert

Interview with a BPX

SAP is offering a sneak peek of The Business Process Expert Community . Community Evangelist Marilyn Pratt interviews Helen Sunderland, a Business Process Expert asking: Who exactly is a Business Process Expert, anyway?

1. Who is the BPX?

Marilyn: So you call yourself a BPX? What does that really mean?

Helen: I specialize in modeling solutions to business issues that can be implemented in technology.

Marilyn: How technical does one need to be to be a BPX?

Helen: Technical expertise is not necessarily a requirement for the successful BPX: but technical APTITUDE is. It is sometimes easier for a business person with the capacity to learn technical skills to become a BPX, than it is for a technical guru to become proficient in the business.

Marilyn: What type of business experience is required for a BPX to be successful?

Helen: That’s a difficult question to answer. Ideally, the BPX has wide- ranging business experience in a specific area of expertise (e.g., supply chain management, human resources, financial data flow, performance management, etc.). The BPX draws on that arsenal of experience to aid in the development of a solid business and technical solution. In some respects, a strong BPX has the qualifications of a ‘mini-MBA’: they have broad knowledge of many topics and can make insightful recommendations.

Marilyn: What are the key skills of a BPX?

Helen: In addition to possessing wide-ranging business experience in an area of specialty, there are certain ‘soft’ skills that are critical to a successful BPX. These skills include:

• Excellent communication skills, primarily with respect to delivering a concise, focused message in the language each stakeholder understands. If the message is for management, then a crisp, cost/benefit message is required. If the message is for the business requiring the solution, it must be in the language of the business. And, if the message recipients are the technical or configuration teams, it clearly must express the solution in the language of the technology and software, expressing exactly what is to be configured
• Strong facilitation skills, to encourage clear articulation of the business issues and effective solution design by the relevant players
• Big picture focus (synthesizing): the ability to identify the impact of the issue on the business and the effect of the solution on the business; as well as the capacity to link the solution into the current business and technical landscape
• Modeling ability: need to be able to model a solution that meets the business requirement within the confines of the technology

2. What does the BPX do?

Marilyn: What exactly do you do when you go to work?

Helen: Depending on the phase of a project, a typical day is spent between strategy mode and configuration design. Early in a project, the primary influence of a BPX is on management and the business, shaping the organization into a redesign of existing processes or crystallizing the solution to a business problem. However, as the lifecycle of the project progresses, the role becomes much more that of a ‘translator’ between business requirements and the technology. Some days, I may be heavily involved in configuration or troubleshoot a configuration issue; while other days, I may be evangelizing the new solution to the business via presentations or road shows. It really depends!

Marilyn: Who are the key players the BPX interacts with on a project?

Helen: Day to day, the BPX may interact with anyone from C-level or VP- level management to project management to business users to technical and configuration team members. Depending on the project phase, the BPX meets with these various players to varying degrees. The BPX involves management in the early stages of problem definition and solution design, particularly to garner support for the solution and secure a champion. During the implementation of the solution, the BPX exchanges ideas with both the business and the configuration/technical team to ensure robust solution design and implementation.

3. When do they do it?

Marilyn: At what point are you called in to fire fight?

Helen: My skills are required when the business identifies an issue to be resolved. My involvement is typical from issue identification through to full implementation of the solution.

4. Where do they do it?

Marilyn: Can you summarize the role of a BPX in an organization?

Helen: Chiefly, the BPX is the ‘glue’ between the business and the technology. A BPX is not only competent in business practices (or can learn specifics very quickly) and can facilitate the creation of solutions to key business issues, but a BPX can guide the correct use of technology to solve that issue. Some BPX’s are also adept at configuration of the solution, too.

5. Why do they do it?

Marilyn: Why is the BPX an important player?

Helen: As there is the necessity for a constructive link between business and technology, the role of the BPX is necessary to liaise between the two functions. The skills of the BPX are specifically targeted to facilitating a working relationship between business solutions and technical solutions.

Marilyn: Thanks, Helen!

Our next blog-alogue in this series of “Days in the Life of a Business Process Expert” with Helen Sunderland will discuss how Business Process Experts “do what they do.”