Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Business Process Improvement (BPI) is a new concept to many people. This page is for answering some of the questions that come up often. If you have a question that is not answered on this page, just send it to the BPI point of contact.

What is BPI? BPI can be defined as a radical redesign of business processes to dramatically improve an organization’s ability to meet increased performance measures to include cost, quality, timeliness, and service. BPI should challenge the assumptions inherent in the work processes existing since the advent of computers and communication technology. Process redesign should also be accomplished independent of technology discussions.

How do I initiate a BPI effort? Contact one of the people on the Contacts page. Planning includes defining the scope, coordination and schedule of the project (at least at a high level) and creating a Service Level Agreement (SLA) for the reengineering.

What is a BPI Workshop? A workshop is a facilitated meeting where a team gathers information and business requirements in support of BPI project objectives. A workshop includes the services of the facilitator, who manages the workshop; and a BPI engineer, for the modeling work. The workshop must meet pre-established objectives for BPI and BEA coordination. The facilitator ensures that enough information is gathered to develop the as-is and to-be process models. The facilitator also gathers business requirements before, during, and after the workshop, through discussions, interviews, emails, or phone conversations with team members and the Team Proponent. The workshop itself usually takes two or three days, but if there are enough objectives to cover, it can take up to a full week.

Are BPI efforts and workshops synonymous? No. BPI Workshops are one of the activities involved in a BPI effort. Workshops provide an effective means to gather information, conduct process modeling, and develop consensus from multiple Subject Matter Experts (SME’s) in a short amount of time. BPI workshops support the overall BPI effort goals and objectives. For more information on ongoing and completed BPI efforts see our BPI Efforts page.

What is process modeling? Graphical depiction of required events necessary to produce an output, independent of organization structure, technology, or existing systems.

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