Don’t rely on taxonomies and definitions – use method

 I often see pictures of supposed process architectures for organisations that classify processes into three types: ‘core’, ‘support’, and ‘management’. I’ve learnt to be suspicious of taxonomies like this. In particular, I’ve learnt to ask the question ‘what good will it do us to have this classification?’ I have been at meetings where people have argued about whether Process A is ‘core’ or ‘support’, or ‘support’ or ‘management’. The discussion/argument/row got nobody anywhere. In worse cases, time has then been spent on arguing about the definitions of the three classes as a step to being able to decide which class Process A is in. Even if a definition results and all can agree that Process A is a ‘support’ process, where has that got us?

Nineteenth-century botanists were classifiers. Defining complex taxonomies was the order of the day. Debating where a newly-found plant fell in the taxonomy was an important test of the taxonomy. But BPMers are not botanists.

I could go one step further. How much time is spent trying to define a ‘process’? Again, where does such a definition get us? How will we use the definition? Will we take a lump of organisational activity and put it against the definition to see if that lump qualifies for the title ‘process’? I don’t think so. Put another way, how would any definition help us find the processes in the organisational activity? That, after all, is what is important.

This is all leading up to pointing out that Riva prefers to provide a method that delivers processes, rather than providing definitions and taxonomies that don’t. Yes, I do give a definition of the word ‘process’ in my training courses and in my book. But I don’t use it. Definitions don’t do anything. Yes, I do have a taxonomy of processes into case processes, case management processes, and case strategy processes. And I give examples of them. But you don’t have firstly to decide on your processes and then secondly to classify them: by following the method you find out what processes you have, under the three headings. The method leads you to the processes – you do not have to magic them out of the air.

So next time someone says ‘There are three sorts of processes: core, support, and management’, just ask them ‘How will that help us move forward?’ and save a lot of wasted time.

Best wishes, Martyn Ould