Cross-Functional Collaboration – What is it?

Cross-functional collaboration is not just simple cooperation but can be established using shared vision, mutual respect, and understanding of individual roles and their contributions to a project. 

Cross-functional collaboration is a strategic approach where professionals from different departments or functional areas come together and work towards a common goal. The main motive here is work interdependency and work towards success. Also to eliminate traditional silos and encourage teamwork. 

Building a Culture of Cross-Functional Collaboration

Cross-functional teams are becoming an essential part of organizations that aim to succeed in the competitive business environment today. These teams comprise experts from different departments who are skilled and can perform various job functions. These teams act swiftly and flexibly to meet the organization’s changing needs. 

Here are some points that managers and leaders should consider:

• The goals are clearly defined. 
• The team members are committed to achieving the goals
• They share team rewards and their collaboration efforts are recognized. 
• Ensure that people working in cross-functional teams are trained sufficiently.
• Develop policies and procedures that the team adheres to in case of conflicts. 

Factors

Cross-functional teams are characterized by speed, complexity, customer needs, creativity, organizational learning, and point of contact.

• Cross-functional team members are quick at their feet as they can work on multiple projects simultaneously. 
• They are capable of handling complex problems effortlessly as their capacity transcends traditional functions and disciplines. 
• They help focus on improving team efficiency to utilize resources in the best possible way to satisfy customer needs.
• They improve organizational value as they increase creative capabilities by bringing people from diverse backgrounds, cultural values, orientations, and styles. 
• Organizational learning is enhanced as cross-functional team members tend to learn from others and develop new technical and job skills to be utilized for various job functions. 
• They promote effective teamwork and increase single point of contact for information sharing and decision-making regarding product development and customer satisfaction. 

How do cross-functional teams work?

There are several ways to make a cross-functional team work effectively but the key factor is leadership. A good team leader brings out the best in their team members. The leaders play a crucial role in dealing with the complex problems that arise from a diverse cross-functional team.

The leader should have the technical knowledge to understand how the team functions, recognize individual talent and facilitate interaction. Some of the most significant requirements for a cross-functional team leader include:

• Capable of handling technical issues from the team
• Skilled in handling conflicts, increasing member participation, and consensus-building
• Ability to work with little or no authority
• Willing to develop and manage relationships with stakeholders outside the team
• Skilled in establishing team goals and missions.
• Assertive and skilled in obtaining the necessary resources and information required for the team
• Willing to change and adapt as the team evolves and the conditions change
• And a little sense of humor

Goals

Set goals that are clear and objective and are not too broad. The goals should not make your team falter. Establish clear goals, deadlines, and specific milestones that will enhance teamwork and that the team meets its objectives easily. You can also use project management tools to progress communication and update the team on project progress. 

Empowerment

This is another crucial factor that helps cross-functional teamwork. They need to know how empowered they are and often rely on their leaders. In general, cross-functional teams follow the “it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission” rule. This gives them the freedom to think beyond and come up with innovative solutions. 

If you set up a conventional cross-functional team they tend to seek approval for every decision that limits their candor. Therefore the team leader needs to clarify the authority issues beforehand to avoid unnecessary conflicts. 

Promote diversity

When you form a cross-functional team, it is essential to promote diversity. The team should include people from different backgrounds, statuses, ages, viewpoints, races, genders, and positions within the company. This increases inclusivity and boosts performance. 

Influencers

Each team will have influencers who are capable of communicating with members easily, are friendly, easy to talk to, and create a positive environment. So, when you form cross-functional teams, make sure each team will have such influencers who can effectively communicate and strengthen teamwork and bring success to the whole organization as a whole and not just to their team. 

Collaborative objectives

Many cross-functional teams fail as they lack a clear vision of what they want to accomplish. They will have action plans, team targets, project tracking charts, planning tools, and other things but they will have no sense of direction over the future, they simply work but the members fail to understand where the pieces fit. 

This is why the team’s shared goals should be clearly defined and the desired performance outcome should be determined based on the specified problem. In addition, the team’s goals should be integrated with organizational goals to achieve maximum success. This helps reinforce the team and work in a pattern that is beneficial to both the team and the organization. 

Performance evaluation

Often cross-functional teams worry if their team will have credits for their performance. Typically every departmental manager is responsible for their employees’ appraisals.  They need to ensure that their efforts are recognized and they are rewarded individually. In addition, the outstanding team has to be rewarded accordingly which improves employee morale and helps them perform better. 

Rapport

There will always be persistent barriers to effective teamwork especially in cross-functional teams. Not many people will be prepared to work in different teams which creates conflicts and frustration. Therefore to build rapport and overcome these barriers, the team members should be trained accordingly to develop positive norms to respect each other’s working styles, and resolve conflicts smoothly. 

Guidance

This is the barrier killer. Effective cross-functional teams have solid managerial support. These teams can overcome any barriers when the key stakeholders cooperate with teams, the team members can focus on their work without conflicts and misunderstanding. 

Team size

One of the fundamental principles for an effective cross-functional team is to have a small team – smaller is better. The ideal team should have four to seven members not exceeding ten members. But in most organizations, cross-functional teams operate with 25, 30, or even up to 50 members. 

Purpose of Cross-Functional Collaboration

Organizational alignment can be achieved effectively through cross-functional collaboration. Having cross-functional teams can ensure that they are working towards the same objective and that the project goals are aligned with the big picture. When different teams from different departments collaborate, they share knowledge, understand organizational goals, and work strategically in the same direction. 

Nowadays, every business environment is customer-centric, and therefore providing exceptional customer experience is of absolute importance. Cross-functional teams take center stage in bringing together other members from marketing, customer support, product development, and any other department to foster the understanding of customer needs to provide them with personalized experiences. 

Cross-functional teams address the modern challenges that businesses face innovatively. The business scenario is ever-changing at a fast pace and consistent innovation is needed to simply survive the competition. The diversity in cross-functional teams provides unique insights and come up with creative solutions that can lead to groundbreaking product development that helps in gaining a competitive edge in the marketplace. 

Benefits of Cross-Functional Collaboration

Creating a cross-functional team can be a bit overwhelming as it involves people from multiple departments. But it’s totally worth it when you leverage its benefits.

Improved Communication

The ability to communicate clearly is the requirement for success. Effective communication is the cornerstone of successful projects. It has the power to make or break a team. Clear and concise communication is essential for cross-functional teams to share ideas and other important information. It is also necessary for team members to share constructive feedback and understand other diversity issues from different departments. 

When the problems are more complex it requires expert understanding and communication of information with other team members. For instance, if the team faces a complex financial problem, a cross-functional team with people from different teams can recommend how to prioritize resources within the budget and develop a financial strategy. 

Promote diversity

Cross-functional collaboration results in a varied and well-rounded perspective that helps team members think outside the box and come up with more inventive solutions and ideas. Innovation requires a mix of soft and technical skills – problem-solving, critical thinking, and creativity. People from different areas of expertise can work together and balance each other out in terms of strengths and knowledge that provide better outcomes. 

Improved  Business Agility

Cross-functional teams are known for being agile and versatile. Teams being agile is an added advantage which is the ability to develop tactics or strategies to respond to new information, opportunities, and feedback. Being versatile means they can adjust and adapt to new situations effortlessly. Improving business agility in cross-functional teams helps to have a clear vision, flexible mindset, and shared understanding. 

Agility hinges on the effectiveness of the communication and strategies for improving it should be well defined. Leadership also plays an important role in creating a compelling narrative, addressing bias, and breaking siloed mindsets. 

Streamline processes

The organizational processes can be streamlined effectively with cross-functional teams as they create new workflows for each specific project. They can map out end-to-end workflows and identify the key areas that can be streamlined using automation. This is a necessary step to ensure that there are fewer cycle times and steps in completing a project. It also eliminates silos and includes all the members and stakeholders. 

Cultivate empathy in the workplace

When employees work in isolation it is difficult to feel empathetic toward one another. Cross-functional teams can improve team morale. The very nature of cross-functional collaboration is to help employees understand each other which creates more opportunities for perceiving a situation. They can overcome any challenge through mutual understanding and invest in team growth. 

Conflict management

It is healthy to have competition among team members, as well as conflicts, are more common. When people from diverse backgrounds work together conflicts tend to arise as they have different norms, working styles, and priorities. 

Therefore, the first step to conflict resolution is that no team member is ignored and all of their problems are heard. Second, the leader should decide by communicating with everyone and make a plan that is agreed upon by all the team members and ensure that they follow it. 

Downsides of Cross-Functional Collaboration

Ineffective management and leadership

When the leadership and management are not as effective as it has to be, departments fail to unite and communicate with one another. This is one of the main reasons for organizational silos and one of the biggest challenges that cross-functional teams face. 

By default, many companies need help with departments being siloed. They don’t discuss projects, don’t exchange information, and have no communication related to tasks – basically no overlap. This will limit the professional growth of individual members as they focus on their team goals or specific projects. 

To overcome this, selected members from one department will be put to work with people from other departments for a specific period. This rotation of group members within different departments can ensure growth. In addition, this rotation of team members should be efficiently handled by the managers.  

Remote and hybrid work environment

When your organization has different work models such as remote and hybrid, scheduling meetings might be difficult. Organizing meetings for distributed teams at different time zones can create confusion, misunderstanding, and frustration leading to miscommunication. 

Cross-functional teams suffer from reduced spontaneity and the absence of face-to-face interaction can hinder effective collaboration and delay decision-making. In addition, a lack of spontaneous interactions can hinder team members’ rapport building and exchanging ideas formally. 

Lack of trust and cohesion

When members are not used to working together it creates friction and lowers trust. They may feel prejudiced which prevents people from other departments from working together effectively. To enhance collaboration employees should focus on building skills and developing empathy. The HR team can propose team-building activities that help team members get to know each other well.

Establish shared success metrics, shared rewards, and transparent communication to build trust. Also, set up a feedback tool where members can share their feedback anonymously which helps in improving collaboration. 

Resistance to change

Cross-functional teams often require exchanging resources and information. This can lead to reactive conflicts. Moreover, the teams may resist collaboration initiatives due to fear of disrupting their established job roles. This fear comes due to poor alignment of goals and lack of clarity. To overcome this it is essential to set up a clear and compelling vision. Next is the trust factor. Working with new team members can sometimes lead to differences of opinion resulting in a lack of trust. 

Communication barriers

Language and jargon are other challenges that cross-functional teams usually face. For instance, a marketing team may use terms like ROI, SEO, and CTR while the development team may use terms like agile, UX, and API. Not all team members would be familiar with these terms which can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. To overcome this issue you should always explain technical terms and clarify wherever necessary. 

Cross-Functional Collaboration Examples

iPhone

Apple is known for its innovation and it is one of the prime examples of cross-functional collaboration. 

The first iPhone was developed as a result of a project named “Project Purple” where they internally implemented cross-functional collaboration for a rigorous two years. The teams comprise different types of engineers – design engineers, software and hardware engineers. They worked closely together in building prototypes and early versions of the iPhone. 

The team members will present their work to Steve Jobs, different stakeholders, managers, and executives to collect their feedback and implement them in their next review. Even the launch was planned by an engineer who headed the marketing strategy showing how people from different departments can effectively function to bring all sorts of new roles and skill sets. The road to developing the first iPhone was a challenging one but Apple’s team reportedly endured a lot of miscommunications, frustrations, high pressure, and tight deadlines with the help of cross-functional collaborations. 

Spotify

Spotify successfully implemented cross-functional collaboration using the “Squad” model. In this approach, Spotify created small teams known as squads that were composed of professionals from different expertise – product design and engineering, developers, managers, and sales. They all worked together on specific features. The squad approach fostered open communication, broke down silos, and eliminated departmental boundaries. Using cross-collaboration, Spotify was able to achieve its goals faster with efficient decision-making and solving problems.

P&G

Another example of a successful cross-functional collaboration would be Procter & Gamble’s “Connect and Develop” program launched in 2001. The goal of this program was to foster teamwork, eliminate silos and encourage innovative collaboration across different departments. External partners, suppliers, startups, and universities connected with P&G’s internal team which resulted in a successful accumulation of resources and experience. 

Insights on future workplace cross-collaboration trends

Digital transformation.

Though cross-functional collaboration is difficult to achieve with remote and hybrid working conditions, digital tools, and platforms it can facilitate collaboration effortlessly across the globe.  With remote work and hybrid work becoming common, cross-functional teams should employ collaborative tools to determine success. 

Sustainability.

With technological evolution, cross-functional practices and policies are becoming sustainable with the purpose of inclusivity and comprehensive diversity. This makes them feel valued and respected and gives them unique perspectives. 

Internal change.

Cultural transformation and restructuring teams to organizational goals can be ensured with the successful implementation of change initiatives. The change initiatives include continuous learning, better communication, and a focus on emerging opportunities. 

Diversity of employment relationships.

Not just people from different teams, cross-functional teams include freelancers, gig workers, and other non-traditional employees. This can ensure an inclusive work ecosystem. 

Tools for effective cross-functional collaboration

The cross-functional tools can be communication tools, workflow management tools, project management tools, and document-sharing tools. These tools help streamline asynchronous teams by optimizing the processes, organizing tasks, and helping with documentation to complete projects on time. These are some of the tools that enable your teams to collaborate effectively. 

1. Cflow

Cflow is a no-code workflow automation tool that is enriched with features to make cross-functional collaboration efficient. Cflow is easy to use and has a small learning curve which makes it a popular tool that enables users to design and automate workflows for various business processes. 

Cflow also offers a centralized database with role-based access control which ensures safe storage of your data in a centralized location and defines permissions for accessing sensitive information to only authorized personnel.  

Moreover, Cflow is highly customizable – meaning you can ask for specific features based on your business needs. It offers seamless integration, advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, and documentation features.  The tool is completely user-centric which makes it the perfect tool for facilitating cross-functional collaboration in your organization. 

2. Proofhub

Proofhub is a project management tool that helps teams to collaborate and organize their projects. It offers efficient features that help cross-functional teams to stay intact and deliver the expected results.

Some of its unique features include email-in, project manager, file versioning, task management, task tracking, Gantt charts, kanban boards, discussion forums, customized workflows, and much more.   

Proofhub offers powerful integration with popular tools which helps you access everything from a central location.  

3. Smartsheet

Smartsheet is another tool that is designed to eliminate silos, make informed decisions and collaborate effectively with teams. It enables users to view data in a table view similar to an Excel spreadsheet. This cloud-based tool provides convenient visualization features and automates repetitive tasks, and also provides file sharing feature for efficient cross-functional collaboration. 

4. Jive

Jive is a real-time document collaboration tool that enhances teamwork and helps them create, edit, store, and manage rich content. Whether you are working in the office or remotely, Jive lets you have great alignment, productivity, and connectivity with teams with its efficient collaboration hub. Some of its unique features include built-in two-way comm, PeopleGraph technology, customizable spaces, activity streams, and much more that enable users to communicate and map their activities effortlessly irrespective of working circumstances. 

5. Asana

Asana is a user-friendly business collaboration tool that enables users to manage projects easily. The software is designed to view tasks and subtasks individually which can be assigned to specific team members in different sections. It is another popular tool used for cross-functional collaboration especially for remote working environments as it enables seamless communication and centralized access controls. 

Conclusion

As you can see, collaboration between members from different teams together can be a big challenge. But with the right tools you can achieve efficient cross-functional collaboration. Powerful tools like Cflow can transform the way organizations work and bring success.  

By putting together the right skills, right resources from diverse perspectives and expertise can break down silos and organizational barriers and foster teamwork and collaborative culture in the workplace. 

With automation tools like Cflow, you provide your team with the needed guidance to communicate asynchronously, collaborate in real-time, brainstorm, boost innovation, improve their agility, and engage them to take your company’s growth to new heights. Visit Cflow to know more and sign up for a free demo today!

FAQs

1. What is a cross-functional team?

A cross-functional team comprises members from different departments or areas of expertise who come together to work on a specific project. The main purpose of cross-functional teams is to break down silos and to leverage the benefits of a diverse set of skills to maximize efficiency. 

2. What are the benefits of cross-functional collaboration?

Improved communication, organizational diversity, improved business agility, streamlined processes, increased innovation, cultivating empathy, and better decision-making are some of the main benefits of cross-functional collaboration. 

3. What are some of the challenges faced by cross-functional teams?

Silo mentality, resistance to change, communication barriers, lack of trust and cohesion, remote and hybrid work environments, and difficulty in aligning goals are some of the major challenges that cross-functional teams face. 

4. How does cross-functional collaboration function?

Certain factors determine the effectiveness of cross-functional collaboration – solid leadership, clearly defined goals, empowerment, recognizing individual strengths, rewarding contributions, good guidance from the managerial team, excellent communication and rapport building between team members, respecting diversity, and manageable team size. A good team leader will ensure that all these factors are implemented to bring out the best in each team member regardless of their working style. The team leader should clearly define team goals and align them with organizational goals, empower their team members, and guide them toward the success of the projects. 

5. How can you measure the effectiveness of cross-functional teams?

In general, the effectiveness of the cross-functional teams can be measured using KPIs. You can set KPIs for tracking project completion, individual performance, innovativeness, employee engagement, team building, critical thinking, and overall business performance.

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What is Business Process Mining?

Business process mining or simply process mining may be considered as the intersection of business process management and data science. Process mining is a technique adopted to discover, analyze, and improve business processes by following data mining methods. Business process mining is seen as an objective and data-driven way to evaluate the real state of processes and workflows in an organization. Analysis, improvement and tracking of processes can be effectively done with the help of process mining software. 

In olden days when processes were managed manually, meetings and interviews were ways to observe and understand how processes worked. This approach paints an incomplete and one-sided view of processes. Added to this, enormous amounts of resources were spent on understanding the process and gathering information, instead of improving the process. Process mining utilizes the data already stored in systems and applications to show how processes are really executed. 

With process mining, you take event data from business systems to create a precise, accurate, and real-time picture of the process. You can instantly understand where a process needs to be optimized and which processes are best candidates for automation. Processes can be monitored to assess the success of automation in achieving business goals and KPIs. Process steps and workflows that have been previously invisible, repetitive, or unnecessary can be automatically surfaced, interrogated, and improved, with process mining. 

The data gathered on the “as-is” state of the process and the provision of improvement recommendations can be done through process mining. This allows you to more easily track and tackle process complexity and successfully scale your automation. Process mining brings scalability into the automation program. Process mining tools help break down silos of data about how different systems and parts of the organization work and interact. Business process mining lays the foundational step to enterprise-wide automation. The combination of process mining and automation helps you build a fully automated enterprise. 

Importance of Process Mining

Why should you mine business processes? Business process analysis is not a new concept. In the past, analysis of business processes was based on time and motion surveys, process mapping or process discovery, and interviews of key personnel. Process analysis is a way of assessing the “as-is” state of business processes and a way to design and model the “to-be” state of processes. While many companies have a perfectly designed process model and standard operating procedures, the reality is that they don’t match expectations. 

Process mining resolves some of the key limitations of manual analysis –

• Manual process analysis rely on subjective views of the interviews or survey analysts 
• Significant time, cost, and team resources wasted on conducting analysis
• Only one-time snapshot of processes available, instead of continuous results that enable tracking and improvement

Process mining is also important for automated process discovery. It gives a data-driven way to continuously improve business processes and can be used flexibly not just to discover processes but also to model and forecast the impact of process improvements. Process mining also helps uncover inefficiencies in business operations, bottlenecks in processes, and opportunities for automation more systematically at a greater scale, compared to interview-based analysis. The Global Process Mining Software Market Insights reveals that the market was valued at USD 373.9 million in 2021 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 49% to reach USD 557.11 million in 2022 during the forecast period 2023-2030. 

Companies across industries are undergoing digital transformation with the help of automation. They are constantly on the lookout for technologies that can help optimize productivity while lowering operational costs. The rapid pace at which businesses are growing fuels the demand for robotic process automation to improve productivity and performance. Integrating process mining with BPM techniques helps identify, model, and keep track of business processes. 

Process mining enhances and accelerates the overall impact and speed of process improvement and process automation. Business process mining connects to source systems for a continuous view of the process execution. When AI-driven dashboards and visualization techniques are woven into the system, a significant amount of time on analysis is saved and more time is spent on automating, improving, and tracking progress for better business outcomes. Process mining tools provide real-time updates on where your processes are and where they should be. The 3 main key performance indicators that process mining can examine include –

Time KPIs – The time taken to complete a particular process.

Cost KPIs – What is the cost for completing a particular process?

Quality KPIs – Does the outcome of the process meet established criteria?

Process mining provides a significant advantage over traditional “as-is”analysis methods in being able to access real-time event data. Taking it a step further, process mining also looks into historical data, which provides process owners with the ability to closely examine event logs that provide an in-depth understanding of what’s going on in the process. The inputs from process mining help discover the actual behavior of people, organizations, and machines and compare it with existing models. Users will be able to correlate millions of events to show how reality is different from perceptions, opinions, and beliefs. Business process mining also provides a foundation for continuous improvement and building better processes. 

How does Process Mining Work?

Process mining can be viewed as a 4 step method that spans data extraction to data analysis. Let us look at each step in greater detail. 

Data extraction 

A process mining tool is used to extract process data from IT systems. The data extracted from various processes is useful to evaluate the performance of the process. A process mining tool or data mining algorithm extracts and collects data from event logs in different  enterprise resource systems, such as ERP or CRM. 

Data reconstruction 

Process data that is gathered is harmonized in preparation for analysis. Data analysis is possible only when data is organized into an easily readable and understandable format. Process data from various systems is cleaned up, harmonized, and then reconstructed into graphical formats to know what exactly happened when. 

Data visualization 

Process mining algorithms convert data of the as-is state process into a displayable format. Users must be able to visualize the process easily with data visualization. Timestamped process data is shown in a visual format in this step. Process visualization helps build advanced mining tools that help you zero in on what needs to be optimized. Process variants view or analytical dashboards show the as-is state of the business process. Once the process improvements are finalized, you can automate and improve holistically. 

Data analysis 

The basis for identifying process improvement opportunities is analysis of process data. Analysis of data with the process mining tool or extraction of data helps identify opportunities to streamline, automate, or other ways to improve process performance. In-depth data analysis also helps monitor processes in real time and address issues as they arise. 

All about Process Mining Algorithms 

Process mining algorithms are the core of process mining software. They determine how the process model is inferred from raw event data. An algorithm is used to correlate event logs to identify trends, patterns, and aggregate metrics contained in event logs. The mined data models are then compared against the original enterprise process models to check conformity, or to discover more streamlined and efficient business process models. 

There is not a clear benchmark standard for evaluating and comparing process mining algorithms that is widely accepted. This creates challenges when choosing the right algorithm for a given enterprise or application domain. A high-quality algorithm is one that can easily correlate events from completely different systems and varied data sources. Since different process mining algorithms have different qualities, enterprises will have an advantage if they are able to select an algorithm that produces mined models similar to or even better than the original models. 

Process mining algorithms help discover business processes and garner insights from existing application data logs. The mined data can be used to automatically generate process models and calculate process metrics. By analyzing the sequence of events with the help of timestamps, process mining can completely reconstruct actual processes while identifying and uncovering inefficiencies, bottlenecks, and other weaknesses. Owing to the availability of data, process mining can conduct process analysis agnostically. 

Getting Started with Process Mining

We have evaluated process mining, process mining algorithms, and use cases of process mining. But, how to get started with process mining? As with any new process improvement initiative, the first step is to identify the pain points that need to be resolved. The starting point for any process mining project is process analysis, which closely examines the current state of the business process. The following steps can be followed to investigate the value of process mining –

Identify the problem 

Pick a problem that matters to the business and one that can be realistically tackled with process mining. The next step is to determine the business value of solving it and what metrics to be used to measure success. 

Identifying data

After identifying the issue that needs to be addressed, the next step is to identify the sources of data required to comprehensively understand for addressing any glaring business process problems. You also need to identify which applications and systems must provide feeds of event data for continuous transparency into the end-to-end processes. 

Conducting a pilot project

A pilot project is important for proving the potential value of a process mining solution. Choose a pilot project such that it can be accomplished relatively quickly and deliver specific and measurable outcomes. 

Analyzing results

Process mining gives a clear picture based on facts, so it is important that you maintain transparency on the results. Process mining tools prove to be useful in validating the business process environment. 

When used the right way, process mining contributes much more than a process tool. This requires a paradigm shift that involves skilled administrators to discover issues and remediate them. Process mining tools have the capability of opening a dialogue with the rest of the organization for comprehensively and objectively addressing ongoing, systemic process issues that impact process productivity and effectiveness. 

How can Process Mining Benefit your Business?

Process mining provides several benefits for the business. These benefits could be instant and real process automation improved productivity, or improved employee satisfaction. The data gathered by process mining can also help analyze the effectiveness of employee training and improve commonly made mistakes. Armed with input from process mining tools, businesses can spot opportunities to increase sales and identify vendors that can meet the challenging demands of projects. Some of the other benefits that businesses stand to gain from business process mining are –

Increase productivity 

Elimination of bottlenecks, finding new ways of handling exceptions, and eliminating inefficiencies are some of the things that can be done with the help of inputs provided by process mining. When AI and automation technologies are supported by process mining, then you can automate redundant tasks so that higher-skilled team members can focus on tasks that matter. 

Reduced risk 

Systems need to have a robust exception-handling system that takes care of any steps that are forgotten or missed. Optimizing a system based on what you think is happening opens up the risk of failing to account for unforeseen circumstances. Process mining reduces the risk and allows you to make confident decisions. 

Increased accuracy 

Process mining provides a clear picture of the system, regardless of the circumstance. Process mining also means consistency, so that more straightforward tasks follow the same process. 

Objective insights 

Process mining provides fact-based insights based on actual data to help managers in audit and process analysis. Process mining also helps ensure full compliance with regulations and industry standards. 

Cheaper, faster, and more accurate 

Business process mining provides more accurate information faster and cheaper than process-mapping workshops and other manual input processes. 

Works with existing systems 

Process mining can integrate with existing software systems to help you expand on your existing technological investments without the need for investing in new software technologies. 

Zero-in on bottlenecks 

Identification of issues within the process, deviations, and inefficiencies that need to be rethought and automated. You can also continuously monitor processes and measure improvements with business process mining. 

Types of Business Process Mining Models

Process mining is executed in 3 main formats or models – discovery, conformance, and enhancement. 

Discovery 

This is the most common type of process mining. A discovery process facilitates the use of event log data for creating a process model without any external influence from an existing process model. With the discovery process, no information from the existing model would inform or influence the development of a new process model. 

Conformance 

The conformance check verifies if an intended process is used in real practice. This type of process evaluates a process description of an existing process based on its event log data and attempts to identify any deviations from the intended process model. 

Enhancement 

An enhancement process (also referred to as organizational mining, performance mining, or extension process) involves improving an existing process model based on data from a conformance check process. For example, the enhancement process may use the data from a conformance check process to ease a bottleneck or an unproductive variant when discovered. 

Examples of Business Process Mining

There are several process mining examples or use cases, some of which are common and include improving processes, business process management, improving auditing and compliance, validation, and analysis. Each process mining example highlights and quantifies operational efficiencies that process mining brings to the organization. Some of the common use cases for process mining include – 

Finance 

Process mining helps improve the working capital, increase productivity of the finance team, and ensure compliance with financial operations. As the volumes of transactions increase and more businesses become digitized, manual processes do not effectively catch all anomalous behavior. Faced with increasing regulatory and audit requirements, process mining offers companies in the financial services industry the opportunities to continuously and comprehensively discover problems within high-volume processes. 

Manufacturing 

Process mining helps managers in the manufacturing industry gain insights into production times for a particular product and reallocate resources. 

Education 

Process mining enables educational institutes to monitor and evaluate student performance and behaviors, it also helps teachers and administrators in identifying which processes work best for the curriculum. 

Procurement 

Business process mining helps improve the efficiency of the approval processes in the procurement cycle, reduces maverick buying, and helps identify supplier performance errors. 

Customer service 

Process mining tools reduce the lead time of customer response, identify root-causes of issues, and improve customer satisfaction. 

Logistics 

Process mining ensures reliability of supply, optimizes inventory management, and improves productivity within logistics and transportation. 

Healthcare 

Business process mining helps minimize the treatment processing time for each patient, and even helps provide recommendations for a quicker recovery. As data about patient experiences and outcomes continue to grow, the risks around maintaining population health and individual patient journey outcomes also increases. Healthcare organizations that face an exponential increase in data, process mining helps deliver efficient and high-quality end-to-end patient journeys. Right from initial doctor consultation to closed treatment cases, process mining takes care of all the stages. 

Public works 

Process mining streamlines the invoice process for several stakeholders in public works departments across industries. 

E-Commerce 

Business process mining can help examine online buyer behavior and recommend new strategies for maximizing ROI and sales for e-commerce retailers. Retail organizations have experienced costly customer fallout from e-commerce flows due to system or process issues. Faced with increasingly high transaction volumes, process mining helps retailers ensure that customers are able to complete orders quickly and effectively without delays or issues. 

Software development 

Process mining can help software developers and IT administrators reorganize their development processes into a visually documented process map. 

Telecommunications 

As subscriber volumes continue to grow and user activations become more automated than ever, the risk of failed activations becomes significant. Process mining helps telecommunications firms to discover expensive problems and customer fallout in their order-to-activation processes. 

Conclusion

Process analysis forms the basis for continuous improvement. Process mining tools can be useful in process analysis. Process mining provides full context and end-to-end perspective that is needed to improve processes and to ensure that automation delivers results. A no-code workflow automation tool like Cflow can automate key business processes without requiring even a single line of code to be written. The visual form builder in Cflow helps build workflows that suit any type of organizational requirements. The reports and analytics feature in Cflow allows for real-time updates on process cycle times and bottlenecks. Understand and analyze your business processes with a cloud-BPM solution like Cflow. Sign up for the free trial to know more.

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What is iBPM?

The Gartner definition of intelligent business process management or iBPM goes like this –

“The Intelligent business process management suite (iBPMS) is the natural evolution of the earlier business process management, adding more capabilities for greater intelligence within business processes.” 

A BPM system is capable of validation (process simulation, including “what if” conditions), verification (logical compliance), optimization, and the ability to gain insights into process performance (key performance metrics). An iBPM offers advanced features for human collaboration, by integration with social media, mobile-enabled process tasks, streaming analytics, and real-time decision management. 

Intelligent business process management suites combine business process management (BPM) software with advanced capabilities like artificial intelligence that help companies dynamically automate more start-to-finish experiences. An intelligent business solution is often cloud-enabled and provides low-code tools that help citizen developers create workflows easily and quickly. An iBPM suite is an integrated set of technologies that coordinates people, machines, and things while supporting traditional business process management requirements. iBPM technologies also offer – 

• A greater level of collaboration throughout the process, which fosters wider adoption across organizational departments. Seamless collaboration leads to a higher level of change and improvement within current processes. 
• Intelligence and support for industry and organizational specific processes. 
• Support for integration with various middleware and back-end technologies, which equips organizations with the ability to introduce new offerings in the market. 

iBPMS supports more complex processes by leveraging advanced technologies (AI, IoT, cloud computing, and robotics), as well as modern agile and low-code development methodologies. An iBPMS automates, orchestrates, and choreographs business processes that shape themselves as they run. Processes that iBPMS power can be considered to be more adaptive and intelligent and choose the next best action rather than the same repeatable sequence of actions. 

The “i” in iBPMS is what enables BPM to support multi-faceted processes that exist in nearly every organization. Automation with iBPMS is more dynamic and agile, which drives process innovation that impacts customers and employees positively. The Intelligent Business Process Management Suites (iBPMS) Market Trends, growth opportunities, and Forecast Scenarios report reveals that iBPM is gaining traction across key regions including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and China. The market share for these regions is approximately 35% for North America, 25% for Europe, and 20% for Asia Pacific. 

Comparing iBPMS and BPMS

Traditional BPMS delivered impressive process improvements in the back-office operations of several organizations. However, these improvements come with limitations in terms of flexibility and scalability, making it difficult to respond to change swiftly and address increases in demand. For instance, BPM was not always as flexible and scalable as it needed to be, which made it difficult to adapt to changes or increases in demand. Conventional BPM was ideal for replacing repetitive and redundant tasks and simplifying analytics. However, BPM was not equipped to deal with the requirements of processes that were highly complex. 

Now, coming to the differences between iBPMS and BPMS. Intelligent business process management may be considered as a more useful, likable, and successful version of BPM. It derives its greatest strength from the ability to compile data from users and integrated applications and use it for making informed, automated decisions. This is a significant difference from traditional BPM. The 2 main issues with traditional BPM are –

• Gathers a remarkable volume of data on employee and process efficiency. However, the sheer volume of data becomes a barrier to interpret data for making informed decisions. 
• Even after the data is translated into insights, it is a challenge to modify processes due to heavy coding that the change involves. 

IiBPMS overcomes these challenges by quickly and accurately analyzing large volumes of data. The connectivity that iBPM solutions come with helps in the automated analysis and optimization of workflows. For integrating outside technology and applications into traditional BPM processes, you require the support of IT for creating custom solutions. iBPM on the other hand orchestrates multiple applications to weave innovative, cutting-edge technologies seamlessly into workflows. Incorporating new technology like event processing and predictive analytics into workflows, the time it takes to garner insights from data is reduced drastically. 

In fact, iBPM can be considered a technologically evolving branch of traditional BPM software. BPM systems usually consist of one software platform, while iBPMS is a set of integrated software and apps some of which incorporate AI features. iBPM can breathe new life into the complex, document-centric processes that play an important role in digital transformation. iBPM implements advanced technologies to combine rule-based workflows with human task management to bring about document agility that enables the creation of critical documents as accurately as possible. The areas where iBPM scores over traditional BPM are –

• Complex event processing
• Interactive social media platform
• Real-time analytics and support for intelligent business operations
• Good support for mobile platforms

iBPM solutions are better at handling exceptions and optimizing processes continuously. The conversion from insight to improvement is much quicker in iBPM solutions. iBPMS solutions are capable of predicting problems and changes to the workflow based on real-time data. iBPM expands the scope of traditional BPM by automating processes that are prone to exceptions. It also generates more data about the changes for continuous process improvement. In this manner, process data continuously feeds back on itself so that workflows are constantly improved over time. 

iBPM improves process results through rapid process iteration. The impact of advanced data processing is further enhanced by the ability to change processes rapidly. iBPM platforms provide users with the option of making changes automatically through an event-driven architecture and also feature low-code interfaces that enable even citizen developers to modify processes without the need for IT support. 

Benefits of iBPM

Artificial intelligence is the biggest allure of iBPM, the “intelligent” attributes it provides are the key differentiators as business leaders seek new ways to streamline and simplify business operations. The attribute of iBPM that really stands out is the speed and accuracy with which it analyzes unstructured data. We have listed out the key benefits of iBPM and the corresponding technology it adopts for each benefit. 

Process iteration

Iteration is the continual repetition of a task. iBPM specializes in tasks that involve iteration. To improve the efficiency of process iteration, iBPM uses robotic process automation. RPA is a key aspect of AI technology that can perform tasks like filling forms or extracting data, quickly and ceaselessly. RPA bots are easy to implement, build, and use. These Bots are capable of understanding and continually analyzing unstructured data that can provide valuable insights to businesses when leveraged the right way. 

Team collaboration

With globalization, business operations and teams are scattered across geographic locations. Collaboration between many people across the globe, whether it is co-workers or clients, has become a necessity rather than a good to have. Cloud BPM tools facilitate seamless collaboration through mobile devices from just anywhere. A no-code cloud BPM tool like Cflow allows users to communicate and collaborate seamlessly from any location, at any time. Cloud computing uses servers, apps, and development tools for hosted services and computing resources through the Internet. Mobile access to the platform is made possible via cloud computing, also users get unlimited storage, and additional data security measures. 

Predictions and recommendations

iBPMS is capable of making data-based predictions based on data analysis. Banks and financial institutions that typically use huge volumes of data leverage this capability to detect fraud and duplication effectively. In the healthcare industry too, iBPM allows healthcare providers to diagnose accurately and improve patient experiences. iBPM solutions use machine learning to provide predictions and recommendations based on business data. The entered data is processed and analyzed to make predictions and recommendations based on detected patterns and inconsistencies. 

Accessibility

iBPM tools provide tools that enable stakeholders to gain accessibility easily. These tools are specifically designed for employees and stakeholders who do not have previous coding knowledge or training. Such tools minimize the user training time and IT workload. iBPM accentuates BPM with AI for faster data analysis and convenient interfaces, for ease of use. iBPM empowers employees to build their workflows using simple drag-and-drop tools like visual workflow builders. 

Examples of iBPM

iBPM solutions are best suited for – speeding up and accentuating existing workflows, and connecting systems that utilize structured and unstructured data. Businesses leverage iBPM in various ways, let us look at these ways –

Chatbots

Chatbots are the most frequently used iterations of iBPM that consist of software designed to imitate human conversation. The buzz around chatbots has shifted from the status of “fad” to “game-changer”. Chatbots are a convenient way to answer questions in a thorough and timely manner to serve a consumer base accustomed to quick service responses. This iBPM solution is especially helpful for customers who have frequently asked questions and common issues. Chatbots free up IT specialists to focus on value-driven work like app development and system security. 

iPaaS

Integration platform as a Service (iPaaS) is a technology that has come up recently. iPaaS is an automation software that uses rules and connectors to integrate apps, systems, and data for businesses. This iBPMS technology can clean and transform data into formats like XML, free up the IT team’s bandwidth, and allow smaller organizations to pass security ownership to third-party vendors. iPaaS solutions are useful for handling B2B data flows securely across multiple platforms, without the need for custom integrations. Multiple platform integration capabilities of the iPaaS platform include cloud services (private and public). 

Intelligent Document Processing

Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) is an increasingly popular form of iBPM. This technology leverages the power of cognitive AI to analyze unstructured data from several course formats, which include emails, hand-written notes, and images. IDP is the way forward towards total elimination of manual entry, by providing massive time and cost savings. The speed and accuracy that IDP brings to document digitization is achieved through integration of innovative hardware. 

Choosing the right iBPM Solution

With several options in iBPM solutions, choosing the right solution for your business holds the key to successful iBPM implementation. Picking the right technology can be daunting, even when you have a clear goal and strategy. The main reason for the ambiguity is that many providers say the same thing about the technology they are offering. 

The main thing to be borne in mind while deciding on the iBPMS is that the choice depends on these factors- the current state of your business process maturity, activities that support these processes, availability of skilled resources, and access to data. Another important factor is the inclusion of AI technology in the iBPMS. The criteria for selecting an iBPMS solution varies as market conditions and customer expectations keep changing. Gartner has released its Magic Quadrant for Intelligent Business Process Management Suites in which it evaluated 21 vendors across 4 use cases – digital business optimization, self-service intelligent business process automation, digital business transformation, and adaptive case management. 

Vendors that are in the Leader quadrant have strong product roadmaps that support intelligent operations for client businesses. Leading iBPMS vendors also provide a business-oriented methodology and the ability to grow with changing needs. Bear in mind the following points while choosing the iBPMS solution –

• How big is your business and how many users will you have?
• What is the volume of data inputs?
• Are you expecting data output, like recommendations or solutions?
• Do you deal with both structured and unstructured data?
• What is the complexity level of your processes? 

What is Intelligent Business Process Automation?

Business process automation is sometimes referred to as hyper-automation, intelligent automation, or digital process automation. Intelligent process automation combines robotic process automation with process mining, OCR/ICR, analytics, and artificial intelligence. Intelligent process automation facilitates the end-to-end processes that enable modern, resilient, flexible business operating models. Combining IPA with human experience can unlock the kind of innovation that inspires teams to create new business value. 

The technologies used by Intelligent Process Automation include –

Process mining

This is an analytical approach that is followed for diagnosing issues within the process. Process mining uses data analysis to capture and improve processes. 

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

This software is used to understand, interpret, and manipulate language, both in written and spoken formats. 

Computer vision

Technology such as optical character recognition that is capable of scanning documents and transforming into text can be categorized as computer vision. 

Machine learning

This technology uses AI software algorithms to find patterns in structured, historical data, and uses those patterns to make precise predictions on outcomes. 

Artificial Intelligence

This technology mimics or sometimes even exceeds human intelligence by analyzing data faster and learning from past decisions. 

Cflow is a no-code cloud

BPM provides intuitive workflow automation solutions for core business processes. The visual form builder in Cflow can be used by citizen developers to create workflows easily without writing even a single line of code. To create workflows, you only need to drag and drop visual elements according to preset business rules. 

With Cflow you can set different rules containing multiple conditions as per your business requirements. The intuitive dashboard in Cflow gives the leadership real-time updates on the status of various processes and tasks. The reports and analytics feature provides data that can be analyzed and processed to gain useful insights into process performance. The API integration feature in Cflow allows users to integrate with third-party apps to derive an enhanced feature set that improves work efficiency and communication. 

Challenges in Implementing iBPMS

Like most of the newly introduced technologies, iBPM too has its fair share of implementation challenges. The major challenges faced while implementing iBPMS are –

Resistance to adoption

Despite change being the only constant, people resist change, however big or small. The most common reaction to iBPM implementation among employees is fear of being replaced. Those whose current processes are ineffective or difficult to navigate may judge the new system cynically. In order to allay these fears or inhibitions among employees, a complete understanding of the changes that the iBPM implementation is going to bring to their daily activities is a must. 

Communication bottlenecks

The natural tendency within process teams is to solve their duties and tasks. In an environment ridden by silos, the newly implemented iBPM tool only exacerbates them, which leads to a communication breakdown. 

Setting the wrong KPIs

When organizations are in the implementation or training phase, they may not have a good understanding on specific performance indicators. The focus is more on individual processes that do not have strong connections to overall financial and customer experience goals. Also, businesses updating current solutions to iBPM have already made deep-rooted operational changes, and hence, may come up short of new savings to tap into. 

Choosing the wrong technology

iBPM utilizes multiple technologies to improve process outcomes. Businesses need to choose the right technology that is aligned with the nature and scope of their business. For example, a Finance business choosing natural language processing may not make sense, and prove to be a total disaster while implementing iBPM. 

Get Future Ready with iBPM

The iBPM market has witnessed significant growth in recent years, which is driven by the increasing demand for process automation, the need for enhanced customer experiences, and the growing adoption of digital technologies. Organizations across the globe are turning to iBPMS to stay agile, competitive, and future-ready to stay afloat in today’s competitive business environment. Intelligent process management suites have emerged as a critical technology for organizations looking to streamline their operations and drive digital transformation. A no-code cloud BPM solution like Cflow can streamline the digital transformation journey for your organization. Schedule a demo today to get started with Cflow. 

What should you do next?

Thanks for reading till the end. Here are 3 ways we can help you automate your business:

Do better workflow automation with Cflow

Create workflows with multiple steps, parallel reviewals. auto approvals, public forms, etc. to save time and cost.

Try Cflow for free

Talk to a workflow expert

Get a 30-min. free consultation with our Workflow expert to optimize your daily tasks.

Book a demo

Get smarter with our workflow resources

Explore our workflow automation blogs, ebooks, and other resources to master workflow automation.

Check out our blogs

What would you like to do next?​

Automate your workflows with our Cflow experts.​

Quick Demo

Sign Up

Learn More

Get Your Workflows Automated for Free!

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