Scribd
Upload
239 views

1 Explain The Tip-Of-The-Iceberg Syndrome.: Activities Is An Important Part of Addressing Them

The tip-of-the-iceberg syndrome refers to how a business process management implementation, like an iceberg, only shows a small portion of what is happening. Different stakeholders see different parts above the surface - vendors see technology, HR sees change management, etc. But the largest and most important part, managing organizational change and people impacts, is below the surface. Unless this "reality" below the surface is addressed, the project risks increase. People are key to the success of any BPM project, so they must be consulted, communicated with, and have clear performance expectations throughout the implementation process.

Uploaded by

Mohd Nasir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
239 views

1 Explain The Tip-Of-The-Iceberg Syndrome.: Activities Is An Important Part of Addressing Them

The tip-of-the-iceberg syndrome refers to how a business process management implementation, like an iceberg, only shows a small portion of what is happening. Different stakeholders see different parts above the surface - vendors see technology, HR sees change management, etc. But the largest and most important part, managing organizational change and people impacts, is below the surface. Unless this "reality" below the surface is addressed, the project risks increase. People are key to the success of any BPM project, so they must be consulted, communicated with, and have clear performance expectations throughout the implementation process.

Uploaded by

Mohd Nasir
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 5

1

Explain the tip-of-the-iceberg syndrome.


Icebergs typically only show about 10 percent of their mass above the water.
Business process management (BPM) is often like an iceberg; people and
organizations only see what is above the water. The interesting observation is that
what appears above the surface depends upon the viewer's perception. For example:
a

A vendor sees technology above the surface; a process analyst sees the
processes; human resources see change management.

IT sees the technology implementation; business management sees short-term


gains (quick wins), cost reductions and simple measures of improvement

The project manager sees short-term completion of project tasks and the
deliverables of the project.

People often see the 'perception' component as the completion of 'pretty


pictures' or process models, whereas 'reality' is addressed in the
implementation of these processes and the achievement of business benefits.
An excellent strategy is of no use unless it is well executed.
Unfortunately, a BPM implementation is a multi-faceted activity, and

Figure 1.2 shows that 'reality' is what appears below the water line. Unless all the
'reality' associated with a BPM implementation is addressed, the risk to the project
increases. This 'reality' needs not only to be addressed, but also made visible to the
organization. A ship could cruise very close to an iceberg on one side and not hit
anything, and yet do the same on the other side and sink. The visibility of issues and
activities is an important part of addressing them.
We will now briefly explore one of these 'realities.'

Figure 1.2 Perception, the tip of the iceberg called 'reality'


Exploring 'reality' or the tip of the iceberg

The most important component in any business process management


implementation is the management of organizational change and the associated people
(staff) impacts. As mentioned earlier, the implementation and its success are owned by
the people in the trenches. People and their engagement in the implementation are
critical, and a holistic approach in meeting the people, cultural and 'process factory'
aspects of managing an organization is crucial. The key to engaging the people in the
trenches is leadership from their line managers. These line managers must be engaged
first. The project manager or project team cannot achieve people engagement on their
own. (Note: so what is a 'process factory'? Any organization that has a back-office
operation that processes a large volume of throughput and has a large number of
hand-off points could be referred to as a process factory.)
It is the people who will determine the success (or otherwise) of your BPM
project. You can have the most effective and efficient new or redesigned processes in
the world, but unless you can convince people to use them efficiently or at all then
you have nothing. People need to be included as an integral part of the development
journey. They need to be consulted, listened to, trained and communicated with on a
regular basis. If they do not understand the processes, the reasons for the new
processes and why changes to the existing processes are necessary, how do you expect
people to take ownership and responsibility for them?
People need to understand clearly what is expected of them and how they fit
into the new structure and processes. Their performance measures need to be
developed in consultation and agreement with them.
What is the role of management in the transformation? While it may seem
obvious that managers need to manage the operation of the organization and process
factory, this is in fact not what most managers do in their current positions. In our
experience, with rare exceptions, today's managers spend most of their time reacting
to critical situations and treating the symptoms and not the causes commonly
referred to as 'crisis management'.
This is not to be critical of managers. In general, they are well-meaning and
hard-working individuals who generally do a great job with the tools they have to

work with. There needs to be a considerable effort in any BPM project to work with
the management and determine what information managers require to manage the
business. You need to ensure that there is a deep and thorough understanding of how
the business operates; what reports are required, and how to provide information in a
timely manner, to enable managers to move from reactive to proactive management
and then to predictive management. It is this journey of management maturity that
provides the organization with a long-term continuous and sustainable increase in
productivity.

Marketing projects requires the ability to identify, pursue, and capture one-of-akind business opportunities. Explain the marketing in the project-driven
organization, and its characteristics.
In a project-driven organization all work is characterized through projects, with each
project as a separate cost center having its own profit-and-loss statement. The total profit
to the company is simply the summation of the profits in all projects. In a project-driven
organization, everything are focus around the projects. Marketing in the project driven
organization is different than traditional product businesses where it require very
specialized and dedicated team efforts among marketing, technical and operating worker
with significant customer involvement. Marketing projects will require the ability to
identify, pursue and capture the business opportunities.
Characteristics of marketing:

Systematic effort
A systematic effort is usually needed to develop a new program lead into an actual
contract. The project acquisition effort is usually highly integrated with ongoing
programs and involves key worker from both the potential customer and the performing
organization.

Custom design
Projects are custom-designed items to fit specific requirements of a single-customer
community.

Project life cycle.


Project-oriented businesses have a well-defined beginning and end and are not selfperpetuating and usually must be generated on a project-by project basis rather than by
creating demand for a standard product or service.

Marketing phase.
Long lead times usually exist between the product definition, startup, and completion
phases of a project.

Risks.
There are risks, especially in the research, design, and production of programs. The
program manager not only has to integrate the multidisciplinary tasks and project
elements within budget and schedule constraints, but also has to manage inventions and
technology while working with a variety of technically oriented prima donnas.

The technical capability to perform.


Technical ability is critical to the successful pursuit and acquisition of a new project.

You might also like