Executive Summary (This is a document excerpt)

Focusing on business processes is a deceptively simple concept. At its core, business process is all about how work gets done. But knowing how and where to start in defining, improving, and redesigning a business process can be daunting. In spite of the challenge and complexities, the shift from functional/departmental processes to cross-functional and interenterprise business processes is a long-term business imperative that drives enterprises to: 1) engage professional service organizations to assist with business process improvement and redesign; 2) implement business process management (BPM) suites to better automate, manage, and optimize business processes; and/or 3) outsource their business processes to an organization that specializes in those processes.