SAP Learning Journey

Getting Started with No-Code Business Process Automation

Objectives
After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

After completing this lesson, you will be able to:

  • Define what a business process is
  • Analyze the typical steps involved in a business process
  • Review the key roles of participants in a business process
  • Compare good versus bad business processes
  • Review business process management (BPM)
  • Explain the benefits of BPM
  • Manage business processes with software

Introduction: Getting Started with No-Code Business Process Automation

Introduction

As an aspiring citizen developer, SAP Build Process Automation can help you develop workflows and automate tasks for your daily work, without writing any code.

Before you get started with building your no-code automated solutions, we’ll review your understanding of business processes, the people typically involved, the difference between good and bad processes, and how to manage them digitally.

Let’s first confirm some foundational knowledge about business processes. A business process is a repetitive set of tasks that are completed to achieve a goal or outcome for a business. It consists of a chain of activities, events, and decisions.

Typical Steps of a Business Process

Analyzing the Typical Steps in a Business Process

The common steps of a business process include initiation, data collection, routing, decisions, human tasks and new data.

The typical steps in a business process are:

  • The process must be initiated somehow.
  • Relevant data must be gathered.
  • Process participants must be involved to review the data and move the process forward.
  • Decisions must be made about whether the process can be completed.
  • Process participants may need to collect more data.
  • New information may need to be considered before the process can continue.
  • But finally, the process is completed.

Reviewing the Roles in a Business Process

So who is typically involved with a business process? People can be categorized as follows:

  • The primary participants.
  • The secondary participants.
  • The stakeholders who need to be kept informed of the process status.

Comparing Good Versus Bad Business Processes

Poorly Defined Versus Well Defined Business Processes

Comparing good versus bad business processes:

  • Well-run processes improve communication between people and departments. Accuracy, speed and efficiency are big advantages. This can eliminate daily confusion or frustration and increase accountability within a team. Rather than blaming a process for delays or failures, team members are able to take on more responsibility and focus on their goals.
  • However, not all processes are good. Even if they’re not engineered well, bad processes can still be running in your organization. While these might still get the job done somehow, it is those processes that can cause the biggest issues – for you personally and overall.

Reviewing Business Process Management (BPM)

What is Business Process Management (BPM)?

Reviewing Business Process Management (BPM):

  • In a company running hundreds or thousands of processes, it is not always easy for management to see where things are going wrong. To increase operational transparency and avoid issues due to poor processes, organizations apply the strategic practice of Business Process Management (BPM).
  • BPM is a broad discipline, with a perspective on all of the people, information, systems, and other things that generate outcomes in support of a business strategy.

Explaining the Benefits of BPM

Explaining the Benefits of Business Process Management

Explaining the benefits of Business Process Management

BPM creates advantages for companies by increasing agility, standardizing best practices, improving operations, and increasing predictability.

Managing Business Process Management With Software

Managing business processes with software:

  • In modern organizations, BPM is supported by Business Process Management Software (BPMS).
  • BPMS includes elements such as process mapping, analytics, a process engine, form creation, rules-based workflows, approval mechanisms, communication, and the ability to integrate with other systems.

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