While talking to the customers, one of the most basic questions you basically get asked is how to choose between Business Process Management and Case Management.
The answer is quite easy. Case Management is to Business Process Management what Sherlock Holmes is to Dr. Watson. Both of them are integral to one another yet have highly different styles of working.
While solving a murder case, Sherlock Holmes follows a different approach. He prefers making decisions on the fly as well as switches up his examination because the situation demands it. Offer him the linear jobs and he will jumble them up within a few seconds. By our industry definition, Sherlock Holmes falls into the dynamic and agile procedure category. Can you believe Sherlock Holmes is capable of following a structured procedure? No. Because every case is unique for him and he requires using an unorthodox approach to solving it.
On the other hand, Watson is a man of textbook science. He is methodical and clinical. He has structured ways and procedures of doing anything. He is most proficient while he follows a well thought and clearly defined of the plan. He is an incredible believer of planning what requires being done and then strategically finishing said work. By our industry’s standard, Dr. Watson will fall into relevantly structured procedure category. Watson would definitely prefer Business Process Management Platform.
Thereby, how will you choose between Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes? The quick answer is ‘don’t’. When the bizarre protagonist is always favored by the pop culture, it is essential to note that there would never be a Sherlock Holmes without a Watson. Let us take your company as an example, your knowledge workers may prefer the freedom of Sherlock Holmes; however, your managers may not be very comfortable with the risks posed by it. Since we are not in Victorian London, no company or regulator is able to allow complete flexibility and ad-hoc work for most kinds of work. In every company, even collaborative work needs processes and controls. Thereby, like you require a Watson and Sherlock to be in each story, you require a healthy combo of structured and dynamic procedures for doing your work.
So, this is basically the point in our story where we introduce the Case Management platforms. A unique Case Management platform won’t ask you for making the choice between Case Management and Business Process Management. It offers the sharpness of Case Management inside the controls and structures of BPM.
Thus, now you have the clinical strategy of Watson and unorthodox approach of Sherlock. What you now require is the deductive reasoning for solving the case, The analytics engine of your Case Management platform can help you observe than only see. Add to that abilities for mobile, big data, social, and others and you have a detective of 21st Century for an application.
(Featured Image Courtesy: HealDove)
