A portion of a business’ processes are contextual and need to be improvisational in nature. This percentage grows as a business evolves into a digital business. Traditional processes are automated for standardization, but not all processes can, or should, be standardized. Because of this, digital business processes are becoming more like improvisational jazz musicians compared to the highly controlled and precise orchestras of our standard business operations.

Earlier this year I shared my process-oholic resolutions, and bringing process to the people was one of them. By this, I mean that I will spread the word about the power of process in a consumable and meaningful fashion. Part of fulfilling that resolution was introducing how to explain BPM in 5 words: Process, People, Context, Actions, and Outcomes.

One of the reasons that I am so fond of this simple definition of BPM—besides its consumability—is its ability to span all types of process, including those without much “process” actually involved like case management.

So, how does one describe case management in 5 words? Context, People, Actions, and Outcomes with a little Process.

Case management is a seismic shift in the process world. The process is no longer the center of the universe (a.k.a. the thing being managed); context is. Case management is about managing a business artifact or data (context) by people for the best possible business outcome through available actions. Those actions happen to be snippets of process.

Each situation or interaction is unique, and the path to the optimal outcome will be particular to the situation at hand. People or systems can build that optimal path from a collection of available actions. Hence, case management being the improv jazz star of the process world!

Making the transition from an orchestra to a jazz group can be confusing, so can digital business transformation or the shift from traditional BPM to case management. Stay tuned to this blog as I explore more facets of this transformation.