In order for major initiatives such as business performance management (BPM) to gain widespread acceptance and adoption, there needs to be a track record of demonstrable success. BPM consultants -- qualified experts who have acquired BPM experience from working with multiple companies -- should play a significant role in helping create that success. However, circumstances and common practices exist with both the customer and the consulting company that can limit the chances of success. Organizations seeking to implement BPM systems and software are advised to recognize and avoid these potential pitfalls.

To avoid failure, companies should realize that new performance management initiatives consist of three critical stages. The first is the requirements collection and analysis stage, in which the organization determines the key business drivers. This helps answer the question "What do we measure?" which in turn leads into a detailed list of system requirements. In the second stage -- the vendor selection stage -- the company matches the requirements (and budget and technology constraints) against the evolving landscape of 60-plus BPM vendors, most of which look very similar, to find just the right solution. During engagement management, the third stage, the organization implements the software system in a way that satisfies the original requirements, gains companywide end-user acceptance, and, of course, is on time and on budget. See exhibit 1 for a description of these stages in the BPM project life cycle.

Requirements Collection and Analysis

BPM is all about maximizing an organization's performance. To achieve this, management needs to focus on the things that really matter and plan to take appropriate action as issues arise. When asked what really matters or what drives their business, most members of an executive management team would be lucky to reach agreement on the top one or two items. Agreement will vary widely on the rest of the items. In addition, the areas of agreement themselves may not even be the right areas for focus in a BPM initiative. In many cases the stated drivers are too generic ("maximize revenues"), or they're simply ingrained company goals that no one has revisited for years; they may no longer make sense for the business. Lastly, the action plans are often weak or nonexistent. What action should managers take if measure X is under plan by 10 percent? Not resolving these issues up front can result in a BPM initiative that doesn't measure what matters and instills no sense of ownership.

Enter the management consultant. This individual can facilitate the discussions that precede a BPM initiative, guide the organization in the right direction, and share industry best practices. Even before that, the consultant can help determine who should be involved in these discussions in the first place. In addition to helping the organization develop its measures, he or she can evaluate the processes being automated by the new system. An organization shouldn't move its existing budgeting, planning, and management reporting processes into a new system until it makes sure the existing processes themselves are optimized. Otherwise, it could just be putting technology on top of an inefficient or ineffective process. The end result of this consulting engagement will be a meaningful dashboard, necessary action plans, and a BPM system of significant value.