Sometimes the most difficult part of implementing BPM is getting the initiative off the ground. By using a more rigorous planning process, BPM champions can avoid issues that slow progress and undermine results.

CFOs are increasingly viewing business performance management (BPM) as an important tool for improving their company's performance and value. However, although finance may be eager to start a BPM project, the rest of the organization isn't always enthusiastic. Business managers may not understand what BPM is or why it is needed. They may see it as just another finance project. In addition, the company's better-informed business managers may be skeptical about its ability to fully utilize BPM. They may wonder why the organization expects to do better than others that have implemented -- but haven't effectively utilized -- the Balanced Scorecard or activity-based costing.

At the same time, executives are becoming increasingly suspicious of ROI estimates, especially in companies with recent enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM) implementations that didn't fully achieve their objectives. They are likely to question why the company should spend more money on technology when it can't fully utilize what it already has. The BPM champion may also face fear from some in the company about how the information the system generates will make them look. Business managers frequently wonder how they will benefit from making performance more transparent.

Finally, business, finance, and IT managers may not see eye to eye on how the software fits into the organization's broader business intelligence strategy. Before a BPM system can be implemented successfully, managers throughout the company must agree on whether it's more important to implement a technically superior tool or to make sure the application creates business value.

Because of the frictions that these various challenges can cause, getting a BPM initiative off the ground sometimes becomes a long and protracted affair. The larger and more complex the organization, the longer it may take. Unfortunately, BPM champions often fail to address these challenges by undertaking a rigorous process for establishing agreement among key stakeholders about the strategic importance of effective management processes and the role of BPM therein.