In recent years, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) has emerged as a game-changing force in how businesses operate. Far from science fiction, RPA is now being widely adopted by forward-looking organizations eager to streamline workflows, cut operational costs, and free human talent for higher-value work. As we head into 2018, companies that ignore the RPA trend risk falling behind.
By James Turner, Software Developer, London, 2013
In 2013, I was part of a team tasked with replacing a patchwork of Excel trackers and old Access databases with a single, unified claims management platform at a major insurance provider in London. The chosen tool: Microsoft SharePoint 2013. I’d worked with SharePoint before, but never as the core workflow engine for a business-critical system.
By Emily Carter, Agile Coach, 2012
Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege—and sometimes the headache—of coaching Agile teams in several German companies. As a Brit who has worked with organizations across Europe, I expected a few cultural differences. But nothing quite prepared me for the German approach to planning. Here’s what I’ve learned—and what I wish I’d known before boarding that flight to Frankfurt.
By John Matthews, Fast Company, 2009
If you stepped into a Fortune 500 boardroom in the early 2000s, you’d hear a new set of buzzwords ricocheting off the mahogany: workflow, integration, orchestration, BPM. Business Process Management was no longer a back-office concern. Suddenly, it was the engine of digital transformation—and the hottest ticket in enterprise IT.
By Alex Ivanov, Application Support Engineer, 2007
Working in first-line support for program-trading platforms in a corporate bank is both a privilege and a stress test for any engineer. Our clients — corporate traders using custom-built order management systems — expect speed, clarity, and no-nonsense solutions. When I joined the team, support was handled mainly via shared inboxes, spreadsheets, and the occasional hallway shout. As ticket volumes and system complexity grew, it became clear: we needed real incident management.
Business Process Management (BPM) has become one of the most influential movements in enterprise efficiency over the last decade. As companies around the world strive for agility and operational excellence, BPM systems are making headlines for their role in transforming previously rigid, paper-heavy operations into nimble digital workflows.
By Alexey Smirnov, Software Engineer, Novosoft, 2003
When I first hear about Extreme Programming (XP), honestly, I think, "Sounds crazy, maybe some new American hype." But in our company in Novosibirsk, my manager says, "Let’s try! If we fail, we learn something anyway."
So, our team starts real XP experiment.
In the 1990s, many organizations faced increasing pressure to improve quality, reduce costs, and remain competitive in a fast-evolving world. It was during this period that Six Sigma emerged as a leading methodology for business process automation and optimization—transforming the way businesses approached efficiency and operational excellence.
By John Matthews, BusinessWeek, 1995
It’s 1995, and if you’re working in American business, you can’t have missed it: Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is the word on everyone’s lips. Boardrooms, management seminars, and business school classrooms are abuzz with talk of radical change, organizational transformation, and the promise of a new era of productivity. If the 1980s were the decade of quality and incremental improvement, the 1990s have become the age of bold reinvention — and at the center of it all are two men: Michael Hammer and James Champy.
Business Process Reengineering (BPR) has swiftly become one of the hottest topics in business strategy during the 1990s. As businesses everywhere face competitive pressures, reengineering promises not just incremental improvement, but radical leaps in efficiency, customer focus, and adaptability.