QPR’s BPM Suite is the most comprehensive, easiest-to-use BPM Suite available. QPR’s software, coupled with a team of experienced BPM Partners brings both innovative BPM technology and industry best practices to your business.

1. The only BPM software available that offers Business Strategy, Process Modeling/Design, Workflow Execution AND Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) presented in a Collaborative Business Portal.

2. Built on a .NET, service-oriented architecture (SOA) making implementations a snap and featuring full compatibility with Microsoft Information Worker Solutions (Office, Sharepoint, InfoPath, Outlook, etc.).

3. Broad human centric interaction capabilities, including a strong user interface (UI) design module, role-based task assignment, automated alert and escalation capabilities and organization-driven escalation & task list visibility.

QPR's BPM Suite Product Components

ProcessGuide Designer

Core to any BPM solution is the ability to model and design business processes in an integrated fashion. As industry standards for process design to workflow integration are established (BPMN, BPEL, et al), QPR will be on the forefront of development with ProcessGuide Designer. In addition, PG is already a proven solution for enterprise process modeling by some of the world's most recognized companies.

Workflow Designer

QPR Workflow is an intuitive graphical process designer developed for use by business analysts. Point and click technology allows for modeling without coding.  As industry standards are established, integration from design through execution will be possible, thus allowing for broader use of process design tools with workflow automation tools.

Scorecard Dashboard Designer

Using Scorecard as a Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) solution allows companies to tie Business Strategy directly to Business Process. This model provides process owners with granular visibility into the status and execution of managed operational processes AND the associated link to the overall business strategy.

Workflow Engine

QPR's BPM Engine is a multi-threaded, distributable Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform that executes modeled processes and is web services-ready. It is proven in 1,000+ clients world-wide.

Strategy Mapping

Using QPR's Balanced Scorecard Collaborative Certified solution as a Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) toolset allows companies to tie Business Strategy directly to Business Process. This model provides process owners, as well as business executives, with granular visibility into the status and execution of managed operational processes AND the associated link to the overall business strategy.

Collaboration Portal

QPR's Portal presents users with assigned manual tasks and an interface in which to view relevant data and documents and manage their work. Automated monitoring and alert mechanisms identify non-compliant conditions within the data and notify appropriate personnel of needed corrective actions based on pre-established thresholds of performance.

Extending the Value of Enterprise Software

QPR BPM Suite brings back-end execution to front-end applications like CRM, SFA, ERP, SCM and Collaboration tools. Enterprise applications trigger “mission critical” processes that span people and systems across the enterprise. QPR's BPM Suite enables participation in enterprise-wide processes without requiring additional seat licenses and allowing people to interact using the tools they are familiar with

A Flexible Approach to Business Process Optimization (BPO)

QPR delivers the last process re-engineering toolset you will ever need. QPR provides your business with an adaptable infrastructure, designed to support honing and refining pieces of the process on demand.

Process Management Delivers Business Value 

There are numerous reasons to initiate a Process Managment program within your company.

Benefits of Process Managment programs include:

• cost control,
• quality improvement,
• efficiency and productivity improvement,
• regulatory compliance,
• customers service,
• and the list goes on.

At the end of the day, though, process management is one of the few factors, if not the only one, totally within the control of a company. Pricing can't always be controlled, supply / demand are generally beyond the control of a single company, but process can be controlled and good processes deliver huge business value to any company and its trading partners.

Notably, companies implementing Six Sigma, or other Quality programs, have learned that applying advanced analysis techniques to a bad process is money wasted. Good processes, on the other hand, that are actively monitored for performance, can help companies target their Quality programs to areas in need of improvement. By combining process improvement with quality management, companies can achieve more benefits than with either option by itself.

Process improvement, to be most effective, must be about more than simply mapping a  process. It must be about making the process "come alive" in the form of BPM.  That is why we partnered with some of the best-of-breed solutions in the world and created SolutionsBPM. Our Solution delivers more value than other process management toolsets because we provide full Lifecycle capabilities for process management. 

The Process Management Lifecycle includes the following stages, or functions:

• process design - documenting your process and identifying improvement opportunities,
• validation - reviewing, testing, simulating the design improvements to optimize the process and to establish desired performance levels,
• execution - bringing life to transactions through the automatic routing of information, tasks and people, 
• monitoring - tracking the execution of processes through a Dashboard in order to identify opportunities for further improvement, 
• corrective actions - changes to the process resulting in overall improvements. 

SolutionsBPM offers solutions that address each stage of the Process Lifecyle. A typical Lifecycle approach using SolutionsBPM includes:

• Process designs are documented, tested and piloted in our Bluespring solution.
• Once approved, processes are promoted, or versioned, into production and become executable.
• QPR takes over and monitors performance according to set criteria. Any out-of-compliance process metric alerts the appropriate personnel that correction action is required.
• Corrective actions launch a pre-defined quality process, again through Bluespring, but visible through the QPR Dashboard.

This approach to managing the Process Lifecycle makes SolutionsBPM uniquely capable of ensuring ongoing process improvement and timely response to changes in business situations. In fact, changes to process designs, using SolutionsBPM, can be made retroactive to all open instances of process execution, or they can be implemented using change control techniques that control the implementation timing of changes.

The end result is that processes are thoroughly documented, tested and realistic performance targets set in advance of any changes to the process.

Further, because our Monitoring and our Execution systems are integrated, the "planned" performance improvements can be turned into specific performance metrics that are monitored in realtime to report actual performance against planned.

With this level of business information available to your organization, you can now drive significant business benefits.

Workflow Institutionalizes Business Requirements

Crucial to any process initiative is adoption by the organization. But, the natural tendency for employees is to revert to what they are comfortable with, particularly when under time constraints. This tendency results in user resistance to the new process. Workflow counters this tendency by ensuring the new process is executed as designed. 

Benefits of using Workflow Automation include:

• Builds knowledge of the process into a repository, available to anyone in the organization.
• Reinforces business rules established by management.
• Ensures process-related compliance requirements are met (SOX, ISO, etc)
• Ensures no lost process deliverables.
• Enables smooth succession planning.
• Reduces training and process errors.
• Reduces process risks and costs.
• Enables a formal process review and corrective action process.

In our Solution, a Workflow Trigger launches a transaction through our Workflow Engine. A Workflow Trigger is a business event, or transaction, entered to the Workflow Engine, which then manages the transaction as it flows through the process according to predefined requirements.

A Workflow Trigger can occur from many sources, including: web entry, database, spreadsheet, email, xml, etc. A Workflow Trigger can even occur in a separate system, such as ERP, for example.

The Workflow Engine is configured to match your process requirements exactly, including:

• process steps,
• handoffs or touchpoints,
• decision branching based on a Rules Engine
• document completion and routing,
• business roles and approval levels,
• escalation rules and corrective actions. 

This ensures that all steps are executed in sequence by the designated individuals according to standard business rules.   

As transactions flow through the new process, Solutions Monitoring collects detailed performance information and reports it via Digital Dashboard to decision makers.

If predefined conditions occur, Alerts can be routed automatically to responsible parties for corrective actions. Performance information can also be queried for detailed root cause analysis or statistical modeling.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
The most sweeping financial reporting rules and regulations ever enacted were passed to restore the public trust in Corporate public reporting, the foundation of our financial securities industry - and our economy - ...

As stated in Section 404 of the Act,

"[Each annual report shall contain an internal control report, which shall] contain an assessment, as of the end of the most recent fiscal year of the issuer, of the effectiveness of the internal control structure [of the organization.]"

To answer this call, Solutions Hosting and Decision Point Solutions have partnered to develop the most comprehensive SOX Compliance Performance Managment System available. Our solutions focus on the requirements of the COSO framework, the Committee Of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, published in 1992. This framework is the most widely used criteria to asesss the effectiveness of internal controls!

Link Six Sigma Initiatives with Business Strategy 

The Evolution

Since Six Sigma's beginnings at Motorola and GE, many companies have achieved huge results from Six Sigma projects in the form of profitability and productivity gains. Manufacturing, especially, has benefited tremendously from Six Sigma.  Service organizations, although not as prolifically, have also realized tremendous results from their Six Sigma efforts.

Companies are now learning that a combined effort of Quality Management Programs such as Balanced Scorecard, Malcolm Baldrige and Six Sigma can deliver even better results, than Six Sigma alone. These Quality Management Programs can actually help Engineers and Black Belts choose the projects most likely to deliver business benefits and monitor results more effectively.

The Silo Effect

As Quality Practitioners have long known, results can be greatly improved with the use of computerized systems designed to deliver better organizational visibility, monitoring and collaboration. Consider the point that many Engineers implementing Six Sigma do their process designs and analyses on their laptop computers. With only stand-alone tools for process mapping and design, they are working in the proverbial corporate silo. This limits their abilities to choose projects wisely and to optimize results, because they simply lack the organizational information necessary to improved decision-making.

Linking with Strategy

SolutionsBPM overcomes the silo effect as it shares a common database and is ubiquitous on the network because of its web-based architecture. These tools are used to Design Processes, Execute Processes, Collect Performance Data, Report Results and take Corrective Actions.

In SolutionsBPM, you construct mathematical models that represent your organization's Strategic Focus, from Process to Boardroom. By defining and linking performance metics up and down the hierarchy, the performance of a process is directly reflected in the Strategy Map of the company.  

Your Company benefits because the wider availability of these tools to all users and their ability to monitor performance against strategic goals result in better visibility, communication and collaboration on any process improvement project. Because of the cause-and-effect linking to strategy, projects can be ranked and chosen for maximum impact on the business. 

Using SolutionsBPM in a Six Sigma Environment

The Six Sigma term DMAIC is illustrated in the diagram below. For each phase of a Six Sigma project, specific tools are indicated. These tools accomplish the objectives of better organizational visibility, communication and collaboration among participants. Here is how they can work for your organization.

QPR ProcessGuide -  More than a stand-alone process mapping tool, Process Guide is a web-based application used to map processes, simulate changes to processes and communicate to the organization process design. Performance improvement targets are established in ProcessGuide that link to Monitoring for tracking performance metrics.

 

Bluespring - Our Workflow Engine reinforces the new process by controlling the execution of business (workflow) transactions through the process steps and user touchpoints. A Business Rules Engine ensures the design of the process is enforced. Workflow also integrates to Monitoring for tracking performance actuals against the performance improvement metrics established during design.

 

QPR Scorecard - Functions as a sophisticated Dashboard monitoring the health of Processes. As performance data is received, it is evaluated against established criteria and, if necessary, alerts appropriate parties to take corrective actions. 

 

Strategy Maps, built in Scorecard, link to the process Dashboards evaluating progress against strategic goals and the correlation of process results to achievement of strategic objectives.  

 

Scorecard also provides a collaborative portal wherein users can set alert triggers that notify them of performance conditions. Within the Scorecard Portal, Users and Management can recognize exceptional performance against plan or take corrective actions against poor performing metrics.

 

Web Portals - To bring all the organizational information together, our Web Portals include software modules that allow users to read and learn more about Strategy and Corporate Performance Management. Modules are simple to use and include a bookstore, discussion forums, current events, surveys and other tools useful in communicating corporate objectives and progress against those objectives.

Link Business Improvement Projects to Business Strategy First

Based on our roots in Balanced Scorecard, we believe the best practice in selecting and managing projects for business improvement ties in some way back to Strategic Business Objectives. Whether that Objective is profitability, customer service, employee satisfaction, quality improvement, research and development, whatever, there is no reason to consume valuable resources without that link back to Business Strategy that says, 'how are we doing, what value are we delivering?' 

This is why we focus our efforts for our Clients on Business Strategy to Performance Management to Process Execution to Six Sigma.  

Our approach is unique, as is our combination of tools and methods for achieving business value.  Key features of our approach include:  

• Define Business Goals in terms of Strategic Objectives.

• Define Measures to determine levels of success against Strategic Objectives.

• Categorize, Rank and Choose Project Inititatives.

• Establish Project Teams and Infrasture, including Technology Platform.

• Analyze and Identify Business Improvements.

• Effect Change through People, Processes and Technology.

• Monitor and Control Improvements to ensure sustaining business value.

Reducing the Risks of Implementing BPM 

Our approach to BPM is based on years of experience working with all sizes of organizations. We've learned along the way that no one size fits all, however there are steps companies can take, at any level, to reduce the risk and overall cost of BPM implementation. 

Based on our roots in Balanced Scorecard, we believe the best practice in selecting and managing projects for business improvement ties in some way back to Strategic Business Objectives.

Whether your objective is profitability, customer service, employee satisfaction, quality improvement, research and development, whatever, there is no reason to consume valuable resources without that link back to Business Strategy that says, 'how are we doing, what value are we delivering, are we achieving our strategic goals?' 

What we find in practice, however, is that the first mistake companies make is often the selection of the software itself, now the project. The truth is, no matter how good the RFP process is, there will always be things you don't know. 

The Hosting Model is the place to begin

For reasons noted above, our approach to implementation begins with the Hosting Model, wherein clients subscribe to only the licensing configuration they require at that point in the project.

This approach gives companies a "trial period" in which to determine whether SolutionsBPM is a "fit" before paying large sums for licensing.

The Pilot Project proves out the soluton

Next, we focus on a Pilot Project to prove out the benefits of BPM. This project is carefully selected to meet several criteria, including:

• significant value-add business opportunity,
• supportive executive sponsor,
• "adoptive" user community with a history of accepting new technologies,
• representative "sample" of functional requirements to test the "fit" for other projects,
• relatively quick win.

Once proven, additional projects are identified and ranked based on overall benefit to the organization.

Go Live

At this point, clients typically begin to change their licensing configuration. They are moving from a pure Pilot environment to a Go Live environment for one project and entering a Pilot for another.

Licensing becomes a mixed model and begins its evolution to full Go Live. This is when the benefits of our model really begin to pay dividends, as the business value begins to rapidly accrue in relation to the overall costs.  The lack of high, up-front costs are now apparent in the project ROI.

This step-wise progression from Pilot to Go Live continues, adding ROI value along the way, until the point of diminishing project returns is encountered. Management, at any point along the timeline, can reevaluate the project portfolio and redirect investment opportunities as dictated by evolving business conditions. 

Benefits of our Implementation Approach

Using our method of implementation, companies realize a higher rate of return on their investment. This is because we recognize basic principles of time value of money, sunk costs and decreasing rates of return on projects. By these measures, it makes economic sense to NOT do some projects at all.

Specific benefits include:

• Quick implementation that proves the business value.
• Low risk of failure of traditional implementation methods.
• Lower overall cost as benefits are always weighed against costs PRIOR to the next stage, increasing ROI.
• Huge business benefits delivered through BPM.

About Our Technical Architecture

Application Platform

SolutionsBPM is built upon the Microsoft .Net, Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) platform. Our database back-end is the reliable MS SQL Server running on Windows Server 2003. 

For performance and reliability reasons, we run no other applications in our environment than Bluespring and QPR, each based on .Net technology. We distribute these applications across multiple, n-tiered, servers, thus providing the utmost stability in these applications.

Hardware Platform

We leverage our relationship with Dell to provide hosting via Dell PowerEdge Servers, exclusively, running Intel Xeon processors. We provide maximum redundancy for power, memory, network, processors and disk subsystems running RAID 5. We connect our servers over a switched gigabit backbone. 

Security & Privacy

Our technical environment is secured with proven Cisco firewalls and VPN.  We utilize Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to ensure confidential encryption of information to and from a client's browser.

At a client's request, we can provide dedicated environments physically separated from all other clients. Due to our security measures, there is no possibility of one client seeing another's confidential information. 

Datacenter and Internet Access

We co-locate with Tulsa's premier co-lo provider. Our access to the Internet is via redundant DS-3 Internet backbone connections from Level 3 and UUNet. The network is supported by:

• Cisco Powered Network with hot spares for all critical network components,  
• SBC, MCI, and Cox fiber access points
• Point-to-point Gigabit wireless backhaul link to second Data Center for additional network redundancy

Our servers are safely located in a secure datacenter environment which includes:

• Biometric access control system at all facility entrances
• 3,000 square feet of built-out space, with expansion space available
• Underground AEP power feed on reliable downtown power bus
• Environmental monitoring, including temperature, humidity, moisture, sound, door, and motion sensors
• Dedicated, on-site diesel generator with automatic transfer switch for extended power outages
• Climate control provided by dual / redundant Liebert CRAC units fed by TRIGEN chilled water system
• Pre-action (dry pipe) dual interlock fire suppression system with multi-zone photoelectric and ion smoke detection sensors
• Conditioned primary power provided by facility-wide PowerWare 9315 UPS system

We highly recommend the virtual datacenter tour. Click Here.

Web Portals to Communicate & Collaborate

As any Quality practitioner will tell you, Communicating Organizational Objectives is essential to overcoming resistance to change. Change must be a cultural thing to be successful, and culture is the hardest change of all.

Stakeholders in the organization need to understand the need for change, the expected results, the timeframe and their individual roles in change. Training is also an essentail element in the Change Process. To feel like a part of the to-be culture, Stakeholders need to be educated on the issues they will face and how the new culture will affect their day-to-day activities, as well as their families and lifestyles. Armed with information, Stakeholder resistance to change begins to fade and they start to embrace the new culture.

Web Portals are places where Stakeholders can come to learn more about what is going on and collaborate with other Stakeholders.  There they can find information in the form of books, whitepapers, FAQs, news releases and collaboration in the form of interaction with other users and Portal content such as discussion forums, Q&A, performance results, etc.

Our Portals, free of charge to Hosted Clients, and skinned to match your companies colors and style, include easy to use software that allows a non-technical person to add and maintain the content of the Portal. As a part of your organization's Communication Plan, you can post New Events, Employee Recognition, Recommended Readings, answer questions, conduct surveys and a host of other functions meant to make your Communication Plan, and your company, more successful.

The diagram below illustrates a Web Portal example, which includes a bookstore and updates to the Balanced Scorecard.