From the BPM Quarterly E-Zine...
http://docs.media.bitpipe.com/io_25x/io_25481/item_401189/sSOA_BPMezine_v2.pdf
EXPERTS AGREE: The objective of a business process management program is continuous improvement. But as the old business adage goes, you can't manage--or improve--what you don't measure.
John Dixon, a Gartner Inc. research director, sums up the matter this way: "BPM without metrics is just a shot in the dark." In fact, accurate, relevant metrics are becoming increasingly important to companies seeking to make smarter, more agile business decisions.
My Thoughts...
I have written my thoughts before on measuring the 'as is' and have received arguments on both sides.
These 2 paragraphs bring up 3 issues.
1) Experts Agree - Who are these experts?
2) You can't improve what you don't measure - I am a firm believer that unless you measure your existing process, you can never be sure that you have actually improved it.
3) BPM without metrics is just a shot in the dark - I do think that a person that really understands a process, they can improve it without metrics, but if management [the guy writing the check] wants to know if a process has been improved they will be wanting some empirical evidence.
I will confess that I have seen many installations where the company did not put any metrics in place. And, it can be easy to show improvements to your process - things seem to run smoother, bottlenecks disappear. However, if you need to ask for money to extend your BPM implementation it is far easier to make a case using actual metrics.
Your Thoughts...
What is your stand on metrics?
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