Process architecture is at the core of business transformation

Would you ever build a house that made a substantial dent in your savings without a blueprint? Of course not. Yet that is what pursuing a multi-year digital transformation without a process architecture blueprint amounts to.

I am not talking about system architecture or IT infrastructure. In my construction comparison, those are the electricians and plumbers: they make the data flow securely and consistently. Process architecture lays out the grand plan of how all the pieces must come together to transform. Like an architectural blueprint, it gives all the details and removes ambiguity and surprises.

Process architects develop the map and list the requirements to deliver a new experience. They provide the master playbook that keeps all the key constituents aligned with each other and with the larger strategy.

What process architects do

• Listen to the voice of the customer, and translate it. Before designing, a good architect listens to internal customers (sales, operations, technology) and external ones, and translates what they say into design requirements. A homeowner who wants "a bright home" needs a south-facing house with large windows. A client who wants a bank that is "easier to do business with" may need dynamic application questionnaires, e-signature, online submission and self-service.
• Take walls down. Process architecture looks at transformation from the client's perspective. It doesn't care about departmental turf (the walls) or technology gaps (the cracks in the foundation). It looks at flow, and the impression it leaves on a client from first contact to servicing.
• Provide design and details. Architects use proven technology such as RPA, AI and workflow to design, step by step, how the new process and experience will work, defining the role of each technology, where it bolts onto the process and the expected benefits. With everything visible, legal, compliance, technology and sales can voice their likes and dislikes, and the design defines the critical path for transformation.

Process architects have it hard: they need to understand the details while keeping a macro view of the transformation. But if they are engaged before technology decisions are set, they provide the blueprint, the details and the playbook to guide it. Do you have the right people architecting your transformation?