Who is Responsible for Optimizing Processes

The Rauha Communications example demonstrates how process optimization fulfills an important role as the critical link between business model definition and technology automation. The primary responsibility for process optimization falls upon process analysts and domain experts who possess detailed, accurate knowledge of how processes work. In some cases, companies will appoint process owners that have overall responsibility for improving particular processes. The discretion of these process owners spans multiple business functions, freeing them from political and process restrictions generally imposed by organizational silos . Together, they model as-is and to-be states of the company's process environment to help the company discover the best way to operationalize business goals. IT analysts should also contribute to the analysis of models, since they will eventually be responsible for applying applications and systems to the business processes that require technology support. In fact, the outputs of process models provide useful inputs to component and class diagrams, data models, sequence diagrams, etc., which make up a part of systems engineering and design.

The principal drivers of process optimization are the goals and objectives inherited from the business model. These drivers keep teams focused on making changes that are in step with espoused management vision and concrete corporate needs. In turn , the results of process optimization drive the set of decisions made during technology automation. By approaching process optimization in this way, companies avoid the costly disconnects that can occur when hand-offs between business, process, and technology are not structured and managed effectively.