BPM360 Podcast - Covering Every Angle

In this sizzling summer finale of BPM360 – Covering Every Angle, Caspar and Russell take a reflective and witty journey through the highlights of Season 3. What began with pool-cleaning confessions and festival weather banter quickly turned into a deep dive into process thinking, change facilitation, and agentic AI.  🧩 Key Takeaways from Season 3:  * Human-Centric BPM with Mirko Kloppenburg: Empathy, trust, and process models as cultural drivers—on the road and in the boardroom. * Academic Legends: From the origin of process mining with Wil van der Aalst to enterprise architecture with Prof. Scheruhn, this season honoured the foundational thinkers. * Cut the Crap: Roland Woldt helped us slice through BPM noise with sharp insights on architecture and transformation habits. * Facilitating Change: Stefan Hauenschild and Gary Cox reminded us that no process survives without people—change starts with empathy and ends in action. * Underrated Truths: Iris Beerepoot brought attention to the “gray zone” of undocumented processes—especially in healthcare—while Russell and Caspar tackled agentic AI, Lego-based modelling metaphors, and why some process hierarchies just don’t make sense. * Community & Events: With reflections from the Automation Summit in Split and a peek behind the curtain of BPM conferences, the season underscored the value of authentic practitioner dialogue. 🎁 Bonus: A surprise giveaway of Roland Woldt’s signed book “Successful Architecture Implementation” – for those bold enough to shape the next season! 🔍 Call to Action Have ideas for Season 4? A dream guest? A fresh angle? Or a critique on whether we’re really covering every angle? Email us at: questions@bpm360podcast.com Or comment on our Season 3 finale post on LinkedIn – and win a signed copy of Roland’s book!   We hope you enjoy our BPM Podcast. Subscribe and stay tuned for more. Please send us your comments and questions to questions@bpm360podcast.com [questions@bpm360podcast.com]

In this dynamic and thought-provoking episode, Casper and Russell take a detour from birthday barbecues into the brave new world of AI agents in process management. With their trademark mix of humour and depth, they explore how agentic AI is shifting the BPM landscape—from guided automation to autonomous orchestration. Drawing parallels between past tech trends (remember Excel chaos?) and current GenAI developments, they raise urgent questions about governance, context-awareness, and AI maturity. It’s not about adding another tool—it’s about evolving your entire process mindset.  5 Key Takeaways  1. 🎂 Barbecues and BPM Have Something in Common Just like hosting a great BBQ, meaningful process work involves effort without immediate return. It’s about doing things because they matter—not just for ROI, but for long-term value and connection. 2. 🤖 AI Agents Are Not Just Tools—They’re Actors Agents can perform, coordinate, and even delegate tasks. They aren’t static tools like Excel—they’re dynamic, learning entities that will actively participate in business processes. 3. 📊 Governance Is the New MVP Without structured ownership and context-aware governance, AI agents risk becoming the next generation of uncontrolled “Excel chaos.” Process governance must evolve to cover agent behaviour, risk, and compliance. 4. 🧠 Trainee Programs for AI Start AI agents off in a “guided” mode—suggesting actions, not executing them. Let them learn your company’s business context gradually. Think of it as onboarding an exceptionally smart (but unpredictable) intern. 5. 🧱 Build the Digital Memory for Agents AI agents need structured access to process context, history, and workarounds to make smart decisions. This means treating lessons learned, tribal knowledge, and exception handling as first-class data citizens.   We hope you enjoy our BPM Podcast. Subscribe and stay tuned for more. Please send us your comments and questions to questions@bpm360podcast.com [questions@bpm360podcast.com]

✅ Process Models Need Purpose Beyond the Modeler:  Caspar and Russell argue that too often, process modelers design for themselves—not the end users, system integrators, or future teams who will rely on the documentation. A model is only valuable if it’s understandable and actionable by others.  ✅ Granularity is Key—And Often Overlooked:  Process models must have consistent granularity across end-to-end processes. If one team dives deep while another stays high-level, the result is a mess of mismatched detail. Defining a common granularity is essential for readability and alignment.  ✅ Hierarchies: Flexible or Fixed?  Should you enforce a rigid number of levels, or let domains grow organically?  Russell prefers a fixed hierarchy for reporting and governance, while Caspar argues for dynamic hierarchies—adjusting the layers based on complexity and ownership. Both agree: too many layers create confusion; too few limit clarity.  ✅ End-to-End Workshops Unlock True Understanding:  A standout story: Russell shares how a customer’s bottom-up process design didn’t match the top-down end-to-end flow—until a workshop revealed gaps in handovers, compliance checks, and system integration. The lesson? Bring people together early and often.  ✅ Naming Conventions: Less Code, More Clarity:  Caspar warns against stuffing hierarchy codes into process names (“1.2.3.4 Create Sales Order”), favoring clear, descriptive titles that support search and comprehension. Codes belong in metadata, not front and center.  ✅ BPMN Models ≠ Process Hierarchies:  Russell reminds us: process hierarchies are structures, not actual processes. Don’t confuse categories like “Finance” with executable processes like “Create Invoice.” Keep hierarchies simple, processes precise.  ✅ Process Modelers: Less Ego, More Empathy:  In a tongue-in-cheek moment, Caspar quips: “Process modelers are selfish bastards. They need to think about others.” The real takeaway: Process modeling is a service, not an art project.  ✅ The Lego Analogy:  Caspar’s favorite metaphor: Process hierarchies are like Lego boxes—they organize bricks so everyone can build efficiently. Without structure, it’s just a chaotic pile.  ✅ Final Word:  Process models should serve multiple audiences: the integrators, the rollout teams, the end users, and future generations. Build with empathy, not just logic.  We hope you enjoy our BPM Podcast. Subscribe and stay tuned for more. Please send us your comments and questions to questions@bpm360podcast.com [questions@bpm360podcast.com]

✅ BPM Principles Apply to Global Challenges:  Caspar and Russell explore how core BPM concepts—like executive sponsorship, stakeholder management, process standardization, and governance—can guide the complex task of integrating 27 national defence systems into a unified European force.   ✅ Sponsorship is the Make-or-Break Factor:  Without a clear, strong executive sponsor at the top (think EU leaders or NATO chairs), no integration effort—be it in BPM or defence—can succeed. Alignment across diverse stakeholders is critical.  ✅ Start with the Big Picture:  Focus first on high-level domains—procurement, logistics, supply chain, and governance structures—before diving into the country-specific details. This “macro-first” approach mirrors how BPM projects tackle mergers and complex transformations.  ✅ Balance Autonomy and Alignment:  A key challenge in both BPM and political integrations: how much decision power are you willing to centralize, and what stays local? Caspar and Russell emphasize the importance of aligning on purpose while respecting diversity—whether it’s between business units or countries.   ✅ Communication is the Glue:  For any large-scale change—be it BPM initiatives or building a European defence—clear, consistent communication is essential to maintain buy-in and momentum, especially over long timeframes.  ✅ Logistics and Supply Chain are Core:  Defence success, much like process excellence, ultimately relies on a robust supply chain—the ability to get the right materials to the right place at the right time.  ✅ A Call for BPM Mindset at the Global Level:  Caspar and Russell wrap up with a playful reflection: maybe they should get a call from Brussels—because a BPM lens can provide valuable perspectives, even for geopolitical challenges.  We hope you enjoy our BPM Podcast. Subscribe and stay tuned for more. Please send us your comments and questions to questions@bpm360podcast.com [questions@bpm360podcast.com]

In this lively episode, Caspar and Russell take listeners behind the scenes of the Automation Summit 2025 in Split, Croatia, featuring an interview with event organizer Darko Jovisic. Against the scenic backdrop of Roman castles and well-stocked buffets, they explore the evolving nature of automation—from RPA to AI-driven orchestration.  Key Takeaways:  * AI has taken center stage: Compared to 2024, almost every talk this year included AI, with a clear shift from generic RPA use cases to intelligent agent-based automation. * Content over flash: The summit focuses on real customer stories, honest failure reports, and live demos—no over-polished vendor fluff. * Process before automation: Kasper reminded the crowd that not everything needs to be automated—some issues require optimization or root cause resolution instead. * Events as experiences: From guided tours through Game of Thrones locations to thoughtful touches like custom hotel towels, the summit goes beyond tech to create lasting impressions. * Growing, but intentionally: Attendance nearly doubled since last year, but organizers aim to keep the event intimate and high-quality. Bonus Insight: Want better audience engagement? Present where Jon Snow once stood. 😄 This episode is a testament to thoughtful conference design, the maturing conversation around automation, and the power of asking “Do we really need to automate this?” We hope you enjoy our BPM Podcast. Subscribe and stay tuned for more. Please send us your comments and questions to questions@bpm360podcast.com [questions@bpm360podcast.com]