BPM vs Workflow: What’s the Difference?

In the world of process management, there are 2 types of software that dominate the market: workflow management and business process management (BPM). If you’ve had experience with both, you’re probably wondering “what’s the difference?” Well, you’re not the only one – the two are often confused with each other since they do just about the same thing. Some, in fact, even claim that they’re exactly the same thing. Others are against the notion, claiming that workflow is one small part of BPM.

So, what’s with all the confusion? Well, it’s all mainly due to miscommunication.

Workflow Management vs BPM: Differences

When people talk about BPM, the general assumption is that it’s about the software. Well, not necessarily – BPM is a lot more than that. Business process management is a methodology of constantly re-evaluating processes, making changes & improvements, automating certain aspects, etc. The software, on the other hand, is a means of achieving this. It provides a tool to manage the processes & ensure that everything is running smoothly digitally.

So what that means is, you can be using the BPM methodology within your business without having anything to do with the software.

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, it’s easier to pinpoint the exact differences between workflow management and BPM. Both terms, in this case, refer to the software part.

Workflow management is, long story short, based on the same idea as BPM: the software is meant to digitize your processes and track / automate them online. Since both types of tools are used for the same purpose, it shouldn’t be surprising that they tend to have similar capabilities…

• Process Modeling or Mapping – Creating a flowchart or map of the process. These can then be used for business process improvement or reengineering.
• Process Tracking, Monitoring, and Enforcing – Once you have a process digitized with the software, you can always see how it’s performing. This also helps with enforcing changes made to a process, ensuring that all of your employees are in the know.
• Automation – Getting rid of any administrative tasks (confirmation emails, for example) through automation.
• Approval Management – Rather than approving documents through email, both software types can streamline the process and send it over to whoever’s relevant.

While the core features are just about the same between two software types, There are several differences in their offerings…

As a given, the differences between software varies depending on the provider. More often than not, though, the comparison we made is accurate for most Workflow Management or BPM companies.

Workflow Management VS BPM: Which is Right For You?

While it can be seen as a controversial opinion, BPM is more or less a predecessor for workflow management software. It’s a relic from an era when software was a lot harder to install and implement.

Today, more often than not, you’ll be benefiting from the ease of use provided by workflow management software than with all the complexities that result from BPM.

With BPM, you’d need to adopt it throughout the entire organization in one go (hence, the installation fees). This results in high costs, a lot of confusion and error, mistakes, and so on. Worse case scenario, you might become one of those companies that spend 6-figures on adopting BPM software, only to have it be forgotten by everyone within the organization within a year.

Instead, you can start off with workflow management software on a smaller scale, with minimal costs and hand-holding from the management. Once you’ve seen real results, you can always start scaling it and getting your entire company onboard.

Related Questions

What is the difference between BPM and workflow?

BPM(Business Process Management) and workflow are like cousins in the world of doing work. BPM is the big-picture discipline of examining all of the processes in a company and attempting to improve them. Workflow, meanwhile, tends to focus on the step-by-step journey involved for a single task or project. If BPM were the architect planning an entire city, workflow would be the traffic engineer aligning one road. BPM lets you see the forest, workflow helps you find your way through the trees.

What is the difference between WFM and BPM?

WFM(Workforce Management)and BPM(Business Process Management): 2 tools in a business toolbox. WFM is all about people – rostering shifts, calculating time, and ensuring you have the right number of workers at the right time. BPM on the other hand concentrate on processes, no matter who is ‘doing’ them. It’s like WFM is the coach who oversees the team, while BPM is the playbook that outlines how the game needs to be played. Both are important, but they address different sides of running a smooth operation.

What is the difference between BPM and process automation?

BPM and process automation are sort of two aspects of the same coin. The BPM is the brainy part – about knowing, analysing and improving business processes. Process automation, on the other hand, is the muscle – it’s the technology that actually performs these processes without needing a human to intervene. It’s like comparing the chef, the BPM, creating a recipe and the kitchen bot preparing a meal, which is the process automation. BPM is the tempo and automation puts on the show.

What is the difference between serverless workflow and BPMN?

Serverless workflow and BPMN (Business Process Model and Notation) are two different aimed paradigms to control work processes. Serverless workflow is akin to a modern cloud DJ who mixes tracks on the spot, instead of owning any equipment. And it runs everything in the cloud, automatically adjusting to scale and performance requirements, without you needing to manage a single server. BPMN, on the other hand, is kind of like business-process sheet music – a common visual language for expressing and comprehending complex sequences of events. Serverless workflow is about the execution, whereas BPMN is about visualization and planning. You’re not forced to pick one other — you could work out a process in BPMN and then run that under serverless.

How Can I Choose Between BPM and Workflow Automation?

BPM vs workflow automation is like choosing to renovate a house or remodel one room. Customers who are looking for big picture improvements across their entire enterprise could find BPM as their best bet. It will assist you in dissecting and tweaking all your processes. But if you do have a specific job or department that needs to be streamlined, workflow automation might be just the ticket. It’s quicker to do and can get you some quick wins. Think about your goals, budget and timeline. And remember, you can have your cake and eat it – many newer tools, such as Tallyfy, incorporate elements of both, meaning you can start small on the automation side of things and have a simple workflow, but then scale up to full BPM when your requirements increase.