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Process Fever: Why Now? Why Government?

Appian Contributor
June 10, 2010

Fever

When a major trend grabs hold of a large population, it's called a "fever." Remember disco fever? Well, government is on the cusp of experiencing "process fever," meaning that it will be fundamentally changing its processes for the better. And, this will be a very long-lasting trend.

Major government mandates under the Obama Administration, such as the eGovernment Act, are pushing federal agencies to improve their overall processes. Secure, efficient, transparent and open government are more than mere catch phrases; they are a new paradigm for government that is being brought to life every day through Business Process Management (BPM).

Why BPM? It helps agencies meet federal mandates and drive core mission performance by making underlying processes more visible, transparent and efficient. It fosters levels of collaboration previously unknown in the government space. It allows agencies to perform better at lower cost, especially when coupled with cloud computing and cutting-edge social technologies. BPM also "formalizes" social media and therefore government 2.0 ñ another major fever hitting the government sector now. BPM puts structure around broad collaboration, and can precisely target the power of social media to a specific process.

Making processes more visible, transparent and efficient while enhancing performance? This is a fever that any major federal agency will want to catch. And, unlike disco fever, this trend will never go away.