Business Process Management (BPM) has advanced as a key management approach. At its core, BPM aims at providing organizations with effective and efficient workflows that transform a given input into a desired output. BPM combines managerial and organizational practices with a strong focus on various information technologies. As a core technology of BPM, for example, process mining has recently been associated with tremendous economic benefits for companies operating in all kinds of industries.

This course approaches the basics of BPM from two angles. First, it introduces the basic assumptions of BPM. It explains why, how and when BPM is useful for organizations. The course emphasizes strengths and opportunities of a BPM‑driven organization, and it sheds light on potential downsides and weaknesses. Second, the course conveys ʺhow‑to knowledgeʺ, enabling students to understand and apply basic practices of BPM. These include process analysis, process design and process implementation. Various in‑class exercises will help students to gain practical knowledge about BPM‑related activities.

• Holistic understanding about the organizational and managerial implications of Business Process Management (BPM)
• Knowledge about the key assumptions of BPM
• Knowledge about the respective steps of the BPM Lifecycle
• Understanding of the opportunities and threats of a BPM‑oriented organization 
• Practical knowledge of tasks related to a business process analyst, including the design, analysis and implementation of business processes
• Connection between BPM and other contemporary management topics, including digital innovation and digital transformation

Pursuant to the general guidelines issued by the Vice-Rector for Academic Programs and Student Affairs, the attendance requirement is met if a student is present at least 80% of the time. 

The rules on attendance of a Continuous Assessment Course (PI) apply. See the dedicated page on the WU portal for further information.

Lecturing

Group discussion

Assignment

Reflections on recent research and industry insights

Online Midterm: 40%

Assignments: 15%

Exam: 45%

Please log in with your WU account to use all functionalities of read!t. For off-campus access to our licensed electronic resources, remember to activate your VPN connection connection. In case you encounter any technical problems or have questions regarding read!t, please feel free to contact the library at readinglists@wu.ac.at.

The participants are expected to have some preliminary knowledge of business process modeling.