What are business process analysis tools?

Posted by Kyle Milson on February 13th, 2019

Business process analysis tools (BPA tools)are those technologies that businesses use to analyze and improve individual business processes. These business processes are basically individual operations having specific goals and objectives that are made up of various steps or smaller tasks. The kind of structure that BPA tools provide makes it easier for businesses to look at scalability, automation and other aspects of existing operations.

Before studying further about process analysis tools, we must know what exactly business process analysis is; and how it affects the business?

What is business process analysis?

Under the broader concept of business process management; business process analysis is a specialized method which is used to analyze whether current processes are meeting their goals or not. It helps you identify the detrimental elements in an operation and how to overcome obstacles. It collects data and makes recommendations based on the core processes of anorganization. Without a proper analysis, your team will waste a lot of time and efforts solving the errors or switching between softwares.

What benefits an organization get from business process analysis?

Broadly speaking, BPA give companies a better understanding about how processes are running and how they can be improved. To be specific, clear documentation and robust data helps to identify the obstacles that cause delay in the particular process. It helps to identify the inefficiencies and which user actions are hindering the process. Therefore, BPA tools make it easier for businesses to look at scalability, automation and other aspects of existing operations.

Common tools for business process analysis

Most of the business process tools rely on visual models for understanding the business process. Most common business process analysis tools are:

• Flowchart: It’s a picture showing separate steps of a process in sequential order. It includes materials or services that are entering or leaving the process (inputs & outputs), decisions that need to be taken, time involved at each step and/or process measurements.
• Failure Mode Effects Analysis (FMEA):  It is a step by step approach to identify all possible failures in a design, a manufacturing or assembly process, or a product or service. This leads to better understanding of the consequences or effects of those failures; and eliminate or reduce them, starting with the highest priority ones.
• Mistake proofing:  It is nothing but the use of any automatic device or method that either makes it impossible for an error to occur or to make the error immediately obvious once it has occurred.

Hence, stages and techniques don’t help much if one doesn’t have actual tools to use them with. Business Process Analysis tools are specifically designed in order to work with the stages and techniques in business process analysis.