We are at the next step of moving our organizations to the digital twin which will allow us to monitor "the plane" (our businesses) in real-time and compare it with the predictions of the future. This missing step is Process Simulation, a "thing" that existed for years already and was widely underused. The change though is that the next generation of Process Simulation tools now is much more advanced and uses AI to help with predicting future outcomes of your process and helping finding suggestions on how to improve the process to enable that you reach your business objectives. John started out as economic analyst at the Bank of England, worked at another Simulation company and then founded Silico to transform the way organizations make decisions. He is interested in complex systems and computational simulation and lives close to London. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: John's backgroundWhat is Process Simulation and how does it work?What are main areas that Process Simulation aids?How does a client get started and how does it fit into the DMAIC cycle and continuous improvement initiatives?What is a "Digital Twin" of an organization?How does Process Simulation help with choosing the correct transformation initiatives?An example of a successful client deployment of Simulation John can be found on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-hill-3879b823/ or be reached at john@silicoai.com. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Welcome to the next episode of our podcast. Today we are talking about Gamification, a topic that we are a bit critical towards, but which seems to be here to stay (it's a generational thing, I guess...). But the twist in this episode is how it influences the performance of your architecture or business process team. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: What is a gamification and what are the core elements?Why should you gamify everything (or not)?How do process/architecture and gamification fit?How to create a gamification strategyWhat are the day-to-day "mechanics" and how do you reward success?What does that mean for process management and architecture?Potential benefits of gamificationFour examples of organizations that deployed gamification and had success with it Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Enterprise Architects? Aren’t those the useless people who always say “no”? That is one of the perspectives we have heard about EAs in the past. But what can EAs do and how do the progress from “noisy” to “influential”? In this episode of the What’s Your Baseline? podcast we discuss the role of Enterprise Architects and the changes to the discipline with Luca de Risi from Mega International, who brings a wealth of experience in this field to the episode. Luca is Mega’s Chief Executive Officer and he held various leadership positions at the firm before that, like, being the country manager for the APAC business while being located in Singapore, or as Business Development Executive in the United States. He started his career as an internal auditor for a major French car maker before joining Mega. Luca lives in Paris with his wife and young daughter, so we all know that he’s busy on two fronts 🙂 In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Luca’s backgroundKey drivers for EA today and the key role of the architectBusiness Transformation and continuous changeExamples of transformation projectsEA and Security – a connected approachResilency and change of the EA role from designer to orchestratorWhat slows EAs down? Luca can be reached via LinkedIn or you can contact him via Mega’s website. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

When starting with process management one of the first questions is “what process notation shall I use”. In this episode of the What’s Your Baseline? podcast we discuss this question with Walter Bril, who is one of the co-inventors of the Universal Process Notation (UPN) and why it is not *really* important what notation you should use … it is more important which approach to Business Process Management you choose. Walter has a strong process knowledge management background, combined with skills and experience in technology management for more than 20 years. Involved in and contributed to the field of practical process knowledge preservation. As you will hear, he has a no-nonsense approach and a unique and practical way to involve and motivate people regarding process knowledge management, process thinking and creating awareness. Besides nerding out on process notations, he spends more time in the interesting developments around the Bitcoin protocol and public blockchain. Particularly in the context of social developments, concerns regarding the sustainability of traditional thinking models, and the socio-economic potential that a public blockchain has to offer. The combination “process-nerd” and blockchain evangelist is particularly valuable in this (oh, and he is the co-author on two books on this topic as well). In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Walter’s backgroundThe UPN notation and the 5 questions you should ask when modeling a processThe “why” behind all thisHow to implement a new notation/approach in an organizationHow to convince peopleWhat is the “now what” then? You can reach Walter on LinkedIn or by sending him an email to walter@elements.cloud. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

What are the needs of a small business compared to a larger one? Can they use the same approaches for process improvement and business process management? Shall they use the same tools? Yhis week we are speaking with an expert on this topic (and also a small business owner herself - Adi Klevit. Adi is running her own firm that has specialized on helping small organizations with process documentation/process management and helps them to create the consistency that they need ... just like larger organizations. She also runs her own podcast on that topic called "Systems Simplified Podcast". In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Adi's backgroundWhy doing processes for a small organization?Sales of “process” to small organizations (vs. large organizations)Processes start with a “Why” and change management is importantUses of process documentation in small orgsWhere to start when beginning the process journey? What is her approach to mapping?How to make sure that the process documentation is used? You can reach Adi via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adiklevit/. Her business can be found at bizsuccesscg.com and her podcast is called Systems Simplified Podcast. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to ⁠hello@whatsyourbaseline.com⁠ or leaving us a voice message by clicking ⁠here⁠.

I see a lot of separated efforts in organization, and model processes. Aren't these all connected activities that should be coordinated to create a *gulp* architecture that carries the load? But what is a "Business Architecture" and how is it different from just an assembly of processes? Are these terms synonyms or is there more to a Business Architecture than that? In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: What is a Business Architecture?Why should I care and where to start?Align strategy to (business) architectureTwo process views - functional processes vs. End-to-End processesBoth process views are connected (big map vs. trip map) Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

If you have listened to a couple of podcast episodes you know that we are true believers in that the biggest "problem" in any architecture, BPM, or Process Mining project is not the technology or the processes and other architecture views - it is the people!  Getting people along with your change is the hardest thing to do and therefore we are happy to revisit the topic of Organizational Change Management on a semi-regular basis. Jehane has worked as a Change Management and Business Transformation lead for over 15 years working on large multinational projects in multiple industries including financial services, consulting, manufacturing, sports and entertainment, healthcare, transportation and the public sector. She likes to focus on helping clients to drive lasting change and to support teams in working better together while achieving their aims. In her down time, Jehane enjoys coaching, reading, continuously learning and spending time with her tribe in relaxing environments like the spa... In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Jehane's backgroundEvaluating what you actually need to make org. change management real for your audienceThe five "Whys" and the "WIIFM" (What's In It For Me?)Meet people where they are, not where you want them or need them to beQuestions to ask when making a changeHow to create a compelling storySetting up for successful adoptionPartnering effectively with change managersCommon mistakesWhat makes a good Org. Change Management professional You can reach Jehane via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jehaneadam/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Developing a strategy for your organization seems like a mystery for a lot of people (and some organizations make a large coin from keeping that mystery), but in all reality it has a big part of “wild guesses” included. In this episode of the What’s Your Baseline Podcast we have Dan Marquez on the show, who knows a thing or two about this topic from his time at Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, or Google. Dan is a passionate and eminently capable digital transformation professional, and also an expert in helping organizations understand and capitalize on the power of technology. He specializes in adapting the enterprise strategies of his clients to find the real value opportunities and disruption resilience that can be powered by digital solutions. He also has deep knowledge of Operating Model and Culture design, supporting companies to drive the change necessary to make transformations sustainable. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Dan’s backgroundWhat is a “strategy”?What to look for when developing a strategy (and which traps to avoid)Explore the space by using an “intersectional strategy” methodHow to implement a strategy – duality of leadership mentalitiesPSA: style trumps substanceMost challenges boil down to cultural problemsPursue an “L-shaped” transformation – focus on building foundational improvements while delivering value through narrow end-to-end use cases Dan can be contacted via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marquezd/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

A lot of people think that the work is done when they have a process be visualized  in their process mining tool and a nice dashboard is built. Nothing could be further from the truth and our guest today, Sebastian Kotulla, talks with us about why that is. To bridge the gap between visualizing data/information to knowledge as the result of the analysis Lean techniques can be applied. Sebastian has a strong focus on and passion for digital solutions to support business transformation such as virtual factories, computer vision, AI, process mining and engines. As Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Prosci Certified Change Practitioner he's used to run and consult in transformational initiatives from concept to successful implementation. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Sebastian’s backgroundDefine - (DMAIC and how to apply this to process mining, CRISP framework, leading and lagging indicators)Analysis (flow is key in Lean, different types of waste (TIMWOODS), Process Mining gives the reference points for the Control phase, Theory of constraints / bottlenecks, most of the problems are outside of the discovered process model!)How to prioritize which process to chooseHow to do the analysis - first look to define the problem (time analysis, Gemba)Fishbone to structure hypotheses (manual cluster analysis) - Find the story in your analysis, five Whys to find the systematic problemsFMEA analysis risk analysis > risk simulationDesign of experiments - statical method on how to design an experiment and then make predictions from the result; understand input variables betterAdvanced analysisA practical project example Sebastian can be found on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastian-kotulla-1645ab88/ and also be contacted via email: sebastian@digitalprios.de. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Welcome to Season 4 of our podcast. Today we are talking about Solution Engineering, aka Presales, and what you can expect from your vendor's solution engineers (vs. their consultants). In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: What is a Solution Engineer?What is their primary job focus and their scope of work and process?What are Consultants (and are they different from Solution Engineers)What are the required skill sets for Solution Engineers (and Consultants)?How to work with both - when to contact, what info they need, and what to expect. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Today we have a special What's Your Baseline Shorts episode for you, that has nothing to do with Enterprise Architecture or Business Process Management.   However, we think that you will like it: our guest today is Jeremy Voltz, an indie-soul musician from Toronto, Ontario, who is gracefully letting us use his music for all intros, outros, and intermissions. In this episode we are talking with him about:   how he got into music (he has a PhD in Mathematics) what kind of music he produces -how his process works (well, at least a bit of BPM) and what is next for him   You can reach Jeremy at jeremyvoltzmusic.com or via his LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-voltz-758118101/.   We're closing out the episode with the full Non-Christmas Christmas song "When You're Near" by him as a small token of our appreciation for you. Please enjoy the upcoming holidays with your loved ones and we will see each other in Season 4 starting in mid-January!

Welcome to another episode of our podcast. In the final episode of the final season for this year, we are talking about another ten things we’ve learned over the years: How to do things Transparency is more important than everStrategic alignment is key to your successSometimes you have to say “no” to requirementsMake clear from the outset how a project’s success is measured Tools BPM/EA tools are still too nerdyTools need to be simpler - how to get to information in three clicks or fewerHow to provide self-help resources(Bonus) Do not google “how to create subway maps” The discipline/industry There will be a renaissance of forward-looking data-driven decision making (e.g., Simulation)Process Mining will cease to exist as its own market in 3-5 yearsKnowledge Management needs to be more in focus Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

There was a lot of buzz around Lean and Six Sigma back in the 80s and 90s, but not today anymore. However, the practice is not dead and it is still relevant and used in many industries today. And there are good reasons to take a step back and have another look at why it was so successful and what of the practice still creates value and should be included in your process improvement and process excellence initiatives. Today's guest on the What's Your Baseline Podcast is Ron Baker. He is an American Society of Quality (ASQ) Certified Black Belt and a SixSigma.us Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt with over 26 years of proven success and increasing levels of responsibility in both domestic and international environments. He has an expert level of business process improvement knowledge in transactional (Department of Defense, Financial & Retail) and manufacturing (Oil & Gas/Pharmaceutical/Health Care/Medical Device & Semiconductor) environments. In addition to this he has recent program management office implementation experience, deploying continuous improvement techniques (Lean Six Sigma), and strategy development. We are talking about these topics: Ron's background and how a 400m runner becomes a process improvement consultantWhat is Lean and Six Sigma?What are "belts" and what do they indicate?What is a typical approach of a Lean/6 Sigma project and how do you get buy in?Do you need special tools for a Lean/6 Sigma project? You can find Ron on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-baker/ or send an email to ronwbaker@gmail.com. The full show notes, including graphics, further links, and credits are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode36.

Welcome to another episode of our podcast. Today we are talking about what to do before, during, and after process discovery and design sessions. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Before the session - Identify what to change/purpose - Identify who to invite - Create strategic alignment - What to prepare During the session - How to structure a business architecture (> process discovery) - How to start the session (facilitation) - Structure of design sessions - Follow-up sessions After the session - Clean up of models and sharing with participants - After the final session - After publishing The full show notes, including graphics, further links, and credits are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode35.

Being the reasonable adult seems to be the parallel topic of this week's episode - even though the main topic is process automation. We were just so excited in our conversation that we got carried away  In this episode of the What's Your Baseline podcast we speak with Bernd Rücker. He is a software developer at heart who has been innovating process automation deployed in highly scalable and agile environments of industry leaders such as T-Mobile, Lufthansa, ING, and Atlassian. Bernd contributed to various open-source workflow engines for more than 15 years and is the Co-Founder and Chief Technologist of Camunda – an open-source software company reinventing process automation.  Bernd is also the author of "Practical Process Automation" and co-author of "Real-Life BPMN". Additionally, he's a regular speaker at conferences around the world and a frequent contributor to several technology publications. He focusses on new process automation paradigms that fit into modern architectures around distributed systems, microservices, domain-driven design, event-driven architecture, and reactive systems. We are talking about these topics: Bernd's background and why he never had a 'proper job', and how Consulting influenced the product developmentThe difference between process orchestration and process (task) automationHow to use BPMN for orchestration and how the orchestration engine, well, orchestrates automation at the end pointsAutomation with code and other means (RPA, low code/no code)Client examples and what to do or not to do You can find Bernd on LinkedIn here: Bernd Ruecker | LinkedIn or send an email to bernd.ruecker@camunda.com. His personal website is https://berndruecker.io/. The full show notes, including graphics, further links, credits, and transcript, are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode34.

A few weeks ago (in Episode 30) we spoke about how to select your process mining tool. And the conversation was so good, that we totally overran our planned time of an hour. But instead of leaving our thoughts about use cases for process mining, that are currently not implemented in standard process mining tools, we decided to use them as a What's Your Baseline Shorts episode. We are talking about: Customer miningProcesses in the ecosystemProcess mining for sustainability (add this to analysis, not only of one firm, but a chain of more organizations)Process mining for ESG Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

We talk (a lot) about technology and processes here on the podcast. But what about the human side of Business Process Management? Do we just forget them and aim for the desired outcome no matter what? No, we don't ... In this episode of the What's Your Baseline podcast we speak with Mirko Kloppenburg, who started his own company and project "New Process Lab" a few months ago after 20+ successful years at Lufthansa Group. To start the New Process Lab, he linked the often fuzzy New Work ideas with tangible processes. As symbiosis of Process Management and New Work, the “New Process” approach was created. It adds a human-centric mindset to the already proven BPM tools and methods we know from the past. The exchange about New Process has shown him that there is a great need to explore these ideas more deeply. To do this, he created the a platform to build a community, to perform experiments, and to share experiences. The NewProcessLab.com is driven by the purpose to empower you to rethink your process. In addition, he started the New Process Podcast to explore new ways to rethink processes and to share his journey with you! We are talking about these topics: • Mirko's background and his revelation that it is all about the people when doing process management • The New Process principles: trust the people, involve the people, foster the development of people, give meaning to the people • Inspire people for process by community building, focusing on experience design, and being a process influencer • Examples of the New Process principles • How to bring the principles to life • The New Process lifecycle You can find Mirko on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mirkokloppenburg/. His website is newprocesslab.com, and his podcast can be found here: newprocesslab.com/new-process-podcast. The  full show notes, including graphics, further links, credits, and transcript, are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode33.

Even given the fact that we are living in the 21st century, it is interesting to see that the percentage of women who studied technology or worked in the process industry actually decreased over time. Which is a sad state of affairs. So the question now is, how we -as an industry- can add more diversity and pick the brain pool of intelligent female professionals. In this episode of the What’s Your Baseline podcast we speak with two women who have taken things into their own hands and started their own initiatives to improve this situation. Josèphe leads the ARIS Product Marketing team at Software AG, dealing with all topics around ARIS from global marketing campaigns, social media, public relations, events to “simple” release activities. She is also a newly certified as a Sustainability Manager from the Cambridge University, Institute of Sustainable Leadership, and wants to make things move forward here too. And last but not least, she founded and leads a regional sustainable gourmet food business from the greater #saarlorlux region available onsite in Saarbrücken, Germany and online here: www.saar-lor-deluxe.com. In addition to this she also runs two podcasts/shows about “Passion for Process” and “Women in BPM”. Gabriela is a Manager at Deloitte in NYC and is leading Process Mining projects, educating junior process mining talents, and identifying optimization potentials with process mining. She is so excited about process mining that she founded a new community “Women in Process Mining”, which targets women, girls and female leaders who work, study or research in the field of process mining. We are talking about these topics: Josephe’s and Gabriela’s backgroundGabriela’s “Women in Process Mining” and Josephe’s “Women in BPM” initiative initiativesTheir motivations and how things got startedThe experience they have in interacting with their audienceWhat it takes to build a community and where they go from here You can find Josèphe on LinkedIn here: Josèphe Blondaut | LinkedIn. Gabriela can be found here: Gabriela Galic, M.Sc. | LinkedIn. The  full show notes, including graphics, further links, credits, and transcript, are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode32.

Updating the "plumbing" is not sexy. Looking at measures being put in place to avoid the worst case or deal with it when it happens is not fancy. Educating people and reminding them on being alert is exhausting. However, the topic of Security and Security Architecture is one of the most important things to do, now that we outgrow the industrial age and move into the information age. In this episode of the What's Your Baseline Podcast we are talking with Rick Smith about Security Architecture. Rick has over 18 years of experience in managing information systems to include, developing policies, portfolio management, writing programs and procedure development for information assurance programs. His various roles include a Network Administrator/Manager, Threat Analyst Subject Matter Expert, IA Strategic Planning and Database Manager. He is proficient in certification and accreditation policy and procedure including DoD policy, intelligence community policy, United States Postal Service (USPS) AS805, and NIST guidelines. He also has experience in cyber security architecture development for these same organizations.  Rick has developed and taught CISSP classes. He has developed his own curriculum and approach in helping candidates become a CISSP. In this episode we are talking about: What is Security Architecture?Define mission, threatPolicies and SOPs need accountability, the need for educationDigital natives and their approach to security - leading to decentralized security architectureHow to approach threatsHow to mature your organization’s security by using NIST’s Cyber Security Framework CMMC and security self assessmentsImplement the framework Rick can be found on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricksmth477/. The  full show notes, including graphics, further links, credits, and transcript, are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode31.

Welcome to another episode of our podcast. Today we are talking about how to choose a process mining tool, to close the loop to the "How to select an architecture tool" episode (link in the full show notes on whatsyourbaseline.com/episode30). In this episode of the podcast we are talking about:     • What are process mining tools and how they are different than other tools (BI tools, modeling tools) and how can they work together     • Features to look at when choosing a process mining tool         ◦ Process Explorer (listen to the details what tools today can and cannot do)         ◦ Variant analysis         ◦ Root/cause miner, ideally AI-driven         ◦ Custom dashboards         ◦ Calculate new fields         ◦ Package (dashboards, transformations, calculations) and make it reusable         ◦ Predictive analysis         ◦ Trigger actions (as a quick fix for a process, not a redesign)     • Integration requirements         ◦ Integration with source tools         ◦ Integration with other mining tools (task mining)         ◦ Integration with architecture tool         ◦ Integration with process execution     • Cost and other considerations The  full show notes, including graphics, further links, credits, and transcript, are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode30.