What's Your Baseline? Enterprise Architecture & Business Process Management Demystified

The end is near … no, not what you are thinking. 2024 comes to a close in about two weeks, and we also end Season 7 of the podcast. And a lot has happened — in the industry, with tools, changes in companies and the life of people in our small community. Tune in to learn about our thoughts about what we’ve seen in the last year and an outlook for 2025. And there is also an interesting announcement in it 😉 In this episode of the What’s Your Baseline Podcast we talk about: Mergers & Acquisitions (and why they won’t stop in 2025) The use cases that we’ve seen the most Professional lessons learned Personal lessons learned Content creation in general, and What’s Your Baseline? specifically Other projects, like J-M’s BPM Walks or Roland’s The Digital Formula podcast Our outlook on 2025 for the industry and our podcast Roland’s “big announcement” and the request for people who like to help Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

How do you bridge the gaps between Strategy and Execution, and how do you evolve execution as strategy pivots? That are the questions that are the topic of our podcast this week - the first of two episodes of a collaboration with the "Strateg-ish" podcast, run by our friends Craig Overmars and Dan Marquez, who has been a guest on our show before. This episode looks at strategy with the perspective that an architect might have - how is it done, what are the outcomes that one can align to, etc. In the second episode, which will be out on the Strateg-ish channel soon, we discuss the opposite side of this: what can strategists expect and what do they have to know when they are doing their work and expect it to be implemented. Both, Dan and Craig, have a background in strategy and worked in various consulting organizations and are now working in this field at Google. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Dan's and Craig's backgrounds What is "strategy" anyway (definition) How can it be developed in rapid-pace organizations? The process of strategy development The kind of artifacts that one can expect as an outcome of the development The typical timeframe of a strategy development project Craig and Dan can be found on LinkedIn (of course) and their "Strategish" podcast can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/show/3h5l2eefFGb9YtPvUVnsDn?si=f8c690a4b197408a. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

GRC — three letters that scare a lot of people. So much that they like to avoid thinking of risks and compliance at all.But don’t be afraid (quite the opposite), GRC can not only be an addition to your artifacts to make them better, they can also benefit to your program by “having the ear” of influential people in your organization … who, by coincidence, can generate budget out of nowhere, it seems. And we are happy to welcome Michael Schank (again) who has worked in that space in the financial industry for years. Michael is a distinguished thought leader and executive, specializing in addressing Digital Transformation and Operational Excellence challenges through his innovative, process-based framework. With over 25 years of experience in the Financial Services industry, he has primarily served as a management consultant, empowering clients with forward-thinking solutions in technology, process, and risk and spearheading large-scale business and digital transformations. Michael brings a powerful combination of superior sales and delivery skills, having personally sold and delivered over $100M in consulting services.He is the author of the book, ‘Digital Transformation Success,’ in which he introduces his groundbreaking Process Inventory framework. This promises to be a transformative approach to achieving success in the digital era, unlocking unprecedented levels of operational efficiency and strategic alignment. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Michael’s background Three lines of defense in risk management Integrated, business-oriented risk management How to create the foundation for this and integrate with performance data Involved teams and roles Why risk programs fail and teams struggle How to set up a program for success How AI and Digital Twins can help with the leg work Michael can be found on LinkedIn (of course) and on his website at https://www.processinventory.com/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

I know that this might be a cultural issue, but I don't see a lot of planning when it comes to projects anymore. Everything is "Agile" and I don't see that things are seen through that often.Which is bad, because one of the promises of EA (and BPM) is that someone understands how things are wired up and what to change, so that you accomplish your objective - which should always be business-driven FWIW.From my perspective this is a step back in the maturity of the discipline of Enterprise Architecture. And given the fact that the maturity was never high to start with, this is not a good development.To help a bit in this situation J-M and I talk about EA use cases to give you some direction what you can do when you decide that this is a capability that you want to implement in your organization. In this episode of the What's Your Baseline Podcast we talk about: Short (-ish) review of Episode 70 "BPM Use Cases" Recap of Episode 70 to set the context App/IT portfolio mgmt / rationalization Roadmapping Project portfolio mgmt / rationalization (looking at capabilities) Mergers & Acquisitions Operational resilience and disaster recovery Strategy Roles of architects Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

There was a big splash in the Enterprise Architecture tool market a few weeks ago - BizzDesign announced that they will merge with Mega and an unnamed third party (which we will learn about in Q4 soon, but cannot name here at this time). But why these two (three) players and why now? Since we know some people in the industry, I reached out to Luca de Risi from Mega and we quickly came up with the idea of doing a show about Mergers & Acquisitions and not only talk about the current example, but also more generally about ownership models, how M&A comes together, and what that means for the involved organizations. Our first guest doesn't need an introduction since he has been on the show already: Luca de Risi. 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. Our second guest is Nick Reed, the Chief Strategy Officer of BizzDesign. He is a senior software and services leader with a successful track record of building and leading teams in high growth software technology companies. Strategy development and execution, M&A, value proposition development, strategic partnerships and analyst relations. Nick builds long term relationships with customers, with a relentless focus on business value and customer success and is a strong cross-functional team player, connecting the dots across sales, marketing, product, services and customer success for strategic initiatives. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Luca’s and Nick’s backgrounds Forms of ownership and the impact on an organization’s strategy What are the reasons (and timing) to acquire another organization Criteria to check if you are a match Impact of a merger on customers and products What is the process of mergers and acquisitions What is the impact on the organization(s)? How is the product strategy affected? Luca and Nick can be reached on LinkedIn. More detailed information about the merger is available here: https://bizzdesign.com/bizzdesign-merger-enterprise-transformation/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

Oh, why do I need a special EA/BPM tool? I am managing my apps in a spreadsheet just fine. That is one of the misconceptions that I have heard over the last twenty-something years of me helping clients to stand up practices and increase their EA/BPM maturity. And there are tons more of those ... Well, our first guest doesn't need an introduction since he has been on the show already: Caspar Jans. But for those of you who don't know him, he is not only working in the BPM space for decades but is also the co-host of the BPM360 Podcast, being recognized as a Top 50 voice in operational excellence by the PEX / Process Excellence Network in 2023, and he writes a newsletter on LinkedIn. Our second guest is Russell Gomersall, who is the other co-host of the BPM360 Podcast and is a Senior Partner at bpExperts GmbH. His expertise lies in developing and applying the BusinessFlows-MetamodeI, bpExperts proprietary method for process-centric business transformations, and leading the TechLab, their competence center for technology-driven process optimization. Russell also act as the Chief Cheerleader and Value Owner of Passion, one of his core values, and fosters a culture of enthusiasm, engagement, and collaboration among bpExpert's team and customers. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about (and I am not sure if we used all of the misconceptions below, but so be it): Russell's and Caspar's backgrounds Architecture Usage Projects What is all the fuzz about this stuff? How to use the tools / the discipline Skills Caspar is easy to reach on LinkedIn and also has a website that contains his writings (and his newsletter "Process Extraordinaire Weekly" on LinkedIn here). Russel can be found on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russellgomersall/. You can find their podcast BPM360 wherever you get your podcasts or on their website: https://www.bpm360podcast.com/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

Do you need Business Architects when creating a new product? Isn't that a bit redundant when you have highly-paid Product Managers already? Or is there an overlap between the two that will create a better product for the end users, but also for the organization because they can better support it and it is aligned with the underlying process. Our guest this week is Mike DeCamp, who has over 15 years of professional experience in business analysis, project management, and process improvement. He is a Senior Product Manager at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), one of the world's leading cancer research and treatment centers. Mike has earned multiple certifications in Business Benefits Realization, Change Management, Business & Enterprise Architecture, and Financial Literacy, and is a proficient thought leader in areas of strategy development and cross functional leadership. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Mike's background Business Architecture - how the BA Guild defines it and how it relates to other frameworks and concepts Business architecture artifacts as the value contribution to make the connection to the strategy/business model How Mike applied BA to a new product in his day job at MSKCC How BA provides the context when defining new projects or programs (for products, but also otherwise) How to keep structures up-to-date when everything is a project To reach out to Mike via LinkedIn have a look here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-decamp-cba%C2%AE-02bb6b2/ Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

A lot of folks who are beginning with Process Mining see this as a technical or academic exercise and just want to know “how things works”.But what is that worth? You need to be able to implement changes based on your analysis. Otherwise, the exercise has no value IMHO (besides if it is a Proof-of-Concept in a sales situation, but even then you should choose a process that you get some actionable insights from). We are speaking with Olaf Geyer about this topic. Olaf is a very experienced BPM consultant and held multiple leadership roles in the past, such as Consulting Director, Customer Success Director, or leading the Consulting Team for the Americas at one BPM software vendor. These days he is working in the professional services organization at Software AG and is focussing on Process Mining and the consulting methodology that his team uses when working with clients. The Process Mining Readiness Assessment is one of the “products” that came out of that work. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Olaf’s background (and the long history we are sharing at two employers) Why doing a Process Mining Readiness activity – what are the experiences that Olaf has made in the past that led to the development of the offering? Criteria for picking the right process as the first Process Mining project Objectives for the first project and how it fits into the “bigger picture” Data readiness as critical factor supporting a goal-oriented Process Mining What is goal-based / hypothesis-based Process Mining? What is the result of the Process Mining Readiness Assessment and what do you do with it? Olaf can be reached on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ogeyer/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

Some organizations seem to perform better, create results faster, and the people in those organizations seem to have fun on top if this? But how can that be when you are currently stretched in all directions and don't know how to get stuff done? In this episode we are talking with Amy Levine, who is an expert in neuroscience and how it impacts high-performance teams and the leaders (and their leadership style). Science to the rescue! After a decade leading global productivity for Fortune 100 companies, Amy ventured on her own to help even more high-potential organizations improve performance and profitability. It's been a fascinating ride. She partners with leaders and organizations to build high-performing cultures and achieve accelerated growth. With a focus on science-based strategies and proven methodologies, Amy helps clients improve stakeholder collaboration, optimize processes, and drive award-winning results. As a seasoned facilitator and coach, she creates inclusive environments for open dialogue and peer exchange, ensuring effective communication and goal achievement. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Amy’s background and her focus in building high-performance teams What is the problem for (new) leaders The need for strategy, aligned communication, selection of the right people, gamification/”competition” Impact of high-performance organization on leadership and outcomes Neurotransmitters as potential influence for culture (wow, science!) How to apply this knowledge to organizations Behavior as a leader and questions to ask yourself and your team members for adapting Amy can be found on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyllevine Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

Hey J-M, what do think when you hear the word “seven”? Well, maybe the seven wonders of the world? Seven rings? Seven deadly sins? My favourite song by Ariana Grande? Hmm, these are all good ideas, but how about a Season 7 of the What’s Your Baseline podcast? No way, what do we have in store for this season? A mix of interviews and topic shows, just as in all of the last seasons. But we also will mix up some things - we will do video podcasts in addition to the audio podcasts now, And we’ll keep it short and sweet! But what stays the same is the high-quality content that you expect from us and brought us to over 35,000 downloads. So, hang on a bit and we will be back with Season 7 next Monday August 26! See you then! --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

Some organizations are like a ticking time bomb when it comes to their processes and (IT) architecture."The old guard" is about to leave the organization in masses (and sometimes not voluntarily) and a lot of knowledge about how things are wired up - which is what architecture is all about, right? - will leave as well. And not too many organizations are prepared for this, and rather pretend that the young kid fresh from college can fill the hole. Note to those orgs: they won't. Our guest in this episode is Peggy McCann - she is a veteran business professional who has specialized working in areas that transform business operations. Peggy worked extensively in process mapping and process improvement utilizing new and emerging technologies. She developed workflows for companies that installed new ERP systems that necessitated corporate culture and process change, and worked on multi-national implementations advising and working to meld program roll out to national standards and diverse cultures both internal and external. Peggy is a project leader covering process engineering; functional/system integration; process controls and system security, and does business advisement for entrepreneurs; financial tracking, marketing, web presence, and ecommerce. She is an advisor for game development firm dealing with internet safety for children, multi user controls and guidelines - community work establishing and defining arts in action. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Peggy's background The impact of (forced) retirement for the individuals and what organizations do wrong in that situation. And challenges for the people who shall replace them Benefits of keeping older employees around (the pendulum that swings) Risks for organizations - IT architecture, lack of interest on old technology, data lakes, etc. Orgs don't know what is running! What can companies (HR) do? How does the conversation between the org and the individual change? How shall roles change? Steps going forward: HR assessment, structured knowledge management capture plan, mentoring, flexible transition models into retirement Peggy can be found on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peggy-mccann-147b564/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

How do I get started? What is the first thing that I look at? Who will be my allies? What do I need to put in place? When you are tasked to build a brand new Business Architecture practice in an organization that has not had one before is a challenging task. When you have to do this in a 60-year old organization in a field that is relatively unique on the market, that might be even more challenging. Our guest in this episode is Breanne Casteel, a catalyst for change enablement through collaboration and connections to drive empathetic business solutions. She is a passionate advocate with 20+ years experience bringing awareness of Business Architecture and Business Analysis skills and mindset to numerous roles in the organization with an emphasis on communication, transparency, and collaboration across silos. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Breanne’s background The case for Business Architecture Finding sponsorship and allies Creating and showing the value of Business Architecture day-by-day (Lack of) Reference models How to get started without a BPM tool first – and then choosing one after the start Planning and building a roadmap – for the organization and the business architecture team as well Setting up a strategic project portfolio for the organization You can find Breanne on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/breannecasteel/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

"I just bought your tool, now you have to tell me what I can do with it".No kidding, that is what one client to said to me once. Well, here is a starter for you - in our latest episodes we are talking about the use cases for Business Process Management (not all of them, because we have that self-imposed limit of an hour-ish length for each episode). In this episode of the What's Your Baseline Podcast we talk about: Short review of the Process Lifecycle (Process) Documentation, publishing, and standardization (Process) Inventory and analysis Process improvement System implementation Roll-out support Perishable insights response (BI and PI) Execution monitoring Customer experience design Risk mgmt and regulatory compliance Digital twin of an organization Quality management (Enterprise Mgmt System) Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

Why do some applications have a large following and their revenues soar, while others are struggling with making a sale and are virtually unknown? Or why do you struggle with building internal acceptance for your program? One reason might be that the former companies were able to build a community that includes not only users (and ends up being a glorified help desk), but also people who are convinced that your program is the best in its market ("superfans" - there is a whole concept around this, but I don't want to go too far here). But now the question is: How do you build such a community? The guest in this episode is Heather Wendt, the community manager for Gain, Grow, Retain, and she has a lot of experience in customer success and community building. She also worked extensively in the learning field, which is another area to increase adoption in organizations In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Heather’s background How “community” goes hand-in-hand with customer success Functions of communities - help, concepts, nerding out, learning/teaching Why should an organization stand up a community? How to pitch the idea to senior management? Find and involve super users Where to find “your people” - examples of good community How to stand up and manage a community Measuring the success Heather can be reached via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hmwendt/, and her community can be found here: https://gaingrowretain.com/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

AI is *the* hot thing these days and you cannot pass any tool that does not have these two characters attached to it. That is also true for the BPM space, and this week we have the pleasure to speak with a person who is working in this space for over 20 years and his tool has built in AI already, while other vendors are still thinking about how to integrate it in their stack. The guest in this episode is Scott Armstrong, CEO of Interfacing, a BPM tool provider. He is a entrepreneur and investor at heart and also a partner in various consulting groups. In addition to this he is an avid skier. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Scott's background (and a lot of Canadian geography ;-) The evolution of BPM and the AI hype cycle How AI is currently implemented in tools and where things will go How to implement AI in your program Ethical concerns and other potential drawbacks Scott can be reached via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/solution/ or via email at scott.armstrong@interfacing.com. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

The age old question: how do you make your processes "evergreen". Well, one way is to update your models on a regular basis (for example to comply with regulations), but is that really "the process" or is it just a picture of it? Your processes come to life when someone performs them and for this you need to be able measure them. To support the process execution you can use an automation tool (a "heavy" BPMS, RPA, etc.) or you can use a lightweight low-code/no-code tool for this that business units can use themselves to solve their automation needs. Our guest in this episode is Maximilian Neumaier, who is leading the Professional Services group at TIM Solutions and is implementing their low-code/no-code automation platform for over a decade now - starting as a working student and growing into his current leadership role. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Maximilian's background Workflow philosophy and some examples Benefits of automating things in a dedicated workflow tool Process as the starting point for every automation initiative How to implement a process using low-code/no-code automation General recommendations for your project You can reach Maximilian via LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/maximilian-neumaier/) or TIM's website at https://tim-solutions.de. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

You have chosen to start your BPM journey and are now asking yourself the question "how *DO* I get started?". Well, one way is to look at a BPM Adoption Framework, the other is to ask someone who has done that before. We are lucky to speak with someone who fulfills both criteria - our guest today is Caspar Jans, who also already has been a guest in an earlier episode on the show before :-) Since then he has raised his profile in the BPM space and was recognized as a thought leader and Top 50 voice in operational excellence by the PEX / Process Excellence Network in 2023. In this year he not only continuous to publish his thoughts in his newsletter, but also starts a podcast in which he and his co-host look at BPM from a holistic perspective / from every angle. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: The evolution of Caspar's thinking about BPM since the first episode we had him as a guest The origins of his BPM Adoption Framework Where it can be used (green-field or brown-field BPM implementations) The areas of the framework Caspar is easy to reach on LinkedIn and also has a website that contains his writings (and his newsletter "Process Extraordinaire Weekly" on LinkedIn here). He also starts a new podcast BPM360 which you can find here: https://www.bpm360podcast.com/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

This episode closes out the mini series about data, and this time we talk about data modeling. Data models are some of the things that I have seen the least often in projects over the last two decades. Why is that? Is it because it is too geeky, or not interesting enough compared to, say, a process model in BPMN? But being clear about data is important when it comes to designing solution architectures (and in other use cases, such as regulatory compliance), and the three questions that you have to answer are: What is the data that we are talking about? Where do I store data and how is it transformed?  Where do I ask for the data? In this episode of the What's Your Baseline Podcast we talk about: Conceptual / logical data modeling Canonical data models versus information asset views Application and data (from a logical perspective) - interface designs Data used in the context of processes Application diagrams and physical data models Data mapping in screen diagrams (wireframes) Screen navigation models for context Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

A lot of projects are just looking at processes and applications. One thing that typically does not get the limelight is the data that is needed to empower these two things. But why is that? Is it because data is "invisible" and cannot be touched or felt? Our guest today is Wiebke Apitzsch, who is working in "data" for over 15 years with companies like the Boston Consulting Group. Currently she is working in a small organization named "Datahearts" that focusses on the combination of business, data, and change expertise.Her role is the head of data strategy, in which she defines the use cases (that match the client strategy), looks at the systems that support the data strategy, and set up project and change management to make the project a success. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Wiebke's background Why you should focus on data in your projects Data as solid basis for discussions Change management as key for data project success Data strategy How to implement data (the example of a brick wall) How to manage stakeholders and their potential objections Wiebke is very active on LinkeIn and you can contact her here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wiebke-apitzsch/. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support

As we all know, the majority of time in a process mining project is in some form or fashion related to data preparation and a significant lower share of time is spent on the actual analysis. There are multiple ways of getting you data into shape (SQL, visual data modeling tools, etc.), but our guest today has developed an approach and a tool to flip this time relation and shorten process mining projects significantly. Our guest today is Lotte Vugs, who, after 5 years working as a process mining consultant, co-founded Konekti to speed up data preparation for process mining. In this episode of the podcast we are talking about: Lotte's background A quick reminder on what process mining is Time as a critical factor in every process improvement initiative Why data preparation takes so much time Why organizations are increasingly looking for ways to reduce the time spent on data preparation: it's all about effort vs benefit Time-efficient data preparation strategies: Now we know that data preparation is the problem, how to fix it? Managing time in large datasets You can reach Lotte via email, her LinkedIn, or go to her website getkonekti.io. Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/whatsyourbaseline/support