Crawl walk and run - how to implement SAP Signavio

Implementing SAP Signavio effectively often follows a "crawl, walk, run" approach, which is a phased strategy for gradual adoption and increasing maturity. This allows organizations to build confidence, demonstrate early value, and scale their use of the platform.

Here's how to implement SAP Signavio using the crawl, walk, run methodology:

Crawl (Foundational Phase)

The "crawl" phase focuses on getting started, establishing the basics, and gaining initial experience with SAP Signavio.

Objectives:

• Understand core functionalities.
• Gain initial visibility into existing processes.
• Establish a small, focused team.
• Demonstrate quick wins.

Activities:

1. Define Scope and Goals:
   • Identify a Pilot Process: Choose a relatively simple, high-impact process or a specific department to start with. This should be a process where you can quickly show tangible results.
   • Clear Objectives: Define what you want to achieve in this phase (e.g., map 5 key "as-is" processes, identify 3 major bottlenecks).
   • Stakeholder Identification: Identify key process owners and participants for the pilot.
2. Basic Setup and Onboarding:
   • SAP Signavio Workspace Setup: Configure your Signavio workspace, including user accounts and basic permissions.
   • Initial Training: Provide foundational training to the core team on SAP Signavio Process Manager (for modeling) and potentially Process Collaboration Hub (for sharing and feedback). Focus on the essentials.
   • Leverage Best Practices: Utilize SAP Signavio Process Explorer and Process Navigator to access pre-built process models and best practices relevant to your industry or SAP landscape. This can provide a starting point and accelerate modeling.
3. "As-Is" Process Discovery and Modeling:
   • Manual Modeling: Start by manually modeling a few selected "as-is" processes using BPMN 2.0. Focus on clarity and accuracy.
   • Collaboration Hub: Use the Collaboration Hub to share models with stakeholders and gather feedback. This fosters early buy-in and communication.
   • Basic Documentation: Add essential process details and descriptions.
4. Initial Process Insights (if applicable):
   • If you have SAP Signavio Process Insights, connect it to a relevant system (e.g., SAP ECC, S/4HANA) to gain automated insights into a limited set of processes. Focus on understanding key performance indicators (KPIs) and identifying initial deviations.

Success Metrics (Crawl):

• Number of "as-is" processes successfully mapped and documented.
• Positive feedback from pilot team on tool usability.
• Identification of initial process bottlenecks or areas for improvement.

Walk (Expansion and Optimization Phase)

The "walk" phase involves expanding the scope, delving deeper into analysis, and starting to optimize processes.

Objectives:

• Scale adoption to more processes/departments.
• Conduct deeper process analysis and identify improvement opportunities.
• Design "to-be" processes.
• Introduce process governance.

Activities:

1. Expand Scope:
   • Broader Process Coverage: Apply the learned methodologies to a wider range of processes or additional business units.
   • Cross-Functional Processes: Begin to model more complex, cross-functional processes.
2. Advanced Process Modeling and Analysis:
   • "To-Be" Process Design: Start designing "to-be" processes based on the insights from the "as-is" analysis. Focus on process simplification, standardization, and automation opportunities.
   • Simulation (Process Manager): Use simulation capabilities in Process Manager to test the impact of proposed changes on process performance before implementation.
   • Process Mining (Process Insights): Leverage Process Insights more extensively to automatically discover, analyze, and visualize your actual process execution data. Identify root causes of inefficiencies and compliance gaps.
   • Journey Modeling (Journey Modeler): If applicable, begin mapping customer or employee journeys to understand pain points and optimize experiences alongside underlying processes.
3. Introduce Process Governance:
   • Modeling Conventions: Establish clear modeling conventions and standards to ensure consistency across the organization.
   • Approval Workflows: Implement lightweight approval workflows for process changes using Signavio Process Governance.
   • Centralized Dictionary: Build out the Signavio Dictionary for consistent terminology and reusable process elements.
4. Value Realization and Communication:
   • Quantify Benefits: Start quantifying the benefits of identified improvements (e.g., cost savings, efficiency gains).
   • Share Success Stories: Communicate early successes to a wider audience to build momentum and encourage further adoption.

Success Metrics (Walk):

• Number of "to-be" processes designed and validated.
• Quantifiable improvements identified through analysis and simulation.
• Formalization of process governance rules.
• Increased user engagement and adoption across departments.

Run (Continuous Improvement and Automation Phase)

The "run" phase signifies a mature state where SAP Signavio is deeply embedded in the organization's operations, driving continuous improvement and enabling process automation.

Objectives:

• Establish a culture of continuous process improvement.
• Automate key processes.
• Monitor process performance in real-time.
• Integrate with other enterprise systems.

Activities:

1. Continuous Process Monitoring and Improvement:
   • Real-time Process Monitoring: Utilize Process Insights for ongoing, real-time monitoring of process performance against defined KPIs.
   • Proactive Issue Detection: Identify deviations, bottlenecks, and compliance issues as they occur.
   • Continuous Optimization Cycles: Implement a regular cadence for reviewing process performance, identifying new improvement opportunities, and iterating on "to-be" designs.
2. Process Automation:
   • Workflow Automation (Process Governance): Automate more complex approval workflows, task assignments, and routing using Signavio Process Governance.
   • Integration with RPA/BPM Suites: Integrate SAP Signavio with Robotic Process Automation (RPA) tools (e.g., SAP Build Process Automation) or other BPM suites to execute and monitor automated processes.
   • Leverage APIs: Utilize SAP Signavio APIs to integrate with other systems and create a seamless process landscape.
3. Strategic Alignment and Governance:
   • Enterprise-wide Process Landscape: Maintain a comprehensive and accurate process landscape as the single source of truth for your organization's operations.
   • Strong Process Governance: Enforce robust process governance, ensuring adherence to standards and efficient change management.
   • Alignment with Strategic Goals: Continuously align process improvements with overall business strategy and transformation initiatives (e.g., S/4HANA migration).
4. Scaling and Empowerment:
   • Community of Practice: Foster a strong internal community of process experts and champions.
   • Advanced Training: Provide advanced training to users to unlock the full potential of Signavio.

Success Metrics (Run):

• Achieved and sustained process efficiency gains and cost reductions.
• Increased percentage of automated processes.
• Improved compliance and risk management.
• High user adoption and satisfaction with SAP Signavio.
• Demonstrable impact on business outcomes (e.g., reduced cycle times, improved customer satisfaction).

By following this "crawl, walk, run" approach, organizations can successfully implement SAP Signavio, build internal capabilities, and progressively transform their business processes for continuous improvement and operational excellence.