The Business of BPM (Business Process Management)

Do you manage you business processes? Do you even know what they are?

If you are like most businesses, you have an idea how to run your business. You know where the keys are, the code for the alarm, the bank account numbers, the phone number for the IT guy, and you know how to take orders, place an ad, and maybe a few more things. But, most business owners and managers keep these things in their heads.

That's a bad idea.

A business is like an orchestra. If everyone just played what they wanted it wouldn't sound very nice. The orchestra needs music, instructions that tells each member what to play and when. The orchestra needs a conductor, making sure that the players manage their time wisely and are all on the same page.

Are you a player or a conductor? You can't be both at the same time.

Isn't it time you started to map out your business processes?

Where do you start?
At the beginning! Start with how you answer the phone, then move to how calls are transferred, what is said before putting a call on hold, and what are the rules about taking messages or transferring to voice mail?

Next, take a look at how you are managing your customer and prospect information? If you brought up a contact right now, could you tell when they ordered last and what it was?

Now how about your marketing campaigns? Sales practices? Order fulfillment?

Now might be a good time to engage a business process engineer.

That's what we have been doing for over 30 years - call us at 309-310-7245 to see how we can document and streamline your processes to help your bottom line.

Of Apps, Images, and eLearning

Are you still designing and developing "Please click NEXT to continue" eLearning? Why? With all the tools out there to design and develop eLearning that has better uptake numbers and delivers a better result, why are you stuck in the linear rut?

The biggest excuse we hear is, "My customer doesn't have the budget." But, that's an excuse. What isn't being discussed is the lack of understanding among the ISD community on how to sell alternatives to linear eLearning.

There is a plethora (I love that word, my 10th grade English teacher would be so proud!) of bad eLearning. It just keeps coming. And, more than likely, it's you, yes I mean you, that's the culprit.

Have you begun to learn how to turn a lesson into an App on an iPhone or Android? Have you even thought about the way technology has changed the old pedagogy? Could you write a storyboard that incorporates social networking, YouTube, Wikis, simulations, polls, surveys, chats, webinars, mobile apps, and more?

One thing we need to understand - we are no longer in charge of the way students learn. They are using all the resources now available and crafting their own "playlists." They are writing their own learning apps with uploaded files, downloaded files, web pages, Facebook pages, shared presentations, YouTube videos and sharing these among their peers.

Can we, as ISDs help educators regain control of the curriculum? Yes, we can.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Learn about Articulate's new Storyline. An updated version of Studio '09 that publishes HTML5, and eliminates the Flash roadblock on iPads and iPhones.
2. Try out Appbuilder. you will be amazed how easy it is to create an App for any mobile device.
3. Pay attention to the following design rules:
• The Box Rule - Anything in a box will be read.
• The Red Rule - If you want it read, make it red.
• The Clean & Bright Rule - With images, iconic high-contrast designs get the most attention.
• The Spaghetti Rule - Too many words and images on the screen is like throwing spaghetti on the wall, a mess! Be concise and pay attention to the use of blank space.
• The Play Me Rule - If you want an interaction, make it relevant with a reward at completion.
• The Triplet Rule - The mind absorbs ideas when presented in triplets: 1, 2, 3; A, B, C; Good, Better, Best; Red, Blue, Green; etc...
• The Spelling Counts Rule - Yes, even in this era of texting, spelling still counts. Make sure you don't look like a fool to your client. Do you know when to use their, there, and they're?
• The Consistency Rule - It really makes a difference. Maintain a style guide to manage things such as: the serial comma, colons and semicolons, capitalization, words found in the glossary, and other common elements.
• The End It Now Rule - Make sure your lesson has a beginning, middle, and an end. Make sure that all objectives have matching content and that expected outcomes are clearly stated.

That's all for now, folks.