Digital transformation is dissolving organizational and industry structures. More and more, value comes from what you know rather than what you own. In 1975, around 17% of the market value of the S&P 500 was attributed to “intangible assets”; by 2005 this had risen to 80%.

Adaptability in work and in software is vital. The prescriptive method was once the only game in town – but now we can do better. Supporting knowledge work needs to move past prescribed process. When making a widget, we can specify what quality looks like. Delivering quality means executing the same detailed plan repeatedly. When handling a customer complaint, the definition of quality completely changes. “Quality” is now a complex tradeoff between effort/cost and market strategy, and delivering quality possibly means doing something different every time. Ward-Dutton makes the point that in knowledge work, exceptions are the rule! Processes are not the center of gravity.

Ward-Dutton introduced the concept of Adaptive Case Management (ACM). “ACM provides a support environment for the optimal performance of knowledge work cases in line with stated goals, together with management tools that enable analysis-based improvement of work effectiveness.

In an ACM environment work is not carried out according to prescribed process definitions; instead it’s guided by teams of case workers working towards a clear goal, leveraging codified patterns of practice, and complying with rules that specify key business constraints”.

According to Ward-Dutton, mobile & social supercharge ACM’s value. Social technology breaks down barriers to connecting work participants with each other. It provides an immediate, compact engagement model for wider stakeholder groups, and allows collaborative participation on case work in context. Mobile technology breaks down barriers to connecting work participants with tasks & information. It increases the accessibility of work management, and the visibility of performance.

Customer experience management is the “hot zone.” It’s imperative to success for a number of reasons: it’s easier to do business with existing customers than get new ones; competitiveness based on price/features is increasingly unsustainable; and good and bad experiences are easier to amplify than ever. Managing the customer experience goes beyond just quality and efficiency. Customers don’t always behave in rational, predictable ways, and responsiveness is crucial to their judgement of their experience. True customer-first thinking means changing your operational posture. Instead of engineering out exceptions, embrace them.

Getting to Adaptive Case Management
Ward-Dutton presented a series of recommendations for making ACM work in practice:

• Shape the work experience using definitions of Goals, Tools, Rules
• Leverage social & mobile technologies to maximize opportunities to marshal resources / resolve cases at the right time, with the right context
• Configure the work support system to audit, report on performance at the case level
• People drive knowledge work; those people should drive change and process improvement, too – focus on facilitation
• Facilitate regular analysis / optimization exercises to uncover opportunities to improve Tools and Rules

Ward-Dutton presented a compelling case for making the shift to adaptive case management. Will it become part of your business strategy?

Gartner’s Daryl Plummer is a Managing Vice President, Chief of Research and Chief Gartner Fellow. He is Chief of Research for cloud computing and Chief of Research for emerging trends. He will open your eyes about the challenges and opportunities for putting mission-critical processes in the cloud.

Clay Richardson, Senior Analyst at Forrester, is a BPM thought leader. His recent research around the ROI of BPM suites – and how to maximize it – will inform his Day 2 keynote.

Sandy Kemsley is recognized as a leading independent BPM analyst, and her Column 2 blog is a must-read for the community. Sandy will deliver a keynote on the business and cultural changes that are enabled by social BPM technologies.

Neil Ward-Dutton, Research Director at MWD Advisors, is one of the UK’s BPM luminaries. He will discuss BPM for Case Management best practices. He will also lead a panel discussion on BPM Centers of Excellence, and their role in building a high-value program.

Don’t miss this opportunity! Register today.

-Ben Farrell, Director, Corporate Communications

I don’t want to get too “touchy-feely,” but it does seem that in this context, DCM technologies offer something more intrinsically valuable than other enterprise IT. In these sorts of scenarios, case management is fundamentally about how well an individual is treated, cared for or supported during what can be very important – and very trying – personal experiences.

A fantastic example of this is how Pinnacle People is using BPM-based case management to help unemployed people in the U.K. get back to work. Pinnacle People is the prime contractor to the U.K.’s Department of Work and Pensions for a program called JobCentre Plus, providing employment-focused training programs and direct placement for 4,000 people a month. While his sort of thing is needed now more than ever (unfortunately), government-sponsored programs are not famous for their “personal touch.”

Unemployment can be devastating, both financially and emotionally. Matt Brook, Pinnacle People’s Head of Finance and Infrastructure, built the company from the ground up with a commitment to address the human element of its contracted mission. Using a case management approach ensures the highest degree of quality in personalized and responsive service for the organization’s beneficiaries. It reduces bureaucratic friction, which is the last thing someone on the hunt for work should have to deal with. And it provides the visibility and reporting data Pinnacle People needs to continuously innovate its offerings and improve its operations.

Neil Ward-Dutton at MWD Advisors has published an excellent case study on how Pinnacle People has embraced the human face of case management. You can read it here.

Ben Farrell, Director of Corporate Communications