In "How Business Process Management Can Improve The Process Life Cycle," Vollmer notes that traditional, manual management efforts have typically resulted in inefficient processes. However, BPM technology can help organizations overcome these limitations "through the utilization of new features that improve the functionality of each phase of the process life cycle and make it easier to implement process improvements."
Specifically, BPM solutions let organizations model processes and translate them into executable code so that they may be "controlled by internal application logic in conjunction with external job control software." This allows companies to manage the business process cycle as a closed loop, permitting business-level process monitoring and optimization.
In this last phase, companies have the information and opportunity to determine where and whether processes should be streamlines and enhanced. "In the past, this has been a highly manual activity that has serious built-in limitations due to the fact that it relied on indirect inputs and required a high level of process knowledge to analyze the process effectively." Vollmer writes. "Today, leading BPM tools support graphics-based process simulation and optimization routines (normally based on the process models defined in the definition phase) as well as reporting and analysis tools that can all be used to optimize the targeted processes."