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Digital Transformation Business Process Management Guide

By Tara Porter
Updated January 10, 2025

Digital transformation business process management is the key to staying competitive in today’s digital age. As organizations, we’re under pressure to adapt to emerging technologies, streamline business processes, and meet increasing customer expectations—all while improving employee experiences and reducing costs. It’s a tall order, but successful digital transformation strategies make it achievable.

The challenge? Transforming processes effectively. If we want to drive digital transformation in a meaningful way, we need to rethink how businesses operate, identify areas for improvement, and take advantage of technologies that can support real-time results. Let’s dive into the key strategies, tools, and insights to make it happen.

Why Business Process Management Matters in Digital Transformation

Digital transformation isn’t about throwing new technology at outdated processes. It’s about optimizing how your organization works—which is why business process management (BPM) is critical.

If you’ve ever implemented a digital transformation project and felt like progress stalled, the processes themselves are often the problem. According to a McKinsey study, only 30% of digital transformation projects succeed, and outdated or broken processes are one of the biggest reasons.

Before introducing new tools or automating workflows, take a hard look at your current processes. Are they meeting your goals? Are they slowing down employee productivity?

For example, let’s say your customer service team spends hours every day answering the same repetitive questions. Introducing a help center powered by in-context guidance can streamline the workflow, improve customer satisfaction, and free up your team to tackle bigger challenges.

The goal is continuous improvement. Business process management helps you identify what’s working, fix bottlenecks, and build processes that support successful digital transformation.

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Rethinking How Businesses Operate in the Digital Age

The way businesses operate today looks nothing like it did 20 years ago. Thanks to emerging technologies and shifting customer expectations, the pace of change is faster than ever. If we want to stay competitive, our processes need to keep up.

Customer Expectations Are Shaping Processes

Today’s customers expect seamless, real-time interactions. Whether it’s support, purchasing, or onboarding, they don’t want delays. If your processes rely on manual steps or outdated systems, meeting those expectations becomes impossible.

Take digital transformation business processes in retail, for instance. Leading companies use automated inventory management systems to track stock levels in real time. This doesn’t just reduce costs—it also ensures customers get the products they want when they want them.

Employee Experiences Matter, Too

Processes that frustrate employees lead to higher turnover, burnout, and inefficiency. By leveraging digital technology like robotic process automation (RPA), we can eliminate repetitive tasks, boost productivity, and give employees the tools they need to succeed.

Imagine a finance team stuck manually reconciling hundreds of transactions. Implementing RPA can automate those workflows, allowing employees to focus on strategic analysis instead.

If you want to drive digital transformation, you need to identify the weakest links in your processes. These are the areas where inefficiencies cost time, money, and productivity. By pinpointing and addressing these bottlenecks, you set the stage for smoother workflows, improved performance, and better outcomes across your organization.

Tools for Identifying Process Gaps

  1. User Behavior Analytics: Tools like screen recordings, heatmaps, and usage data reveal where employees or customers get stuck. By understanding how users interact with your systems, you can identify patterns that highlight areas of confusion or friction. For example, if a help desk platform shows repeated searches for the same query, this signals an information gap.
  2. Performance Metrics: Quantitative data, such as task completion times or error rates, expose inefficiencies. If a process takes days when it should take hours, or if errors are cropping up frequently, there’s an issue that needs attention. Look for key indicators like delays, bottlenecks in handoffs between departments, or frequent rework.
  3. Employee Feedback: Your team members are on the front lines of your processes, so their input is invaluable. Regular surveys, one-on-one interviews, or anonymous feedback platforms allow employees to share where processes break down, where they lose the most time, and what they feel is causing frustration. Often, these insights reveal small inefficiencies that add up to significant roadblocks.
  4. Process Audits: Conducting a thorough review of workflows helps identify redundant steps, outdated tools, or misaligned responsibilities. Visualizing processes through flowcharts or process maps can make gaps more apparent and easier to fix.

How Emerging Technologies Are Transforming Processes

Successful digital transformation hinges on adopting the right tools to support your processes. Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and cloud platforms have revolutionized the way we work, making processes faster, smarter, and more efficient.

Robotic Process Automation (RPA)

We’ve already touched on RPA’s impact, but let’s dive deeper. RPA takes mundane, rules-based tasks and automates them, allowing employees to focus on strategic, high-value activities. By reducing manual intervention, RPA improves accuracy, cuts costs, and boosts efficiency.

Real-World Example: An accounts payable team uses RPA to match invoices with purchase orders. Previously, this manual process took hours and was prone to human error. With RPA, the team reduced processing time by 80%, improved accuracy, and freed up resources for more critical tasks.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI-driven solutions can analyze massive amounts of data in real time to identify trends, predict problems, and support decision-making. AI also enhances process efficiency by learning from past patterns and automating complex decision-making tasks.

Real-World Example: A customer support team integrates an AI-driven chatbot to handle routine inquiries. The chatbot responds instantly to common questions, reducing response times, improving customer satisfaction, and allowing support agents to focus on more complex issues that require human expertise.

AI can also be applied to predictive maintenance in manufacturing. By analyzing equipment data, AI can detect early warning signs of failure, allowing businesses to address issues before they cause downtime.

Cloud-Based Platforms

Cloud platforms offer unparalleled flexibility and scalability, enabling businesses to access tools, data, and applications from anywhere. This empowers remote teams, improves collaboration, and ensures processes run seamlessly across locations.

Real-World Example: Marketing teams use cloud-based project management tools to collaborate on campaigns in real time. Team members can track progress, share assets, and communicate updates without delays, no matter where they’re located. The result is faster execution, fewer bottlenecks, and improved productivity.

Cloud platforms also support data-driven decision-making. For example, a sales team using cloud-based CRM software can access real-time data on leads, track customer interactions, and streamline follow-ups for better results.

Key Steps to Drive Digital Transformation

If you’re ready to optimize your processes and drive digital transformation, here are the steps you need to follow:

  1. Analyze Current Processes Start by mapping out your current workflows. Use tools like process mapping, user behavior analytics, and performance metrics to identify what works, what doesn’t, and where inefficiencies occur. Break each process into individual steps to uncover bottlenecks, redundancies, or outdated practices.
  2. Align Processes with Goals Every transformation process should align with your organization’s larger goals. Whether your priority is reducing costs, improving customer satisfaction, enhancing employee experiences, or increasing efficiency, ensure that your processes support these objectives. Set clear KPIs to measure alignment and track progress.
  3. Engage Key Stakeholders Digital transformation requires buy-in across all levels of the organization. Collaborate with department heads, frontline employees, and IT teams to understand their needs, gather feedback, and secure support for the proposed changes. Clear communication about the benefits and outcomes helps drive adoption.
  4. Introduce the Right Tools Leverage emerging technologies like RPA, AI, cloud platforms, and analytics tools to automate workflows, gain actionable insights, and streamline operations. Select tools that integrate with your existing systems and scale with your growth.

    Example: Use RPA to automate invoice processing, AI-driven analytics to identify trends, and cloud-based collaboration tools to keep remote teams connected.

  5. Train and Support Your Users A successful transformation depends on your team’s ability to adopt and use new processes effectively. Provide thorough training, in-app guidance, and ongoing support to ensure users feel confident and capable. Without proper guidance, even the best tools will fail to deliver results.
  6. Continuously Monitor and Improve Digital transformation isn’t a one-and-done initiative. Continuously monitor processes using performance metrics, user feedback, and analytics tools. Regularly evaluate what’s working, identify new areas for optimization, and adapt to evolving business needs. This commitment to continuous improvement ensures your processes remain efficient and aligned with your goals.

How VisualSP Can Help You Drive Digital Transformation

Here’s where we come in. At VisualSP, we’re experts in digital adoption, and we know firsthand how to train and support users through transformation processes. The right tools make all the difference, and that’s exactly what we provide.

Interactive Walkthroughs

Rolling out new software or workflows? VisualSP’s interactive walkthroughs provide step-by-step guidance right inside your applications. Your users will learn as they work—no need for additional hand-holding.

VisualSP walkthroughs

Searchable In-Context Articles

VisualSP allows users to search for help without leaving the application they’re using. This keeps them focused and reduces disruptions.

In-App Help Tips

Small nudges make a big difference. VisualSP’s in-app tips provide the right information at the right time to help users navigate new processes seamlessly.

In-context Guidance

User Behavior Analytics

Want to know where your team is getting stuck? VisualSP’s behavior analytics, including screen recordings and usage data, give you the insights you need to identify areas for improvement.

Ready to Start? Get Started with VisualSP for Free

We make digital transformation simpler for you and your users. Start free with VisualSP’s base package and see how interactive walkthroughs, in-app tips, and real-time analytics can optimize your processes. Your team’s success starts here.

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