Who should lead a BPM project

There has been some debate over who should lead a BPM project: IT or Business?

I try to steer clear of these kind of debates, but this one hit a raw nerve. Let me explain…

For the past few weeks I’ve been in the midst of a tough project.
I was brought in late in the game, the project is already behind schedule and everyone is a bit edgy.
It would be easy to blame project management, but that’s not the real reason.
The main problem is that the project is not led by the business.

I’m very business oriented.
Most of my projects are with customer’s business teams. Designing together, Developing together, Optimising together. They own the process. They change it. The focus is on solving the business problems.
Even if I’ve been sent to do a project with the customer’s technical team, I’ll go over to the business team, introduce myself, chat with them, get to understand the business pains they’re trying to solve, open up some kind of communication with them.

It’s not only a good practice, it also enables me to meet deadlines. If they’ve requested something that the product can’t do, or will take too long to implement, I’ll pop over to see if it’s a must-have, could it be postponed to phase 2, or if there any workaround. They’re not daft. They understand the concepts of priorities and working with timeframes.
Everyone is always happy with the end-result. The solution solves the business problem. They’ve designed it with me. They’ve built it with me. They own the process.

The current project is led by the IT.
The emphasis is on building a solid technical workflow platform that is rock-solid, yet scalable. It is a technical masterpiece.
Business targets? Business pains? It’s a bit vague. I’ve been given a technical spec.
I can already see the problems that the end-users will have, but I can’t do anything about it. I need to stick to the spec. Business is not involved and I can’t approach them.
It’s a pure IT project. Complete the technical development first, then hope it will actually solve the business issues.

BPM projects that are run by IT tend to turn into complex technical applications, instead of “keep it simple” business solutions.
BPM projects that are created by the IT tend to be rigid processes instead of flexible.
BPM projects that are created by the IT – lose the business “ownership”
BPM methodologies, optimisation, monitoring and simulation – an afterthought.

So I’m a bit frustrated. I don’t want to rock the boat. I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes. It’s too late in the project for me to change working habits. I just have to slug it through. I can already see where the end-users are going to have problems. I can’t add functionality that isn’t in the spec. Aaaahhhh!

It probably sounds like I’m criticizing the business or IT management. I’m not.
Both teams have skilled managers, structured hierarchy, defined roles and responsibilities.
Everyone is playing by the book. So why isn’t it a huge success?
The project is an IT project, instead of a business project. Technical functionality ahead of business objectives.

So back to the question: Who should lead BPM projects?
The business should lead BPM projects, but the emphasis here is on the word “lead”.
Writing business specs and adding screenshots is not enough.
Leading the IT and showing them the way – is the correct approach.

Related articles:
Who Leads BPM Not as Important as Cooperation Between Business, IT – Ann All
In BPM, “B” Stands for “Business” – Tom Allanson
IT get no respect in BPM projects – Robert Mitchell
Who Shall Champion Process Management? – Scott Francis