Business Process Points - A Proposal To Measure BPM Projects

Organizations need more standardization and efficiency in business process execution, which is leading them to show an increasing interest in the business process management (BPM) approach. Stakeholders and workers from different departments are collaborating to obtain better products/services as a result of the BPM projects, but do not always achieve satisfactory outcomes. BPM projects must be well managed and measured for successful implementation. Software Engineering (SE) projects often use a Functional Size Measurement (FSM) technique to estimate the size of the project. This paper proposes an FSM technique for BPM, based on the Function Points metric from SE. We chose the Function Point Analysis, (an FSM technique), as the basis for the proposed Business Process Point Analysis (BPPA) technique. BPPA is a Process Size Measurement technique, developed for business processes modeled through the Business Process Management Model and Notation. BPPA will enable project managers to measure Business Process Points of BPM projects by allowing them to estimate important variables for better managing projects, such as required resources, human effort, cost and time. This paper provides an overview of the proposed BPPA technique and the results of an empirical analysis based on observations from a BPM specialist and an FPA specialist.