---
title: "BPM: what business process management is | attendo"
description: "What BPM or business process management is, its four-step cycle, an example, how BPM differs from BPM software and the mistake of starting too big."
url: "https://attendo.me/en/glossary/bpm"
lang: "en"
---

# BPM: what business process management is

Also known as: Business process management

BPM (business process management) is the practice of describing how each process in an organization is done, running it the same way every time, measuring it and improving it.

## The cycle

1. **Describe** the process as it is really done, not as the manual says: steps, owners, documents and decisions.
2. **Run it** with a tool that does not let anyone skip steps.
3. **Measure it**: how long each stage takes, where it gets stuck and how often it goes backward.
4. **Improve it** with that data, and start again.

## An example

Onboarding a new employee. Written down, it is twelve tasks split between HR, IT and the new hire’s manager. Run in stages, the laptop is not handed over until IT closes its task. Measured, it turns out the slowest stage is signing the contract, and that is where to act.

## BPM and BPM software

BPM is the way of working. BPM software is the tool that supports it: it models the process, runs it with its [approvals](https://attendo.me/en/glossary/approval-workflow) and keeps a trail of every case. Without the discipline, the tool just automates the mess.

## The usual mistake

Starting with the biggest process in the company. The first one should be small and painful: a purchase request, an onboarding or a nonconformity. If it works within weeks, the rest follows; if it takes a year, nobody believes in the next one.

## In attendo

In [attendo Flows](https://attendo.me/en/flows), Business Process Flow (BPF) sets a process’s stages, its requirements and who approves, and the Flow Builder adds the rules. No coding, and with the history of every run.

- [attendo Flows](https://attendo.me/en/flows)

## Where it is used in attendo

### Modules

- [Flows and AI-Flows](https://attendo.me/en/modules/flows): Flows, phased processes with approvals, and AI inside the flow
- [attendo Forms](https://attendo.me/en/modules/forms): Public and QR forms that create the document, no account needed
- [attendo Tasks](https://attendo.me/en/modules/tasks): Tasks inside the document or standalone, with a date and an owner
- [attendo Checklist](https://attendo.me/en/modules/checklists): Inspections with photo, signature and location, closed on site

### Industries that use these modules

- [Compliance for consulting firms](https://attendo.me/en/industries/compliance)
- [Manufacturing and industrial plants](https://attendo.me/en/industries/manufacturing)
- [Facility maintenance and services](https://attendo.me/en/industries/facility-maintenance)
- [HVAC and refrigeration](https://attendo.me/en/industries/hvac)
- [And any other business](https://attendo.me/en/industries)

## Related terms

Processes and automation

### Approval workflow

Approval process · sign-off workflow

An approval workflow is the path a request follows until someone with authority accepts or rejects it: who approves, in what order, within what limits and by when.

Processes and automation

### Webhook

HTTP callback · reverse API

A webhook is an automatic notice that one system sends to another, at a web address, as soon as something happens: a new order, a payment or an approved document.

Support and service

### Escalation

Ticket escalation

Escalation is handing a case over to a higher level, because of its technical complexity or because it is running late.

[See all 53 glossary terms](https://attendo.me/en/glossary)

## Shall we look at it with your data?

We will show you how what you just read works in attendo, with your own assets, tickets and customers. If it is not a fit, we will tell you.

- With your operation, not a generic demo
- A real person from our team replies
- No cold calls afterwards

Would you rather talk first?

- Phone [+34 910 053 530](tel:+34910053530)
- Email [sales@attendo.me](mailto:sales@attendo.me)
- Monday to Thursday 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Friday 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM (Spain time)