BPM Leader Defines the Methodology, Skills, Training and Documentation Required to Drive BPM Success at Every Level of Maturity

RESTON, Va.—September 28, 2009—Appian, the global innovator in enterprise and on-demand business process management (BPM) technology, today announced the formalization of its Professional Services BPM Framework. The Framework, developed through Appian’s experience with hundreds of high-value enterprise BPM deployments, encompasses all of the components required for BPM success across a full BPM Maturity Model. In combination with the new Appian 6 BPM Suite, also announced today, Appian’s BPM Framework accelerates initial BPM deployments and guides the evolution to a process-centric organization where performance is measured and managed using BPM.

The Appian BPM Framework:

• Defines the roles and activities of executives, management, process owners and staff across the business, the BPM team and IT

• Identifies a standard task structure, and the methods, techniques and best practices to accomplish them

• Outlines the skills required by role, with all required training delivered through the Appian Academy

• Provides project documentation in the form of guideline examples and templates

• Delivers appropriate product training for the Appian BPM Suite and any other required tool sets

• Aligns business performance through a defined process architecture, analysis of goals and reporting on key performance metrics

"The BPM market has evolved to the point where organizations need and expect more than just top-notch technology from a BPM vendor," said Andrew Kellett, senior research analyst at Ovum Butler Group. "A comprehensive and repeatable framework that takes into account tasks, skills and training, methodologies, tools and results measurement is required for BPM to deliver on its promise of real business improvement."

Service Offerings & Training Across Maturity Levels

Appian has developed its BPM Maturity Model to help clients assess their current status in multiple BPM capabilities, and to define steps to the next level. The BPM Maturity Model provides a roadmap for achieving increased BPM value. Appian has defined four levels of BPM maturity for customers:

• Level 1: Individual – pilot-stage deployments and process-related skills training for individual employees

• Level 2: Project – development, deployment and support of a BPM process solution

• Level 3: Program – implement a BPM program team to plan, launch and support multiple BPM projects

• Level 4: Enterprise – target and deliver business performance improvement across the enterprise under a coordinated process architecture and governance framework

Appian’s BPM Framework acts as a blueprint to support a customer’s evolution to Enterprise-level maturity. It includes comprehensive service offerings and Appian Academy training to assist customers at each level. Appian service offerings include:

• BPM Enablement (supporting maturity levels 1 & 2) – services to outsource a BPM project to Appian entirely, or to provide expert staffing and/or expert assistance as needed. Packages include QuickStart, Turnkey, Live in 20/40/60, Knowledge Transfer, Expert Staffing, Training, and more.

• BPM Enhancement (supporting maturity level 3) – delivers dedicated or on-demand solution support teams to ensure production success and extend a solution's value. ROI is enhanced with process performance analysis and incremental improvements. Packages include Health Check, Benefit Analysis, Dedicated Services, and On-demand Services, and more.

• BPM Excellence (supporting maturity level 4) – guides customers through an enterprise BPM roadmap and provides Solution Architecture design and review. Center of Excellence (CoE) services impart governance, best practices and support BPM knowledge transfer.  Packages include Enterprise BPM Roadmap Planning, Establishing a BPM CoE, Solution Architecture, and more.

“Appian’s BPM Framework allows our customers to master the science behind business process management by identifying, quantifying and applying proven best practices to practically every variable in a BPM deployment across all levels of an organization,” said Garry Yeates, vice president of Professional Services at Appian. “Regardless of where a customer is in our BPM Maturity Model, we can enhance their near-term BPM results, and provide the training and support needed to get them to the next level.”

###

About Appian

Appian is the global innovator in enterprise and on-demand business process management (BPM). Appian provides the fastest way to deploy robust processes, collapsing time to value for new process initiatives. Businesses and governments worldwide use Appian to accelerate process improvement and drive business performance. Appian empowers more than 2.5 million users from large Fortune 100 companies, to the mid-market and small businesses worldwide. Appian is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. region, with professional services and partners around the globe. For more information, visit www.appian.com.