SDA India is an online resource for Software, Development,IT, Architecture, Open Source, Mobile, Security, Databases, Delphi, C, OS, Asp, .Net, Php, Xml, Java

A survey conducted on three hundred executives shows that major gaps in maturity remain despite growing interest in business process management (BPM) as an enterprise discipline. This survey, named “The State of Business Process Management 2008”, was conducted, analyzed and produced by BPTrends, whereas Software AG remained the exclusive sponsor of the research.

In this survey, most of the enterprises in terms of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) scale are described as Level 2 organizations that have begun to formally document their processes. Within the survey, half of the respondents said that their enterprises were pursuing BPM as a strategic discipline. More specifically, 26 percent of respondents described BPM as a “major strategic commitment by executive management” while another 24 percent noted that their organizations had made a “significant commitment to multiple high level process projects.”

This survey involved 274 skilled responses, which were drawn from BPTrend’s global membership base, and was conducted in November and December of 2007. Around 55 percent of the respondents described themselves as Process Practitioner/Business Analyst followed by 17 percent of Business or Line of Business Manager, IT Manager/IT Developer (15 percent) and Executive (12 percent).

The research also showed that around 55 percent of the survey respondents “occasionally” documented and maintained their processes in an up to date manner. Similarly, 61 percent of respondents alleged that their current business processes were either “occasionally” or “never” supported by their existing applications.

“Users recognize that BPM is an extended journey and remain committed to making this passage. However, we also found that they’re also seeking greater guidance in terms of education and training that will allow them to accelerate their efforts,” said Celia Wolf, publisher and co-founder of BPTrends, and co-author of the study.

Responses for this survey were drawn from more than fifteen industry sectors. Geographically, 42 percent of the responses came from North America, 30 percent from Europe, 16 percent from Asia/Australia and 5 percent from South America.

A full report of the research can be downloaded at BPT Surveys.