How to Classify Your Processes to Structure Your Business Process Architecture

A useful way to classify business processes is to identify and define core, support, and management processes. Business process classification is important for developing an effective business process architecture.

Core processes are end-to-end, cross-functional processes that directly deliver value to external clients or intermediaries. Core processes are often referred to as “primary” processes because they represent the essential activities an organization performs to achieve its goals and objectives, fulfill its mission, and attain its vision.

These processes make up what is called the value chain, the set of high-level, interconnected core processes that each adds value to the product or service. The value chain creates and delivers the product or service, which ultimately delivers value to customers.

Core processes can exist within organizational functions but usually span functions and departments, or even across and between enterprises. Core processes are those involved in the development and creation of the product or service, the marketing and transfer to the service beneficiary or buyer, and customer feedback or after-sales support for the product or service. Core processes are the engines of the value chain and must work seamlessly together to deliver real customer value.

The number of core processes in an organization, regardless of size, is between 5 and 9.

An organization’s ability to clearly identify and manage its core processes is a strategic capability.

Core processes are strategically important, have a major impact on an organization, and are critical to its success. If core processes are performed well, excellent service delivery can be provided, but they can pose a major strategic weakness if they are ineffective, inefficient, or poorly managed.

Core processes are essentially operational, enabling service delivery by directly providing the organization’s outputs and value to external key customers in the form of products, services, support, or information. Core processes do not manage or provide internal services.

Support processes are enabling processes designed to assist the value-delivering core processes by providing the resources and infrastructure they require.

The main difference between support and core processes is that support processes add value to internal customers and do not directly deliver value to external customers, while core processes do.

Examples of support processes include the provision of information technology, finance, and human resource services, as well as the provision of goods and services to internal customers. Each of these support processes may involve a resource delivery lifecycle and is often associated with a functional area of the organization.

Support processes can and often do cross functional boundaries. For example, the process of building internal capacity does not directly deliver value to external customers, but it supports an organization’s ability to deliver mandated products or services.

The fact that support processes do not directly deliver value to customers does not mean that they are unimportant to an organization. Support processes can be critical and strategic to organizations, as they directly affect the ability to execute core processes effectively.

Management processes are designed to plan, measure, monitor, and control business activities. They ensure that a core or support process meets operational, financial, regulatory, and legal requirements. Management processes do not directly add value to customers, but are necessary to ensure the organization operates effectively and efficiently.

Business process architecture, which describes the structure of an organization’s business processes, defines and classifies processes by category and level of detail. The identification and understanding of core, support, and management processes at the architecture level as well as at the detailed level are essential starting points for a successful business process management initiative.

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