Business process management (BPM) is a highly useful strategy to streamline your organization's workflows. Automating business processes using BPM software can make you more efficient and productive. However, automating your processes with regular BPM platforms can be nigh-impossible without some degree of coding knowledge. To make process automation more accessible to the entire organization, a growing number of companies are adopting low-code BPM software.
What is Low-Code BPM Software?
Even basic functionalities in standard BPM platforms require you to write a few lines of code to test the condition. You also need to add code for purposes such as:
- Sending and retrieving information from a database using queries
- Changing task assignment based on a variable value
- Auto-filling fields on forms
- Making connections to external applications
With low-code BPM software, you can perform these tasks with drag-and-drop elements or built-in features without needing a degree in computer science. Low-code BPM applications, and other low-code solutions, have enabled the rise of what IT research and advisory firm Gartner calls "citizen developers": end-users who create software outside of a development team. According to a 2017 survey, three-fourths of organizations report that at least some of their applications are developed by employees other than the IT department.
Regular vs. Low-Code BPM Platforms
Regular software for business process management requires a good deal of coding knowledge to create fully-functional automated processes. For example, most of the Java BPM engines on the market today are "ultra-high-code," meaning that you need to know Java to deploy automated processes. If you want to customize complex workflows, you'll either have to hire an external team or build a knowledgeable in-house IT team. During traditional software development, processes may take months to roll out. Deploying the application is labor-intensive and expensive, and changes need to be hand-coded into the software. Low-code BPM platforms, on the other hand, provide predefined triggers within "packets" of code. You can change and move these "packets" around on a high-level process map, without directly touching the codebase. Due to the simple nature of the tools offered by low-code BPM platforms, they are ideal for simple processes, such as common administrative processes like Leave of Absence requests or Purchase Orders. The drastic improvement in ease of use means that basic processes can be automated, tested, and deployed in a matter of weeks.
