ABPMP CBPA - ABPMP International Certified Business Process Associate (CBPA) Exam

End-to-end business processes are categorized intothree core types:

Primary processes: Deliver value directly to customers.

Support processes: Provide necessary infrastructure or capabilities.

Management processes: Govern, monitor, and control performance.

These classifications help organizations inholistically managing and aligning processeswith enterprise goals.

“End-to-end processes include primary, support, and management processes that together encompass the full scope of how value is created and delivered.”

– Chapter 2, ABPMP CBOK®

BPM becomes amanagement disciplinewhen an organization commits tomanaging all its processes systematically and holistically. It is not solely about tools (option C) or methodologies like Lean or Six Sigma (option A), but about embedding BPM principles intogovernance and operations.

“Business Process Management is both a management discipline and a set of technologies aimed at aligning all aspects of an organization with the wants and needs of clients... BPM is holistic management focused on optimizing the organization’s process landscape.”

– Chapter 1, ABPMP CBOK®

Process models should be created toaccurately and sufficiently represent how a process works, ensuring alignment with real operations and objectives. It’s not limited to a specific department (like IT), but used across roles for analysis, improvement, and communication.

“A process model is a representation of the actual or desired process, sufficient for its intended purpose, such as understanding, analysis, communication, or automation.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 2 – Process Modeling

Outside-in designstarts with understanding customer needs and expectations, then designing the processbackwards from the customer experience. This approach ensuresvalue creationand customer-centricity in the new design.

“Process redesign involves fundamentally rethinking and redesigning processes from the customer’s perspective, ensuring that all activities contribute directly to customer value.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 5 – Process Design

This is also known ascustomer-centric designorexperience-based design.

Process modelingis fundamental because it allows businesses tovisualize and understand how work is performed, which is essential for any improvement, automation, or transformation efforts. Whether the focus is on current operations (as-is modeling) or future improvements (to-be modeling), modeling serves as thefirst stepin almost every BPM activity.

“Process modeling is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be analyzed and improved. It forms the baseline for many BPM efforts including design, automation, and monitoring.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 2 – Process Modeling

It enables stakeholders to:

Visualize process logic and dependencies

Document process flows and decision points

Serve as a basis for simulation and analysis

Establish performance metrics

TheSCOR (Supply Chain Operations Reference) modellinksbusiness activitiesinvolved in all phases of supply chain execution toperformance metrics, enabling the measurement and improvement ofcross-functional processesat an enterprise level.

“SCOR provides a framework that integrates business process modeling with performance metrics, benchmarking, and best practices. It supports enterprise-level analysis of supply chain processes.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 8 – Enterprise Process Management

Process performance measurementis the practice of systematically tracking and evaluatingactual resultsof business processes using pre-defined metrics. It forms thefeedback loopfor continuous process improvement and governance.

“Process performance measurement entails gathering, tracking, and analyzing performance data against defined metrics (KPIs) to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of a process.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 6 – Process Performance Management

Purpose includes:

Establishing baselines

Identifying underperforming processes

Supporting data-driven decision-making

Commonly used information gathering techniques includedirect observation(watching the process as it is performed),interviewswith participants and stakeholders, andanalysis of existing data. These techniques ensure the model reflects theactual process execution, not just theoretical flows.

“Process modeling is typically informed by direct observation, document review, interviews, and analysis of system or database logs to ensure accuracy and completeness of the model.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 2 – Process Modeling

Top managementplays a key role insponsoring and supportingchange but isnot directly responsible for implementingdetailed change measures. That responsibility lies withproject managers, process owners, and operational teams.

“Leadership is responsible for setting direction, removing obstacles, and sponsoring transformation efforts. Execution is delegated to implementation teams and process leaders.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 7 – Process Transformation

Their support includes:

Vision and direction

Governance and sponsorship

Empowerment of teams

Whileprocess simulationis a powerful tool, it is typically usedafter modeling and analysis, not during the initial information gathering phase. In contrast, interviews, audits, and observations are foundational techniques used tocollect data and understand current practicesbefore simulation is even considered.

“Initial data gathering methods for process analysis include interviews, direct observation, document analysis, and auditing. Simulation is applied later during validation or scenario testing phases.”

– ABPMP CBOK®, Chapter 4 – Process Analysis