We use Signavio for group-wide digital transformation and standardization. As the largest private hospital group in Switzerland, we are dependent on keeping pace with digitalization and new business models. Signavio helps us to absorb the complexity and to create effective solutions. the planning and deployment of RPA is also supported and simplified. A deeper understanding of the correlations can be achieved with the consistent use of Signavio and process modeling. This is necessary to continuously offer customer-centered services and products in the existing VUCA world.
Head of CoE Process Management at a healthcare company with 5,001-10,000 employees
Helped us to understand the complex processes and procedures to make problems transparent
Pros and Cons
- "As a business transformation suite, Signavio offers a number of integrated helpful tools. The Process Modeler helps with the conceptual work, but is directly integrated with the components of the Workflow Accelerator (Automation) and the Process Intelligence (Mining). This makes Signavio an indispensable service package."
- "Signavio already offers a wonderful range of functions. If variant management and customer journeys are optimized, Signavio can definitely bask in the glory of BPM tools. We also see optimization potential in the management of licenses, e.g. no named users but rather floating licenses and integration into the company's active directory."
What is our primary use case?
How has it helped my organization?
Signavio has helped us to understand the complex processes and procedures and to make problems transparent. the consequent approach of process modeling and conception helps the company to increase the digital transformation and operational excellence. The conceptual work in the field of digitization and IT-alignment has improved extremely and the quality has increased, which in turn leads to cost savings and time reduction. This in turn leads to a process-oriented approach to thinking about the whole company.
What is most valuable?
As a business transformation suite, Signavio offers a number of integrated helpful tools. The Process Modeler helps with the conceptual work, but is directly integrated with the components of the Workflow Accelerator (Automation) and the Process Intelligence (Mining). This makes Signavio an indispensable service package. The Workflow Accelerator helps to quickly and easily improve efficiency and automation without the need to customize expensive ERP systems. Process Intelligence helps to get deeper insights of process behaviour.
What needs improvement?
Signavio already offers a wonderful range of functions. If variant management and customer journeys are optimized, Signavio can definitely bask in the glory of BPM tools.
We also see optimization potential in the management of licenses, e.g. no named users but rather floating licenses and integration into the company's active directory. Especially in the area of workflow accelerators, where processes are automated and users are only involved on a monthly basis, named user licenses to become extremely expensive.
Buyer's Guide
SAP Signavio Process Manager
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about SAP Signavio Process Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
For how long have I used the solution?
I've known Signavio for over five years.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It's always running. I've never major problems regarding availability or stability.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
Scalability was one of our main criteria in the evaluation. Signavio best met this criterion.
How are customer service and support?
The technical support is excellent!
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We had another one in use but it didn't provide the same functionality and couldn't offer the simple scaling as Signavio does.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was very quick and it was an easy introduction to start with the first work!
What about the implementation team?
We have set everything up with our internal know-how but can confirm that there is a strong support team at Signavio.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Please check your scope of application and choose and negotiate the right pricing model
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
Adonis, ARIS, Bizagi, Visual Paradigm, iGraphics.
What other advice do I have?
Just have fun with a great tool!
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Business manager at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees
Its intuitive interface allows for easy understanding and navigation
Pros and Cons
- "It is highly user-friendly and easy to use, even for those who are not familiar with product modeling."
- "It would be beneficial to have a defined leveling or hierarchy system to facilitate better understanding and analysis. More openness and flexibility would enhance its capabilities."
What is our primary use case?
When a client, primarily operating on SAP, required a new process for employee onboarding due to the inclusion and increased regulatory requirements, we documented it using Signavio Process Manager. This process involved thorough evaluation and implementation of regular checks to ensure compliance during project assignments and task completion.
How has it helped my organization?
To address the client's needs, the organization structure and implementation regions were required to be completely understood. The process was structured with levels, to easily distribute and define roles and applications. Onboarding included evaluation, regular checkups, third-party health assessments, and mitigation procedures for any issue that arose. Overall, a high-level process was defined from level one to level four to ensure comprehensive employee onboarding.
What is most valuable?
It is highly user-friendly and easy to use, even for those who are not familiar with product modeling. Its intuitive interface allows for easy understanding and navigation, ensuring that users of varying levels of expertise can effectively utilize the tool.
What needs improvement?
The main challenge is the lack of hierarchy or structure in defining the roles, organizations, and applications. This limitation hampers the ability to assess the impact of automating processes or changes in organizational structure. It would be beneficial to have a defined leveling or hierarchy system to facilitate better understanding and analysis. More openness and flexibility would enhance its capabilities.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for six months.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It provides excellent stability. I would rate it nine out of ten.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
It offers good scalability. I would rate it eight out of ten.
How are customer service and support?
They provide outstanding customer support services.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used ARIS for four years, but we switched to Signavio due to its seamless integration with SAP. This integration allows for effortless access to real-time information without requiring additional effort or manual input.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward and efficient. I would rate it eight out of ten.
What about the implementation team?
When the implementation process started, it took approximately fifteen to twenty days, involving three individuals who were responsible for it.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I found the pricing of the solution to be moderate compared to other choices. It is neither cheap nor expensive, falling in line with similar offerings in the market. I would rate it seven out of ten.
What other advice do I have?
My advice is to primarily establish clear standards and conventions for documenting processes. Lack of it may lead to a loss of utility and effectiveness of the solution. It is crucial to have a virtual, standardized approach to ensure consistency. I would rate it eight out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Private Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Buyer's Guide
SAP Signavio Process Manager
October 2024
Learn what your peers think about SAP Signavio Process Manager. Get advice and tips from experienced pros sharing their opinions. Updated: October 2024.
814,649 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Procurement Lead at a tech services company with 10,001+ employees
Has high-level process mapping features and has reduced bottlenecks, reworks, mistakes, and unnecessary activities
Pros and Cons
- "There are many valuable features, of course. I would say the main value of Signavio is to have your current process map in a way that is easy to read and derive optimization actions to make it leaner, faster, more user friendly, etc. Another great feature is the visualization, which is easy to see and read. How they map the process is also very user friendly, with drag-and-drop functionality. Also, it's a very self-explanatory, user-friendly solution."
- "I would like to see more predictive analytics. The tool already has all the process maps, but it could offer a more proactive improvement offering. For example, they could put a little bit more machine learning behind it."
What is our primary use case?
In my case, representing the procurement department, we use it now for process mapping of all procurement processes, such as source to contract, procure to pay, and supplier management. First, we map and analyze the current process, then we determinate situations that can be optimized or improved based on our process mapping.
We knew we needed to invest in Signavio because we are a large company with around 15,000 employees and multiple departments. It was impossible to have an overview of all the processes that we have, including processes that are linked to each other and that we might have in Excel, Word, or PowerPoint. How do you bring all of these together to identify possible redundant or contradictory processes? Putting everything into one solution gives us the efficiency of mapping everything and knowing where we might need to focus to make it easier, faster, and leaner for everyone.
How has it helped my organization?
In terms of how Signavio has improved our organization, take our supplier onboarding process, to name one concrete example. In the past it took around 18 steps, so we mapped them in scenarios to identify double work, reworks, and things that took much more time than they should. Today, if I look at the new process thanks to Signavio, we were able to reduce it from 18 steps to six, so you can imagine the amount of effort reduced, in terms of people touching the process and time touching the process. This is an example of how we use Signavio to reduce process cycle times.
The solution enables us to carry out the entire process improvement life cycle in a unified hub, because we have all the processes mapped so we can check at the lowest level of detail. We do not only see the process overview but even the activity or task level.
I think the solution's functionality provides everyone in our organization what they need. I am not a superuser, but more of a standard user. For the requirements we have today, at least in my team, we are covered.
I do not use the process intelligence function personally, but my team uses it. Of course, it has affected the way we approach business transformation. We use Signavio to map our processes and identify bottlenecks, double work, and reworks. We eliminate those and make the transformation from a bureaucratic process to a user and customer-friendly process. We don't use it on a daily basis, but we do use it on a regular basis to identify these issues.
The process intelligence has also provided insights into how our organization is actually operating. One example could be that by identifying our processes, we can identify how we organize our team. If you optimize certain processes, you might need fewer resources and you can allocate those resources in areas of the process where you might need more support.
Signavio enabled us to identify a few processes that could be improved. We removed a bottleneck by mapping the process and using the intelligence module, in order to identify where it was redundant. We then removed parts of the process to make it leaner. Another example is on the compliance side, where Signavio helped us identify that we did not check all checkpoints in the process so we could be leaner and even more compliant.
The solution has improved employees' workday functions. By reducing bottlenecks, reworks, mistakes, and unnecessary activities, employees can focus on adding more value activities and eliminating or at least reducing non-value-added activities.
The collaborative features helped our team create a process-centric mindset because there's no process in any company that is not cross-functional. Every process touches another function. Taking the same example of supplier onboarding, it enforced the collaboration between accounting and procurement, minimized the effort, and therefore made the collaboration even smoother because you don't fight about bottlenecks on the reworks. You have one lean process from both sides.
What is most valuable?
There are many valuable features, of course. I would say the main value of Signavio is to have your current process map in a way that is easy to read and derive optimization actions to make it leaner, faster, more user-friendly, etc.
Another great feature is the visualization, which is easy to see and read. How they map the process is also very user-friendly, with drag-and-drop functionality. Also, it's a very self-explanatory, user-friendly solution.
I would rate Signavio's ease of use as eight to nine out of ten. I am not a process management expert, but more of a business expert, yet I don't need much training to use it.
In terms of process modeling and automation, I can only speak on the process mapping feature, because that is the area I'm responsible for. I would rate it at a very, very high level. Besides ease of use, it is actually very professional in terms of its visualization. We even use it for external compliance audits and the like.
What needs improvement?
I would like to see more predictive analytics. The tool already has all the process maps, but it could offer a more proactive improvement offering. For example, they could put a little bit more machine learning behind it.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
I am not a technical person, but so far I have not seen any performance problems.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
As we mapped all of our process, we started with the simple ones and we've scaled up to the complex ones. As of today we have all of our process in.
How was the initial setup?
For me it sounded simple, but I don't know if the people behind it found it to be complex.
What was our ROI?
It is difficult to specify how much money we have saved in Euros, but I can name you as a percentage. I think Euros depends on the volume, but a percentage is determined more by the specific use case. In the case of supplier onboarding, we reduced the time from around six days of onboarding a supplier to a 24-hour service level.
What other advice do I have?
I think that this solution makes a lot of sense if you want to integrate many processes. If you do it for a single process, you might get some advantage, but you will not get the most out of this solution, which is made for bringing in different topics and processes and mapping them together. It also helps you decide where to split or eliminate roadblocks in order to make it leaner. The more processes you put in, the more Signavio makes sense.
I would rate it between eight and nine points out of ten. I think it's a super-advanced, easy to use solution that brings added value that we need. As a non-key user, but someone who uses the system from time to time for needs that we have, I find it to be a great solution.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Process Engineer at Swissgrid
Easy to use with good collaboration and state of the art modeling capabilities, but the licensing should be changed
Pros and Cons
- "I have done a lot of modeling over quite a number of years, and I think that the modeling capabilities in Signavio are state of the art."
- "For us, it would help a lot if this solution had floating licenses."
What is our primary use case?
We are a transmission system operator that handles the high voltage electricity network in all of Switzerland. There are a lot of core processes and managing support processes, and they need to be very accurate because what we're doing is quite critical.
It's critical infrastructure, so doing things wrong at the core can cause a lot of damage and cost a lot of money, but it can also cause injury or death. It is dangerous, therefore our processes need to be very well understood and need to be run very strictly.
How has it helped my organization?
Our employees rely on the Collaboration Hub to understand the processes. They know exactly what to do and how to do it, what the procedure is, and if necessary, what forms to use. We have a few modelers around the company who are based in the business units. They keep up with what the processes are, keep them alive, and keep them updated.
One of the things that are quite easy to achieve with a tool like this is that you start getting together and talking about what you're doing. Being able to show that, graphically, raises the understanding of what all of the team members think we are doing. It is a good way to discuss our understanding, which could be different than it was in the beginning. Just condensing and focusing on this graphical representation unifies our views, which I think is already a big, big step in improving what we're doing.
I think that this solution would help us to carry out the entire process improvement lifecycle. However, I fear that our maturity of processes is not too high. I'm glad that most of the critical processes are there, documented, can be read, and are kept alive. We're not really doing an improvement lifecycle, not really doing metrics measuring, doing improvement, or things like that. We're still one or more stages away from that.
For the time being, I think that everyone in our organization has the functionality that they need.
In terms of improved employees’ workdays, I have seen stability brought to them. I noticed it first about three years ago. This solution has also improved from the modeling side over that time, whereas it has always been easy for the end-user.
What is most valuable?
I have done a lot of modeling over quite a number of years, and I think that the modeling capabilities in Signavio are state of the art.
The most valuable thing for me is the collaboration hub that can be used by everybody. They can really get their information quickly. It shows them the logic workflows, and also allows them to get the needed documentation, forms, templates, and whatever they need. It's easy to use, you know where you go to get your information, and it's very valuable for everybody.
What needs improvement?
For us, it would help a lot if this solution had floating licenses. I would consider this to be my number one improvement because we try to involve as many people as possible in modeling, rather than having them just consume work that other people have done. We feel that it is important for people to identify with the processes, and with what we model, so it requires that we have a lot of licenses. If we had a floating license or a concurrent license, then it would help a lot.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Stability has been fine for quite some time, although I had some trouble with the introduction of a new release a few weeks ago. This shook the stability slightly, and unfortunately, it was exactly at the time I was giving a course on using Signavio.
It took perhaps one or two days where it was very slow, and sometimes not responding at all, but it is now back to normal and working well.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
We have four hundred and fifty to five hundred people in our company who have access to our processes through the Collaboration Hub.
We started with perhaps three hundred users in the beginning, which is not a big difference from where we are now, but scaling it was fine.
How are customer service and technical support?
In most of the cases, technical support has been quite quick. Not always, but what I liked is that when I had a problem and there was an answer, I used the tracking tool and it was easy to get back to the same person.
This is important to me because I've had experience in other areas where if you need to have three contacts for one topic, you always start at point zero with a new person. This is very boring and I didn't see that. In this way, I think that technical support is good and organized.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
Before I joined the company, they were using ARIS BPM. It was perceived as being complex and not easy to use.
How was the initial setup?
The setup seemed straightforward. When I saw it, the solution was up and running.
What about the implementation team?
We used a company called EnerBit in Switzerland. They are a partner of Signavio and they performed the setup for us.
What was our ROI?
Measuring ROI is quite a complex thing, which is probably the main reason why we don't currently do it. My gut feeling is that we have realized ROI because the license is not too expensive.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
I think that the price of the licenses is between $2,000 USD and $3,000 USD per license per year, plus the hub usage. I cannot remember the exact cost, but it is affordable.
The biggest investment is in training the people, and building up the processes and discussing how it should be. That's where a lot of time goes. That's where the money goes. For me, this equilibrium is very good. The money should not go into licenses, but rather the big value is in the content in the end.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did a GATT / WTO and there were a lot of companies applying. One of our central points was ease of use, especially for the end-users, but secondly for the modelers. I think that Signavio was selected because of this. It was very easy to use.
What other advice do I have?
I was in the software business for a long time, developing SaaS solutions, so I am quite critical when it comes to rating products. I think Signavio BPM does its job, it is easy to use, but it runs a little slow sometimes and it could be faster.
I would rate this solution a seven out of ten.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Direct Business Process Management at Coca-Cola European Partners
Provides an easy way to make new processes visible and understandable to the organization
Pros and Cons
- "I would say the collaboration features are very useful to us, because we are a European organization, so we are not in one location. This is an easy way to share with other people and ask them for feedback. That is the use case for us."
- "It's very user-orientated, which is why I gave it a high rating, even if it is not perfect in every corner."
What is our primary use case?
The main use case is really to make the process visible for the organization to help them understand it. We also use it to create a clear definition, not only of process steps, but also the roles behind the process. If you think about our organization, that is something that we really need to explain to people that are new.
How has it helped my organization?
In terms of transforming our business, Signavio provides an easy way to make new processes visible and understandable to the organization. It depends on the level of detail you create and how big the process is, but that is the main thing.
What is most valuable?
I'm not a heavy user but I really like the concept of the Collaboration Hub, where people can work together on the processes. I would say in general, what I like most is that it is an easy to use tool. I have also worked with ARIS, and this is much easier.
I would say the collaboration features are very useful to us, because we are a European organization, so we are not in one location. This is an easy way to share with other people and ask them for feedback. That is the use case for us.
For how long have I used the solution?
We have been using Signavio for around two years.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
For me, I would give everybody in our organization the possibility to look at their processes. That is our goal. That is also one reason why our process design is on an activity level and not more because everybody should understand it. From a designer perspective, I think we have around 100 designer licenses. We would like to have a difference between a designer from the business and somebody from my team because they now have access to everything with the designer license, and that does not work if you are in a large organization.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
You cannot ask a business or a person to use ARIS. It's not possible. Sometimes, if you navigate through the process flow in ARIS, you do not remember at a certain point where you started. It is not easy to come back to that point. I sometimes say that the process models in ARIS are three dimensional. That is too much for our normal thinking process, so you get lost.
How was the initial setup?
It did not take long to get this product up and running. I would say we did two or three really intense workshops with one of the Signavio guys going through the configuration and general settings. Then we went through it as a team and decided on this. It was really quick. It took us more to determine what the content would be and how we wanted to start. We created a process house. That was more an issue of how to start from a content perspective.
What was our ROI?
We also discussed how we can explain the use case for Signavio but it's really just that the people use it. We actually have around 5,000 process models in the tool and we only started with the real usage of the tool at the beginning of the year. They really use it in their projects to maintain the processes. It is the best indicator that there is a good investment if you have a lot of users, especially if they also create data in the tool.
What other advice do I have?
I would rate Signavio an eight out of ten. It's very user-orientated, which is why I gave it a high rating, even if it is not perfect in every corner. If you create your product with happy users, then you have done a lot of things right.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Senior lecturer and researcher at a university with 1,001-5,000 employees
Using the process repository, we can gather all our processes in one place
Pros and Cons
- "Process Manager supports end-to-end transformation. Students can better understand end-to-end activity and processes as well as how they are run. For teaching, it's process discovery, then modeling, and finally optimization and simulation, partly. Typically, we showcase some simulation of the processes, and this is where we finish. That is why we validate that it's properly designed, but also what are the outcomes of modeled processes. There are also options for discussion on process optimization."
- "Typically, a business process management suite would cover the whole lifecycle, from discovery to optimization and operations. This is running on the process server and providing some kind of low-code environment for developing business solutions. I think the latter part is missing, where SAP Connector comes in. Specifically, the execution of processes is missing, where you would design forms to take orders. This is typically part of some development environment for the process server to run processes from out of the models."
What is our primary use case?
I am a lecturer at a university. We are using it as a lecturing tool for business process modeling.
We use it in a case each month on a yearly basis. We have a condensed course which runs approximately one month. During this month, we would use Signavio with some assignments for students to model their processes within Signavio Process Manager when having tutorials or computer labs tutorials on the topic of business process modeling.
There is a curriculum provided by Signavio. I enroll students into the portal, then students can go into the portal, open their folder, and design their processes there. I can oversee, discuss, and correct them. The typical case is where the students use the modeler to create processes, then we would discuss them online.
We are using the academic Signavio.com. This is an offering for academic initiatives.
How has it helped my organization?
This is one of the tools available for us which has a lifecycle for business process management, e.g., discovery, modeling, and optimization. This is really valuable for our students because they do not have separate tools. Everything is integrated into one tool.
Processes will always affect the outcome facing customers, so Process Manager helps optimize customer-facing processes. If you are having transparent accountable processes, then you can repair or optimize them. That way, you can clearly see what's going on within the processes, and they are more manageable. Then, you can improve and optimize them. Therefore, you improve the customer-facing outcomes.
What is most valuable?
The number one, most valuable feature is the process repository so we can gather all our processes in one place. Then, students can also see each other's work, having all the comments in one place and attached to the processes.
The process repository is proof of, or an example of, what students can achieve during one course as well as how they have improved their understanding and learning of process management.
Process Manager supports end-to-end transformation. Students can better understand end-to-end activity and processes as well as how they are run. For teaching, it's process discovery, then modeling, and finally optimization and simulation, partly. Typically, we showcase some simulation of the processes, and this is where we finish. That is why we validate that it's properly designed, but also what are the outcomes of modeled processes. There are also options for discussion on process optimization.
What needs improvement?
Typically, a business process management suite would cover the whole lifecycle, from discovery to optimization and operations. This is running on the process server and providing some kind of low-code environment for developing business solutions. I think the latter part is missing, where SAP Connector comes in. Specifically, the execution of processes is missing, where you would design forms to take orders. This is typically part of some development environment for the process server to run processes from out of the models.
For how long have I used the solution?
I think I have been using this solution since 2017. It has been awhile.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
It is stable. I didn't have any issues, bugs, etc. So, there have been no major issues.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I haven't had any problems in regards to scalability.
15 to 30 users are utilizing at any given time, depending on the size of the class. Typically, there are 20 users.
How are customer service and support?
From time to time every year, my account expires, then it has an automated service for renewing access. This is working perfectly because I haven't had any issues with it. There are some broken links within the help section, but the solution is well worth it otherwise.
How would you rate customer service and support?
Positive
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We previously used Visio for diagramming, then students would upload their processes to the discussion forum and so on. However, this did not really make things work when you would be repairing, building up processes, or collaborating on processes with teammates. There were some missing features in regards to business processes. The repository was not able to perform with Visio as well as the business process simulation. These are features that we only get with Signavio.
We also previously used the ADONIS:Community Edition.
We switched to Signavio because we wanted students to cover the whole business process management lifecycle, from discovery to modeling to optimization as well as simulation and theoretical execution. We were looking for enterprise-grade features, like repository and simulation. We could only get this with Signavio, which is the reason why we switched.
How was the initial setup?
The initial setup was straightforward.
The deployment took a month. I registered for the initiative, then they provided me access. After that, I explored the environment a bit. I needed to register my separate accounts so I could have one screen from a teaching/lecturer perspective and another screen from a student perspective. This is so I can test the environment in a manner where I can then provide some guidance for students to complete their tutorials.
What about the implementation team?
I watched a couple of webinars on its deployment as well as some tutorials published within the help section of Signavio Process Modeler. These were very helpful.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
We are only able to use the free academic licenses because we have a financial constraint. We are not able to pay for commercial licenses to use this kind of tool.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We did evaluate other options: Bizagi, Microsoft Visio, and ADONIS. We used these three tools prior to Signavio.
As a teacher, I need to follow developments in the field for business process management. We also reviewed IT Central Station.
The process repository is really valuable. This is something I cannot get with other tools.
What other advice do I have?
When you are selecting the business process management suite, you need to make sure that you have end-to-end coverage of the business process management lifecycle, not just to model the business processes, but also to run and optimize it. This is hard to achieve. An option is that you can check whether your selected solution supports a complete lifecycle. Another part is that you can export process models and run them on different process servers, not being locked into a certain vendor.
Students will contact the businesses, but this will be over the phone for a single session to learn about their problems, then they would design a process. However, they would not validate outcomes of the process with customers or their business contact. We can benchmark it towards some kind of business best practices, e.g., what are the typical sales processes or order to cash, but we cannot really judge the overall improvement in real life.
There is potential for students to build up a business process repository for a company that they are investigating. Typically, they would now design just one process for a certain case, but for their seminar work, they are examining a real-life business company that are typically smaller companies. They would talk to managers there, then design not one, but many complete end-to-end processes. There is also support for business process level. Therefore, we have a top-level process, then you can break that down. This is meaningful for students to have a better overview of the process landscape within certain companies.
I haven't really tried to export the processes into a process server, but this is a valuable point. What do you do with the models that you design? Obviously, the best outcome is to run it, then analyze it for potential operational outcomes. However, we are not able to do that because we don't have a platform for this.
I was not aware of SAP Journey Modeler until recently.
I would rate it as eight out of 10.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Head of Business Process Management at a manufacturing company with 1,001-5,000 employees
Access is very easy and the processes are intuitive
Pros and Cons
- "We could increase the transparency and speed for the new ERP introduction. The status and changes by the new system are now clear to everybody and it is a great tool to train the people."
- "There are some small graphical bugs, but they are addressed immediately by Signavio to their product development team."
What is our primary use case?
- Document processes as a baseline for further improvements
- Design to be processed for ERP transformation (MS Dynamics)
- Training material for new employees
- The connection between several other pieces of information (templates, work instructions, learning videos etc.) which is very helpful for employees
5 process managers designing processes - 2000 employees with collaboration hub licences to have access to all processes
- Training videos based on processes in Signavio
- Introduction of a new ERP system based on designs to be processed
How has it helped my organization?
Employees love the intuitive nature of the collaboration hub and use it as their knowledge center. Access is very easy and the processes are intuitive.
Even people that were reserved in the beginning love this tool now. Thanks to Signavio we have taken a big step from "Why can't we continue with the processes in Word documents" to "Wow, that's amazing".
We could increase the transparency and speed for the new ERP introduction. The status and changes by the new system are now clear to everybody and it is a great tool to train the people.
What is most valuable?
- High acceptance of the Signavio Collaboration Hub by our employees (what is the highest value for us)
- Easy to use for process modeling users by drag and drop
- Modeling convention check automated based on the defined setup
- Easy access for collaboration hub users by single sign-on
- Linking different processes to each other
- Collaboration, everybody can contribute to process improvements
- Excellent deployment program
- Fast response to questions/issues
- IT feedback "fastest and easiest Single Sign On (SSO) we have done so far"
What needs improvement?
- There are some small graphical bugs, but they are addressed immediately by Signavio to their product development team.
- The Stanard process model based on best practices would be helpful. Especially if there are no processes in place already to have an outside view on best practice models.
- Document management system to mange templates, checklists, work instructions. upload is possible but no version control etc. Signavio is not a document management tool yet.
- Focus also on other big ERP solutions (not just SAP).
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using Signavio since the beginning of 2020.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
No issues with stability (SaaS).
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
High acceptance of the Signavio Collaboration Hub by our employees (what is the highest value for us). So we use it in all legal entitites.
Also there are interfaces to other IT solutions that are helpful, e.g. EAM
How are customer service and technical support?
Support has a fast response to questions/issues.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
We used MS Word.
Implement a professional BPM tool to make processes available to everybody
How was the initial setup?
Straightforward initial setup, that was well prepared and all our questions could be answered.
What about the implementation team?
We used the SIgnavio team (Premium Deployment Program)
What was our ROI?
We saw ROI in 12 months.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
Due to COVID the deployment program took place remote via GoToMeeting. But it worked very well and the whole program was well prepared and very helpful for us. We chose the premium deployment program, which allowed us to continue with monthly Q&A sessions with Signavio. This was very helpful for us and together with the Signavio consultant, it was more like a real team-work. We really appreciate that.
Signavio is not the cheapest provider but also high value.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
We evaluated several solutions.
What other advice do I have?
Signavio is a great BPM tool with high acceptance among our employees
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Public Cloud
If public cloud, private cloud, or hybrid cloud, which cloud provider do you use?
Other
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
Business Process Consultant at Hirslanden
Full process visibility helps promote collaboration for the betterment of business processes
Pros and Cons
- "The collaboration function in the project views is valuable because people can comment on the processes and we can respond."
- "I would like to see the inclusion of some document management functionality so that we don't need to integrate with a second solution to accommodate this."
What is our primary use case?
In our company in healthcare, we right now focus on process documentation in order to build a base for future process improvement and potential automation. We use the Signavio Process Manager to design the processes and publish them on the Collaboration Hub. This adds to the transparency of the business since all employees have access to the Collaboration Hub and see the documented processes as visualized models. This transparency is fostering the collaboration between business units by reducing silo thinking and thus enabling continuous process improvement.
How has it helped my organization?
The interface is quite intuitive. I am modeling a lot of processes, so for me, it's quite easy. We don't use the entire BPMN 2.2 notation, but I think it's quite easy to understand. At the same time, we have noticed that it is not that easy for people who are not used to reading processes. I think that you have to have a certain amount of background knowledge before you begin. If you are modeling, for example, it is easy to use if you know how to model processes. They also give you a pre-selection of what you can use, which helps.
My team of four people are the only ones who are modeling processes, so the intuitiveness in terms of being able to model does not help others. However, I think in general, when it comes to understanding our models, this solution empowers people in terms of understanding BPMN. They can use the collaboration hub and see the process, and then they use it in the project themselves. They see what is available and they understand the processes a little bit better.
We have not really used process modeling and automation to this point. We mainly document processes and try to get a better handle on the documentation. This helps us to close the gap between what is documented and how people do their work on a daily basis. At the same time, I think it's a very good framework to dig deeper into data mining, process intelligence, and also workflow accelerator because once you have to have processes, you can build on that. It's the fundamentals.
This solution pretty much enables us to carry out the entire process-improvement lifecycle in a unified hub. However, we also use another model on top of that where we measure how good the process is. We give the users a set of questions for them to rate the processes that we give to them. We use the state model, so based on this agenda, the process falls into one of those six categories. We plan to later do this rating of the processes using a workflow accelerator, but it still needs to be implemented.
An example of how Signavio is improving our business is the Collaboration Hub and the whole idea of collaboration. I see myself when I'm in projects or when I'm modeling processes, it's like a common language that you create. What I see a lot is when people come together, they don't really understand each other. For example, if you have IT people and doctors talking, they live in two different worlds, but somehow if you use this language, you can bridge them and you can bring them together because you have a common understanding. I think that's very helpful. So, if you make it accessible to both of the business units to make it accessible to the doctors and to IT people, they will get interested in putting their own ideas into a process.
With respect to providing our users with all of the tools they need, it depends on which side you're talking about. As editors, it's giving us pretty much everything, although we have to do some workarounds. We have process management and we have document management on top of it. We are using two different systems for this and we have connected them because you cannot do it all with Signavio alone. It is not very user-friendly if the user puts one hundred documents into a single process, so we use a different solution for that, and the users jump onto another system. We are keeping mind, of course, that Signavio is not a document management tool, it's a process management tool. Certainly, I think that our needs are covered right now. We have a big transformation project going on and we do a lot of standardization and process variance, so we have combined them in the architecture. Compared to process mining or process intelligence, our use case is simple, so our requirements are met.
The solution’s collaborative features should in theory help to create a process-centric mindset in our organization, although I think the whole idea of process thinking is a mental level that is above this. Even though people use processes as a common language, they don't always think in terms of processes. I don't know if Signavio can really help with that. The collaboration tools help with collaboration, and that's it. Becoming process-centric is more of a thought management function, where you need to foster the process thinking in general. I don't think that it even needs to necessarily be covered with this tool.
What is most valuable?
Based on my experience, one of the best features offered by Signavio is its simple Collaboration Hub functions, where users from various departments can constantly refer to in their TO-BE process design. The impact bridging silos with offering transparency is immense, especially in hierarchical organizations like hospitals. Most people feel part of the "process revolution" and some of them are even affected by the "process virus", thus initiating continuous improvement by looking at potentials/low hanging fruits in their own AS-IS processes.
What needs improvement?
There are two main features I like to see implemented/further developed in the SaaS solution, which would bring a great value to our present business case.
On the first hand, I would like to see the inclusion of some document management functionalities. Even though Signavio focusses on process management, processes are often accompanied by loads of documents. With our current solution, we link the DMS system with Signavio, nevertheless, an embedded solution of DMS with Signavio would certainly bring more benefits and better operability to the overall solution and its end-users.
On the other hand, a more user-friendly solution could be targeted with process standards and process variants compromising the overall process architecture. On the level of the process manager, it would be very convenient if standardized processes / or standardized parts of processes could be treated differently from process variants and be "marked" as such. Especially if standardized process parts are implemented in completely different (end-to-end) processes, a marginal change of the standardized part would be translated in all those other processes, where the standard process part is implemented. In the current status, process modularization needs to be performed, where the standardized parts are linked to from any other (end-to-end) process. On top of this, reports could be drawn to measure the % of standardization across all processes, including also standardized process parts in the analysis instead of just those processes, which are standardized end-to-end.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Overall, the solution offered by Signavio is very stable. We had from time to time some troubles with stability at the beginning, where users couldn't access the Collaboration Hub. However, this was due to the fact that our servers are based in South Africa. Therefore, the source of the problem is the location of the servers, which made communication with the Signavio cloud unnecessarily complicated. In the context of healthcare though, even a short system failure might have a significant impact on our daily business. Since we combine BPM with DMS, our end-users need the Signavio access to retrieve their documents for patient treatment. If the access is denied, we all feel the anxiety level increase (slightly) because our value proposition is addressing people's life and their wellbeing.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
The scalability of the product is very impressive. At the end of our transformation project, we gonna have more than 10'000 users accessing the Collaboration Hub. We deploy the product parallel to our Transformation Project (HIT2020) in one clinic after the other and we found that the increasing number of users on the platform is not negatively influencing the software performance. This definitely speaks for the scalability of the software solution and allows us to focus on process management initiatives to support business transformation rather than concentrating on issues concerning software performance.
How are customer service and technical support?
Since I have a business background and I am not an IT expert, I am mostly not the person speaking directly with the technical support team of Signavio. Nevertheless, most bugs occurring in our daily business are fixed within just a few hours of time. We only experienced two or three issues, where problem-solving took some more time. But in my experience the Signavio support team is always determined to fix our problem as soon as possible, delivering satisfying customer service.
Which other solutions did I evaluate?
There were different solutions in the pipeline and the final battle was between Signavio and Adonis. One of the decision-makers already knew Signavio and voted for the Signavio solution advertising its usability for both process managers and end-user. In the further decision process, he managed to convince everyone to launch Signavio as the new process management tool.
What other advice do I have?
In general, I think it is very important to understand the/your functionality of process management in a company and its relationship/alignment with business strategy. Based on the visions of where you want to go with process management, the right tool for the missions needs to be chosen.
I personally am very much convinced by the modularized solutions Signavio is offering in one SaaS software package: Process Manager, Process Intelligence and Workflow Accelerator all connected with the Collaboration Hub. If you want to push business transformation forward, want to go into process mining, facilitate process automation and in particular want to strengthen digitization initiatives those requirements are well covered with the Signavio tool.
Although, each company has a different role of process management within their company, a process management's "why", "how" and "what" must be clear from the beginning on. The tool chosen must then fit this strategic direction in order to support the business in their e.g continuous improvement.
Disclosure: I am a real user, and this review is based on my own experience and opinions.
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Updated: October 2024
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Very satisfied with the features the Signavio Transformation Suite offers!