Adapting to the Impact of Global Megatrends
Is BPM still relevant? How will the process automation and improvement look like in the age of AI?
Editors at BPM Tips interviewed leading BPM experts for their take on the skills needed to manage the intersection of Business Process Management and AI. They not only asked questions about BPM, but also about the impact of global megatrends on BPM to give some broader context.
Infocap CEO Nathaniel Palmer, a best-selling author, speaker, practitioner, and rated as the “#1 Most Influential Thought Leader in Business Process Management (BPM)” by independent research, is featured in this informative series. Here’s what he has to say.
What is the impact of global megatrends such as climate change, demographic shifts, digital technologies, and AI on BPM, and how can process management help organizations adapt to this new reality?
Across various missions of sustainability, BPM can optimize processes to minimize waste, integrate relevant metrics into workflows, and ensure compliance with environmental standards as well as to prioritize energy-efficient operations or circular economy principles. But arguably the most impactful “gigatrend” is the shift to an aging population globally and regional declines in population growth. Regions seeing growth among younger, tech-savvy workforces while increasing come from areas outside of historically developed economies. This trend among others have already begun to shift workforce dynamics, customer expectations, and talent availability. BPM still offers a unique leverage point to help adapt processes to accommodate flexible work arrangements, automate repetitive tasks to offset labor shortages, and personalize customer-facing processes to meet diverse demographic needs.
Lastly, tech trends have an inescapable impact. Cloud-native capabilities and “Functions as a Service (FaaS)” accelerate process digitization, enabling real-time data and transparency but also demanding faster adaptation. AI transforms process automation, predictive analytics, and customer interactions, reducing manual effort while raising ethical and governance questions. BPM acts as a strategic enabler by aligning processes with these megatrends. It fosters resilience through continuous improvement, scenario planning, and agile process redesign, enhancing data-driven (albeit not necessarily algorithmic) decision-making, as well as integrating disparate systems, to foster agility in a hyper-connected world.
What are the skills, techniques, behaviors, and attitudes that can help BPM practitioners create value for their organizations in 2025?
Process Modeling and Optimization: proficiency in visual modeling—and my personal bias aside I will still argue for the triad of notations (BPMN, DMN, CMMN) —remain a critical skill for any process professional. Even in the face of GenAI or similar “automagical” means for generating process snippets, there remains an imperative to understand how to translate process complexity into well-formed process models. Low Code and “No Code” tools can replace time spent in front of a compiler, but this only hastens the need for modeling proficiency.
Decision modeling: beyond the competency in a particular methodology or notation (DMN, TDM, etc.), far too many BPM practitioners remain stuck in a procedural, “control flow” mindset and struggle to appropriately model business processes and business logic in the declarative, goal/policy-driven manner required for modern automation initiatives (i.e., how we leverage BPM in 2025 vs. 2005). This is both art and science and requires not only a shift in mindset but an understanding of the same methods and techniques for accurately defining deterministic rules and event-driven automation.
Process Mining (et al.): while admittedly tool-driven, process and task mining is de rigueur for any help BPM practitioners create value for their organizations in 2025. If you’re not doing it already, get on it!
Lastly are two wildcards, straddling the lines of skills and techniques, are Spatial Computing and Human-Centric Design (HCD). Spatial computing combines AR/VR, 3D mapping, as well as Digital Twin technologies and capabilities ultimately for the objectives of workflow optimization (via automation) and improved human-machine interaction. BPM practitioners should lean into this. Apply BPM lens to leveraging synergies across AR and digital twins to reduce errors, enrich training, and elevate productivity, as well as overlay digital instructions on physical assets and providing real-time performance insights. Future advancements in AI, robotics, and 5G/6G networks promise greater automation, but ethical considerations and workforce disruptions must be managed. This is a key role for the BPM practitioner and will not be satisfied by platforms alone.
Similarly, making the work done by humans more consistent, predictable, and less reliant upon subjective interpretation of policies and rules and by doing so simultaneously expanding the aperture for what is automatable, where digital workers and human workers use the same systems, follow the same rules, as well as are equally observable and accountable. This requires re-envisioning the structure of the task to be not a single, discrete unit of work, but business outcomes, and to remove the distinction between what supports a task and the task itself as well as who performs the work. Applying Human-Centric Design (HCD) reorients work processes around natural human thinking, making them more intuitive, consistent, and predictable. By reducing subjective interpretations of policies, workflows become standardized, ensuring both people and digital workers follow the same clear logic and interfaces. This shared environment increases observability and accountability, as every action is measured uniformly. HCD also shifts the lens from completing discrete tasks to achieving broader business outcomes, embedding support mechanisms within the workflow. This holistic approach removes boundaries between task and task support while enabling humans and digital workers to collaborate, expanding the scope of automation without compromising user experience.
Behaviors BPM Practitioners should follow:
Collaboration: taking the lead to facilitate collaboration across IT, operations, and company/program leadership to align processes with strategy. Be the integrator!
Curiosity and Adaptability: bring your intellectual curiosity to work by proactively exploring new technologies and trends to innovate processes, as well as embracing change and pivoting strategies as megatrends evolve.
Strategic Mindset: make viewing BPM as a business enabler, not just an operational fix, the new vibe in your organization. Understand how to (and do) champion your role as a BPM practitioner to deliver efficiency, agility, and innovation, ensuring organizations can pivot quickly, meet stakeholder expectations, and capitalize on emerging opportunities.
Empathy: Understanding stakeholder needs—employees, customers, and regulators—to design inclusive processes.
Books BPM Practitioners should read:
“Business Process Management: A Rigorous Approach,” by Martyn A. Ould (2005)
“Gigatrends,” by Palmer and Koulopoulos (2024)
Which skills are no longer relevant or not practically applicable yet (hype)?
I may be less cynical than some colleagues, yet many of the core tenets of process management we have applied over the last 30 years have not only stood the test of time but continued to form the basis of effective process management. However, the rapid embrace of automation, analytics and digital-first strategies has diminished the demand for some traditional BPM capabilities — or approaches — including:
Generation after generation of manual diagrams, flowcharts, and binders of documentation have become rather obsolete. Today most teams today leverage cloud-based or collaborative BPM tools that offer version control, real time collaboration, and data driven insights.
Heavy frameworks and siloed methodologies based on rigid, linear project cycles (with little iterative feedback) or siloed roles are being blown away in favor of more agile, cross-functional approaches. Today, successful practitioners must instead partner fluidly with development, data analysts, and automation teams.
Expertise in legacy, on-prem BPM suites that do not have modern integration or automation capabilities may fall out of favor. Instead, knowledge of newer, low-code or no-code process-automation platforms have become key new skills.
Manual gathering of process metrics and spreadsheets powered by 60s tech versus real-time dashboards and automation (e.g., IoT, AI, or process mining powered) are becoming the standard for visibility and reporting. Although these old-school skills and techniques are neither useless nor irrelevant, organizations generally prioritize digital, collaborative and automated approaches to BPM, which necessarily are practiced by practitioners who embrace them.
Not Practically Applicable Yet (Hype):
Fully Autonomous AI-Driven BPM: we are on the cusp of Agentic AI delivering on the promise of the comprehensive business operation systems BPM evangelized over the last 20-years, but never truly delivered. AI isn’t delivering it yet either. Although AI+BPM already offers the capabilities needed to enhance processes in many ways previously out of reach, the reality is that fully self-managing systems lack maturity and require human governance. But by this time next year, that conversation will be different.
Quantum Computing in BPM: quantum applications within BPM or process optimization overall are at best experimental and not yet a reality for anything outside of the lab. Although it may be at least a decade before this is a practical consideration, the thought experiments around Quantum BPM by BPM practitioners will benefit both the thinker and chances for future adoption.
Metaverse-Based Process Management: VR/AR for BPM collaboration has a futuristic feel, which seems like it’s been just around the corner for years, yet still lacks widespread adoption in 2025. Although I don’t fully expect this to change this year, it is certainly closer to reach than quantum computing and worth considering of potential use cases.
Web3, Tokenization, and DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations): less hype than the other three concepts, Web3, tokenization, and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs) can fundamentally reshape BPM by providing trustless automation, transparency, and innovative incentive structures. On-chain records maintain accountability and auditability, enabling processes to be automatically executed on blockchain networks through smart contracts. Today, multiple organizations can work together using the same source of truth, enabled by decentralized ledgers compliance and cross-entity workflows become as easy as it can get. Tokenization enables novel mechanisms for incentivization. Micro-transactions in tokens, for example, may reward tasks completed, or punish non-compliance. Software, content, outputs from the process can all be tokenized for fractional ownership and revenue sharing.
In addition, DAOs radically change governance: stakeholders vote on changes to processes and how resources are allocated, supporting new models of inclusive and transparent decision-making. From supply chain automation, healthcare data management, IT development bounties to even real estate tokenization, there are virtually endless use cases that can significantly improve from leaner operations, expedited settlements and proof of processes. Some of the near-term challenges include regulatory uncertainty, scalability issues, and technical complexities could be barriers to its widespread adoption. Yet BPM practitioners can take the lead to pilot projects with manageable scope, adopt existing DAO frameworks, and encourage cross-functional cooperation to address these problems. Web3 and DAOs are integrative visions for BPM’s future and can provide new efficiencies and collaboration models, leading to overall improved business results.