A challenging success: a process audit perspective on change

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how success emerges in a business process change initiative, given the often conflicting forces and challenges present in a workflow implementation. A detailed reflective analysis provides an opportunity to explore how different process enablers interact to achieve non‐obvious outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Data collection entailed semi‐structured interviews, observation of project activities, and analysis of project documentation for a workflow project at a public sector organisation (AustGov). Data collection occurred from project initiation to implementation and is analysed utilizing the process enterprise maturity model. Findings – Despite encountering numerous issues, the process workflow went live as planned; the project was a success. The case demonstrates how project drivers interact in context to provide a coherent explanation of project outcomes. That the project did not fail, despite encountering obstacles and challenges, is attributed to the maturity of critical process enablers within the portfolio. Research limitations/implications – The AustGov case study provides an exemplar of how and why interrelationships between process enablers and project context matter. The case analysis provides a rich study of a workflow project, and demonstrates the suitability of the process audit framework to explain outcomes of business process change projects. Practical implications – The findings demonstrate the importance of managing interdependencies and competing priorities between process enablers to successfully implement business process change. Originality/value – The case provides a rich example of the implementation of business process change using workflow software. The authors find that achieving successful outcomes in a challenging environment is best understood when viewed from the perspective of the maturity of a portfolio of project enablers; also, that attention needs to be paid to developing advanced maturity in those enablers most closely related to the specific challenges evident in the project context.