The Manage phase is what turns a one-time fix into lasting change. It puts the structures, ownership, and monitoring in place to make sure gains hold and the process keeps working over time.
Why Managing Processes Matters
Most organizations are good at fixing problems. Few are good at keeping them fixed. Without clear ownership, defined performance measures, and a governance structure that holds people accountable, processes drift back toward their old state. The work done in Document, Assess, and Improve loses its value.
Managing a process is not a one-time activity. It is an ongoing responsibility that belongs to someone specific, (i.e., Process Owner), with clear expectations about what they are accountable for.
The Seven Tenets of Process Management
The BPMO's approach to the Manage phase is grounded in APQC's Seven Tenets of Process Management, a research-based framework used by organizations worldwide to establish and sustain strong process capabilities.
1) Strategic Alignment
Processes should connect to the university's priorities. If a process doesn't support a strategic goal, it's worth asking why it exists.
2) Governance
Assign clear ownership and accountability for every process. Governance defines who is responsible, who has oversight, and how decisions get made.
3) Change Management
Sustaining improvement requires people to change how they work. Engagement, communication, and training are not optional steps.
4) Process Models
Keep process documentation current. An outdated map is worse than no map because it creates false confidence.
5) Process Performance
Define measures for each process and track them. You cannot manage what you do not measure.
6) Process Improvement
Build continuous improvement into the rhythm of how work is managed, not just as a response to problems.
7) Tools & Technology
Use the right tools to support process documentation, monitoring, and governance. At UC Berkeley, that starts with Nintex Process Manager.
The Role of the Process Owner
Every managed process needs an owner. The process owner is accountable for how the process performs end to end. They are responsible for keeping documentation current, monitoring performance, driving improvements, and resolving issues that cross functional boundaries.
This is not the same as being the manager of a department. A process owner's accountability follows the work, not the org chart.
Learn more about the Process Owner role.
Common Process Management Mistakes to Avoid
Even well-run improvement efforts can lose their gains if the management phase is treated as an afterthought. These are the most common mistakes and how to avoid them
Treating process management as the end of the improvement project
Process Management is not the last phase of an improvement project. It is an ongoing operational discipline. Organizations that hand off a newly improved process with a documentation package and declare it done have not established management. They have established a risk.
Assigning process ownership without authority
A process owner without the authority to make decisions about the process is a process owner in name only. If the owner cannot change how the work is designed, cannot redirect resources, and cannot initiate improvement work without going through multiple approval layers, the accountability is symbolic rather than real. Process ownership requires both responsibility and authority.
Measuring outputs instead of process performance
Measuring what a process produces is not the same as measuring how the process is performing. Output measures tell you whether the result arrived. Process measures tell you whether the work is being done the way it was designed to be done. Most problems are detectable in the process measures long before they show up in the output measures. Organizations that only watch outputs are always reacting.
Allowing documentation to go stale
A process map that reflects how work was done eighteen months ago is not a process map. It is a historical artifact. Process documentation must be treated as a living record, updated whenever the process changes, and reviewed on a regular cadence to confirm it still reflects reality. This is one of the core responsibilities of the process owner, and it is one of the most commonly neglected.
Skipping change management for small process changes
Change management is not only for large transformation initiatives. Small process changes that are announced rather than worked through also encounter resistance, workarounds, and partial adoption. The scale of the change management effort should match the scale of the change, but some degree of intentional communication and training is appropriate for any change that affects how people do their work.
Tools and Templates
Process Owner Responsibilities Guide: A reference for anyone taking on a process ownership role. Download at...
UC Berkeley Process Optimization Guide: Section 4 covers the full Manage methodology organized around the APQC Seven Tenets. Download the guide at...