# business interaction management (BIM)

It is no longer about information or knowledge, but about interaction

In the past, knowing or finding the right answer was enough to solve a problem. In the future of work, the right answers no longer exist.

The Xpragmatic View #206 - March 30, 2013

The future of work – Have we ever met before?

Collaboration in distributed work teams already brings numerous challenges. However, it will get even worse in our future work environment.

The Xpragmatic View #205 - March 16, 2013

Collaboration as it really is, Working together, alone

Collaboration is the participation of independent actors in mutual interactions to deliver a specific result, either chosen or not. The so-called collaboration is the outcome of the interactions that occur, initiated by the different participants for their own good reasons, but collaboration is not the purpose.

Xpragma white paper - June 9, 2012

Collaboration as it is – Working together, alone – Part 7

Collaboration is the participation of independent actors in mutual interactions to deliver a specific result, either chosen or not. The so-called collaboration is the result of the interactions that occur, but collaboration is not the purpose.

The Xpragmatic View #193 - March 17, 2012

Collaboration as it is – Working together, alone – Part 6

More and better collaboration has always been the mantra of Enterprise 2.0. Is Enterprise 2.0 a game changer for collaboration?

The Xpragmatic View #192 - March 10, 2012

Collaboration as it is – Working together, alone – Part 5

Collaboration within the enterprise is difficult because most of the defence mechanisms that exist in normal social contexts cannot be deployed within the enterprise.

The Xpragmatic View #191 - March 3, 2012

Collaboration as it is – Working together, alone – Part 4

Words are an extremely poor representation of our reality and it only gets worse when we write them down, especially in PowerPoint.

The Xpragmatic View #190 - February 25, 2012

Collaboration as it is – Working together, alone – Part 3

We have looked at how companies collaborate, so now let's move on to individuals.

The Xpragmatic View #189 - February 18, 2012

Collaboration as it is – Working together, alone – Part 2

The basic premise of collaboration is simple: working together to achieve a common goal. However, can it be done without consequences?

The Xpragmatic View #188 - February 11, 2012

Collaboration as it is – Working together, alone – Part 1

Like most things in life, collaboration is a simple thing. However, we humans have tendency not to think too much about simple things and then, they seem to become complex, since they rarely work out as planned. This paper is an exercise in simple thinking about simple things so that we might understand what makes them really work.

The Xpragmatic View #187 - February 4, 2012

Deciding together, alone

In this complex world we live in, most decisions require the involvement of multiple individuals. However, we must be aware of the fact that decisions are never made by a group, but always by individuals.

The Xpragmatic View #186 - January 21, 2012

The dawn of the real Enterprise 2.0

Not large corporations, but networks of small companies and individuals will be the future drivers for innovation and prosperity. A policy paper of The Lisbon Council.

The Xpragmatic View #182 - October 15, 2011

The case for integrated disconnectedness

The potential of Enterprise 2.0 is real, but it has to be looked for in the spaces where it really can excel. One of these spaces is business-to-business interoperability.

The Xpragmatic View #181 - October 8, 2011

Reinventing management: does it make sense?

The MIX is an open innovation project aimed at reinventing management for the 21st century. However, does it make sense reinventing management, without first reinventing companies?

The Xpragmatic View #172 - April 9, 2011

Case studies are what the name says: 'case' studies

Case studies show us an example. It is up to us to judge upon the relevancy of the example for our own context. However, with Social Business this is becoming a lot harder.

The Xpragmatic View #168 - January 31, 2011

The future of work - Enterprise 2.0, get real!

With Enterprise 2.0, we are trying to solve some of the problems of today's business organisations. However, we must not forget that our business environment is rapidly evolving and therefore, we might be solving the problems of the past instead of those of the future.

The Xpragmatic View #164 - December 22, 2010

The future of work - Does social business scale?

For Enterprise 2.0, the main challenge is getting the workforce to adopt the new tools, business practices, and philosophies. But is it only a challenge or just an impossible dream?

The Xpragmatic View #161 - November 26, 2010

Three questions to answer before starting your Enterprise 2.0 project

Technological solutions often only address the symptoms of a problem. Clearly understanding the root causes of the problem and identifying the correct remedies for removing these causes are threfore the mandatory, preliminary steps for choosing the right solution.

The Xpragmatic View #153 - September 15, 2010

Can the real-time enterprise be efficient?

We are living times with a growing focus on NOW. Increasingly, we have access to information anywhere, anytime and increasingly, our interaction behaviour asks for anywhere, anytime, now. That is evolution. However, is it also progress?

The Xpragmatic View #149 - August 9, 2010

Investment to Return

In business, most investment decisions are based upon a Return on Investment (ROI) analysis. This is OK as long as the assessment of the potential outcome can indeed be made in a realistic and objective way. Otherwise it simply becomes a leap of faith or the false excuse for not investing.

The Xpragmatic View #143 - May 8, 2010

Question of the week

In order to make correct decisions, you must understand the context. And in order to understand the context, you better have hands-on experience. It all makes sense. But is it always true?

The Xpragmatic View #141 - April 21, 2010

Explaining it to your grandmother

If you can't explain it to your grandmother, forget it. This was written a couple of weeks ago on Twitter. It is a great call for simplicity but, in general, we humans do not really excel in responding to this call.

The Xpragmatic View #131 - November 16, 2009

Reaching for the edge

Real solutions and progress emerge when we are able to unify apparently conflicting views on the same reality. Do emergent social software platforms (ESSPs) provide a context for this to happen?

The Xpragmatic View #129 - October 25, 2009

We simply need new enterprises

July 2007, we wrote our The case for Business Interaction Management (BIM) white paper. At that moment, the need for such approach was clear. However, it was less clear how companies would (or would not) adjust to this new paradigm. Where do we stand today?

The Xpragmatic View #124 - September 1, 2009

First chaos, then direction

Today, we stand at a time point where companies must choose a new direction. The convergence of a number of conflicting influences makes that keeping the current status quo is no longer an option. But do we choose the right direction?

The Xpragmatic View #121 - August 19, 2009

Enterprise 2.0 - Enter the dark force

More than ever, Enterprise 2.0 is the talk of the town. However, the discussion remains difficult due to a continuing bias towards tools and technology. Therefore, an attempt for a real look at the internals of Enterprise 2.0, the dark forces of collaboration.

The Xpragmatic View #119 - July 11, 2009

Is BPM doomed?

The interest in BPM is decreasing. Personally, we think this is a direct result of the current economic slowdown, in combination with the perception that BPM projects are high-cost without a guaranteed return on investment. However, some people claim that this is largely due to a confusing BPM message, the result of conflicting and competing BPM methodologies.

The Xpragmatic View #114 - April 20, 2009

Designing the enterprise

If there is one lesson that we must learn from the current crisis, it is that management will have to be different in the future. The greed culture that we have known over the past decades must be replaced by something else. What are the options?

The Xpragmatic View #113 - March 30, 2009

Reverse Interaction Modelling™

Designing a better business by designing better interactions with customers, partners and employees. Outline of the basic methodology.

Xpragma methodology paper - March 23, 2009

The silence of the lambs

Social networks now exist for several years and some of the behaviour of such communities is reasonably well understood. Enough to know that there are potential pitfalls. However, somehow we always seem to forget. Twine, a perception of social interactions.

The Xpragmatic View #106 - August 24, 2008

Interactions and conversations

While thinking about the concept 'interaction' it is important to understand that the traditional business view and the real world's view on the interaction do not really match. When businesses interact, they want to achieve something. When people interact, they want to understand something.

The Xpragmatic View #94 - December 16, 2007

Processes and interactions

All interactions are crucial steps in any business process. Yet, in most process descriptions, interactions are just endpoints. Once we get there, the process reaches completion and everything is OK. There are no further consequences. Unfortunately, this is incorrect.

The Xpragmatic View #92 - October 27, 2007

Excellence by nothing

Over the past years, the customer has moved to pole position. Customers are no longer passive participants in the sales process but now dictate the rules. Experience creation is the associated buzzword. However, there are also other needs...

The Xpragmatic View #90 - October 10, 2007

The case for Business Interaction Management (BIM)

In this white paper, we introduce the concept of Business Interaction Management (BIM). We explore the reasons that make that there is a need for a better understanding and mastering of such expertise and we position it against better-known disciplines such as Business Process Management (BPM).

White paper - July 15, 2007

Business processes are not your business

If we want to make the effort of having a closer look at our customer's processes we might identify huge opportunities for improvement of our own business processes. Business Process Management (BPM) revisited.

The Xpragmatic View #84 - April 15, 2007

The new market reality

Over the past years, better and more cost effective communication capabilities have been the main drivers for evolutions such as internationalisation, globalisation and outsourcing. Indeed, this improved communication capability has been an enabler for various new and more complex forms of collaboration. At the same time, organisational structures are growing thinner. Is there still room for the traditional company?

The Xpragmatic View #64 - January 2005