Since many of you enjoyed 2015, 2016 and 2017 editions of this post I hope this one will be useful for you too 🙂
1) Fundamentals of BPM
Normally the list started with awesome MOOCs by professors Marcello La Rosa, Marlon Dumas, Jan Mendling and Hajo Reijers, but sadly this autumn both Future Learn and QUT editions are not available. However, the authors are working towards a new MOOC to be made available next year.
You can also buy the updated version of the book “Fundamentals of BPM”, which is a source of content for the course:
https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783662565087
On a website of the book you can also find slides, video lectures and many other useful resources:
http://fundamentals-of-bpm.org/supplementary-material/lectures/
You can watch the recordings from 2014 on YouTube too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL2LDY1TRcen1SCPmL1BY_yA1DijztcmIh&v=G05JD9RLoUw
Luckily there are additional interesting courses to pick from (plus one more option I mention at the end of the post). Most of them are not about “pure” BPM, but IMO they provide lots of inspiration whether it is Lean, Design Thinking, or even using sketching for visual communication 🙂
This time the list is experimentally organised by learning platform.
2) Coursera
If you like to learn on the go you will appreciate nice mobile application Coursera offers. Most of the courses are by default paid ones (with access to all the content, possibility to check yourself and interact fully with others plus get a certificate), but you can always select the free path (called “Audit the course”) and access all the videos plus some of the course content. Courses on Coursera are MOOCs, so they have start and end dates, but you can switch sessions if you are falling behind (you may need it since they all start on the same date…).
2a) “Design Thinking for Innovation” (https://www.coursera.org/learn/uva-darden-design-thinking-innovation)
Course description: “Today innovation is everyone’s business. Whether you are a manager in a global corporation, an entrepreneur starting up, in a government role, or a teacher in an elementary school, everyone is expected to get lean – to do better with less. And that is why we all need design thinking. At every level in every kind of organization, design thinking provides the tools you need to become an innovative thinker and uncover creative opportunities that are there – you’re just not seeing them yet.”
Created by: University of Virginia
Taught by: Jeanne M. Liedtka
Starts: August 30, 2018
2b) “Digital Transformation” (https://www.coursera.org/learn/bcg-uva-darden-digital-transformation)
Course description: “Digital transformation is a hot topic–but what exactly is it and what does it mean for companies? In this course, we talk about digital transformation in two ways. First we discuss the pace of change and the imperative it creates for businesses. Next we provide the context for this transformation and what it takes to win in the digital age. Then we walk through BCG’s proprietary framework, which helps you identify key areas to digitize, including strategy, core processes, and technology.”
Created by: BCG, University of Virginia
Taught by: Michael Lenox, Amane Dannouni, Sonja Rueger, Ching Fong Ong
Starts: August 30, 2018
2c) “Introduction to Operations Management” (https://www.coursera.org/learn/wharton-operations)
Course description: “Learn to analyze and improve business processes in services or in manufacturing by learning how to increase productivity and deliver higher quality standards. Key concepts include process analysis, bottlenecks, flows rates, and inventory levels, and more. After successfully completing this course, you can apply these skills to a real-world business challenge as part of the Wharton Business Foundations Specialization.”
Created by: University of Pennsylvania
Taught by: Christian Terwiesch
Starts: August 30, 2018
2d) “Process Mining: Data science in Action” (https://www.coursera.org/learn/process-mining)
Course description: “Process mining is the missing link between model-based process analysis and data-oriented analysis techniques. Through concrete data sets and easy to use software the course provides data science knowledge that can be applied directly to analyze and improve processes in a variety of domains.”
Created by: Eindhoven University of Technology
Taught by: Wil van der Aalst
Starts: August 30, 2018
2e) “Six Sigma Principles” (https://www.coursera.org/learn/six-sigma-principles)
Course description: “This course is for you if you are looking to learn more about Six Sigma or refresh your knowledge of the basic components of Six Sigma and Lean. Six Sigma skills are widely sought by employers both nationally and internationally. These skills have been proven to help improve business processes and performance. This course will introduce you to the purpose of Six Sigma and its value to an organization. You will learn about the basic principles of Six Sigma and Lean. Your instructors will introduce you to, and have you apply, some of the tools and metrics that are critical components of Six Sigma. This course will provide you with the basic knowledge of the principles, roles, and responsibilities of Six Sigma and Lean.”
Created by: University System of Georgia
Taught by: Bill Bailey, Gregory Wiles, David Cook, Christina Scherrer
Starts: August 30, 2018
2f) “The hidden value – Lean in manufacturing and services” (https://www.coursera.org/learn/lean-manufacturing-services)
Course description: “Lean is a powerful methodology that enables managers and employees to shift their mindset and helps companies to keep their business sustainable by creating competitive advantage. Today, in an increasingly complex and dynamic world, where companies struggle to maintain competitive advantage, Lean is more important than ever.”
Created by: École des Ponts ParisTech, BCG
Taught by: Aurélie Delemarle, Thomas Frost, Salvatore Cali, Elsa Blume
Starts: August 30, 2018
3) OpenHPI
This is an e-learning platform offered by German Hasso Plattner Institute. It offers a mix of MOOC and on demand courses (i.e. archives of past editions). All courses are available for free. Mobile application is available.
3a) “BPMN Meets DMN: Business Process and Decision Modeling” (https://open.hpi.de/courses/bpm2016)
As you can see from the URL this is a self-paced course based on a MOOC from 2016.
Course description: “This course introduces concepts of business process modeling using the Business Process Model and Notation (BPMN) industry standard. Participants will learn the elements of process models and their precise meaning. Based on a thorough understanding of business process models, the last part of the course covers decision models using the Decision Model and Notation (DMN). Decision models complement process models by representing concrete, operational decisions, both with their structure and their decision logics. The course centers around concepts and language to describe and analyze business processes and decisions. It does not cover methods on how to model, improve, monitor or implement business processes. Still, a deep understanding of business processes and decisions is a useful basis for these activities.”
Taught by: Prof. Dr. Mathias Weske
Starts: Self-paced
3b) “Human-Centered Design: From Synthesis to Creative Ideas” (https://open.hpi.de/courses/ideas2018)
Course description: “Make sense of design research data, learn to frame a problem from a user’s perspective, and generate lots of new ideas: This course will introduce you to the basics of design synthesis and brainstorming techniques.”
Taught by: Karen von Schmieden, Mana Taheri, Lena Mayer
Starts: September 19, 2018
4) OpenSAP
As you may guess from a name this is an e-learning platform with content by SAP. Technology behind it is the same as in the case of OpenHPI, so you also have a mobile application etc.
4a) “Be Visual! Sketching Basics for IT Business” (https://open.sap.com/courses/bvis1-3)
Course description: “Join this free, online openSAP course ‘Be Visual! Sketching Basic for IT Business’ and start learning the very basics of sketching. By applying the practice-oriented tips and tricks in this course, you’ll gain the confidence to present your ideas visually.”
Taught by: Martina Schuh, Johanna Wittig, Jörg Göppert, Ingo Rues, Tatjana Borovikov, Anja Fehlau
Starts: September 11, 2018
5) Courses provided by automation tools providers.
This list is mostly based on my post about RPA tools, but I also added few BPM tool providers with e-learning courses. Usually they are using their own pages or e-learning platforms which don’t have mobile applications, so you will need to use browser to learn. Those courses are normally videos available on-demand.
5a) Appian (https://academy.appian.com)
Over 30 courses available for free with information about BPM.
5b) Automation Anywhere (https://www.automationanywhereuniversity.com/)
Automation Anywhere provides a nice library of 10+ online courses. Some of them are free (over 8 hours of content), others are very reasonably priced.
There is also free introductory course on Udemy by Automation Anywhere.
https://www.udemy.com/beginners-guide-to-rpa-automation-anywhere/
5c) Bizagi (http://elearning.bizagi.com)
Bizagi offers 10+ courses about their tools.
5d) Bonitasoft (https://www.bonitasoft.com/videos)
There are dozens of video tutorials, webinars and other materials.
5e) Camunda (https://camunda.com/learn/videos/)
Camunda offers library of 6 video tutorials. And they have something unique – a hawk 😉
5f) Pegasystems (https://academy.pega.com)
Pega Academy contains 100+ courses in several languages. There are 8 courses (and few exams) related to RPA. Overall free courses have over 5 days of content.
5g) UiPath (https://www.uipath.com/rpa-academy)
UiPath offers 9 courses for various groups of users in several languages. Overall there are 100+ hours of content – all for free.
5h) WorkFusion (https://automationacademy.com/)
There are 6 courses available – some provided by WorkFusion and others by partners. Overall there are 80+ hours of content. All the courses are free.
6) Do you want something more?
As you can see there are lots of free resources about process automation, but this time not so many about the business aspects of BPM.
In this case I can recommend you two options:
a) library of webinars by BOC Group where you can watch on demand over 20 webinars by my colleagues
https://us.boc-group.com/webinars/#c67447
b) let me know what you would like to learn about BPM.
I am currently working on an e-book and a course about process modelling and BPMN and in a few weeks time I would like to open my course to a group of beta-testers 🙂
So, if you want to influence direction of the course and access it for free sign up and tell me which other topics do you want to learn.
Sign up for updates about the BPMN book and course