Process portfolio management for enhanced digital readiness: Insights from a large Australian bank

Business Process Management (BPM) is an impactful management discipline centred around a process-view of the firm. Companies engage in Process portfolio management (PPM) to provide a systematic account of the organizations’ business processes, which is paramount to corporate strategy execution, especially for realizing the full potential of digitized initiatives. Though essential, process portfolio management (PPM) is a complex practice, with very limited guidelines or illustrative examples. This case comprehensively documents the PPM journey taken by one of the largest banks in the Australian Finance sector; Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The case outlines the actions taken and mechanisms applied in a multi-phased approach towards developing a comprehensive tool-supported PPM approach, which has yielded significant benefits to the company. The process, benefits achieved, and lessons learnt are clearly outlined as actionable practices that other organisations can follow to effectively deploy PPM.