Supercharge Your SAP Signavio Reporting with Neo4j & KNIME: A Practical Guide

In this video, we explore an innovative approach to enhancing the reporting and analysis capabilities of SAP Signavio using open-source tools Neo4j and KNIME. While SAP Signavio provides robust BPM modeling and transformation features, its built-in reporting options can be limited, particularly when managing large repositories with complex cross-references and custom attributes.

This guide showcases:

• Overcoming challenges of out-of-the-box reporting in SAP Signavio, including reliance on cumbersome Excel exports.

• Mining data out of SAP Signavio into a Neo4j graph database for efficient analysis of dictionary items, diagrams, and relationships.

• Using CypherQL in Neo4j to perform advanced consistency checks and governance tasks.

• Integrating Neo4j with KNIME for automated data pipelines and seamless export to tools like Power BI for dynamic visualizations.

By combining SAP Signavio with Neo4j and KNIME, you unlock unparalleled flexibility and sophistication in reporting, without additional licensing costs.

This video is ideal for:

• SAP Signavio users managing large repositories or extended metamodels.

• BPM professionals seeking advanced reporting and governance solutions.

• IT and business analysts looking for cost-effective tools to integrate and analyze process data.

• Data enthusiasts exploring open-source tools for data visualization and process optimization.

An ESG Data Jungle: Navigating the Challenges of Sustainability Compliance

European Union’s 2023 Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires companies to report according to the new European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) already in 2025. The Directive was designed to provide tools to combat the root causes of climate change, including industrial emissions or the disappearance of the world’s rainforests. However, businesses gearing up to meet its requirements might discover a different kind of jungle right within their own recording systems – the jungle of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data. 

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While many businesses have already been producing ESG reports, the mandatory nature and specific structure of ESRS reporting present unique challenges. To tackle these, most companies opt to invest in an analytics and reporting tool that will help them put the jungle in their backyard into order and emerge ESRS compliant. There is a diverse offering of sustainability reporting tools on the market, each with its own set of ‘superpowers’ and weaknesses. 

However, speaking from my experience from several sustainability reporting projects, organizations should not lull themselves to sleep thinking that simply investing in a digital tool will magically solve their data management issues from day one. What does it take to find your way out of the jungle? An honest look into how data is sourced and managed within your organization and a willingness to transform. 

To help you in this process, we highlight three common challenges companies face in the process of transforming their ESG reporting to fit ESRS: 

1. If your organization consists of multiple units and is geographically spread, be prepared for diverse data sources and data formats 

One of the foremost challenges in meeting ESRS requirements is the need to integrate diverse data sources and formats. Sustainability data is regularly spread across multiple systems within an organization, including ERP systems, environmental management systems, HR databases, and supply chain management tools. Additionally, this data is ‘owned’ by different stakeholders and can be housed in different formats, from structured databases to unstructured documents and spreadsheets. 

Integrating this disparate data into a single reporting tool is a complex task. It requires not only technical capabilities to handle various formats but also a strategic approach to ensure consistency and accuracy across departments and geographical locations. I have seen organizations tackle this in multiple ways, including APIs, cloud-based data hubs or even tailored middleware developed in-house to help consolidate data from different sources, standardize it, and make it available for reporting tools. 

Each choice has its pros and cons and the best choice depends on your organization’s specifics and priorities. 

2. You will most likely need to customize your chosen tools 

No single tool is likely to meet all the specific requirements out of the box. Customization, such as configuring dashboards, setting up specific metrics, or creating custom data connectors, is often necessary and most tools on the market count with this. Customization requires expertise, making it essential to have a clear plan and sufficient resources dedicated to this task. 

3. Do not leave your sustainability reporting tool isolated 

Implementing a new analytics and reporting tool involves more than just technical integration; it requires embedding the tool into the company’s broader IT ecosystem. This integration must ensure seamless data flow between various systems, from data entry points to final reporting outputs. It also involves addressing data security, compliance, and governance issues to ensure that the sustainability data is reliable and protected. 

This again requires dedicated personal resources with the necessary expertise and willingness to ‘own’ the reporting process (including any new tools) and the transformation towards ESRS compliance. For the stakeholders managing the various data sources, proper training and change management are critical to ensure buy-in and ease of use of the new tool in daily work. 

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As the clock is ticking towards the 2025 ESRS reporting deadline, organizations are realizing they need to tidy up their ESG data flows. Sustainability reporting tools help, but only to the extent that an organization does not try to use them as a band aid for their messy data. An honest transformation will not only make you ESRS compliant but will provide you with clean and reliable data to track your progress towards your organization’s strategic goals. 

Kickstart Your BPM Initiative with bpExperts 's New Starter Package for SAP Signavio

Are you ready to transform your business processes and drive efficiency within your organization? bpExperts is excited to introduce our new starter package, specifically designed for companies embarking on their Business Process Management (BPM) journey. Utilizing the powerful SAP Signavio BPM tool, our comprehensive package equips your team with everything needed to streamline operations, enhance governance, and unlock data for insights and continuous improvement.

What's Included in the Starter Package?

Our starter package comprises five essential components that provide a robust foundation for your BPM initiative:

1. Business Flows

Our process repository with industry best practice E2E and functional business processes documented in a lean process architecture and methodology framework ready for publication in Signavio Collaboration Hub. We are talking about over 200 E2E scenarios with over 800 processes. The scenarios and processes are imported as Dictionary items and are all linked to the respective diagrams.

Main Benefits:

• Accelerated BPM, Business Transformation or ERP implementation based on standardized models with clear End-to-End Process Architecture

• Comprehensive coverage of relevant business scenarios for all domains of industrial enterprises provides an ideal starting point to bridge business operations and processes and IT

• Functional process library organized according to SCOR model supports standardization and excellence initiatives

Read more about Business Flows here. You can also register for a free trial access to the content here.

Target groups: Executive Leadership, Governance Board, Process Managers, Business Analysts, Signavio Administrators

2. Modelling Convention Handbook

We import Business Flows as a set of dictionary items and diagrams following Signavio standard practices. Nevertheless, the process architecture and conventions are specific to Business Flows and are streamlined to suit a business transformation. The convention handbook documents all in a form which you use as a baseline for your initiative.

Main Benefits:

• Standardized procedures and guidelines for process design

• Improved consistency and compliance across all processes

• Optimized quality of process reports

Target groups: Compliance Officers, Quality Assurance teams, and Process Managers

3. BPM Implementation Blueprint

Now that you have a BPM Tool and a framework full of content, the real work starts. How do you go about implementing BPM as a management discipline in your organization? Our comprehensive BPM Implementation Blueprint is a collection of work packages organized along 5 streams:

• Strategy & Objectives

• Roles & Responsibilities

• Governance & Procedure

• BPM Architecture

• BPM Tools

Main Benefits:

• Proven step-by-step guide for implementing a BPM initiative

• Integrated approach to BPM including strategy, roles & responsibilities for BPM and process architecture

• Reduced risk of project delays, ensuring all critical components are addressed

Target groups: Project Managers, IT Teams, and Senior Leadership

4. Governance Process

BPM governance refers to the framework, policies, and procedures put in place to ensure that business processes are effectively managed, optimized, and aligned with organizational goals and objectives.

Main Benefits:

• Improved accountability and oversight

• Accelerated process improvements with adherence to organizational policies

Target groups: Executive Leadership, Governance Committees, and Risk Management Teams

5. Repository Housekeeping Scripts

We provide script-based reports to automate the identification and resolution of issues such as redundant or miscategorized diagrams, ensuring consistency and improving overall process quality.

Main Benefits:

• Fast identification of inconsistencies and modeling errors, e.g. missing diagram links, missing attributes or dictionary items, etc.

• Ensured uniformity across processes, enhancing quality and coherence

• Speed up housekeeping tasks to keep the usability and overall value of the process repository on a high level

Target groups: Process Managers, Signavio Administrators, Business Analysts, Executive Leadership, Governance Board

Read more about the usage of scripts in the context of maintaining your Signavio repository here.

Why Choose bpExperts?

At bpExperts, we understand that starting a BPM initiative can be daunting. Our starter package simplifies the process by providing all the essential tools and guidance you need to succeed. Leveraging the power of SAP Signavio, our package ensures that your organization can quickly and effectively implement BPM, driving operational excellence and achieving your strategic goals.

Get Started Today

Don't let complexity hold you back from transforming your business processes. Contact us today to learn more about our new starter package and how we can help your company embark on a successful BPM journey with SAP Signavio.

Cultivating Efficiency and Trust: Unveiling the advantages of Project Management as a Service (PMaaS) over staff augmentation

In today's dynamic business landscape organisations are compelled to navigate complex projects and initiatives. Those seeking external support for managing their programs are presented with two options: Project Management as a Service (PMaaS)  and staff augmentation. When considering an organisational  culture rooted in trust and excellence, the choice becomes crucial. Let's look at why PMaaS emerges as the superior option.

At the core of PMaaS lies an offering that stresses reliability, integrity, and scalability to an organisation's projects and programs. Unlike staff augmentation, where all individual contractors must be assessed and assigned in isolation, assigning a PMaaS provider systematically builds on established standards of execution and steering, and thus consistent delivery. In doing so, PMaaS not only cultivates efficiency but also fosters trust with stakeholders.

PMaaS providers offer a structured and proven project management methodology that serves as a blueprint for success. With standardised processes and best practices in place, clients benefit from streamlined execution and reduced risk of project derailment. This methodology instills confidence in stakeholders, knowing that projects are managed with precision and accountability.

Another advantage of PMaaS is the depth of industry expertise it brings to the table. By partnering with seasoned professionals with extensive domain knowledge, clients gain invaluable insights and guidance tailored to their specific industry challenges. This expertise empowers organisations to navigate complexities effectively and make informed decisions, driving project success.

PMaaS have a strong incentive of sharing knowledge and best practices among resources reducing risks of individual availability and building a reliable team with hands-on experience across diverse projects and industries. Unlike staff augmentation, where turnover and inconsistency may pose obstacles, PMaaS teams offer stability and continuity.

PMaaS offers inherent scalability and flexibility to meet evolving business needs. Whether ramping up resources for a large-scale project or scaling down during quieter periods, PMaaS providers adapt to fluctuating demands with agility. This scalability ensures optimal resource utilisation and cost-efficiency, aligning project management efforts with strategic objectives.

In addition to simplified and more reliable sourcing, turning to a specialised  provider enables organisations to redirect internal resources towards core competencies and strategic initiatives. This focus enables companies to concentrate on driving innovation, enhancing customer experience, and gaining a competitive edge in the market, while leaving project management responsibilities in capable hands. In this regard,  PMaaS offers a distinct advantage over staff augmentation by ensuring that the work is entrusted to a cohesive team operating according to an aligned methodology. This cohesion and standardised approach contribute to smoother project execution and increased reliability, further solidifying the benefits of choosing PMaaS over traditional staff augmentation models.

bpExperts has a long track record of offering PMaaS, with a reliable team and an extensive network of project management and industry experts. We are committed to excellence and ensure that your projects are in capable hands, delivering results that exceed expectations.

Why system quality starts with business requirements quality

Imagine walking into a large sports equipment store, telling the clerk you'd need some sports shoes. You can expect that this level of 'requirement' will not even get you to the right part of the store. Even asking more specifically for running shoes will only take you to a vast set of shelves with models ranging from sprinting spikes to cross-country trail running shoes. It is obvious that formulating specific requirements here is fundamental for being served well. Obviously, an experienced clerk will support you in formulating and refining your requirements by asking the right questions, and having you try on certain models. In the end you will be able to take an educated decision if the offer meets your needs and taste, and budget.

This is the happy path of requirements engineering. But imagine you are yourself uncertain of what you need or exaggerate on your current skill or ambition. In this case you may well end up with shoes of perfect quality but not matching your actual need at all. Likely a waste of money and not fun to run in.

You wonder why formulating and capturing high quality requirements is neglected so often in business transformation projects, especially those involving IT system implementations.

Waterfall and agile frameworks have the tool set to break down high-level user demands into more and more detailed pieces amenable for development and testing. In either case, accurately capturing the user or business need is the pivotal starting point. However, working top down from a set of starting requirements bears the risk of missing out on critical (starting) requirements or insufficient context.

Especially for complex systems, we at bpExperts GmbH believe that a process-centric approach to requirements engineering – founded on high quality process documentation – is the most robust and sustainable to address the concern above. IT systems are meant to support business processes following strategic and operative objectives. Process-centricity promotes and enforces this ensuring that the needs and expectations of all stakeholders are met, leading to higher satisfaction.

Effective Implementation

The clear association of requirements with the supported business process and objectives enables prioritization and focus on the most value-adding features and capabilities. With this it will be easier to formulate a robust, value-oriented and therefore future-proof implementation strategy, and define a development roadmap starting from a first release or minimal viable product to more mature and functionally enhanced subsequent releases.

Efficient Development

Contextualising requirements with the supported business process and anticipated business outcomes enables developer to see the bigger picture and ask the right questions in case information is missing. The more agile the development process, the more important it is to facilitate collaboration and decision making. Process-orientation provides a reliable reference for understanding dependencies and limitations and connects higher and lower level requirements comprehensibly. In a waterfall setting, this approach enables assessing the completeness or requirements (in scope and content) before the actual development start and thus avoids inefficient change requests.

Quality Assurance and Testing

Especially for complex systems, comprehensive testing of all conceivable paths and functionality combinations is hardly possible nor meaningful. Instead, the established practice is to adopt a risk-based approach to testing. For estimating the 'Severity' of a potential impact it is vitally important to connect a requirement to its contribution to the anticipated outcome. Connecting a requirement to the process supports estimating how often a requirement and the resulting capability or feature will be leveraged and thus drive establishing the 'Occurrence' likelihood. This way, well-written and –anchored requirements enable rational and effective test strategies, easily justified during audits.

In summary, just like the fish rots from the head down, low quality requirements are bound to lead to bad quality or ill-fitting systems. They should be worked out and documented as the starting point for any implementation activity. That does not rule out that requirements may need to be refined, sliced and diced on the way but make sure to not trick yourself. "Reverse engineering" requirements for an existing solution is likely not giving the benefits outlined above.

Anchoring requirements to the business process and business objectives, makes writing high quality requirements easier by supporting comprehensiveness and comprehensibility. High-quality business requirements lead to systems that are not only operationally efficient but also strategically aligned with organizational objectives, providing sustainable value.

Please get in touch if you would like to learn more on how to establish and leverage Business Process Management to support your transformation initiative.