
What's Your Baseline? Enterprise Architecture & Business Process Management Demystified
This show is about Enterprise Architecture and Business Process Management, and how you can set up your practice to get the most out of it.
It is for newbies who just get started with these topics, organizations who want to improve their EA/BPM groups (and the value that they get from it), as well as practitioners who want to get a different perspective and care about the discipline.
Learn more about the show and read articles about EA and BPM on www.whatsyourbaseline.com.
Latest episodes

Apr 3, 2023 • 59min
Ep. 43 - Process management for small organizations: Adi Klevit
What are the needs of a small business compared to a larger one? Can they use the same approaches for process improvement and business process management? Shall they use the same tools?
Yhis week we are speaking with an expert on this topic (and also a small business owner herself - Adi Klevit. Adi is running her own firm that has specialized on helping small organizations with process documentation/process management and helps them to create the consistency that they need ... just like larger organizations. She also runs her own podcast on that topic called "Systems Simplified Podcast".
In this episode of the podcast we are talking about:
Adi's background
Why doing processes for a small organization?
Sales of “process” to small organizations (vs. large organizations)
Processes start with a “Why” and change management is important
Uses of process documentation in small orgs
Where to start when beginning the process journey? What is her approach to mapping?
How to make sure that the process documentation is used?
You can reach Adi via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adiklevit/. Her business can be found at bizsuccesscg.com and her podcast is called Systems Simplified Podcast.
Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Mar 20, 2023 • 1h 5min
Ep. 42 - Structure Your Business Architecture
I see a lot of separated efforts in organization, and model processes. Aren't these all connected activities that should be coordinated to create a *gulp* architecture that carries the load?
But what is a "Business Architecture" and how is it different from just an assembly of processes? Are these terms synonyms or is there more to a Business Architecture than that?
In this episode of the podcast we are talking about:
What is a Business Architecture?
Why should I care and where to start?
Align strategy to (business) architecture
Two process views - functional processes vs. End-to-End processes
Both process views are connected (big map vs. trip map)
Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Mar 6, 2023 • 60min
Ep. 41 - Organizational Change Management: Jehane Adam
If you have listened to a couple of podcast episodes you know that we are true believers in that the biggest "problem" in any architecture, BPM, or Process Mining project is not the technology or the processes and other architecture views - it is the people!
Getting people along with your change is the hardest thing to do and therefore we are happy to revisit the topic of Organizational Change Management on a semi-regular basis.
Jehane has worked as a Change Management and Business Transformation lead for over 15 years working on large multinational projects in multiple industries including financial services, consulting, manufacturing, sports and entertainment, healthcare, transportation and the public sector. She likes to focus on helping clients to drive lasting change and to support teams in working better together while achieving their aims.
In her down time, Jehane enjoys coaching, reading, continuously learning and spending time with her tribe in relaxing environments like the spa...
In this episode of the podcast we are talking about:
Jehane's background
Evaluating what you actually need to make org. change management real for your audience
The five "Whys" and the "WIIFM" (What's In It For Me?)
Meet people where they are, not where you want them or need them to be
Questions to ask when making a change
How to create a compelling story
Setting up for successful adoption
Partnering effectively with change managers
Common mistakes
What makes a good Org. Change Management professional
You can reach Jehane via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jehaneadam/.
Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Feb 20, 2023 • 1h 4min
Ep. 40 - Strategy to Execution: Dan Marquez
Developing a strategy for your organization seems like a mystery for a lot of people (and some organizations make a large coin from keeping that mystery), but in all reality it has a big part of “wild guesses” included. In this episode of the What’s Your Baseline Podcast we have Dan Marquez on the show, who knows a thing or two about this topic from his time at Accenture, Boston Consulting Group, or Google.
Dan is a passionate and eminently capable digital transformation professional, and also an expert in helping organizations understand and capitalize on the power of technology.
He specializes in adapting the enterprise strategies of his clients to find the real value opportunities and disruption resilience that can be powered by digital solutions. He also has deep knowledge of Operating Model and Culture design, supporting companies to drive the change necessary to make transformations sustainable.
In this episode of the podcast we are talking about:
Dan’s background
What is a “strategy”?
What to look for when developing a strategy (and which traps to avoid)
Explore the space by using an “intersectional strategy” method
How to implement a strategy – duality of leadership mentalities
PSA: style trumps substance
Most challenges boil down to cultural problems
Pursue an “L-shaped” transformation – focus on building foundational improvements while delivering value through narrow end-to-end use cases
Dan can be contacted via LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marquezd/.
Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Feb 6, 2023 • 60min
Ep. 39 - Lean and Process Mining: Sebastian Kotulla
Discover the importance of applying Lean techniques to process mining with expert Sebastian Kotulla. Topics include defining problems with DMAIC and CRISP, analyzing flow and waste in Lean, prioritizing processes, and utilizing tools like Fishbone diagrams and FMEA analysis for process improvement.

Jan 23, 2023 • 56min
Ep. 38 - Solution Engineering
Welcome to Season 4 of our podcast. Today we are talking about Solution Engineering, aka Presales, and what you can expect from your vendor's solution engineers (vs. their consultants).
In this episode of the podcast we are talking about:
What is a Solution Engineer?
What is their primary job focus and their scope of work and process?
What are Consultants (and are they different from Solution Engineers)
What are the required skill sets for Solution Engineers (and Consultants)?
How to work with both - when to contact, what info they need, and what to expect.
Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Dec 22, 2022 • 18min
WYB Shorts 9 - A Holiday Special With Jeremy Voltz
Today we have a special What's Your Baseline Shorts episode for you, that has nothing to do with Enterprise Architecture or Business Process Management.
However, we think that you will like it: our guest today is Jeremy Voltz, an indie-soul musician from Toronto, Ontario, who is gracefully letting us use his music for all intros, outros, and intermissions. In this episode we are talking with him about:
how he got into music (he has a PhD in Mathematics)
what kind of music he produces -
how his process works (well, at least a bit of BPM)
and what is next for him
You can reach Jeremy at jeremyvoltzmusic.com or via his LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremy-voltz-758118101/.
We're closing out the episode with the full Non-Christmas Christmas song "When You're Near" by him as a small token of our appreciation for you. Please enjoy the upcoming holidays with your loved ones and we will see each other in Season 4 starting in mid-January!

Dec 20, 2022 • 1h 4min
Ep. 37 - (I can't believe it is another) Ten things I've learned
Welcome to another episode of our podcast. In the final episode of the final season for this year, we are talking about another ten things we’ve learned over the years:
How to do things
Transparency is more important than ever
Strategic alignment is key to your success
Sometimes you have to say “no” to requirements
Make clear from the outset how a project’s success is measured
Tools
BPM/EA tools are still too nerdy
Tools need to be simpler - how to get to information in three clicks or fewer
How to provide self-help resources
(Bonus) Do not google “how to create subway maps”
The discipline/industry
There will be a renaissance of forward-looking data-driven decision making (e.g., Simulation)
Process Mining will cease to exist as its own market in 3-5 years
Knowledge Management needs to be more in focus
Please reach out to us by either sending an email to hello@whatsyourbaseline.com or leaving us a voice message by clicking here.

Dec 12, 2022 • 1h 5min
Ep. 36 - Lean and Six Sigma: Ron Baker
There was a lot of buzz around Lean and Six Sigma back in the 80s and 90s, but not today anymore.
However, the practice is not dead and it is still relevant and used in many industries today. And there are good reasons to take a step back and have another look at why it was so successful and what of the practice still creates value and should be included in your process improvement and process excellence initiatives.
Today's guest on the What's Your Baseline Podcast is Ron Baker. He is an American Society of Quality (ASQ) Certified Black Belt and a SixSigma.us Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt with over 26 years of proven success and increasing levels of responsibility in both domestic and international environments.
He has an expert level of business process improvement knowledge in transactional (Department of Defense, Financial & Retail) and manufacturing (Oil & Gas/Pharmaceutical/Health Care/Medical Device & Semiconductor) environments.
In addition to this he has recent program management office implementation experience, deploying continuous improvement techniques (Lean Six Sigma), and strategy development.
We are talking about these topics:
Ron's background and how a 400m runner becomes a process improvement consultant
What is Lean and Six Sigma?
What are "belts" and what do they indicate?
What is a typical approach of a Lean/6 Sigma project and how do you get buy in?
Do you need special tools for a Lean/6 Sigma project?
You can find Ron on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-baker/ or send an email to ronwbaker@gmail.com.
The full show notes, including graphics, further links, and credits are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode36.

Nov 28, 2022 • 1h 14min
Ep. 35 - Facilitating process discovery and design sessions
Welcome to another episode of our podcast. Today we are talking about what to do before, during, and after process discovery and design sessions.
In this episode of the podcast we are talking about:
Before the session
- Identify what to change/purpose
- Identify who to invite
- Create strategic alignment
- What to prepare
During the session
- How to structure a business architecture (> process discovery)
- How to start the session (facilitation)
- Structure of design sessions
- Follow-up sessions
After the session
- Clean up of models and sharing with participants
- After the final session
- After publishing
The full show notes, including graphics, further links, and credits are available at whatsyourbaseline.com/episode35.