Human-Centered vs. Technology-Centered Process Management

Why Are You Looking for Process Management Software?

You’re probably looking for a process management solution because:

• Your process documentation is outdated
• Your process descriptions don’t provide any value to employees in daily work
• Reality and documentation are drifting apart — and you’re stuck updating documents before every audit
• Employees don’t follow the documented processes
• Many employees don’t even know the process documentation exists
• The responsibility for modeling processes rests on a few specialists — or just on you

The Decisive Question: Human or Machine?

Whatever your process management goal may be, there’s one fundamental question you need to answer before choosing software: Is the target audience a computer or a human being? Many companies aim to democratize their processes — to involve employees and make their knowledge accessible to all. If that’s your goal, but you choose a technology-centered tool, failure is almost guaranteed. In tech-centered tools, employees often can’t contribute to process design — or the process is so clunky that no one bothers. The result: process models are never adopted into daily operations. The opposite is rarer, but just as problematic: using human-centered software for workflow automation. Because of incompatible modeling logic, it’s hard (and costly) to transfer those process models into workflow engines.

Key Differences: Technology-Centered vs. Human-Centered Process Management

To help you choose the right software, here’s a comparison of the two approaches:

Your Goal: BPMN for Machines or Recipes for People?

Start with a simple question: What’s your primary goal?

• Automating processes?
• Or communicating best practices and instructions?

If it’s the latter — and you’re using BPMN-based tools — that’s likely your core problem. In our experience, only IT and QM professionals understand BPMN diagrams. The people actually doing the work don’t. Even if the models are technically correct, they’re missing crucial elements:

• Everyday tips
• Practical instructions
• Screenshots or videos

This disconnect leads to frustration and disengagement — the documentation is ignored. What’s more, most customers tell us they want employees to actively participate in process improvement. That’s nearly impossible with BPMN: semantic rules are complex, and most employees are unaware of how to contribute. As a result, only a few individuals update the models.

With a human-centered tool, you can:

• Represent workflows clearly and understandably
• Involve every employee in designing and refining processes
• Distribute process ownership across all knowledge carriers

The benefits:

• Specialists are relieved of modeling work
• Employees feel more ownership and engagement
• Documentation aligns more closely with reality and is continuously improved

Unlike BPMN, this approach uses need-based, practical process descriptions — structured more like recipes. You document the relevant information employees actually need:

• What’s often misunderstood?
• What do people forget?
• What causes friction?

Trying to capture 100% of every process detail is counterproductive — it creates clutter. Instead, bullet-pointed steps make the workflow easy to follow. That means fewer questions, less frustration, and more value for employees — and your business.

How to Tell If a Tool Is Human- or Tech-Centered

Here are two quick ways to find out:

1. Look at the pricing model
If there’s a difference between modelers and regular users → it’s likely tech-centered.
If all users can edit and contribute → it’s built for collaboration and therefore human-centered.

2. Ask how success is measured
Are KPIs based on active readers and contributors? Then the software values collaboration and is almost certainly human-centered.

What’s the Right Process Management Tool for You?

To date, there is no tool that serves both goals — and there likely never will be. The requirements are simply too different. So don’t try to force both into one solution.

Instead, go back to the key question:

Who is the audience for your process documentation — computer or human?

• If the answer is computer (i.e. for automation via a workflow engine), go with a BPMN-based tool that allows experts to model and automate structured process data.
• If the answer is human, go with a human-centered tool — one that enables all employees to understand, follow, and even help shape process documentation.
• And if you want both — as strange as it may sound — you’ll need two tools.