Implementation of a centralised system for managing processes in cultural institutions
Authors: Oleś-filiks Małgorzata , Waszkowski Robert 
Published: June 2024

The article presents the implementation of a centralised system for managing processes in cultural institutions.As part of their activities, public institutions promote attitudes of civic and patriotic responsibility for cultural and natural heritage, and carry out many educational activities, exhibitions, shows, concerts aimed at different social groups. All these activities require the coordination of many employees from different departments and a high level of management commitment. Each event organised requires cash control and work planning.Cultural organisations need a reliable IT solution to support staff in the following processes: managing and monitoring project budgets; managing and monitoring procurement plans; and document handling processes.The basic architecture of the centralised system of process management in cultural institutions involves the use of a number of components responsible for: data preparation in the document circulation module (e.g. costs, business trips, holidays, civil contracts, incoming and outgoing); implementation in the activity handling module; supervision and monitoring of the course of action by the management in the procurement module and the reporting module. Global reporting takes place in the factual reporting of the cultural institution's activities. The solution designed and implemented is based on dedicated modules and the Aurea BPM platform. The Aurea BPM platform enables the dynamic design of business processes.The actions taken by individual user groups within modules and processes directly affect the related components and processes. Mutual communication within the tasks performed allows: synchronisation of work between modules; continuous reporting on the progress of ongoing activities; speeding up the flow of information and improving the quality of task handling; monitoring and reporting on completed tasks during the maintenance phase. Thanks to the use of the latest technology, users can access the system on multiple devices (tablets, smartphones and computers) and have access to up-to-date data. The process management system for cultural institutions records every action and decision taken by participants in a process history with an accurate time stamp and a record of who performed the activity.The result of the implementation was presented in the form of business process diagrams in BPMN notation. The system was implemented in an organisation that is a leader among public institutions. The system provides a single location for information and knowledge about the activities performed and accelerates the flow of data, which allows to increase its quality. The automation of document handling, data validation and reporting reduces decision-making time and improves communication between process participants. After implementation, costs associated with paper handling and document archiving have been reduced. Data registers for each process allow all process participants to quickly access and manipulate data according to defined authorisations. For managers, the system provides excellent access to management data and the ability to set specific KPIs. Ultimately, it has also become possible to manage and monitor procurement plans, as well as to use the budget effectively and efficiently, allowing the institution's tasks to be carried out simply and transparently.