Who's the process owner?

I was talking with a business associate about a project I worked on at a startup wireless company back in 2000. I interviewed 12 different transportation companies to find out how their business process would work with wireless solutions. The kicker is that I had only 1 day to meet with the business and discover their process. In order to make it work, I HAD to meet with the right people or there was no way I'd get an accurate picture of the process.

What I found was what I call "Process Owners". A process owner is someone that either developed or has been responsible for the process for a long period of time (a couple of years or more). There are many ways to find these people. You can follow the worn carpet to their office, or just ask someone "If I were to change this process, who would be REALLY upset?" If you are changing a process, they are usually the first person to your desk to tell you why you shouldn't change the process.

To contrast Process Owners, I'll point out that there's another group of people that are process users. These are people that know quite a bit about how to use the process, but they don't really care if it changes. Many of us BA's prefer to interview these because they are much more compliant and willing to help us change the process.

Find the process owner and understand their concerns. Spend the time to sell them on the solutions, and your project will have a much higher probability of success. You'll also see why the process owners are so obstinate about their process.