The iBPM Lifecycle: Integrating Low-Code and Hyperautomation into Business Process Management

Low-code (LC) technology and hyperautomation (HA) are reshaping Business Process Management (BPM) practice by enabling faster, more agile, and more accessible process design and automation. This technological convergence challenges the relevance of the traditional BPM lifecycle, which is increasingly misaligned with the proactive, user-centric capabilities now available in LC-BPM environments augmented with HA capabilities. This study introduces the intelligent BPM (iBPM) lifecycle – an empirically grounded model that redefines the traditional BPM approach in light of new technological advances. The iBPM lifecycle model reflects HA capabilities and LC democratization, integrating them into BPM practices to proactively enhance user experience and efficiency in BPM projects. The model was developed using a modified Delphi method with ten experts from leading LC-BPM vendors and validated through formative evaluation workshops in manufacturing, financial services, and IT consulting organizations. Findings show that the iBPM lifecycle unifies process design, application design, and process observability within an integrated, augmented environment, reducing reliance on professional developers and accelerating process transformation. By explicitly incorporating LC and HA capabilities, the iBPM lifecycle provides both a theoretical revision of the traditional BPM lifecycle and a practical roadmap for intelligent process management and automation, strengthening BPM’s strategic role in organizational and digital transformation initiatives.