Alternatives to Triaster
There are many business process management tools out there.
From tracking solutions, to project management focused tools, to visualizing your workflow processes in charts and diagrams, chances are, someone out there has the answer to your problem.
One such tool is Triaster, a cloud-based BPM solution recommended for large and mid-size business.
In this article, we will provide an overview of Triaster as a tool, before comparing it to some alternatives available on the market today.
Triaster: An Overview
As mentioned above, Triaster is a BPM solution tool. This means its focus is on business processes.
- Process mapping – map your business processes to visualize how your business works
- Process sharing – share the different maps between users, so departments can understand how they work together in a unified visualization of where they fit
- Policy and document management – keep all process-associated documentation in one place
- Reporting tools – have your KPIs and how they fit the overall company goals handy for all teams and departments, and keep each other updated of how the process contributes or if it needs changes
- Analysis tools – find bottlenecks and places for process improvement
Processes can be mapped and shared between users, while analysis tools suggest locations for improvement. These solutions can then be modelled, and simulations that compare them to how the process is currently doing can be run. Based on those results, companies can start implementing those changes directly based on. Reports on the success of the solutions implemented can be made.
All of this information can also be saved in a process library, which itself is searchable and serves as a forum where users can post process-related questions. Support for users of this software is available via email, phone and through an online knowledge base where users can pose questions.
It is purchased through a monthly subscription service of $950 per month, and there is no free trial available.
In general, users of Triaster tend to be quite complementary of the software.
It is lauded by folks from different industries for keeping all process-related needs in one place, as opposed to having to use a combination of different tools and software. The simplicity of the software, the search function, the customer support team and consistency it provides the companies it services are also points that strongly work in its favour. The clarity of the maps made and the fact that they can be linked together is also mentioned repeatedly as a positive.
A lot of users directly link their use of Triaster to betterment in their company processes and cutting costs. It helps them understand how they all work together with the same goal and has resulted in better communication throughout the company.
But it does also have its limitations.
The first thing to note is that Triaster require a Microsoft Visio Licence to work. It is not a stand-alone system.
We’ve covered Microsoft Visio in the past, and the limitations associated with that software as well – mainly that it was not built specifically with business process mapping in mind. Hence the appearance of Triaster and similar software.
However, if you think about it from an operational excellence perspective, you have to spend on the user licenses for MS Visio, and then also on the considerably more expensive license for Triaster.
Yes, it’s great that your MS Visio diagrams can be added and updated on Triaster. But you’re unlikely to use it at all going further if you rely on Triaster, even though you’d still have to pay for it.
And, you are also lumped with the option of using MS Visio which in our opinion is not the easiest or clearest way to map processes.
Additionally, Triaster has been noted to be slow at updating.
Several users remark that publishing new maps to the process library can take up to 24 hours. And there is no way to determine which maps are still missing. If for whatever reason, a map remains unpublished, there is no warning. Users have to manually check.
As you can imagine, this makes it difficult to keep things up-to-date.
Users also noted that while it is good that it provides drill-down, up-close looks at process deliverables, it would be good to have that same view for processes themselves. This would be due to the fact that all processes are mapped in two dimensions, leaving no room for detailed looks at the processes themselves.
There is also, as with any software, a learning curve when it comes to using Triaster. This would be fine, except some users note as many as twelve months of learning, a lack of educational content when the software is updated, and the turning off of certain features due to frustration with the functionality.
So, while Triaster may seem like the best solution for all your business process management needs, taking a look at some alternatives before dividing in is not a bad idea.
Alternatives to Triaster
We’ve already mentioned MS Visio as an alternative, and the limitations therein. Namely, because it was not designed for business process mapping, it is not exactly conducive to it either. While many specialists had to make do with it for a long time, enduring slow, uncomfortable workshops on account of how long Visio takes to use.
This is not the case today when we have many alternative options available for business process management software needs.
The most common of these are your Trello, Asana, or ClickUp types. Based on checklist-style boards and good for time-sensitive project management, these solutions are good for specific projects. Not too useful for process management on a larger scale, however, as they do not have a visualization component in the form of mapping.
Another alternative is Nintex Promapp, a tool more focused on process mapping, namely in the form of swim lane diagrams.
It has the same limitation as Visio however when it comes to being slow at design, thus not conducive to good workshops. Draw.io, another option, has the same problem.
In all three cases, folks will generally draw the processes by hand before uploading them to the software.
This of course increases the possibility of a mistake, as the data is being handled twice. And this is not good for getting quality measurements and data to analyse where you need to fix your processes.
And it has all the limitations swim lane diagrams have when it comes to more complex processes and role assignments.
Another alternative is Lucidchart. Like Triaster, it is based on a subscription licence model. The problem is that it uses flowcharts as the base for all of its process maps. All the limitations of using flowcharts, such as the lack of assigned responsibility and space for additional information, are also found in this software.
You could try yEd, though it focuses more on business architecture style diagrams, which are even more complicated than process maps. This is not conducive to making it easily understood by everyone involved in your organisation.
So it seems as if biting the bullet of paying for both Visio and Triaster and accepting slow updates is the way to go.
Enter Skore.
To us, mapping business processes is about bringing the whole company back to basics so that you can improve and grow further.
With our software, mapping a process is made easy. And fast.
There is no need to do things by hand first and then transcribe it over to our software. It is just as, if not more, quick and efficient to do it directly there.
We strongly believe in simplicity and clarity as the key component behind any successful process map. It is only through everyone understanding what others are doing and how you can improve on it that your business will grow, after all.
This is why we’ve based our software on Universal Process Notation (UPN).
Using UPN means avoiding any misunderstanding or misinterpretations, and allowing non-experts to follow along as well. Stakeholders or employees that live through those processes on a daily basis need to be able to understand the process as well, not just those internal or external experts.
Changes happen immediately, and they are reflected as such in the process. No long waiting cycle or update. We also do not require you to have MS Visio licensing – it is simply our fees that you are responsible for.
Just as with Triaster, you are able to map processes, share, collaborate, save, analyse, and report on processes with our software. And you can start building this knowledge into a process library for your entire organisation.
Our software also makes it possible to create sub-processes to really drill-down on all that it takes for your business to run. After all, one step in a process may have several smaller steps behind it that are otherwise inconsequential. But you still need to be able to visualize them to understand how it works and what can be improved upon.
And our learning curve has also proven to be a lot quicker, though our customer service team is also made up of rock stars, should you ever need their help.
Conclusion
Business process management software can now be found aplenty.
Depending on your needs, there is definitely something out there for you.
When it comes to business process mapping, no one is offering as streamlined a product as Skore. Not even Triaster.
We’d love to help you improve your business processes with our software.