Aim/Purpose: This study aims to answer the research question titled What are the competencies required for the Business Process Analyst (BPA) role in organizations with ERP systems in Kenya. Through 4 hypotheses, this study focuses on two specific aspects: (1) Enhancing BPM Maturity and (2) ERP implementation.

Background: The emergence of complex systems and complex processes in organizations in Kenya has given rise to the need to understand the BPM domain as well as a need to analyze the new roles within organizational environments that drive BPM initiatives. The most notable role in this domain is the BPA. Furthermore, many organizations in Kenya and across Africa are making significant investments in ERP systems. Organizations, therefore, need to understand the BPA role for ERP systems implementation projects.

Methodology: This study uses a sequential mixed methods approach analyzing quantitative survey data followed by the analysis of qualitative interview data.

Contribution: The main contribution of this study is a description of competencies that are critical for the BPA in Kenya both in terms of enhancing BPM maturity and for driving ERP systems implementations. In addition, this study sheds light on critical BPA competencies that are perceived to be undervalued in the Kenyan context.

Findings: Findings show that business process orchestration competencies are important for driving BPM maturity and for ERP systems implementations. This study found that business process elicitation, business analysis, business process improvement and a holistic overview of business thinking are often overlooked as critical competencies for BPAs but are nevertheless critical for building the BPA practitioner.

Recommendations for Practitioners: From this study, practitioners such as top managers and BPAs can be enlightened on the specific competencies that require focus when carrying out BPM and when implementing ERP systems projects.

Future Research: The next step is to investigate the interventions that organizations implement to build their BPA competencies. The main aim of this would be to describe those interventions that impact the requisite BPA competencies especially those competencies that were seen to be undervalued within the Kenyan context.