Every business, including non-commercial
organisations such as government departments, operates as a collection of
interlocking processes. Each process starts with some kind of request, and
finishes with delivery of a service or product. Some processes serve external
customers or users, while others may be purely internal or administrative in
nature.
Traditionally management has concentrated on the individual tasks which together make up a process. Productivity and efficiency has been measured on how these individual tasks are performed. Although much investment has been made in aids such as computer systems and individual PCs, average productivity in the office environment has improved very slowly, by as little as 1 or 2% a year.
In reality much inefficiency arises from the
processes which connect the tasks, and this is where very significant
improvements can be made. There are often large discontinuities between tasks,
and indeed many tasks prove dispensable on close analysis.
Processes are normally paper-based, and the need
to use a master document or folder means that only one person can work on it at
a time. This can extend the total processing period unnecessarily, as often
some tasks could logically be performed in parallel rather than purely
sequentially.
There are many ways in which businesses can make themselves more competitive and profitable by analysing and changing their business processes:
All these, and more, can be readily attained by attention to process improvement, as many businesses have proved repeatedly over the past decade. Indeed, so great are the benefits that many prefer not to publicise them, to avoid alerting their competitors.
It is not necessary to completely redesign existing processes from scratch. In fact that is an extremely risky approach. Better to start with what already exists, rescue the good parts and dispense with the bad. This is not a one-off project, but a continuous cycle of process improvement, learning from experience and adapting to changing circumstances. Hence the business will never become complacent and dated, but stay at the forefront of its market.
There are three main steps towards improved processes:
Once the new processes have been operating for a period, information on how well they are running is fed back to the first step, the cycle repeated, thus completing the virtuous circle of continuous improvement.
There are a number of tools, in the form of computer software packages, available to assist in analysing, redesigning and managing business processes, and these fall into two main types:
There are many business process modelling tools available on the market, and they vary greatly in scope, complexity and applicability. It is important therefore to invest sufficiently in selecting one most appropriate to an individual business’s requirements. Choose one too simple and it will not achieve the desired results; one too complex will involve unnecessary investment in software and training, and may confuse more than clarify. SODAN’s report Business Process Modelling Tool Products is designed to assist you to select the right tool.
Similarly there are many workflow systems available, and while they may appear very similar in functionality, they may vary considerably in ease of use, scalability across an enterprise, and best fit to existing IT infrastructure. Other factors such as support and supplier stability also need to be considered, as such a system will form a critical component of an organisation’s business and IT infrastructures well into the future. SODAN’s report Workflow Management Systems will help you find the most suitable system for your requirements.
Assistance in the form of consultancy and implementation is also available, but beware of confusing the two. Many implementers will offer advice, but inevitably that advice will be closely connected with the necessarily limited range of tools of which the implementer has experience.
An independent consultancy such as SODAN, which does not carry out actual implementations, can offer far more impartial advice. SODAN has independently advised organisations within many industry sectors, and successfully enabled them to select the most appropriate tools and implementers. Such consultancy helps businesses to avoid the common pitfalls, get up to speed quickly, and become self-sufficient in the use of these proven technologies. See SODAN’s consultancy services.