A process is a combination of steps and activities that creates some output or result. It represents the flow of work and information through an organization. It is the mechanism for creating and delivering value to a customer.
Process and Department
A process is a combination of steps and activities that creates some output or result. It represents the flow of work and information through an organization. It is the mechanism for creating and delivering value to a customer.
Process and DepartmentManaging a process is not the same as managing a function or department. Both are necessary to provide value to the end customer. However, in many organizations, we do not understand, improve or manage how we provide value to that end customer. The “How” is through Process.
Here are some symptoms of broken processes:
The functional nature of organizations breaks large processes into pieces and assigns them to departments. Often each department tries to optimize their piece of the process without knowing the consequences of this action on other departments. For instance, how many different software systems exist in your organization? Do they seamlessly share information? Probably not. Here we are sub-optimizing the whole (end-to-end process) by optimizing the pieces (departments.)
No one is responsible for the coordination and performance of large cross-departmental processes. Hence, these larger processes can degrade due to lack of oversight.
Often there are no adequate measurements to monitor the performance of large cross-departmental processes. We have lagging measures of what has happened, but not concurrent indicators of what is happening.
If there is not knowledge to document, analyze, improve, redesign, control, and monitor processes, then there will be quality, timeliness, customer satisfaction, and worker satisfaction issues. This knowledge can be gained in learning and applying any of the process improvement methods (such as TQM, Lean, and/or Six Sigma).
Here are some characteristics of a managed process:
Managing processes provides a structured approach for an organization to change the way they manage and how they provide value to customers, stakeholders and employees. As organizations improve and manage the processes in the organization, they can expect to see benefits in the following areas:
You focus on some area that is broken and that is causing management frustration. This is a sure sign of a process problem. Use a basic and proven process methodology to understand, analyze and improve the process. Show results from improving processes, and others will become interested in the approach that is being used. The value of managing processes will become clear as more processes are understood, analyzed and improved.
is a Process Strategist with the Process Strategy Group, and is responsible for leading the Roadmap practice. Pat has over 30 years experience in Process Management, Activity Based Management, Balanced Scorecard, Financial Reporting and Financial Systems.
Jerry Stevens is a Process Strategist for Process Strategy Group and is responsible for leading the assessment practice. He has over twenty-five years of experience in the fields of Process Management & Improvement, Information Technology, Training and Consulting.
Daniel J. Madison is a principal in Value Creation Partners, an organizational consulting and training firm. He focuses on helping clients increase value through operational improvement, process mapping and improvement, organizational redesign, lean six sigma techniques, and strategic planning. He has been a consultant for 21 years and university instructor for 22 years.
Dan regularly teaches courses on Analyzing and Improving Operations, Streamlining Office and Service Operations with Lean, and Process Mapping and Process Improvement through the University of Chicago, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, and the University of Calgary. His book titled Process Mapping, Process Improvement, and Process Management through Paton Press became available in August of 2005. It remains number one on Amazon in the areas of process mapping, process improvement, and process management.
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