Resources in Operational Excellence (OPEX)

Our focus on Operational Excellence (OE) is on the alignment of strategies, processes, performers, measures, technologies and management to achieve and sustain outstanding levels of performance of the entire enterprise.

Our belief is that Operational Excellence is achievable only when an organization has defined the major elements that affect performance and aligned them (which often means redesigning them) to support strategies and goals.

Just as often the task of alignment also means ridding the organization of things (practices, policies, organization structures) that impede Operational Excellence.

Displaying 81 - 90 of 263 resources matching your criteria.

BPM, Six Sigma and Simulation for Today's Tough Business Environment

Contributed by:Marvin Wurtzel, Faculty Member, BPMInstitute.org and Principal Consultant, Marvin M. Wurtzel & Associates, Inc.

By: Marvin Wurtzel, Wurtzel Consulting, Inc.

During the 1980s and 1990’s the use of flowcharts began to evolve. Next Business Process Management (BPM) came along to more formalize their use and combine their use with computer systems technology. Also in this timeframe, Six Sigma came into play as a means to improve processes by minimizing variability. Next, Lean six sigma evolved as a further means of reducing waste in processes.

Gaining Alignment on Notation

Delivering value to the business – that’s the intent! Gaining alignment between work underway in the business process arena and work underway in the IT organization is essential if value is actually going to be delivered. And that alignment is not a given; a critical factor is management of the respective “languages” used by business process managers and by IT systems developers. This presentation uses examples from an actual enterprise-level project to spotlight potential pitfalls and illustrate specific approaches that deliver value.

Facilitation Skills for Project Meetings

It seems like we’re always in project meetings - planning meetings, status meetings, meetings to figure things out, meetings to review what’s been done, and more. Yet most meetings are viewed as unproductive, tedious, wastes of precious time. You can change that! By applying some simple facilitation techniques, you can transform both your virtual and face-to-face meetings into well-planned, well-managed journeys that engage the team while achieving the intended goals.

Track Chair Keynote: Creating a New Process Using Process Design Principles

Process design principles are distilled best practices derived from world class organizations. These principles provide a guideline for process improvement efforts. By using design principles, new processes can be designed very quickly. In addition these new processes will exhibit higher quality, lower cost, faster cycle time, and less worker frustration.

Utilizing Metrics for Enhanced Execution

By: Stephen G. Smith, President & CEO of Accellenx Partners

Execution, simply put, is the efficient and timely delivery of planned results. It is always vital in business but never more than in this current economic environment.

Many an organization will “talk” the execution game but they fall far short on the “walk” side of the equation. It’s almost as if it’s an alien concept. I believe the primary reason is that the execution is based upon pure energy - action that is deliberate, focused and consistent. And, unlike planning, execution does not occur in a controlled environment but instead in the real world where events are c

Starting the Journey towards Process Based Management

Contributed by:Pat Dowdle, Process Strategist, Process Strategy Group

By: Pat Dowdle and Jerry Stevens, Process Strategists, Process Strategy Group

At each BrainStorm BPM Conference, there is constant discussion around how organizations can improve their processes and move to a process focus. This is not new. A focus on the process dimension of work and process-centered improvement approaches has been on most organization’s radar screens since the 1993 release of Reengineering the Corporation by Michael Hammer and James Champy.

Improving Business Performance

By: Stephen G. Smith, President & CEO of Accellenx Partners

Performance, whether on a stage of theatre or business, is all about “making it happen”. Whether a Shakespearean tragedy or strategic business initiative, the performance of the organizational unit is what produces results. The math is simple: One, someone writes the play (strategic plan). Two, everyone in the group rehearses their parts (departmental and individual performance plans). And three, the troupe orchestrates individual performances into a unified group performance (execution of tactical plans providing goods and services to customers).

Rocks in the stream: Applying Lean to IT, HR and Accounting

By: Jean Cunningham, Author, Real Numbers and Easier, Simpler, Faster and Founder, Jean Cunningham Consulting

Finding the Customer

Customer focus is a critical element in lean thinking. Do you set the pace of production to the customer demand rate (the Takt time)? Is the Voice of the Customer (VOC) used in product and service design? The answer is always an emphatic “Yes”. The customer is always critical to improvement activities.

Aligning Strategy & Execution

By: Stephen G. Smith, President & CEO of Accellenx Partners

Strategy [strat’-i-jee]: a plan, method or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result. Execute [ek’-si-kyoot]: to produce in accordance with a plan or design. Clearly, the two ideas are closely related; one involves setting a plan and the other involves putting the same plan into motion. Simple enough. Yet, why is it that so many companies fail to make the connection?

In my experience, most organizations are very adept at planning.

Doing More with Less

Contributed by:Marvin Wurtzel, Faculty Member, BPMInstitute.org and Principal Consultant, Marvin M. Wurtzel & Associates, Inc.

By: Marvin Wurtzel, Wurtzel Consulting, Inc.

Today’s challenge to increase productivity with fewer resources has lead to numerous methodologies and toolkits to help organizations meet their objectives and become more profitable and effective. This certainly makes the case for applying two well known and proven methodologies Business Process Management (BPM) and Six Sigma.