I keep a checklist of the technology trends to think about when redesigning processes or operating models. Things like “automation” or “digitization” or “mobility” or “social media”. I am always trying to improve my checklist, which led me to two recent articles listing trends to think about, one from BCG and one from McKinsey.

The BCG report “Twelve forces that will radically change the future of work” by Vikram Bhalla, Susanne Dyrchs and Rainer Strack has five trends that seem to be about operations (the other seven are about changes in customer desires or the workforce). The five are:

By May 25, 2018 – less than 100 days away – any company doing business with subjects of the European Union must comply with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) stringent rules or face fines up to 4% of revenue. Underpinning the regulations is the principle of “Privacy by design” which means compliance cannot be an add-on, but must be baked into the operational DNA of the organization.  It is a process issue as much as a customer data one. 

Embrace business process modeling!

All higher education establishments, from small colleges to large campus institutions, are involved in some complex processes to deliver effective teaching and learning. It is usually plain to see that there is room for improvement for the methods used. The issue now becomes, how do they tackle the problems and what do they tackle first? The implementation of new systems then becomes imperative since it’s usually a drive for considering how to carry out the business process.

Business process modeling is the graphical representation of a company, in this case, higher education institutions, as a means to identify potential improvements. They can achieve this through different graphics methods such as data flow diagrams or the use of flowcharts among other types. 25% of organizations worldwide are conducting training in business management systems, so quite a number of institutions are getting onboard.