Preparing for Process Design

Before beginning any process design the process professional will review those deliverables from the analysis stage. These should include current state documentation, a clear scope statement for the design, and a list of constraints. Additionally, the methodology and modeling tools that best fit the organization and the desired goal in the process design should have been selected. A modeling tool may have already been used in the analysis phase.

During the analysis stage, the processes in the organization are listed, weighted and prioritized. This reveals a clear picture of the weaknesses of the current process or processes and helps decide which are to be redesigned and in what order. Once these processes are selected, the degree of the change can be assessed to make either incremental or large scale systemic changes. Sometimes making frequent, small changes can have an equally significant effect on process performance as large radical changes, provided there is a clear and accepted vision of the future state.

5.4.1 Key Activities/Roadmap for Design

With knowledge gained from the analysis and a study of the design principles listed above the process design can begin. Although the methodologies to design a new process may vary, there are certain key activities that take place during the design stage of process management. This section will address several of the most common of these key activities:

• Designing the new process

• Defining activities within the new process • Defining rules that control the activities

• Defining handoffs of process between functional groups • Defining desired metrics in the new process

• Creating the physical design

• IT infrastructure analysis and design • Model simulation, testing and acceptance • Creating an implementation plan

It is important to note that although these key activities listed above appear in a logical order they do not necessarily always occur in that order and many of the activities will occur simultaneously.

5.4.2 Designing the New Process

There are many ways to design the new process from using simple white boards through sophisticated software modeling tools that allow the storage and retrieval of processes. In addition, there are also many different informational gathering activities (brain storming, story creation, etc.) that can be used to facilitate the creation of the model.

A complete discussion of the tools, activities, and methodologies used to model processes is beyond the scope of the CBOK®. All of the tools or methods used have their various strengths and weaknesses. The correct tool, methodology, and activity to define the process depend on the project goal, the culture of the organization and the current infrastructure.

The importance of process modeling, however, can be found in the discipline it provides the organization in ensuring that the model created matches the expected outcome. It also serves as written documentation of the process and detailed activity descriptions, customer interactions, business rules, and outputs.

In addition, it is critical to involve as many people from the different functions that interact with the process as possible, thus utilizing the breadth of experience and knowledge of those closest to the process. This ensures that the process truly reflects what the organization can accomplish. Finally, it should be stated that the simplest designs are most often the best designs.

5.4.3 Defining Activities within the New Process

Activities are a series of steps that are performed to execute a process. During an order fulfillment process, for example, the activities would include entering the order, packing the order, shipping the order, and billing for the order. Each one must be performed for the order process to be complete and often the steps depend on one another and so must be completed in sequence.

As stated previously, there are several approaches that can be utilized to list the key activities within a process. Although to list all of these methods is beyond the scope of the CBOK®, some options to use would include sophisticated modeling tools, white boards, or even sticky-notes. Any method the organization chooses is valid as long as the activities can be placed in order and can represent the final process design when completed.

One of the keys to a successful outcome in this task is the focus on the activities, not the actors. Another key to success is to keep the process as simple as possible. The more simple a process the more likely it will be completed without error. Further, activities that can be completed in parallel with other activities help move a process along faster.

5.4.4 Comparison to Existing Process

The new processes should also be compared to the existing state. A comparison analysis allows a gap analysis to be performed which will show the level and scope of the change. This analysis provides important information that can allow the process improvement team to demonstrate the savings that can be generated by the new process once the process is implemented. This information also helps build the case for the new process which will assist in managing resistance to change. Further, through the documentation of the gap between the old and new process, the information provides weight to the need for the organization to manage by process. The gap between the old and new can also show the degree of the savings that can be achieved via process improvements in other areas of the organization.

The existing process analysis event or transaction history provides information about conditions that created variation in process execution and performance. Evaluation of this history may suggest critical factors, e.g., event frequency, event workload, or event complexity that, in turn, could offer a set of event-action scenarios that the proposed process must accommodate. These scenarios must be tested to assess the robustness of the proposed design.

Finally, a comparison analysis also allows the process design team to revisit the existing state and ensures that the new design does, in fact, meet the expected goals and resolve the issues discovered in the analysis stage.

5.4.5 Creating a Physical Design

The focus of the prior steps was to develop a coherent description of WHAT activities are to be included and their order of execution. This logical design emphasizes the expected business value, relevant performance metrics, and the delineation of the appropriate activities and tasks as well as the linkages to other internal and external business processes.

This physical design determines HOW each activity or task is to be performed—manual or automated means or a combination of each. All the resource categories for people, technology, and facilities must be considered. A tentative budget that now includes more detailed development and operating costs is evaluated for financial feasibility. Acceptance by organizational stakeholders also must be considered. The timeline for installation must be considered in relation to the original expectations for implementation.

The degree of detail to be planned, documented, and evaluated for a physical design is dependent upon the magnitude of the business process change. Small projects may only require a brief, but accurate statement for changing existing processes or activities.

The larger or more transformational projects will require significant detail before moving forward to actual implementation.

5.4.6 IT Infrastructure Analysis and Design

One of the key roles throughout the process design stage is the role of the IT groups. As most processes involve a degree of automation in information flow, technology can be the vehicle to enhance process performance. Involving the IT professionals in the design stage ensures that the process can be automated and that data can flow seamlessly between systems and activities within the process.

When involving the IT organization, here are some key concerns that should be addressed:

• What software or systems best match the needs of the process? • Are there limitations in the current infrastructure that limit the design? • Can the design be implemented quickly?

• What will be the impact to the organization? • Can a staged approach be employed?

• What will the new implementation cost (including training, technology, etc.)? • Are there vendors that can assist in the implementation?

5.4.7 Creating an Implementation Plan

Although implementing the new business process will be addressed later in the CBOK®, it is important to create an understanding of implementation concerns at all stages of the process improvement initiative, especially during the design stage. As concerns are discovered, they should be documented and referenced. Some key issues that might arise during the design stage include: defining change management techniques that ensure employee support of the new process, identifying which existing systems will be affected including how change to these systems should be accomplished (incremental shift or immediate change), and whether the new process is piloted or tested. Once the new process has been designed, the concerns can be reviewed using an implementation plan created to appropriately address those concerns.

5.4.8 Model Simulation and Testing

As a final activity in the design process, the new process should be tested. This ensures that the new process will work as intended and that the expected results are achieved. Although implementation techniques will be discussed more thoroughly in a later chapter, the following briefly reviews a number of approaches that can be used to test a new process. Options include role-play, practice, or run a simulation of the new design.

1. Role-playing, during which you send fake inputs through the process to test it, involves assigning relevant process roles to people (not necessarily team members). For example, someone might take the role of customer while another might play an order taker, and so on. The fake inputs could be orders, contracts, or requests. Try to make them as realistic as possible. Once the roles have been

assigned, each person must play his or her “part” when the new process is performed.

2. In a practice run, the new process has been designed, real inputs are used, and the people who will actually be working in the process participate. The practice run is different from role-playing in that a role player might not actually perform that step when the process is enabled.

3. Simulation involves the use of computer software and hardware. The new process flow and key performance metrics are tested under various scenarios to find bottlenecks and other problems. These types of information technology enablers are more thoroughly discussed in other sections of this book. Role- playing, practice, and simulation have multiple advantages.

First, there is no risk. The new process can be debugged without any negative consequences. In fact, it is advantageous to try and break the new design during these test runs. Try to increase the volume that goes through the process or add complexity to the inputs thereby challenging the process to identify weak spots, bottlenecks, quality, and coordination issues. The problems can be addressed and solved safely without harming customer relationships or creating negative consequences associated with actual process operation.

Second, role-playing, practice, and simulation can demonstrate to people the dependability of the new design. Once you have the role-playing, practice, or simulation operating properly, ask senior management and those resisting the new process to observe it. Encourage questions and comments. When skeptics see the new process working and have their questions and concerns addressed, they often become supporters of the new design.

The next option is to test the design in a pilot. During a pilot, the new design is run for real but the scope of the process is constrained. For instance, you might try the pilot for one customer group, one geographic area, or one product line. The pilot can be constrained by time as well; run the pilot for six months and then evaluate its effectiveness. A pilot is slightly more risky than a role-playing, practice, or simulation because it involves real products, customers, and services. Thus a problem can have negative consequences.

The advantages to a pilot are several. First, risk is constrained. Pilots are closely monitored so if a problem does occur, it can be fixed immediately. Second, the people working in the pilot can become super-trainers as you introduce to the rest of the organization. Third, the pilot is another opportunity for skeptics to visit the pilot location and learn from those working the pilot.

Finally, when testing the new design, it is important that all involved in the process from senior management to all participants be allowed to comment on the new process. This

not only provides valuable information as to the effectiveness of the process but also creates organizational acceptance and enthusiasm for the change.