Do You Know Your Process?
Looking at the process levels, models can never show the entire complexity of the reality and this is also not intended. In a business context, the purpose of a process model is to provide an understanding of the process to all business users - and ideally enable them in executing the related business tasks.
Visualizing Business Processes
Process models provide information about business tasks, responsibilities and points of interactions. All internal employees should get a common understanding of the current process just by looking at the model and following the process flow. This is even more important for employees who are new to the organization for onboarding cases.
However, a created process model is the heart of every initiative - either for business improvement or for an IT Implementation.
Process Implementation
Process Documentation
- Modeling AS-IS processes
- Create transparency
- Share process knowledge
Process Design
- Modeling To-Be processes
- Process Simulation
- Assessment of alternatives
Process Analysis
- Problem diagnosis
- Cause study
- Potential estimation
Process Implementation
- Change Management
- Classic IT Projects
- Process Automation
Process Documentation - Making the Invisible Visible
Every process journey starts with documentation. More specifically, it starts with modeling the AS-IS situation in order to get an initial visual overview of the process. It doesn't matter how good or bad a process is at this stage - the only goal is, to make the process 'visible' in order to use this visual version as a basis for discussion / improvements. The captured BPMN diagram mainly provides information about individual process steps and the sequential flow of activities. Furthermore, it enables an understanding of process triggers and results, and even some decision points.
Firstly: Capture the Frame of the Process
The first activity is to capture the 'frame' of the process, which includes:
- Name: Does the process name reflect the purpose and content?
- Purpose: Does the process description include enough information, to provide a high-level understanding what the process is about?
- Goal: Is the described goal of the process reflected correctly in one sentence?
- Process owner: Who has the responsibility of the overall process and is interested in its successful execution? Who sets the KPI and is interested in its performance - and improvements?
- Additional process information: Are there any other additional information on process level?
Secondly: Add Additional Information Focused on Process Execution
The second activity is to add additional information, focused on process execution:
- Responsibilities: Which roles are involved for executing the tasks?
- Tasks and Descriptions: Which tasks are required? What information is required and needed to be provided in a dedicated task description?
- Systems: What tools or applications are used to complete the tasks?
- Data: What data or document are consumed or created?
- Risks and Controls: Are there any risks in certain tasks? Are the risks covered by corresponding controls?
- Key Performance Indicators (KPI): Which KPIs are suitable for the process to measure the performance?
