Process Reengineering
4.1 Process Mapping
The notion of process mapping was introduced in the early writings of Philip Crosby as part of his concept of “Systems Integrity” [18]. Process mapping enables managers to identify and assess the various processes that make up their organization and to develop a road map for performance improvement.
In the private sector, every process that defines the customer-related activities of a business—the order taking process, product design process, production or delivery process, billing process, and so forth—can be viewed as the main customer “thoroughfares” of a process map. Also included at this first level are the major interchanges and management accountabilities. The “secondary roads”
are those processes that do not directly produce results for the organization’s customers, but are integral to the successful support of the primary processes—
such as recruiting, hiring, and orienting new employees, ordering and receiving supplies, maintaining inventory, and so forth.
To improve a process, it is first necessary to understand, in some detail, what currently is being done—what activities are being carried out, what relationships between activities and information flows exist, and what is the
“value added” of each activity. Understanding current processes facilitates the identification of issues and the ability to communicate these issues to top management. Determining future processes provides a “blueprint” for the policies, procedures, and organizational structure necessary to support the desired changes.
Existing processes must be described in sufficient detail to uncover any hidden pathologies, which may include high costs, inefficient work flows, inappropriate sequences of activities, insignificant value added for customers or end-users, and so forth. These inadequacies should be detected and documented using quantitative as well as qualitative methods, depending on the nature of the pathology.
In documenting current processes, the following factors are important to include:
Description of the entire process.
Identification of process elements and resources utilized.
Evaluation of the performance of the current process.
Analysis of processes to determine inconsistencies in application, unnec- essary redundancies and wasted effort, missing linkages, and so on.
A number of basic questions should be asked about each process:
Why is this process undertaken?
What initiates the process?
What types of reviews or approvals are involved and when do they occur?
What are the nature, frequency, and cause of errors or problems?
How are problems and issues handled?
What is the output of the process and where does it go?
How long does the process take?
Process mapping (or event modeling) is a technique for documenting, from start to finish, the individual activities and key characteristics that define a process. Process mapping is the organizational equivalent of a financial audit, providing an accurate accounting of where an organization stands, process-wise.
Two tools are generally applied:
1. Process flows: Visual depictions that show the order of activities and the movement of information into and out of a process (see Figures 6.1 and 6.2); and
2. Process profiles: Narrative descriptions that provide the detail behind the flow diagrams (see Table 6.6).
Both current and future processes should be mapped. Several key characteristics should be identified for each process:
Responsibilities: key participants and their roles in the process.
Individual activities or steps: sequence of events; linkages among events;
and points at which responsibilities are delegated.
Inputs: information and data flows; tangible items; and activity triggers.
Outputs: key deliverables of each activity.
Customers/stakeholders: internal and external recipients of outputs.
Performance measures: time required to complete each activity; volume;
frequency; and workload and productivity.
It is important to provide as much detail as possible about each process without compromising comprehension and readability.
Process maps usually are developed starting at a high level and progress to increasing levels of detail. The level of detail pursued depends upon the resources available, complexity of the processes, organization structure, magnitude of the
FIGURE6.1“Asis”processflow:proposalprocessingandsubmissiontosponsors.
FIGURE6.2“Future”processflow:proposalprocessingandsubmissiontosponsors.
improvements required, project objectives, and the overall “understandability”
of the processes. In general the levels can be described as follows:
Level 1: Strategic processes: Primary value-added building blocks of the organization.
Level 2: Process elements: Major steps within each process; should be generic and not specific to a given unit within the organi- zation.
Level 3: Functional activities: Principal activities that constitute each process element, representing all of the inputs of a single functional group to a process element.
Level 4: Individual tasks: Specific tasks within each activity, often performed by a single individual or small team.
Level 5: Work steps: Lowest identifiable discreet form of work within each task.
In most applications, the focus of process mapping is on functional activities (Level 3).
The first task in constructing a process map is to identify the beginning and end of the process under study. It is important to establish the first step that must be taken and the first thing that must be accomplished, which is the initial activity that triggers the process. Then, the last thing that must be done should be defined. If an earlier step is subsequently identified, it can be added.
The easiest way to identify the steps between the beginning and the end is to mentally “walk through” the process as it normally occurs. A new step begins when a new type of activity is required. The process description should include every operation, move, point of review or inspection, hand-off or transfer of information, and delay. It is important to list all the elements of the process regardless of how much time it takes to complete each one. Approaching the mapping of a process in this way helps to reduce the seemingly overwhelming nature of the task.
Once the process has been defined and all of the steps have been identified, the process map can be drawn. A process flow is created by using standard flow chart symbols. Software, such asVisioTM, is available to facilitate the recording of process flows; activity network diagramming procedures, such as the critical path method (CPM) and program evaluation and review technique (PERT) can also be applied. An appropriate flow chart symbol should be chosen for each step and each step should be briefly identified, telling who, what, and/or where.
The steps are connected with lines. The mapping continues in this manner until all the steps in the process are covered. Activities should flow from left to right.
If possible, flows should be limited to one page. If a process requires more than one page, it may be best to divide it into subprocesses or to use an off-page
connector. It is important to keep flow diagrams simple and to label flows to clearly distinguish between current and future processes.
Sometimes the process map may “branch.” A common branch results from an “if,” or conditional situation: “If a voucher is below a certain amount, it goes directly to the bursar for payment. If it above this amount, it goes to the controller for an additional signature.” Branching can occur during a review step, as when errors are detected and returned for correction. Branching also occurs when several operations need to be carried out at the same time.
In order to improve the process flow, it is important to know the time required to complete each step. This information helps to determine where wasted time can be reduced or eliminated. If the time required to complete a step varies considerably, the circumstances contributing to this variation should be noted. The appropriate times should be recorded for each step in the process.
It is important to record the time for delays and storage—these are good targets in the process flow for improvement.
It may be appropriate to assign a cost to each step in the process, but this is optional and will depend on the particular application of the process map.
Cost information could provide incentives to eliminate unnecessary or duplicate steps.
In analyzing the current process map, it may be determined that many of the steps seem to be working reasonably well. For the time being, these steps should remain unchanged, but should be monitored or controlled so that change does not occur. The process map helps to identify the points in the process that are causing trouble. Once identified, a cause-and-effect diagram or other analytical tool might be used to examine the elements in the process step to find the cause of the problem. These analytical tools will be described in further detail in Section 4.4.
Improving the process means deliberately changing it in some way. Can any repeated operations be eliminated? Are there ways to shorten or eliminate moves and delays? Brainstorming, cause-and-effect diagrams, or storyboarding can be used to improve the process. Some other points to keep in mind are:
Is there a point in the process that slows or restricts the flow of work, information, or people, and if so, what can be done to improve this situation?
How can the sequence of operations be improved to increase effective- ness?
Can the way in which an operation or activity is carried out be improved?
Can the need for corrections, changes, additions, or recycling something in the process be reduced or eliminated?
Is there a better way to carry out this process?
A process map may show that the system is more complex than anyone realizes. There may be redundant or unnecessary steps which, once revealed, can likely be combined or eliminated. Simplifying the process that delivers the goods or service is the first critical step in improving quality, efficiency, and productivity. A process map also helps to identify the points in the process that need to be controlled—those activities that are most critical to providing the service in a timely and effective manner and those points in the process where trouble usually occurs.
Process mapping can help managers make the most effective use of both personnel and other resources. It encourages those individuals most closely involved in a work process to participate in determining how to use resources more efficiently. A good grasp of specific activities and their relationship to other groups helps managers make more effective decisions and leads to better relationships between units within the organization. Process mapping also provides an excellent basis for training packages for both management and employees. Ways to improve the flow of work can be determined by analyzing process mapping documents.
It may not always be possible or desirable at the outset to undertake the mapping of all processes. It may be more appropriate to concentrate on those processes that offer the greatest potential for major improvement in terms of quality, timeliness, service enhancements, and/or cost savings.
Such improvements should have a visible impact on the overall performance of the organization—both in terms of the external customers and the staff members. Often these initial targets are processes for which the application of technology offers significant potential gains and enhancements. In other cases, the processes selected for a “pilot” program have significant potential for positive impact on the departmental and administrative culture of the organization and offer major opportunities for joint interunit problem solving and inter- action.
Processes that are selected for initial mapping should demonstrate results that are clearly measurable with objective criteria. These pilot processes should have a high likelihood of success in terms of demonstrated results within a reasonable scope and time period. They should also evidence a high degree of commitment from a “process owner” (i.e., the official within the organization with the authority to implement the process change).
In his book, Harrington advocated the formation of an executive improve- ment team (EIT) charged with identifying the critical processes and developing an appropriate change model [19]. A process improvement team (PIT), consist- ing of from 5 to 12 members representing all of the units involved the processes under analysis, should also be established. The PIT should (1) flowchart the pro- cess, (2) gather process cost and quality information, (3) establish measurement
points and feedback loops, (4) qualify the process, (5) develop and implement improvement plans, (6) report efficiency, effectiveness, and change status, and (7) ensure process adaptability.
An early step in process mapping is to bring together those people who understand or are impacted by the process.Focus groups—five to fifteen people who are knowledgeable about a given process—may be organized to share ideas, discuss issues, and collaborate on defining activities and their relationships within processes. More complex issues should be broken down into manageable components for discussion in these focus groups. Reference materials should be distributed prior to the group’s meetings to catalyze the discussion and to provide a common focal point for the participants.
Often, the same processes are performed differently by different segments within an organization. Therefore, it is important to consider all practices and to map the most representative process. Differences that may exist should be identified to highlight potential “best practices.” Each process should be mapped at a level of detail appropriate to identify reengineering opportunities.
Performance measures should be identified at this level of detail. Consistent names and labeling should be used to establish links between flows and profiles.