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Business Process Reengineering (or re-engineering) consists of taking current operations, identifying the value that they deliver, and then finding ways to deliver the same or more value through the use of fewer resources. The value delivered depends on the organization's strategic direction, but usually includes customer service, quality, and some kind of tangible product. The resources under review generally include time, staff, and money. The Stanton Group's business process reengineering started in 1991. It began with the extension of time-based competition work from the factory into business processes like order entry and accounting. Soon the practice spread from our "roots" in Midwestern manufacturing firms to service sector and government organizations. Results have been exciting: Many of our industrial clients are shipping their products from the United States to the Far East. Our government clients are leaders in the nation's program for control of government growth. An important factor in our success is that we limit the use of "canned" project methodologies, choosing instead to learn all we can about the client organization and the good things that are already happening there. This allows us to build solutions on the best things the client is already doing, and it helps us avoid "turning off" high performers by replacing their efforts with a "clean sheet of paper." We do as much work as possible through client staff. This helps to control project cost, and leaves the greatest possible amount of learning in the client organization after the project ends. When working with large organizations, we typically train local people to do survey and facilitation work. This leaves the client staff with the tools for continuous improvement of their own processes. The Stanton Group business process reengineering model has five basic steps: 1. PROCESS IDENTIFICATION - Processes to be reengineered are often pre-selected by the client organization, but it is still necessary to identify the key sub-processes on which the pre-selected processes depend. To achieve this, Stanton Group facilitators work with client staff to identify the sub-processes which make up the major work flows in all project areas. These sub-processes are then linked across organizational boundaries to construct the list of processes to be reengineered. 2. CURRENT PROCESS REVIEW - The affected work groups, or their representatives, are usually convened to identify local "experts" in the current process flows. These experts work with facilitators to diagram the current flows. The current flows are then typically reviewed by other workgroup members for correctness. This approach saves a great deal of client work time over conventional group processes, while maintaining group participation and the resulting buy-in. 3. OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS - Stanton Group facilitators typically speak in terms of "opportunities" rather than "problems,". Teams identify the value that the customer derives from existing processes; add (using customer research where possible) new benefits that the customer desires; and identify techniques and technologies that might improve current operating methods. Where appropriate, best practices are also identified from current work |
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4. NEW PROCESS DESIGN - Using the organization's mission statement and strategic plan, facilitators work with work group members to identify process improvements that will meet strategic objectives. Examples of strategic objectives might be; do more with less, improve customer service through improved speed and simplicity, and make optimum use of information technology to simultaneously enhance performance and quality of work life. Once developed by a team of facilitators and work group members, the new processes are subjected to rigorous review by the work group. The reengineering team is never allowed to forget that the workgroup must be satisfied with all aspects of the new processes, because they will have to live with them long after the project ends, and because they are the only ones who can make the new processes succeed. 5. IMPLEMENTATION - A smooth transition is designed from the planning project to implementation so that the momentum and excitement generated by the reengineering project are carried into implementation. Implementation planning actually begins during new process design. Technology representatives are drawn into the reengineering teams, and, wherever possible, volunteers from the reengineering team are trained to head up the implementation effort. This assures that implementation efforts will proceed in light of the same vision that guided the reengineering teams. Another benefit is derived from this approach to implementation planning. Team members who may have been apprehensive about changes to the workplace become better able to envision life after the change if they take the time to design the implementation process. There is no substitute for this attention to detail. At its best, business process reengineering is more than a mechanical process.
In most applications, it should be supported by a cultural assessment. This tool yields a great deal of information
on the relative importance of various design issues, and the implementation impact of key cultural elements. In
addition to allowing the project team to "triangulate" on important issues, the cultural assessment provides
an ideal setting for facilitation and change management training. |
See also:  Critical AnalysisStrategic PlanningData System Alignment |
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The Stanton Group www.stangroup.com |