Learning Center
Want to learn more about business process mapping? Curious about the
latest trends and insights? Welcome to the inProcess Learning Center, a
place for those just learning about process mapping and experts whove
used the technique for years. Click on any article below to learn more.
If you have insights about process mapping youd like to share with others, email us and well share the knowledge.
Recent Articles on Process Mapping
Ask the Process Expert
Have a question about inProcess®, process management or how to make
the most out of the expert assistance that PMC Solutions provides? Ask
us! Contact Leon Spackman,
Director of Process Services with your burning questions. Maybe you’ll
see your question and answer here.
Question
: My organization is doing some things
right, but in terms of managing by systematic processes, they fall
short. Can you give me some ideas to help get my organization on the
process path?
Answer: Business Process Management is a deliberate
method for collecting data and organizing and analyzing it with
statistical and scientific methods to create a solution that will
minimize waste, optimize efficiency, and reach the quality goals a
company has set for itself. inProcess®, our mapping software, is a
business process improvement tool you can utilize on your own or as a
complement to our consulting and management services. inProcess software
can help you map your processes to gain a greater understanding of how
your organization currently operates and help you identify areas for
improvement. Comprehensive workshop teaches how to systematically
breakdown complex business processes into smaller elements, how to
effectively and efficiently map the processes, define process metrics,
and improve overall process performance.
Question
: What is the process for measuring customer relationships
and customer satisfaction?
Answer: Customer satisfaction is an elusive measurement.
Most organizations send annual customer surveys in an attempt to measure whether customers are satisfied. However,
these surveys only go to existing customers and result in subjective, general responses. How do we capture new requirements
that would satisfy or even delight customers? How do we measure the satisfaction of those who are on the edge of leaving us?
How do we get useful actionable information from customers? Bruce Woopert at Graniterock decided to give his customers the
ability to decide whether and how much to pay on an invoice based on their satisfaction with the product. The customer simply
circled the amount on the invoice for the product/service he was not satisfied with, and deducted it from the total.
“You often don’t know that a customer is upset until you lose that customer entirely. Short pay acts as an early warning system
that forces us to adjust quickly, long before we would lose that customer.” (Good to Great, Jim Collins, page 80).
We must
also communicate with our customers in multiple ways and not only rely on an annual survey. How long has it been since your
customers received a visit or a phone call from you? Do you have representatives in your customer’s shop? Do you know what
they really need and want?
When I was in charge of an Air Force supply unit, we had four major customers: each of the flying
squadrons. To increase customer satisfaction and get direct feedback, we created a bench stock of high demand items located at
each customer’s maintenance buildings and assigned a member of my team to manage each one. As a result, backorders decreased
dramatically and I knew much more quickly what my customers needed and how to meet their requirements. My measurement was their
success in meeting their mission.
Customer surveys are useful but don’t rely on them as the only measurement. Give your customers
additional ways to communicate specifics with a dose of personal contact and you will find you will have loyal, satisfied customers.
Leon Spackman
Director, Business Process Services
Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
PMP
The process world is constantly evolving, and PMC Solutions strives to provide valuable tips to ensure your organization remains current with business process concepts and trends. Click the links below for a series of tips.
Process Improvement
Process improvement means making things better, not just fighting fires or managing crises. It means setting aside the customary practice
of blaming people for problems or failures. It is a way of looking at how we can do our work better. Excerpted from
Handbook for Basic Process Improvement, Balanced Scorecard
Institute.
Creating Great Process Flow
Create a flow diagram of the business process to understand the goal of the business process and the required
steps to reach the goal.
Before you begin to define a document routing process, you must analyze the work that your business performs, where and how it is performed, and by whom. An administrator or business analyst does this planning step.
Begin planning your document routing process by creating a paper flow diagram of the business process that you want to automate. You can begin with an abstract view of the process and then provide more detail as you interview the people who are involved in various steps of the process.
Consider how you want information and activities to flow. Where does the input originate? What is the final product? The final product might be the result of all the work accomplished by your business, by one department in your business, or by certain employees from different departments.
From your process flow diagram, you can also begin to identify the work nodes (work baskets, collection points, and business applications), any decision points, and any subprocesses required for your process. You can also identify points in your process where the process splits into parallel routes and then where it joins back into a single route. You define these document routing elements when you build your process, but you need to know what they are now so that you can plan the correct authorization for those elements
.