A Step-by-Step Approach to Business Process Management

Organizations need Business Process Management techniques to improve all work processes. A work process, also known as a business process, is a set of tasks and activities driven by one or more inputs, at least some of which, represent customer requirements that result in one or more outputs, which meet the customer requirements. There are 7 steps or stages to business process management and they are:

Stage 1: Evaluation

  • Determine the process for improvement.
  • Form the Process Management team.
  • Define the roles & responsibilities of the team members.
  • Identify process goal, objectives and expected outcomes.

Stage 2: Identify The Stakeholder

  • Identify all stakeholders impacted by the process.
  • Identify stakeholder requirements from the process.

Stage 3: Describe the Current Process

  • Define the current performance of the process.
  • Flowchart the current process.

Stage 4: Measure the Process

  • Measure the current performance of the process.
  • Identify qualitative and quantitative measures.

Stage 5: Identify Blockages and Barriers

  • Identify the blockages and barriers preventing you from immediately realizing your goal.
  • Apply a problem solving technique to identify all possible blockages and barriers that may be preventing you from realizing the customer requirements.

Stage 6: Root Cause Analysis

  • Delve into the source of every identified blockage.
  • Explore the causes of every identified barrier.

Stage 7: Develop Solutions and the Implementation Plan

  • Develop solutions.
  • Prioritize solutions.
  • Describe the new process:
    • Identify the impact on internal and external customers.
    • Re-organize the structure according to plan.
  • Pilot the new process.
  • Measure the new process capabilities.
  • Develop a detailed implementation strategy to ensure that the solutions can be successfully realized.

Michael Stanleigh

