Article by FlowCentric Technologies
Successful business process optimisation is a lot like parenting, in that you frequently find yourself asking, “Why is this here?”
Every corporation, whether it provides toys for children, or travel insurance for the adventurous, relies on repetitive tasks to achieve its strategic objectives. To truly enhance your organisation’s output, you must be willing to discard unnecessary steps and outdated activities.
Before you start cutting out steps and changing the way your processes work it would be wise to ask, “Why is this here?”
- Why is this process here? How does it support the organisation’s strategic goals?
- Why is this step in the process? Does it support the efficient accurate completion of the process?
- Why is this data being captured? Is it necessary to complete the process? Is it valuable enough to store?
- Why is this person included in the process? Are they required or just being flooded with unnecessary notifications?
When you start asking why certain steps exist within a process, the answer is often one that parents are familiar with – “It’s not mine!” In business processes analysis that normally translates to “I didn’t create the process, I just follow it.”
In order to streamline your business operations; your department; your day, you need to start asking yourself:
- How is what I am doing, supporting the organisation’s objectives?
- Can I do this task more efficiently by cutting out steps?
- Will this task be more effective if I add steps, such as additional checks?
- What tools and information do I need to complete this task quickly and accurately?
Unless you plan to play process Jenga, it would be prudent to have an in-depth understanding of the processes that support your business, before simply cutting out steps or entire processes.
Download your complimentary guide to Learning BPMN 2.0 Basics, map out your current processes, then start asking, “Why is this here?”
Looking for the perfect tool to map your processes before digitising them? Why not request a demonstration of FlowCentric Collaborate?
FlowCentric Technologies is a proud Partner of the NSBC.