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Helping organisations achieve corporate goals
SERVICES Improving
business processes
Managing programmes and projects
IMPROVING
BUSINESS PROCESSES
1. OUR PHILOSOPHY
¨ Relentless focus on activities
which really improve business results and customer satisfaction
¨ Strong focus on
clearly-defined goals, facts, performance metrics, teamwork and
measurable results
¨ Use a proven Business Process
Management (BPM) approach and toolkit
¨ Understand the human factors
in managing change and motivating cross-functional and inter-company
teams
¨ Get the process right before
considering computer system changes
2. APPROACH
We use our 4DM1 approach which consists of the following phases:
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Define
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- identify strategy and clear business goals
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Diagnose
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- assess current situation
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Design
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- select and design optimum solution
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Deliver
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- plan and implement changes
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Monitor
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- review performance and business results
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3. BUSINESS PROCESS MANAGEMENT (BPM) SERVICES
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Turn around
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In a turnaround situation, it’s
essential to get the balance right between ‘quick wins’, not cutting
too many corners and making things better, not worse.
We work with the management
team and staff, using our 4DM approach, to identify where processes or
systems have become inefficient (and why). Then we can move forward to
design and deliver quick improvements. Once the immediate pressures are
eased, changes can be reviewed during the Monitor phase and fine-tuned
if necessary.
‘If you tell
every employee what the company is about, they will show you how to
answer most of its problems. Those solved by everyone engender
camaraderie and bring success.’
Lord Hanson; The Telegraph, 2001).
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Business start-ups
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We work as part of the management team to define
clear goals, design policies and work processes. Then project-manage
implementation. We also put special emphasis on procedures for ongoing
process and performance monitoring, which are an essential part of the
ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System (QMS).
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Process performance audits
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‘O
wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us’ (Robert Burns)
We look at process
performance from two perspectives:
Business results
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Planned versus actual contribution to meeting the
corporate strategy
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Achievement of external customer quality, cost and
delivery requirements
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Checking alignment to Corporate strategy
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Areas where a process is performing or not
performing as expected
Process performance
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Quality - have external and internal suppliers met
pre-agreed quality standards?
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Cost performance - cost of labour, raw materials,
re-work, etc.
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Delivery - time to produce the output required by an
external or internal customer (cycle time)
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Achievement of internal customer quality, cost and
delivery requirements
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Process conformance - ensuring that suppliers and
staff follow defined processes
Identifying improvement
areas and recommending / implementing remedial actions
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Current improvement programmes and activities
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Audit of improvement
activities and impact on business results
Identifying and implementing
remedial actions, including
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Clarification of corporate goals and measures of
success
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Prioritising activities
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Aligning activities with strategic goals
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Introduction of performance metrics for both business
results and process performance
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Training for managers and staff
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Leading or facilitating improvement workshops, etc
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Procedures to monitor business process results
“The
performance improvement efforts of many companies have as much impact
on operational and financial results as a ceremonial rain dance has on
the weather”
(Robert H
Schaffer / Harvey A Thomson. Harvard Business Review February 1992)
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Proposed improvement programmes
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Support to the Board:
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Selecting a suitable improvement approach for the
organisation and its culture
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Aligning business processes to Corporate strategy
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Launching improvement programmes
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Reporting on results
‘Seven
out of ten employees don't know what the strategy is, still less understand
it.’
(Tom Lester; The Times, 2001)
Support to Managers:
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Training for managers and their teams in using BPM
tools
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Helping managers to get started on improvement
activities
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Helping teams to get started in improving their
business processes
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Leading and facilitating improvement activities
‘If you listen to
your customers, you’ll hear what you do well and what you don’t do well
and it then becomes clear what you must spend your energies on.’
(Bob Dutkowski, Chairman & CEO, JD Edwards, 2002)
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4. BUSINESS PROCESS EXPERIENCE
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Methodologies and approaches
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4DM, Business Process Management (BPM), Balanced
Scorecard, 8 Omega, EFQM, Business Excellence, Total Quality
Management, Leadership Through Quality, elements of Six Sigma, change
management
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Tools used include
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Customer first, customer
satisfaction measurement, brainstorming, balanced scorecard, capability
maturity model, prioritisation matrix, problem definition, problem solving,
data collection, stakeholder analysis, root-cause analysis (fishbone),
waste checklist, process mapping, process map inspection, business
process metrics, process performance metrics,
Process-Organisation-System-Technology (POST) analysis, force field
analysis (helps and hinders), SWOT analysis, programme and project
management tools, meeting facilitation, Visio, etc
So many tools, so
many ‘new’ approaches, so many opportunities for ‘navel-gazing’…
unfortunately it is sometimes forgotten that the tools are only a means
to an end - the sustained improvement of business results.
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Results include
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Designed and prepared
Business Process Management (BPM) handbooks, toolkit, training course
materials and marketing collaterals to enable launch of internal BPM
workshops.
Saved £3m by forming a team
to improve an international service delivery business process. By
overcoming bottlenecks, order lead time was reduced from months to
days.
Defined all core business processes
in European £2.5m professional services company start-up. Introduced
balanced scorecard, monthly performance reviews, training plans and
customer satisfaction measurement. Obtained ISO 9002 certification.
Devised and managed strategic change from a
product-focused, inward-looking culture to a customer-focused culture
in an International technical support organisation. Reduced critical
problems missing target from 40% to 15%.
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<<TOP>>
MANAGING
PROGRAMMES AND PROJECTS
1.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
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No surprises - openness and honesty - ensure good
communications with stakeholders, management and the project team
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The devil is in the detail - keep watching
everything; assume nothing
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Strong focus on clearly-defined goals, facts, risk
management, contingency and back-out plans, teamwork and measurable
results
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Understand the human factors in managing change and
motivating cross-functional or inter-company teams
2.
APPROACH
We
normally use a Prince 2-based approach or the client’s own in-house methodology
and system
3.
PROGRAMME AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT
SERVICES
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Turn around problem projects and programmes
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Define -
Agree the grounds rules up front for reviewing the programme or
project
- Understand required project and programme goals and obtain
consensus
Diagnose -
Assess current situation
- Review project risks and contingency plans
- Identify root causes of project problems
- Set realistic expectations
Design -
Evaluate strategic options
- Identify and agree remedial actions
- Reset expectations if necessary
Deliver -
Generate recovery plans, get signed off and deliver
Monitor - Monitor project
performance against required results
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Project audits
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Assessment of project
management and contract management activities against established
best practices (also known as Project and Programme ‘Capability
Maturity Model’)
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Programme and project management
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Managing all
aspects of the project life cycle, including projects where special
skills or experience are required
Selection and
implementation of project management, programme management and risk
management systems
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4.
PROGRAMME & PROJECT MANAGEMENT
EXPERIENCE
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Methodologies and approaches
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Prince 2 and various
client’s in-house methodologies
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Tools include
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ALIGNa Microsoft
Excel and Word templates, Microsoft Project, Pertmaster, ProjecTrak,
capability maturity model
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Results include
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Performed project management audit, introduced project
management best practises, project templates and reporting to provide
Directors with comprehensive programme portfolio reports for 40 IT
projects. IT department then passed parent company audit of IT project
management practices.
Project
management of 8-month £7m plus global XP hardware and software
upgrade of 5,500 PC’s at 210 sites in 76 countries, including supply
chain and service delivery, pre-configuration of PC’s with client
software and installation/upgrade at customer site.
Managed global IT site audit of 479 sites in 37
countries. Brought into a 10-week project in week 4 to find only 5
sites had been completed. 98% of sites were completed by due date,
100% one week later. Completed 30% under budget.
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<<TOP>>
Acknowledgements:
1 The 4DM approach is a refinement of a 3DM
Business Process Management (BPM) approach, originally developed with
the Process & Programme team at St Regis Paper Company Ltd, with particular
thanks to Brian Doherty, Petra In ‘t Veld-Brown, Dipak Tank and Chris
Bond.
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The
Director of ALIGNa Ltd, Peter Jenkins, is an Executive Interim Manager
who specialises in ‘making things happen’, accelerating change and
managing transition, using proven business process management and project
management methods to deliver improved business results.
Where other specialist skills or
experience are required, please see the ‘About us’ page.
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