Analyzing Process and Workflow
Understanding the The Components Of A Process or Workflow
A workflow or process can be broken into a set of pieces, specifically:
- Triggers, what initiates or starts the requirement for a workflow
- Inputs, what are the inputs to the process, materials, documents, how do they arrive, where are they accessed from etc.
- Processing(Internal & External), as the workflow progresses how are things processed, decisions made, changed, updated, added to, trimmed, where are they stored to etc
- Outputs, what is the final set of outputs they may be the conclusion of this workflow or the start of another one, where are they output to, in what format etc
Using this standardized key will allow team members to communicate at all levels from executive, management, and front line in a concise and clear manner reducing the time and effort lost in translation.
Understanding What Is Currently Happening
If you ask a team member how they do something the result they give you will normally not be entirely correct, this is the result of the fact of how we do things largely out of behaviour as well as knowledge of the way we do an activity.
To get to the root of what is actually happening, not what management or executive may think is the case, a layered approach works the best consisting of a sequential series of steps:
- Interviews, a discussion of the process with team member completing the process,
- Diagramming, production of a visual diagram of the process, hand drawn or electronic,
- Re Review With Team Member, a review of the completed diagram with the team member for revisions that may have been missed in the first interview and there will usually be many the diagram brings to light,
- Update Of The Diagram, updating of the diagram to finalized actual state,
- Executive Review Of The Actual State, a review with executiive of the actual state of the process and what their view is of what it should be.
Documenting The Results
The key to creating process or workflow documentation is to maximize the transfer of information from the document to the human mind.
This documentation must be detailed, concise, and allow for visual transfer of information. This can be quite a challenge but when done well the rewards are substantial in understanding you firm or organization.
For more on our Documenting The Results ...click here
Improving The Process
Once the processes that are actually happening start to emerge the process of improving them can begin.
For more on our Improving Processes ...click here
For further information or to speak with an Advisor Free Of Charge contact us: by email ... click here or call 888-980-7520
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Constant Improvement Group
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