Business Process Analysis

WHY BOTHER?
The reason for process analysis is deceptively simple. Operations must be automated in order for the modern business to compete, regardless of the market. Operations are composed of processes.

Remember, the processes to be automated must serve the fundamental aims, activities and resources of the organization's business (enterprise) model.

OR, AS The Wizard of AN says,

"Almost all processes that can be feasibly automated should be, but Don't Automate Bad Processes!"

While new systems must effectively leverage legacy data, facilities, hardware, software, skill-sets and other resource investments, they must be implemented only on processes that serve the organization's post-implementation activities.

WHAT TO DO
There's nothing magic about this, but it needs to be done. For many organizations, it is part of the initial Architecture & Design process and is not even noticeable. In other cases, the process is highlighted so that managers remain focused on what needs to be done to conduct business.

Absolutely crucial to successful implementation of a modern commercial data management system is that the transactions or functions that are actually required to conduct the intended business are identified. More importantly, the ones that are not required are also identified, so that they may be eliminated. These are usually vestigial transactions or functions that were adopted only because:

automation capabilites were not available, or

earlier, poorer, automation required them

A side benefit to this analysis is that, in addition to culling processes to assure efficiency, it often produces insight into ways to improve the processes that are necessary. Some functions lend themselves to being combined, and some steps are found to serve other subsequent or parallel functions. The analysis can result in either a formal or informal plan, depending on the complexity of the processes being modernized. Often, the plan is completely informal, contained entirely within the archtecture and design process, and to some extent conducted concurrently.

IMPLEMENTATION
Once the analysis has identified the needed transactions/functions, care is taken to automate the required processes so that the goals of the organization are realized efficiently and economically.

As part of the systems design:

Old resources are reviewed to determine their most effective place in the new system. Resources formerly devoted to unnecessary or inefficient processes are freed up for re-assignment. It makes sense to implement improvements using as much of the existing resource investment as practical.
New resources are identified, qualified, selected and implemented. Establishing proper processes also helps to assure that solutions are not overly complex, expensive and burdensome to the organization.

Again, it is crucial that modernization of data management not be undertaken from the sole perspective of pre-modernization operations.

It's about that simple, and about that important.

At AN, Ltd. we are comfortable either performing tasks and securing resources under the direction and control of your management, or supporting your personnel as they perform.

AN, Ltd also provides remedial solutions to TQM debacles and help in cleaning up the messes left over from following similar fads.

e-mail us for a personal response.