Process Improvement
Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 What is process Improvement?
3 Techniques for Process Improvement
4 Role of Automation in Process Improvement
5 Advantages of Process Improvement
Bibliography
1. Introduction
It will cost a large amount of time and money to the
organization when a business process brakes, but by analyzing the exact point
where the process is broken is not an exact science.
2. What is process Improvement?
Process improvement can be termed as the exercise of
identifying, analyzing and improving the current business processes in order to
optimize the performance, demonstrate Industry standard best practices,
improving quality and the improvement of the user experience of customers and
end users alike.
Process improvement can be known by many different names
such as Business Process Management (BPM), Business Process Improvement (BPI),
Business Process re-engineering, Continual Improvement Process (CIP), etc.
Regardless of the term used, they are all to achieve the same result: to reduce
mistakes, minimize wastage, increase productivity and improve efficiency.
Figure 1: Process Improvement
3. Techniques for Process Improvement
There are many different types of techniques which have been
developed to assist your company to tackle improving processes. The goal of
each technique is to assist your organization identify errors in processes,
rectify them and analyze the effectiveness of the changes made.
Even though the goal is common, each technique can be used
based on the requirement. Some of the frameworks mainly deal with a technique
with Lean process improvement, which some others will deal with assisting your
organization’s culture to be at the correct place to initiate the process
improvement efforts. There are some types of techniques that assist your
organization to map workflows of processes in a virtual manner. Below are some
examples of commonly used techniques to achieve process improvement within your
organization.
3.1. Kaizen
This is a process improvement technique that encourages
continuous improvement with a large focus on practices from Lean and Agile.
Kaizen mainly will deal with improving the quality, productivity and efficiency
by making minor changes in daily tasks or the culture in the organization in
order to bring about an environment that will not reprimand when mistakes are
made, but will strive to prevent the mistakes of ever occurring again.
3.2. 5S
This is a model that is considered as part of Kaizen and
Lean techniques, and it stands for five steps:
- Sort.
- Straighten.
- Shine.
- Standardize.
- Sustain.
This model assists in achieving more consistency for the
process improvement and the process can be standardized.
Figure 2: 5S
3.3. PDCA
This technique also can be taken as part of the Kaizen
technique, PDCA breaks down into Plan, DO, Check and Act. This assists
companies improve efficiency during identification of processes that will
require improvements. You will first discover the issue (Plan), formulate and
implement a solution to the problem (Do), evaluate the data obtained in order
to determine the effectiveness (Check) then document the results and if
successful, the plan must be implemented (Act).
Figure 3: PDCA Cycle
3.4. Six Sigma
This method can be considered as one of the most famous
techniques which promotes employees through a classification based on belts in
Karate. The Green belt will be the start and it will go up to the Black belt.
This technique has two methods to ensure that process improvement is achieved
with the use of a series of specific steps. The first method is Define, Measure,
Analyze, Improve and Control or DMAIC. The other method is Define, Measure,
Analyze, Design and Verify or DMADV.
3.5. Cause and Effect Analysis
This is another technique that is derived from Sigma Six.
This technique uses a method of diagramming in order to find the solution to
the issue in the first instance by means of identification of the issue,
discovering the blockers and exactly identifying where the process is broken.
3.6. SIPOC Analysis
This is a format of diagramming that is used user the
measure stage is both methods under Sigma Six. This technique will support the
company in defining and establishing a project for improvement of processes
while identifying the requirements and the necessities in order to initiate the
project.
3.7. Value Stream Mapping (VSM)
This technique supports companies to virtually represent
customer requirements for the process, which in turn assists in the
identification of the value of a product, process or service to the company.
Like the other techniques, it mainly looks at reducing or removing the waste,
redundancies and being as Lean as possible.
3.8. Total Quality Management (TQM)
This technique mainly looks into long term success by means
of Customer satisfaction. This supports the company and assists in getting
everyone interested in continuous improvement of processes. This technique
empowers employees and promotes a culture where employees would not be afraid
to make mistakes and a driven to achieve a shared Business Objective.
3.9. Kanban
This technique is used as a tool to visualize process
workflows which will align business units, leadership and employees together in
order to improve processes. This is another technique that uses and promotes
Lean Process Improvement.
3.10. Process
Mapping
This is another technique which is used to virtualize
workflows that assists organizations to map and plan improvement of business
processes. This technique can also be known by the following terms:
·
Process Flowchart.
·
Process Chart.
·
Functional Flowchart.
·
Process Model.
This is the process of making flow diagrams that displays
information which is vital to know about the process from beginning to end.
4. Role of Automation in Process Improvement
Due to the fact that one of the simplest methods for process
improvement is to remove manual labor and mitigate human error, Automation has
a major role in the improvement of processes. Automation of processes supports
the company in understanding where improvements are required and what works
well.
Robotic Process Automation or RPA is an incredibly famous
topic nowadays and companies are looking into it in order to streamline their processes.
This lets the company emulate human involvement for day-to-day tasks in a complex
process. The Automation happens via a series of rules and trigger points that
will remove manual work in the required parts of the process and lets the RPA
do what was previously done by the human.
Following are some of the improvements to process that are
currently being automated through RPA:
- Email Responses.
- Online Order Processing.
- Categorizing Help Desk Tickets.
- Transferring Data in between Systems.
- Payroll Management.
This will not only many the process more efficient, but also
assists in improving availability of employees in order to look into more
complex tasks that cannot be automated.
Figure 4: Robotic Process Automation
5. Advantages of Process Improvement
The following are some of the advantages of Business Process
Improvement:
·
Improvement in Productivity.
- Improvement in Employee Satisfaction.
- Reduced Risk.
- Improvement in Compliance Level.
- Improvement in Customer Satisfaction.
- Agility.
- Technology integration.
Bibliography
6Sigma.us, 2017. Understanding the 5S’s of
Kaizen. [Online]
Available at: https://www.6sigma.us/six-sigma-articles/understanding-5ss-of-kaizen/
[Accessed 8 April 2023].
Efficy,
n.d.. All about RPA or Robotic Process Automation. [Online]
Available at: https://www.efficy.com/rpa-robotic-process-automation/
[Accessed 8 April 2023].
frevvoblog,
2021. A Step-By-Step Guide to Improving Business Processes. [Online]
Available at: https://www.frevvo.com/blog/improving-business-processes/
[Accessed 8 April 2023].
Hyseni, V.,
2023. The Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) Cycle: A Guide to Continuous
Improvement. [Online]
Available at: https://pecb.com/article/the-plan-do-check-act-pdca-cycle-a-guide-to-continuous-improvement
[Accessed 8 April 2023].
MXOtech.inc.,
2018. 7 benefits of business process improvement. [Online]
Available at: https://www.mxotech.com/2018/04/7-benefits-business-process-improvement/
[Accessed 8 April 2023].
White, S.,
2019. What is process improvement? A business methodology for efficiency
and productivity. [Online]
Available at: https://www.cio.com/article/220557/what-is-process-improvement-a-business-methodology-for-efficiency-and-productivity.html#:~:text=Process%20improvement%20involves%20the%20business,for%20customers%20and%20end%2Dusers.
[Accessed 2 April 2023].
Hi, Malindra great explanation on process improvement & the tools you have mentioned in order to improve business processes are quite interesting. However, more than 70% of efforts for business process improvement fall short of expectations. Any error, no matter how small, can cost a company all the advantages of business process management. Picking The ‘Wrong’ Processes for Improvement, Going Too Fast / Too Slow, Ignoring Process Documentation, Overlooking Team Competency, and Following A Sporadic Approach are MUST NOT do when practicing business process improvement. (Khabe, M. 2019)
ReplyDeleteHi great article, Are those related to data-driven solutions? If it is so how would you plan to give a timely practical solution?
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would break down the improvement requirement in to smaller initiatives which can be delivered in a short time spans. Further, you can bring it down further into small tasks or activities which can be tracked using something like a Kanban board. You can look into software like Jira or Service Now to help in tracking.
DeleteUnique topic and good literature review. As per my research there are 3 common challenges to Business process improvement. Those are: Prioritizing Creative Solutions, overcoming employee resistance to process improvement, setting up clear goals based on forecasting (Daniel Goodson, 2023).
ReplyDeleteSource: https://corporatetraining.usf.edu/blog/3-common-obstacles-to-business-process-improvement
Hi, There is always opportunity for improvement, thus you can never be perfect. Nevertheless, you'll learn to improve along the route to perfection. Consistent process improvement will bring high productivity, employer engagement , learning and development.
ReplyDelete