Process Management: Applying Process Mapping to Analyze and Improve Your Operation

This process management seminar provides you with proven tools to successfully implement business improvements including process mapping techniques…documentation of standard operating procedures…and value-added vs. nonvalue-added activity analysis to successfully implement process management improvements.

• Identify process management improvement opportunities
• Manage bottlenecks to enhance workflow and productivity
• Determine if nonvalue-added operations should be outsourced
• Use process management to know where excess levels of inventories can be reduced or eliminated
• Achieve more realistic and effective scheduling based on process lead-time data
• Know how each process relates to the whole operation

• Critical success factors for process management improvement projects
• Issues: business process elements…typical business processes… measuring and controlling performance
• Using project management techniques to improve processes
• Process mapping: collecting the data
• Analyzing the data and identifying desired improvements
• Why standard operating procedures (SOPs) are important
• Cultural and organizational issues and barriers

Learning Objectives

• Understand your company’s current business processes
• Use various tools and techniques for documenting current business processes and designing desired business processes
• Determine areas for improvement, including those that will:

  —reduce product cost and product lead-times
  —improve product quality
  —improve customer’s perception of received values

• Determine where bottlenecks are so that they can be managed properly
• Identify non-value-added operations
• Prepare a project plan for your process improvement projects

Critical Success Factors for Process Improvement Projects

• Define terminology associated with process improvement projects
• Provide a description of a process improvement project
• List possible benefits of process improvement projects
• Identify reasons why process improvement projects succeed or fail

Definition of a Process

• Define the critical elements of a process
• Distinguish between high-level and detailed-level business processes
• Identify processes in your workplace based on additional examples of business processes

Process Improvement Using Project Management Techniques

• Identify the key stages of a process improvement project
• Define key project-management tools and techniques that can be used for process improvement projects
• Define a structured list of activities that must be completed in a process improvement project

Mapping the Process—Collecting the Data

• Define the steps required during the planning of a process improvement project
• Identify additional techniques to document a process
• Create a process map using a three-step framework

Analyzing the Data and Identifying Process Improvements

• Apply various techniques to analyzing the as-is process map
• Develop a desired (to-be) process map that reflects process improvements
• Understand the steps required to reach agreement about recommendations with all key stakeholders

Implementing Recommended Processes—Standard Operating Procedures

• Define the elements of a standard operating procedure (sop)
• Apply the steps in creating an sop that encompasses the desired process improvements
• Understand other alternatives for implementing improved processes

Implementing Recommended Processes—Addressing Cultural and Organizational Issues

• Understand organizational enablers and obstacles that will impact a process improvement project
• Understand the impact of change-management issues to a process improvement project
• Understand the ongoing role of process owners and senior management to support continuous process improvement

Measuring the Process—The Role of Information in Process Management

• Understand the importance of a process measurement system
• Define the steps to establish a process measurement system

Summary and Review

• Summarize the key techniques used in process improvement projects
• Identify opportunities for using process mapping techniques for other purposes within your organization
• Apply key learnings in the development of an integrated, comprehensive work breakdown structure to guide you in future process improvement projects