What are some best practices for mapping and analyzing a business process to find improvement opportunities?

In my experience, one also needs to stay agile and acknowledge that sometimes scopes and goals need to be modified. A too rigid mindset might negatively influence in ultimately reaching the desired goals.

In project management, begin process mapping and analysis by defining objectives and boundaries. Identify the scope of your process, including inputs, outputs, customers, suppliers, and stakeholders. Specify goals by outlining desired outcomes, metrics, and targets. This approach helps focus on the most relevant and impactful aspects, ensuring effective and efficient process management within your project.

Scopes and goals must be clear and based on tangible and measurable customer-centric needs. Priorities in terms of IMPROVEMENT-needs vs INNOVATION-needs must be clearly defined and agreed upon as these would determine effort & resource requirements to manage the growth journey.

It should be like : Identify key processes, involve stakeholders, document current workflows, pinpoint bottlenecks, assess efficiency metrics, seek feedback, prioritize improvements based on impact and feasibility, and implement changes incrementally. Continuous monitoring ensures sustained enhancements, fostering a dynamic and adaptive business environment.

Once you've identified the process you want to improve, the first step is to define it. Look at the process as a whole - what are its objectives? Who is involved? What groups/departments does it impact? This will help you determine where you can improve. Narrowing the specifics of the procedure at the start will help prevent scope creep.

In addition to the points mentioned, using value stream mapping, and leveraging continuous improvement can significantly enhance a process analysis. However, I'd like to emphasize the power of 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠. By utilizing software tools like Celonis or Aris, you can visualize and analyze processes live based on actual data from event logs. For example, a company using process mining could identify a bottleneck in their order-to-cash process, reducing cycle time by e.g. 30%. This data-driven approach helps uncover hidden inefficiencies, enabling more targeted and effective improvements.

Defining the scope and goals is the first step in mapping and analyzing a business process for improvement opportunities. In the construction industry, it's crucial to clearly outline the project's boundaries, objectives, and key performance indicators (KPIs) before starting. This ensures that everyone involved understands the desired outcomes and can focus their efforts on specific areas for improvement. Establishing clear goals helps in aligning the team's efforts and provides a benchmark to measure success, ultimately leading to more effective and targeted process improvements.

Definir quem são as partes interessadas e quais objetivos a serem atingidos é fundamental. Com isso, estabelecer metas e escopos de trabalho de mapeamento de processos e identificação de possíveis melhorias com os atores dos processos.

This entails identifying the boundaries of the process to be analyzed and establishing specific, measurable objectives that will guide the analysis. When delineating the scope, it is important to consider both the entry and exit points of the process, as well as the primary steps and sub-processes involved. The goals should be closely aligned with the organization's needs and priorities, with the aim of enhancing efficiency, quality, cost-effectiveness, or any other pertinent aspect of the process. This initial clarity serves to ensure that the mapping and analysis efforts remain targeted and focused, thereby facilitating the identification of significant improvement opportunities.

Ao mapear e analisar um processo de negócios, começo definindo o objetivo claro, o que me permite escolher a ferramenta correta, como fluxogramas, SIPOC ou PDCA, para um mapeamento eficaz. Foco em identificar melhorias que gerem impacto rápido nos indicadores ou, se for o caso, melhorias de longo prazo. Realizo uma análise de esforço para garantir que os recursos sejam bem aplicados e proporcionais ao impacto. Minha abordagem é sempre estruturada, priorizando o que realmente trará melhorias mensuráveis, sem desperdiçar esforços em áreas de pouco impacto.

Don't under-estimate the difficulty in mapping the current state. One common issue I observed in current state process mapping is that team often define the process scope in a narrow way - failing to consider the "true" end to end process. This narrow-focus often leads to sub-optimal solution development and potential throw-away work in the future. Process mining is helpful in quickly generate the "reality" view of the process, if your process is supported with systems that have event log data readily available.

Document your process's current state using flowcharts, swimlane diagrams, value stream maps, or SIPOC diagrams. Capture step sequences, roles, resources, data, and decisions, including variations and issues. Gather information through observation, interviews, surveys, or existing documentation for a comprehensive process overview.

Refer to existing SOP's last. Engage ops SMEs & supervisors to understand the REAL current-state of your processes. Then, validate the captured current-state processes via engagement sessions that brings together current process owners, upstream process suppliers and downstream process customers.

Mapping should be collaborative with the end to end process owners and the teams that perform the processes involved The maps need to be transparent and available across wider teams, ideally in an online solution that gives you one version of the truth

Creating a visual representation of your process as it currently stands gives you an understanding of how the work moves through the process - flowcharts or swimlane diagrams are very effective. Be sure to include every step of the process – don’t forget hand offs and decision points. Assign a specific shape to the type of step, such as a rectangle for activities and a diamond for decisions. The as-is process map will highlight duplicate efforts, bottlenecks, and other areas for improvement.

Map the current state of the process by implementing real-time data flow monitoring with the help of machine learning models, such as time series analysis, to detect deviations and areas for improvement, e.g. use this approach to continuously monitor customer interactions. Machine learning model identifies patterns and anomalies, highlighting specific steps where delays occur. This allows to proactively address issues, significantly reducing response times and enhancing overall efficiency, as well as ensuring you always have an up-to-date and accurate map of your process.

Mapping the process althought important is very diffuclt to do in reality. The varations across sites/location and even within a site/location can be very diffcult to capture without the right people documenting and validating Using tools to cpature the processes that are online, transparent and accesible by all is key otherwise it becomes a one off excercise and they are quickly outdated Don't understeite the disconnect between the central process oweners and those who regulary perform the process!!

Com apoio de documentação já existente, entrevistas, operação assistida, faça modelagem do processo, importante ressaltar que uma etapa importante é de validação do fluxo com o responsável pelo processo.

Nós temos uma forma prática de analisar as lacunas e achar a causa raiz, que seriam: 1) Fazer o fluxograma da situação atual do processo. 2) Identificar pontos críticos dentro deste fluxograma. 3) Para este pontos críticos, aplique o diagrama espinha de peixe junto com a ferramenta 5 porquês. 4) Aplique a ferramenta 5W2H, para implantar as melhorias sugeridas, para cada ponto crítico identificados. 5) Depois de implantar as melhorias refaça o fluxograma e treine os envolvidos, para que o processo fique consistente. Esta é uma forma prática de aplicar melhorias.

I agree, a thorough baseline analysis (including sound benchmarks) and a reiterative gap analysis are very important in reaching the goals and keeping sound work performance. Without knowing what we need and what we have versus what we want, we cannot obtain desired results in the optimal timeline.

As you examine your As-Is Process Map, note redundancies, activities with little to no value add, and which steps are causing delays. Once you've identified the problemss, you can determine how to correct them.

In logistics, after mapping the current state, analyze it to identify gaps and root causes of process issues. Employ methods like value-added analysis, waste analysis, bottleneck analysis, or root cause analysis to determine where and why the process falls short and what factors impact performance. Benchmark your process against best practices, standards, or competitors to uncover improvement opportunities, enhancing efficiency and effectiveness in your logistics operations.

Don't just focus to analyze process gaps via lagging sets of official/published performance-gaps data. Analyze & validate through actual process observations to capture "unofficial" performance & behavioral gaps. Approach gap analysis with minimal or zero prejudgments as to what the reasons for the gaps might be. Again, always aim to validate claims of what the "root causes" could be.

Analyzing the gaps and root causes is essential for identifying areas of improvement in a business process. In construction projects, delays, cost overruns, and quality issues often stem from underlying inefficiencies. Using techniques such as root cause analysis, fishbone diagrams, or the 5 Whys can help uncover the fundamental problems. By understanding these root causes, project managers can develop targeted strategies to address the issues, leading to more efficient processes and better project outcomes. This step is critical for ensuring that the solutions implemented are effective and sustainable.

After mapping the current state, the next step is to analyze gaps and root causes. This involves identifying discrepancies between the current process and desired outcomes, as well as determining the underlying reasons for any inefficiencies or problems. Utilize techniques such as root cause analysis, fishbone diagrams, and process flowcharts to systematically identify and evaluate potential root causes. By addressing these root causes, you can develop targeted solutions to close the gaps and improve the overall process effectiveness.

From your analysis, design the future state of your process post-improvement. Use the same mapping tools as for the current state, but modify, add, or eliminate steps, roles, resources, data, and decisions. Aim for a streamlined, simplified, and standardized process that addresses gaps and root causes of problems, striving to meet or exceed your goals. This approach transforms the process into a more efficient and effective operation.

After analyzing the current state of your process, you can determine what you want the optimized version to look like. I find it helpful to use the same type of diagram I used for the as-is map so that I can clearly visualize the differences between the two.

Design a practical future state by aiming to not only redraw process boxes but also ensuring that these process activities and stages are aligned with a clear Process Control System (PCS) that embodies clear and measurable PDCA cycles.

When designing the future state, envision an optimized version of the process that addresses identified gaps and improves overall efficiency. This involves brainstorming innovative solutions, leveraging best practices, and considering technological advancements. Develop a detailed plan outlining proposed changes, including revised workflows, updated procedures, and any necessary resource allocations. By aligning the future state with organizational goals and objectives, you can ensure that the redesigned process supports strategic priorities and drives tangible improvements in performance.

Validating an optimized process before implementation is crucial as it ensures that the proposed improvements actually deliver the expected outcomes. Testing helps identify flaws or inefficiencies before they impact operations, thereby minimizing risks. Conduct a series of simulated scenarios to assess the effectiveness of the optimized process in various conditions, monitoring KPIs and soliciting feedback from stakeholders.

Before implementing your future state, validate and test it through simulation, prototyping, pilot testing, or gathering feedback. This step verifies feasibility, viability, and desirability, assessing expected benefits, costs, and risks. Involve customers, suppliers, and stakeholders for their input and buy-in, ensuring the solution is effective and well-received.

Valide a solução através de prototipagem, teste através de amostragem ou com grupo restrito para coletar feedbacks e realizar ajustes se necessário.

To validate and test the solution, implement proposed changes on a small scale. Collect data and gather feedback to assess effectiveness and identify any challenges. Refine the solution as needed before full implementation. This iterative approach ensures the solution effectively addresses issues and achieves desired improvements.

After implementing improvements, consistently monitor and control your process. Continue gathering and analyzing data on process inputs and outputs, ensuring they meet desired limits and specifications. Use control charts and other tools to identify changes or trends in process variation and capability, taking corrective actions as necessary. Regularly update process documentation and standards, and actively seek feedback from customers and stakeholders to maintain and enhance process efficiency.

Once you've implemented your process, focus on predetermined metrics and KPIs to help you measure progress and see where you can optimize further. Conduct routine audits as changes in business needs, regulations, industry best practices, or client requirements can leave your process outdated.

To validate and test the solution, implement proposed changes on a small scale. Collect data and gather feedback to assess effectiveness and identify any challenges. Refine the solution as needed before full implementation. This iterative approach ensures the solution effectively addresses issues and achieves desired improvements.