Business process - what is it? Development, modeling, optimization of business processes

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Modern company management methods are increasingly borrowing foreign methods and technologies. And not because it is fashionable, but because it is convenient and effective. One of these techniques breaks all the routine work into elementary components and then describes in detail each resulting business process. It takes quite a lot of time, but the resulting scheme allows you to find weaknesses, overly inflated functional responsibilities, and unclear tasks. By spending time once, management can transfer some of its responsibility down the hierarchical ladder, freeing up time for strategic planning.

Life according to plan

Another thing is that the personnel of firms often do not understand the meaning of this procedure and do not welcome the desire of management to determine the main business processes. Nevertheless, it is increasingly necessary to understand the modeling and description of the elementary operations of each unit, and evenemployee. It is even worse if employees appear in the company's staff who study the company's business processes. They constantly ask about something, distract and interfere in every possible way with the fulfillment of the direct functional duties of all personnel. What to do?

Let's start from afar. Every morning, most of us are faced with the task of coming to work. For its successful solution, you need to wake up in time, get ready and take a seat in some kind of transport (it doesn’t matter if it’s a private car or a subway car). Further, each component can be broken down into even smaller procedures: in order to wake up on time, you can set an alarm, or you can ask someone to wake you up, etc. Regardless of the solution method, the result (timely awakening) will be achieved. But the rise, fees and the way to work differ in the method of solution and the end result. Actually, we have come to the first definition.

What all this is for

So, a business process is a certain sequence of simple actions that transform resources into a useful final product. In our real life example, there are three different processes, each of which requires its own initial information and, after certain manipulations, gives the desired result. Let's go to the enterprise. Regardless of the field of activity in each company, work is determined by the professional relationships of employees: the transfer of information, determining the need for a product, analyzing production and resources, etc. And here it is important to note that all of the above mattersonly if three conditions are met:

- the information was sent to the employee interested in it;

- this was done at the right time;

- the form in which the information is presented is quite simple and clear.

Summarizing all of the above, it can be argued that a business process is a flow of information that answers three questions: what, where and when. In order for the work to be performed smoothly and continuously, it is necessary to determine its components. In this case, there will be no duplication of tasks, absence of an executor or downtime.

When a business process is clearly defined, each employee ceases to be indispensable. Remember how many times you had to wait for one of your colleagues to leave the sick leave (or return from vacation); when you are away from work, the phone literally does not stop ringing, and everyone is trying to understand what and how you are doing. And if you responded to the management’s request and made up a fairly detailed description of business processes, then you can cheer calmly, and relax, and sometimes just have lunch…

Turning to the formal language of definitions, we will argue that when describing business processes, an enterprise sets the following goals:

• understand the general structure of the organization of activities and determine the dynamics of its development;
• identify current problems and opportunities to overcome them;
• create a system of goals and objectives that is understandable for all participants (developers, users, customers, etc.);
• to formulate requirements for the necessary softwaresecurity.

Of course, the description of business processes in itself is of no interest. But for reengineering, this is a paramount task. Only by understanding the structure, relationships and ways of information flows, we can talk about rethinking the semantic load of both the enterprise itself and its individual divisions. But the reorganization should also be carried out in order to achieve some goal: improving the quality of customer service; cost reduction; granting greater freedom in decision-making to performers (reducing the timing of work), etc.

Simple classification

Most often, the need to describe information business processes appears in enterprises with a functionally oriented structure. The fact is that the goals and objectives of different departments may contradict each other. And this will lead not only to a decrease in the company's profitability, but also to a drop in its competitiveness.

The modern approach to management is increasingly of a process nature. All work is considered as a specific set of processes (each of which consists of one or more simple operations). To formalize and standardize this approach, the following categories of processes have been adopted (classification occurs in relation to the value added of the product):

• main - those with which the company receives income: production, marketing, supplies;
• managers - those who set goals and objectives for departments and specific performers;
• supportive –those that provide production with resources, but do not add value to the final product: training and selection of personnel, financial support, legal protection, etc.

In addition to the already mentioned independence from the human factor and simplified adaptation of new employees, the description of business processes makes it possible to more effectively manage the company's operating costs.

Properties

Now it becomes clear that in order to manage an enterprise, it is necessary not only to identify interrelated information flows, but also to clearly describe all activities. Since we already know that a business process is a part of a common work that passes from one employee to another (within its own functional unit or not, it does not matter), then let's move on to the fact that everything in the world can be unified. And professional activity - even more so.

Regardless of the field of activity, each business process can be described by the same characteristics.

- A border is the beginning and end of a simple operation.

- The owner is an employee of the company who not only owns the necessary resources for work, but also plans, analyzes, manages the process; and most importantly, he is responsible for the result.

- Input - an informational message received in any form accepted at the enterprise, defining the need for information and marking the beginning of the process.

- Output - information or a materialized part of the product that is consumed external to the performercustomer.

- Contractor - company personnel involved in one process.

- Resources - the material or informational part of the activity that does not change during the execution of the operation (but only contributes to the transformation of incoming information into the final product).

- Quality control - industry or internal (accepted by company management) indicators to determine the effectiveness of work.

Mandatory allocation of elementary processes

Of course, not every company needs a description of business processes. Nevertheless, there are a number of cases in which this tedious exercise cannot be dispensed with. Let's name the main ones:

• The activity of the enterprise is automated. In this case, the business process diagram translates the needs of the customer into a language understandable to the programmer.
• Improvement of the company's activities. Not only equipment and technology upgrades help improve the final product; business process optimization makes it possible to identify all the strengths and weaknesses of the work and make appropriate management decisions.
• International Standards Organization (ISO) certified. A single quality management system is being created for all employees.

How to present the description to the customer

Business process modeling requires a description of each element. How to do it painlessly for the organization? There are three main methods adopted in world practice: textual, graphical and tabular.

Textual involves a description of the entire progress of work in a simple and understandable sequence. The form and content can be either free (if international or industry standards have not yet been developed) or regulated by documents. For example: the sales department sends reporting documentation for the period to the planning department; employees of the planning department carry out analytical work to determine the dynamics of sales and the need to make adjustments to production; the result obtained from the planning department is transferred to the marketing department, where an analysis is made of the reasons for the increase (fall) in sales, etc.

The graphic diagram of a business process allows you to visualize the result of analytical work. There is no need to remind that the visual perception of information is most effective. Therefore, all kinds of graphs and diagrams give us the opportunity to quickly understand what is happening and find the right solution.

In cases where the main task of reforming activities is the optimization of business processes, it is worth using a tabular form of their description. With its help, it is easier to understand the sequence of actions and the direction of information flows. A typical table contains not only a description of the function of the staff unit, but also columns about incoming and outgoing documents, the performer (you can specify both the whole department and a specific employee), etc.

How to properly describe a business process

It is not enough to analyze business processes. The most important thing in this matter is correctness, but at the same time, simplicity of description. To begin with, the name of the unit process should be clearly formulated. This will help you understandits main characteristics, execution logic and place in the overall chain of production activities.

Then you should indicate what input information is required for the normal execution of the task, and also list the resource support. A written sequence of simple operations that make up the process will help you not to miss or forget anything.

Modeling business processes cannot do without specifying the owner of the process and a system for monitoring its progress. To do this, in the description it is necessary to note the standard terms for the production of work and list the documents that are transferred to the next link. To simplify, the description should look like this: "… after conducting a sales analysis for the reporting period, an employee of the planning department fills out the established form (table), which he sends to the marketing department …"

Simplified scheme for describing production processes

When writing a description, most often employees are faced with the fact that they do not know how to verbally convey the content of their work. To make the business process system clear and structured, you can make a memo. It reflects those questions that need to be given a clear and maximally detailed answer. So what are these questions?

• What? Describes what exactly is done in this operation.
• Why? Passes the purpose of the operation.
• When? Determines who initiates execution.
• Who? Names specific performers.
• How? Lists requiredresources.

Development of business processes assumes that all description methods can be used. Thus, the most detailed scheme of work will be obtained. The graphical version will reveal the relationship between functional units, while the tabular and textual versions will convey the content of each operation. Unfortunately, business process automation is not possible without this time-consuming upfront work.

How to gather information

In practice, there are many ways to get the necessary information. To begin with, it is necessary to analyze the regulatory documents that guide the employees of the company. Then you should conduct personal interviews with each direct performer in order to describe the content of his work. Further, to clarify and clarify controversial points, analytical consultants should use monitoring the progress of business processes.

If you take a comprehensive approach to solving the problem, automating business processes will not seem so tedious and useless.

Working Group

And yet, if the main task of the enterprise is the automation of business processes, and the management does not intend to involve external consulting companies, the question necessarily arises: "Where to start?" The first step is to create a working group of company employees. Working group members should preferably have excellent analytical and listening skills. After all, as already noted, most of the work consists in conducting personal interviews with business process performers.

Next, you need to get a real picture of the functioning of the system. Since before the modernization the enterprise worked and made a profit, it is probably not necessary to talk about a complete restructuring. Therefore, the system and directions of information flows should be fixed at the time of the start of optimization.

What does the description consist of

In order to avoid confusion and inconsistencies in the description of business processes, experts recommend using process maps. These are standardized documents that allow you to unify all actions, regardless of the sphere of influence of the performer and the complexity of the described operation.

Any description can be divided into the following components:

• unified process form (most often a table);
• business process map (can be presented in any form - text description, graphic object or table);
• routes (incoming and outgoing flows of information, resources and finance);
• matrices of various business processes (a table of interaction between different processes, which allows you to highlight the main and secondary flows and operations);
• flowchart (business process execution algorithm);
• detailed text description;
• documentation (creation of documents confirming the execution of the process);
• identifying business process indicators (search for characteristics and indicators by which you can control not only progress, but also quality);
• regulations (in other words, job description).

Indicators

As has been repeatedly noted, any process must be measured by something. This is necessary, first of all, to assess the effectiveness of all activities of the enterprise. Most often, experts recommend testing business processes according to four indicators: time, costs, quality and quantity.

But business process models are dynamic and varied. Therefore, it is often not enough to evaluate only the speed of work; it is necessary to take into account both working conditions and the infrastructure of the enterprise. In addition, almost all industries cannot exist without suppliers, finance, logistics and partners. These are also measurable indicators.

And, of course, we must not forget about information and the human factor. The higher the level of training of a specialist, the less time he will need to familiarize himself with the instructions and incoming information.

The majority of modeling methodologies are now based on the principles of structural analysis and design (SADT - Structured Analysis and Design Technique), as well as some algorithmic languages. We can talk about the existence of several basic models of business process analysis:

- Business Process Modeling - in fact, modeling - reveals the functional side of the existence of the company.

- Work Flow Modeling - Describes workflows and is similar to flow charting.

- Data Flow Modeling - unlike the previous one, describes data (information) flows; intended for sequencingoperations.

Shewhart-Deming cycle

Large business processes (1C allows you to select them from the general list) are recommended to be described in a separate document called the "Procedure for Work". Everything that is of a less significant nature or consists of a small number of simple operations is usually described in job descriptions.

When drafting the regulations, it is necessary to take into account the conditions of the cycle of continuous improvement of the enterprise's activities (the Shewhart-Deming model). Its provisions state that optimization and improvement are endless processes. That is, in enterprise management there is a certain closed cycle, consisting of such management decisions: planning, implementation, control, adjustment.

When drawing up a regulation, one should take into account the principles that ensure compliance with the Shewhart-Deming model:

1. Calculation of planned indicators for the future period.
2. Analysis of the dynamics of deviations and documentation of possible causes.
3. Identification of corrective actions and analysis of their effectiveness.

Development of the model should be carried out in accordance with business rules. The generally accepted rules are the regulatory and legislative framework of the state in whose territory the enterprise operates. The second basis of the model is the corporate policy of the company.

When implementing a quality management system, it is necessary to take care of the development and unification of business processes. As noted at the beginning of the article, company personnel are not alwaysunderstands the significance of the ongoing modernization. Bringing to each employee the importance of creating an effective business process model is the task of top management.

After all, it is a well-established and carefully designed system that will not only make it easier for an enterprise to obtain certificates of compliance with international quality standards ISO 9001:2008, but also significantly increase the efficiency of each employee.

Both of these factors lead the company to become more competitive in the market, which, in turn, has a beneficial effect on both investors and customers.