How this Works

Not only does the "traditional" definition confuse us with its inputs and resources being "tranformed" (or not), it does not recognise that something needs to initiate (trigger) the process, and it also omits any reference to an objective. As an example, "manufacturing to order" is the process from taking a customer order, through manufacturing and packaging, to delivery of the goods. Receipt of the order initiates the process. The objective is to make and deliver what the customer wants (cost-effectively and safely).

You may require certain resources, such as raw material from a supplier or from your own stock, drawings and design documentation from the customer or from your own records and staff with the appropriate skills. As you go through the process, you may have to be comply with certain legal requirements which affect (for example) how you operate the machinery or the characteristics of the final product.

You may also choose to impose certain quality checks on raw material received from a supplier or on the product at various stages in the production process. And there will be other controls that will affect how you must design and operate the process.

The final output is the delivered product, and the other outcomes will (hopefully) be such things as a happy customer, a profitable sale and perhaps some more knowledge gained by your staff.

Processes, sub-processes and tasks (activities) are like Russian dolls - pick one up and you don't know where it fits. How big or small it looks to you will depend on where you are in the organisation and how much you "see" of the overall system.

Thinking in “process” terms can be beneficial in many situations, and the logic can apply equally well at the task level. A task can be defined as:

- “a discrete activity or piece of work”
- “the smallest essential part of a job”.

A task, too, is started when something triggers it; there is an objective to be achieved (otherwise why do it?) and it will almost certainly require resources and be subject to a variety of influencing factors. In many cases, completion of one task may trigger the start of the next task.

Some of the outcomes from a process may be the aggregate of the outcomes from individual tasks or may be the result of an individual task. The objectives of a task should always be aligned with the aims of the process, and each task should contribute to the creation of the process “output”.

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