"A process-based management system should be a simple description of what an organisation does".
"Business processes have always existed because that is how an organisation operates from day to day".
"Processes have not replaced procedures".
More Questions
Why is it so difficult for many managers to understand business processes?
The "traditional" way to define how a business operates is to define a set of "procedures", narrative descriptions of related sequences of events within a department or work area (for example, in Stores or Purchasing). And the existing management structure often reflects and reinforces this.
Often, a company will generate one set of procedures for its quality system, another for how it deals with environmental matters, and another for how it addresses health and safety issues.
It can be difficult for those who are steeped in narrative procedures suddenly to change their thinking sufficiently radically to allow them to "see" their processes.
Often they think of what their department does as a series of disjointed tasks, rather than identifying what initiates an action and how it is followed through to completion.
What is the best way to define a business process?
There is more to a process than just the tasks and decisions which define the flow of information or material. You also need to define the resources and skills required and the influences which affect the operation of the process.
But even to describe the process flow clearly and in a format which staff can understand and use easily can be a challenge.
The best way to show (or "map") a process flow is now widely accepted to be as a flowchart. A process flowchart shows "what has to be done", and a deployment flowchart, also shows the departments and job functions involved - "who should do it".
The deployment flowchart is a matrix, often presented with job functions along the x-axis and tasks or activities down the y-axis.
There are other types and formats of flowchart. Some are little more than a diagram with indeterminate "objects" linked by lines which suggest connections back and forward, up and down and occasionally round in a circle. Some would say that the attempt in ISO9001:2000 to illustrate the process-based approach promoted by the standard is a prime example of this (!)
What is the "correct" level of detail to use when defining a business process?
As little as you need! Be clear about why are you doing it and who will use the resultant definitions. But do it for yourself and your staff - a management system is not for your external auditor.
Two pages of a flowchart should be sufficient for a process. Assume competence in the people allocated to work on the process - or train them!
Where should I start when designing a process-based management system?
Understand the concepts - such as processes / systems / flowcharting / procedures. Be clear about your objectives.
Typically, people gain two principal benefits from this type of system: a better understanding of what is done now (this makes it easier to identify possible improvements) and a means of training new staff. Remember - most people will read flowcharts no more readily than they will read narrative procedures.
Then plan the structure. Always work from the top down - do not convert a collection of unrelated procedures and then try to fit them together.
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