Business Process Analysis & Design

Develop the Process List

• ●     Every workplace contains business processes, however not all business processes are documented. This section focuses on how to develop a process list. After identifying the business processes, decision-making tools are practiced to consider what is important to the business. These tools include using prioritization and weighting criteria to make decisions based on business needs. Finally, you will discover how to gain support and buy-in from key stakeholders.

Define the Scope

• ●     Identifying the scope of the business process is critical for defining the boundaries of the project. In this section you will learn how to identify and document the boundaries of the business process that needs to be improved. Discussion and consideration of overcoming scope creep problems is also reviewed regarding the business process. Finally, you will determine what approvals are necessary before moving into detailed business analysis.

Draw the Process Model

• ●     Process modeling ensures understanding of the business processes being analyzed. In this section you will learn the basics of process models, standard charting shapes, and the various levels used to draw business processes. Both visual models and text are practiced in this section to ensure understanding of the current state, as well as reviewing who needs to be involved in this step.

Estimate Time and Cost

• ●     Estimating time and cost for the current state involves analyzing process and cycle time, as well as existing costs to provide a return on investment. Examination of how to determine time and cost estimates for the current state is provided in this section, as well as the specific types of costs to analyze for potential business process improvement.

Validate the Process Model

• ●     Reviewing and confirming your analysis of the current state is critical before identifying potential improvements for the desired future state. This section focuses on the correct sequence to perform the validation steps with the project stakeholders. After validation is completed, improvement targets can begin to be identified.

Apply Improvement Methods

• ●     Now that the current state has been validated, the course focus begins to shift toward the future state. This section includes applying multiple techniques for proposing changes to the future state by using an extreme visual model. A process is followed to apply six improvement methods to ensure effective analysis work has been applied. Upon completion of analyzing what to improve, you will draw the process model for the proposed future state.

Establish Controls & Metrics

• ●     Adding controls to the business process ensures accuracy, reliability and can reduce errors. In this first part of the section you will identify controls necessary for the future state. Establishing metrics helps ensure effectiveness, efficiency and adaptability of the business process. The second part of this section will help you distinguish which metrics will help evaluate whether the improved business process will work as you planned.

Test the Process

• ●     Testing the new or improved business process helps to identify bottlenecks, as well as work out bugs, defects and/or errors. Testing also helps ensure the process meets stated goals and provides for smooth implementation of the business process.
• ●     This section will help you identify what needs to be included in testing the proposed future state.

Evaluate Change Readiness

• ●     During the analysis process it is critical to consider what the business is trying to accomplish. Evaluating change readiness helps to create strategies for minimizing the change impacts on the workplace, the workers, as well as avoiding distractions.
• ●     This section examines change impacts, resistors to change and how to create an implementation plan for the changes identified to the business process.

Perform Continuous Improvement

• ●     Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to enhance products, services or processes. This section focuses on how to monitor a business process and make adjustments as necessary so the business process repeatedly gets better over time.
• ●     You will learn how to use different root cause analysis techniques to improve business processes and how to put together a continuous improvement plan. Finally, you will monitor data to identify and rank performance problems once the business process has been piloted.
• ●     Hands-On Exercises

●      Learn the key objectives for business process improvement initiatives

●      Improve your ability to meet your customer’s needs

●      Identify opportunities to improve business processes by following a systematic 10-step business improvement process that is simple to follow

●      Use decision-making tools to determine business priorities

●      Create prioritized process lists

●      Identify and document scope while alleviating scope creep

●      Apply the information elicited in the fact gathering process to create and analyze process models

●      Gain the knowledge and skills to estimate process time and cycle time

●      Learn how to estimate business process costs

●      Discover how to clarify and validate the current state of the business process before jumping to solutions

●      Gain the required level of competencies to follow the basic steps in improving business process performance

●      Implement business process improvement methods to bridge toward the design of the future state

●      Apply improvements and refinements by creating the future state process model

●      Assess and select business process performance controls, metrics and targets

●      Refine success measurements from the scope definition document

●      Identify how to test the improved business process

●      Evaluate how prepared the organization is for the changes that will occur to the business process

●      Determine the impact of change on customers and create an implementation plan

●      Use root cause analysis techniques to apply continuous improvement principles

●      Specify how to perform continuous improvement tactics on business processes and implementing a business process

Day 1

●      Business Process Improvement Overview

●      Develop the Process List

●      Define the Scope

●      Draw the Process Model

●      Estimate Time and Cost

●      Validate the Process Model

Day 2

●      Apply Improvement Methods

●      Establish Controls and Metrics

●      Test the Process

●      Evaluate Change Readiness

●      Perform Continuous Improvement

Project Managers 

●      Operations Research Analysts

●      Business Process Owners and Managers

●      Business and System Analysts, Strategic Planners

●      Process Improvement Specialists, TQM, and Six Sigma Team Members

Consultants & Analysts

●      HR Professionals dealing with the introduction of new skills and processes

●      Requirements Definition Specialists

●      Business Process and Quality Improvement Champions

●      Executives, Senior Management Directors

●      Operations & Accounting Professionals