Process Engineering (x) Services

  1. DEFINE THE PROCESS
    1. Choose a process
    2. Determine its boundaries
    3. Assign a part-time process manager who has most to gain/lose.
    4. Select process review team members – one from each department affected.
    5. Check influence from: strategy; customer expectations; user needs.
    6. What is volume fluctuation and timing in and out of process.
    7. Develop a flow diagram of the process.
  2. DEFINE YOUR RE-ENGINEERING OBJECTIVES:
    1. Improve cycle time
    2. Reduce total costs
    3. Make goof-proof for user-employees and/or customers
    4. Make more user-friendly in many miscellaneous ways
    5. Automate it; make paperless
    6. Make it fit seamless with other inside or outside/partner systems
    7. All of the above, but in what trade-of priority?
  3. ANALYZE THE PROCESS IN-DEPTH:
    1. Identify – measuring points; feedback loops; bottlenecks; high failure points; parts of process visible to customer.
    2. Ask each user of the process these questions:
      1. What document controls (prompts) this activity.
      2. How were you trained?
      3. Was training adequate?
      4. Where do you get “inputs” to do your activity?
      5. What types of errors, delays, fluctuations come with input stream?
      6. How do you know whether you are doing things correctly?
      7. What general: problems; suggestions; or difficulties do you have with this process step?
    3. Log all insights; etc.
      1. Record responsibility assignments given out with due dates.
      2. Procrastination is common.
      3. Weakest link demoralizes entire process.
    4. Issue progress reports to all to promote holistic understanding.
  4. IMPLEMENTATION; FOLLOW THROUGH:
    1. Documentation of solutions(s)
    2. Simulation
    3. Testing of all users
    4. Rebalancing of users’ time
    5. Pass the “Rules of 5-7 and 1-10”- re-cultivation
      1. Rule of 5 – 7: the average adult must heat the new story 5 to 7 times before they understand it in a holistic and complete way which they will be slow to forget.
      2. Rule of 1 to 10: if someone must teach others the story, they must spend10 times the time they spend leaning it (in 5 – 7 repetitions) to be able to competently both tell and sell the next learner in line.
  5. Stay vigilant for on-going bug maintenance