Concepts of “Business Process Redesign”

Business Process Redesign is key to competitiveness. It provides the

methods and means to achieve breakthrough improvements in business process that will
result in improved and sustained performance.

A business process is a repetitive set of interacting business activities that uses resources
to transform a defined set of inputs into outputs which are of value to a customer. In
essence it defines how work is done and how work is coordinated in an organization.

BPR balances the design of workflow with the design of the organization, human and
information technology elements of any given process.

• Innovative redesign of key business processes to achieve breakthrough

improvements.
• Key processes are processes that deliver value to the shareholder, customer.
• Breakthrough improvements look for productivity gains in excess of 50%
• Improve & sustain performance are measured by metrics such as quality; customer
service; cost, and cycle time.
• Utilize process enablers such as H.R. and I.T. in new & creative ways.

Characteristics of Effective Business Processes

• They are customer focused.
• They are performance orientated.
• They measure performance using simple metrics.
• They consist of linked activities.
• They are usually cross-functional and sometimes cross-company boundaries.
• They coordinate resources: People; equipment; materials & methods.
• They have a clearly defined owner who is responsible for the design & execution of
the process.
• They characterize the organization and create competitive advantage.

Importance of Business Process Redesign

• Redesign can result in immense improvement in process performance.

• Time is the new currency of competition.
• The need for flexibility and quick responses – means moving from a top down
mentality to a cross-functional coordination and “grass-roots” approach of “people
who do the job know the work the best”.
• Process methodology helps build consistency and excellence in execution.
• A combination of process standardization and flexibility drives today’s organization’s
successes.
• Processes originally designed to meet internal needs are now driven by customer
needs.
• Customer value is created when each activity adds value to a product or service. This
takes place horizontally, cutting across functional boundaries.
• BPR can increase value-creating potential for a chain of activities (end to end
process) by effectively integrating and coordinating activities.

Preconditions for a successful BPR Project

Positives:
• Senior management sponsorship.
• Realistic expectations; empowered and collaborative team
• Sound business practices.
• Sufficient budget – Benefits Statement
• Strategic growth & shared vision
• Appropriate fulltime resources.

Negatives:
• Vision not clearly defined.
• Narrow perspective.
• Too many projects.
• Animosity toward IS; IT, HR
• Continuous improvement abandoned

Why does a Business Process initiative fail?

• Lack of sustained management commitment and leadership.
• Unrealistic scope & expectations.
• Resistance to change.
• Ineffective Communication to those most affected by proposed changes.

Processes that assist in BPR:

There are innumerable process activities that can be utilized to assist with BPR, and these
are few:
• Activity Based Costing
• Benchmarking
• Change Management
• Communication Strategy
• Employee Development/Training
• Employee Recognition
• Employee Retention
• Failure Analysis/Measuring/Monitoring
• Knowledge Management
• Self Directed Teams
• Creativity/Innovation
• Performance Measurement/Improvement
• Process Improvement/Measurement
• Project Management
• Re-engineering
• Reiteration, Continuous Improvement
• Testing
• Workflow Mapping