BPR – Important tools and techniques

BPR, although highly impactful, may result in a failure if the companies do not carefully consider major
factors. The following are the important tools and techniques that are part of Business Process
Reengineering (Neill & Sohal, 1999).

Customer & process focus – The primary focus is to change the processes to bring benefits to customers.

Visualisation for end process & Benchmarking – To achieve the objectives of BPR, the companies should
be able to visualise and benchmark, what their end business processes should be like.

Change Management – BPR should also take into consideration the human side as these processes
require significant involvement of employees and impact their work.

Business process mapping – A company should also have a good understanding of its existing business
processes to effectively reach the required result.

The Six Key Steps of Business Process Reengineering

Define Business Processes. ...

Analyze Business Processes. ...

Identify and Analyze Improvement Opportunities. ...

Design Future State Processes. ...

Develop Future State Changes. ...

Implement Future State Changes.

Business Process Reengineering (BPR/BPRE) Challenges

Inadequate Knowledge.

Wrong Direction and Irregularity in Implementation.

Unsuited Team Formulation.

Insufficient And Incorrect Placement Of Resources.

Unsound analysis and lack of support.

Inadequate Knowledge
The team must be clear on why and apparent on where to implement the reengineering processes. This
furthermore needs a proper prioritization of the business process for reengineering.

The employees must have appropriate knowledge for performing BPR, retouched with substantial
Business Process Re-Engineering training programs.

The implementation, if done on wrong processes, is an utter waste of resources. With proper training,
guidance, and knowledge transfer, the business will see the correct process implementation.

Wrong Direction and Irregularity in Implementation

BPRE cannot trigger an instant competitive advantage. For visible growth, the process must be followed
through and through.

But, that does not mean that BPRE works in every process of the organization. The reengineering is
unsuitable for many.

Furthermore, when the company is able to achieve its benchmark once, the BPR practice shall not be
discontinued.

An irregular BPR process hinders the many opportunities and growth that it comes with. The objectives
and expectations must be set and made more explicit.

Unsuited Team Formulation

A well-defined team must be put on a constant look-out for any updates on all of its processes’
Reengineering practice.

The team should have not only proper knowledge but also include correct employee vital for both
operation and management.

The team must be adequately structured and at least add a senior and operations manager having the
right set of business process knowledge and expertise.

The team is thus completed with suitable engineers for every single field, i.e., from manufacturing to IT,
working under constant supervision in the set direction.

Insufficient And Incorrect Placement Of Resources

The lack of essential resources for a business process reengineering, in the first place, is enough to break
off the engagement between the organization and the reengineering process.

When required, the proper resources must be readily available to the process in force at the right time.

The skilled human resources, adequate budgeting/funding, correct set of BPR tools, knowledge directory
and experience in the system in and out, availability, and timely approval; all of these must be on- all set
and ready to go.

Unsound analysis and lack of support

The process milestones must be established and adequately analyzed beforehand. The data and
information essential for the procedure must be fully accessible to the team.

Also, the team must be clear on what to analyze and prioritize for coordinated work without wasting any
precious time.

The work must be relevant and free of any superficial knowledge. More than how the particular task is
done, the team first needs to be more transparent on “why” it is required for that specific process.

Furthermore, even with the correct knowledge package and employees, the businesses face failures in
channeling the Business Process Reengineering Steps.

The team should be dedicated to the process and know how to prioritize their time and methods.
Moreover, when a decision is made, not just the selected BPR team is responsible for the results but the
organization as well.

The ingredients to failure include; lack of organizational readiness for change, lack of intent to move past
the traditional methods and comfort zone, problems in commitment, planning, and leadership.

Employees in the firm shouldn’t be skeptical and apprehensive towards the BPRE success and must be
educated too and form a better understanding of the organization.