Here are some key questions I pose to any project team focused on enhancing business processes “on paper.” By “on paper,” I mean the creation of well-intentioned as-is and to-be process diagrams, with the hope that one day these improved processes will be implemented in reality.
For those working on these projects and the stakeholders investing in them, consider these critical questions:
- Can enterprise processes truly be improved without enterprise software? Take, for example, a local government seeking to streamline its permitting processes. Without digital infrastructure, how much of this improvement would be feasible, especially when processing thousands of permits annually?
- Is optimal enterprise software implementation essential for process improvement? Think of asset management for a local government; without a well-implemented system, identifying, tracking, and maintaining infrastructure becomes a significant challenge. Can these goals be achieved without the right software in place?
- Have you explored Business Process Management (BPM) software that integrates with your ERP? Effective process improvement hinges on tackling constraints and bottlenecks within the system. BPM tools can offer invaluable statistical insights. For example, local councils managing waste services could use BPM software to identify and address the specific points in the waste collection process that are inefficient or prone to delays.
- How do you verify that a process has been implemented optimally within your organisation? For instance, local governments often face constraints in public service delivery. How can they be confident that their new approach to citizen inquiries is actually more effective without a robust tracking mechanism?
- How do you determine if a process has improved or worsened outcomes, especially without software tools for measurement? Process changes without data-driven assessment are merely assumptions. Local governments, for instance, aiming to improve citizen engagement, need reliable metrics to measure the impact of process changes, such as improved response times or increased citizen satisfaction.
It’s essential to recognise that process improvements cannot be made in isolation. Processes may need to be eliminated, outsourced, automated, or enhanced through workflow optimisation, behavioural shifts, training, and governance. Simply documenting these processes without an actionable path forward is likely to yield little value.
