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4+2 Must-Have Process Attributes for Successful Business Process Analysis

A business process improvement initiative can be a tough task for improvement teams. From identification of processes, finding right personnel to get the process information to brainstorming ideas for improvement and implementing change.

Teams can spend endless efforts performing these activities, however if the right information is not captured during your process review optimum business process improvement results cannot be achieved. Successful process improvement needs a thorough process analysis with certain standards to follow and certain goals to achieve. Here’s where accurate process attributes come can help organisation achieve successful process improvements.

Process attributes are descriptive characteristics and measures that define the processes and track its status. These attributes help business improvement teams to plan, monitor, measure, and control processes and its improvements.

In our ebook “The Top 15 Process Attributes for Optimum Process Analysis” we provided details on all the different attributes the team can capture. However to get the base foundation accurate and set up appropriate process analytics, , we only need 4+2 process attributes that we believe are the most important and an actual must-have in every process analysis.

The 4+2 must-have process attributes are the ROLES, APPLICATIONS, DOCUMENTS and TASKS together with the proper handling of Process Issues and taking advantage of the Process Improvement Opportunities. These attributes are relative to each other as they work hand in hand in improving business processes.

To take on a situation, we can take a new system implementation. With the new system, roles may change in a way wherein other tasks can be eliminated from one person since it is already done by the system, or these tasks will be performed by another person, and an employee’s role can be susceptible to change. The role and the tasks affects each other with the implemented change. Some roles may be changed as the system might require a different or a better skilled user for it to work. Another affected attribute are the documents which in this case, with the system implementation, can be eliminated too or some documents may be left irrelevant. These three tasks are affected by the new application being implemented in the system.

If we take a closer look at each of the attributes, we get a better perspective on how it affects the process analysis. First attribute is the role which is a position held by a person in an organisation with certain responsibilities associated in it which is outlined in a role description. A role can be filled by one or several people in an organisation whose skills greatly match the needs of the responsibility. It should be understood that roles execute the processes in an organisation and that certain changes in the process can also impose changes in the roles. The effect can be positive or negative but business improvement leaders should take note that the change can only be successful if the role is filled with the right person and that people in the organisation accept this change.

A task on the other hand, is an action done to accomplish a goal within the organisation. A series of tasks make up the business process and the series of business process lead to a desired business outcome. A well-defined task provides transparency to the organisation and in turn defines how the organisation operates. This transparency can benefit organisations as it enables clarity and development of guidelines and ensures all activities are aligned to corporate objectives.

The application attribute refers to any software application used as a part of undertaking a task within the process. This software can be a tool for the change initiative. The upgrade of different applications is rapidly changing due to the advancement of technology these days and business improvement teams should know which applications are still relevant and which applications can bring the best results with utmost performance but under less input. An application is a very important part of the change initiative therefore organisations should choose the most effective and efficient programs.

The four attributes were mentioned but what about the other two important attributes?

The Process Analyst must identify the process participant who has  a thorough understanding of the business process. The process participant can provide an exhaustive list of the process issues that are encountered during the execution of the processes , and also identify the list of solutions/business opportunities that can help in improving the performance of the business process.

These attributes, when combined together, will provide the optimum results for process analysis. Efficient and effective results can be expected from an organisation’s business improvement initiative no matter how big or small it is. This will help Business improvement leaders to  know which tools can help them in the whole process in implementing change properly and effectively. With that being said, PRIME BPM’s end-to-end improvement software is one solution that will not disappoint in process mapping, analysis with all the above attributes, process improvement and collaborative change management. Get your 30-day FREE TRIAL now!