The Process Improvement Handbook: A Blueprint for Managing Change and Increasing Organizational Performance

This chapter introduces The Process Improvement Handbook as a body of knowledge for Process Improvement professionals. Process Improvement information and its application come from a variety of sources, have different levels of aggregation, incorporate different assumptions about the topic, and manifest other differences that need reconciliation before practitioners can effectively use the concepts for improvement efforts within an organization. This chapter lays the groundwork for readers as they navigate the handbook, looks at some of the bases upon which the handbook was created, outlines the reasoning behind aggregating the content into a formal body of knowledge, and introduces the core values to which this guide was created. Chapter 1 is organized around the following topics:

A handbook is a collection of instructions that are intended to provide ready reference in a formal text. These instructions describe tools, techniques, methods, processes, and practices. This handbook delivers an introduction to the key concepts in the Process Improvement field and summarizes the various techniques and principles considered good practice within the industry. In addition, it is a framework that describes the Process Improvement knowledge areas that must be considered in order to properly deliver value through Process Improvement efforts to an organization.

Implementing a high level of process maturity is a vital component toward unlocking performance improvement potential in organizations. Nonetheless, businesses have been forced to spend precious time hunting down practical frameworks or have had to create their own in trial-and-error fashion, eroding the core value of realizing gains quickly in order to better compete in the marketplace. As a result, businesses have struggled to implement Process Improvement frameworks that drive adoption and consistency, enable leaner operations, and create repeatable methods for building organizational maturity. Companies that attempt to build organizational maturity without a formal Process Improvement framework often spend significant time and money with less-than-ideal results, overtax key employees to create extensive documentation, execute process improvements without providing adequate assistance, hire expensive consultants who build processes that can be used only once, are difficult to grow and maintain, and do not create a long-term foundation for success. The Process Improvement Handbook has been written to address these common difficulties and provides an industry standard for the practice of Process Improvement.

The Process Improvement Handbook provides thinking tools for anyone interested in improving their operating environment. It is a toolkit for translating widely accepted principles and methods into effective practices that can be adapted to fit readers’ unique environments. Generic Process Improvement techniques have been adopted by a significant number of Fortune 500 companies as well as many small and mid sized organizations. Its application in for-profit and nonprofit organizations, both flourishing and struggling, as well as large and small corporations is a reflection of its success as a discipline. While many texts focus on specific Process Improvement methods, and driving individual Process Improvement projects in isolation, this text looks beyond traditional approaches to provide an all-encompassing guide. The result is process self-sufficiency, simple extensibility, greater sustainability, higher quality, and overall speed to value realization that improves competitive advantage ranking, no matter the industry.

This handbook serves as a baseline that practitioners can use to discuss the work they do and ensure that they have the skills needed to effectively perform the function. Also, it defines the skills and competencies that people who work with and employ Process Improvement professionals should expect a practitioner to demonstrate.

This handbook provides the following key benefits:

The Process Improvement Handbook was created as a reference tool for anyone involved in creating, managing, operating, or improving products and processes to attain superior results. In particular, it was created to support the various specialists who carry out Process Improvement tasks, such as Continuous Improvement Professionals, Process Improvement Managers, Process Analysts, Enterprise Solution Architects, and Consultants. These specialists base their core profession on creating, maintaining, and teaching others how to become process mature and drive performance improvement. The text is intended to provide comprehensive information about the professional standard of work expected in improvement efforts and to establish practical guidance for those interested in taking on Process Improvement in their organization.

This text also serves as a playbook for all levels in the organizational hierarchy including first-level supervisors through C-level executives, as well as individual contributors across the various functions and lines of business engaged in producing a company’s products or services. This may include Information Technology Professionals, Supply Chain Professionals, Operations Managers, Customer Service Specialists, Marketing Managers, Software Architects, Application Developers or Designers, Project and Program Managers, Security Professionals, as well as Finance and Legal Managers. The text is applicable to anyone who needs to understand the end-to-end experience of their employees and customers, those with a desire to improve efficiency and standardization within their role, and those who wish to improve their organization by achieving higher process maturity levels.

This handbook also serves as an aid to stakeholders who may not be directly involved with leading, improving, or operating processes but have a need to know about the outcomes produced and the associated effects. These stakeholders include customers, suppliers, users, the public, the media, and government regulators.

There is no prerequisite training or skill required to gain value from this text. Novice readers will gain foundational instruction that will enable them to make effective use of the material, and intermediate and advanced individuals will benefit from renewed approaches to the core tenants of process delivery, with a focus on process architectures in a rapid value-realization environment. This book is for individuals who wish to improve the way in which they conduct day-to-day operations as well as implement large-scale change within their organizations.

The Process Improvement Handbook is divided into three core modules: an introduction to the Process Improvement Body of Knowledge, Process Management Knowledge Areas, and practical information for Applying the Process Improvement Body of Knowledge. Part I builds understanding of Process and Process Improvement. Part II provides an overarching Process Architecture; identifies requisite skills; and offers tools, templates, and instructions for its practical application. Part III contains the appendices, which provide tools to better navigate this text and apply what is learned in real-world situations. Each part is described in detail below.

Chapter 1, Introduction: The introductory chapter presents a basis and purpose for the standard. It provides an overview of the handbook and discusses its relationship to other management disciplines and how to adapt it to an organization’s needs. It also describes its position as a Body of Knowledge and competitive advantage for organizations, departments, employees, and students.

Chapter 2, The Process Improvement Context: This chapter describes the fundamentals involved in Process Improvement and the key terms used to drive these efforts. It addresses the common pitfalls of traditional approaches to process adoption and outlines the role of a Process Improvement Manager. This chapter discusses the differences between a functional and a nonfunctional process management structure and the value proposition of a Process Improvement Organization.

Chapter 3, Process Maturity: This chapter outlines a set of structured levels that describe how well an organization’s behaviors, practices, and processes can reliably and sustainably produce required outcomes. It describes an evolutionary improvement path that guides organizations as they move from immature, inconsistent business activities to mature, disciplined processes. This chapter enables management to evaluate where their organization stands relative to other organizations in their industry.

Chapter 4, Process-Oriented Architecture: This chapter defines a philosophical approach to process interaction and management. It contains a set of architectural elements that are used to sustain business performance, deliver a consistent experience, and enable continuous improvement in enterprises. The chapter provides a new industry architecture approach to building process maturity and sustainability. In addition, it also describes both a framework and a method for applying process-oriented architecture governance in an organization and making it work regardless of an organization’s idiosyncrasies.

Chapter 5, Creating a Process Ecosystem: This chapter describes the management of an enterprise as an ecosystem in which all processes are interconnected and driving toward business success. It provides an overview of the elements needed to orchestrate and choreograph an end-to-end business process ecosystem and offers a basic model for practitioners to enhance or develop as needed.

Chapter 6, Managing Process Improvements: This chapter outlines the Process Improvement framework and provides an overview of the various environmental factors that can affect Process Improvement efforts. It discusses the various Process Improvement methods and includes an overview of an organizational structure that can influence an organization’s culture and the way it manages continuous improvement.

Chapter 7, The Process Improvement Organization: This chapter describes the Process Improvement Organization, lists the professional services offered by the department, and defines a baseline governance process for Process Improvement activities. It helps establish the roles and responsibilities needed to help Process Improvement team members understand their accountability. This chapter incorporates best practices, controls, and approaches to ensure effective process execution.

Chapter 8, Process Improvement Aptitudes: This chapter identifies the skills, underlying competencies, and capabilities needed to drive results within a Process-oriented Enterprise. It focuses on the individual inventory of aptitudes needed and how to recognize and build them within an organization.

Chapter 9, Case Examples: In this chapter, examples and guidance on how to avoid common pitfalls associated with Process Improvement implementation are provided. The chapter is built around real-life events that point out the value of positive, consistent, and reliable service experiences. It provides examples of how improvements can be made using a Process Improvement framework such as The Process Improvement Handbook.

Chapter 10, Process Improvement Templates and Instructions: Templates and instructions that can be used by Process Improvement Organizations to build and deliver consistent and sustainable processes are included in this chapter. The chapter outlines a variety of templates and links them to the various phases of the Process Improvement lifecycle.

Chapter 11, The Process Improvement Handbook Summary: This chapter reviews the foundation, framework, tools, and principles presented in the core chapters. The culmination of learning is provided as a competitive advantage for organizations, departments, employees, and students. This chapter summarizes the body of knowledge and enables the reader to tackle the challenge of process work with a new degree of confidence and knowledge.

Most tools and techniques needed to manage processes and subsequent improvements are unique or nearly unique to Process Improvement. However, Process Improvement does overlap with other general management fields. General management encompasses planning, organizing, and monitoring the operations of an ongoing enterprise. The following general management areas may overlap with those presented in The Process Improvement Handbook and are closely linked to Process Improvement efforts:

This handbook is built on a set of several interrelated core values, which are referred to as the Process Improvement Manifesto (Figure 1-1). These values are embedded beliefs and behaviors found in high-performing organizations and serve as the basis for this text. They are the foundation for integrating key performance and operational requirements within a result-oriented framework. In addition, they create a basis for action and feedback that readers and professionals can use to deploy the concepts presented.

The Process Improvement Handbook values agile and iterative improvement. Success in today’s ever-changing market demands agility, a capacity for rapid change, and flexibility. Because change is inevitable, organizations that wish to continually improve must be able to nimbly adjust to and take advantage of emerging opportunities. This involves focusing on flexible work and planning practices that are tailored to incremental improvement.

The Process Improvement Handbook values quality in all aspects of Process Improvement, from process creation to retirement, including process, people, and technology changes. Organizations that understand and focus attention on all facets of quality from the beginning of transformation initiatives to the end experience superior results. This involves the acts of process monitoring and control, ensuring a proper definition of quality is instituted, and upholding the highest standards in whatever tasks are performed.

The Process Improvement Handbook values leadership that is proactive and open to ideas for improving all aspects of an organization. Leaders who communicate and inspire a clear and compelling vision for the future have teams that are more engaged and open to improvement opportunities. This involves creating an environment that inspires and enables everyone to contribute to the vision, be innovative, and achieve things of extraordinary value.

The Process Improvement Handbook values transparency and open communication, along with participative decision-making throughout the entire Process Improvement lifecycle. An organization that recognizes that everyone has a point of view and should have the opportunity to voice opinions, ideas, and experiences is generally more innovative in their improvement designs. This involves providing various mechanisms for people to participate in decisions that affect them when at all possible and ensuring that all ideas and suggestions offered are valued and considered for improving the enterprise.

The Process Improvement Handbook values collegial working relationships throughout Process Improvement efforts. An organization’s success depends increasingly on an engaged workforce that has a safe, trusting, and cooperative work environment. Successful organizations capitalize on the diverse backgrounds, knowledge, skills, creativity, and motivation of their workforce and partners. Valuing the workforce means committing to their engagement, satisfaction, development, and well-being. This involves implementing more flexible, high-performance work practices that are tailored to varying workplace and home life needs and ensuring that project teams are properly formed and managed.

The Process Improvement Handbook values organizational discipline and maturity. Companies with high organizational discipline that perform business processes in a standard, repetitive fashion are more competitive and usually leaders in their markets. Ensuring a disciplined approach to all Process Improvement activities helps ensure that thorough and robust solutions are implemented. This involves deploying standardized templates, performance expectations, auditing and inspection criteria, and shared enterprise systems to help achieve standardization across all areas of the business.

The Process Improvement Handbook values the consideration of what is best for the organization as a whole, rather than specific departments, focus areas, geographies, or individuals, when making decisions and conducting day-to-day work. Ensuring process improvements meet not only the needs of those involved with the activities in question, but also the larger enterprise ensures time and money are not wasted deploying and redeploying solutions. This involves guaranteeing that no duplication has occurred, previous improvements and lessons have been leveraged, and proper change management is in place.

The Process Improvement Handbook values the notion that Process Improvement practitioners provide a service to companies, departments, sponsors, employees, the community, the consumer, and the profession. This involves doing what is right for the customer in question and endlessly providing expertise for their benefit.

The Process Improvement Handbook values training and educating those involved in Process Improvement efforts. The primary objective of training is to provide all personnel, suppliers, and customers with the skills needed to effectively perform quality process activities and to build this concept directly into an organization’s operations. This practice makes continuous learning within the organization possible and promotes improvement and process-oriented thinking. Training can be proactive or just-in-time in its approach, depending on the needs and financial means of the department or organization.

The Process Improvement Handbook values the consideration of what is best for customers of a process (operators and end consumers) when designing and implementing process solutions and improvements. Ensuring processes are user friendly for those executing its activities helps maintain positive morale. This involves ensuring the needs, wants, and limitations of process operators and end users are given extensive attention and consideration at each stage of process design and improvement.

Organizations that embrace these core values are capable of

This handbook is designed to be a critical resource for both students and practicing professionals in the Process Improvement field. By becoming proficient in the topics described, individuals will build a solid foundation on which comprehensive, organization-specific implementations can be established. However, it is our belief that corporations and organizational entities have unique requirements that are dependent on special environmental, cultural, customer, and market demands. As a result, readers will be required to apply the knowledge derived from this text by adapting it to fit various situations. Upon customization, the standards and principles contained herein provide a significant competitive differentiator. This knowledge will serve as the foundation for truly efficient organizations that are mature and agile, enabling them to make competitive moves much easier and faster without breaking moral or organizational structures. Some information provided in The Process Improvement Handbook can be complex and often focuses on key concepts and terminology. Rather than providing specific guidelines for action, this handbook provides basic knowledge on Process Improvement concepts and tools.

We have a web page where we list errata, examples, templates, and additional information. You can access this page at: www.mhprofessional.com/pihandbook.

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In this chapter, we introduced The Process Improvement Handbook as a Body of Knowledge for Process Improvement professionals. This chapter outlined how to navigate the handbook, described the critical components that make up the text, and introduced the core values that make up the Process Improvement Manifesto. We also learned the following:

• The Process Improvement Handbook overlaps with several general management areas including Sales, Operations and Supply Chain Management, Organizational Behavior, and Human Resource Management, as well as Information Technology and Information Systems.

Chapter 2 discusses the fundamental terminology used throughout Process Improvement efforts. In addition, it discusses the advantages of structuring an organization by process rather than by function and also discusses the role(s) a Process Improvement Manager plays in Process Improvement projects.