Mar 31

Written by: Andrew Hall
3/31/2008 11:25 AM

I could think of no better way to begin a new blog on Business Process Design than to quickly preach the importance of Process, especially in light of the fact that software functionality and gee-whiz technology seems to get people's attention. The true measure of a world-class company is its Processes, whether they are supported and enabled through the latest and greatest software functionality or through simple manual constructs (e.g. kanban loops with visual signals). Too often, Companies want to automate or enable a bad Process through software in the hopes of improving business results. Though there may be some overhead elimination in such an approach, the true result is that the Company is simply executing a bad Process quickly. Instead, all Companies should focus their efforts on first designing best-in-class business Processes and only then begin attempts at automation. Without a doubt, the functionality afforded to us today by modern software applications is amazing and should be exploited whenever and wherever possible. However, if the software is simply automating a bad or sub-optimal process, the transformational power and value of the technology investment will not be realized.

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