Fundamentals of Business Process Improvement (BPI)

Treat a business process as a recipe: a series of steps that consistently produce a desired objective. Learn how design, management, and improvement of processes empower growth across organizations.

Identify why bad business processes arise from assumptions, ambiguity, miscommunication, and misalignment, and learn how to challenge assumptions, communicate effectively, and plan for succession to sustain improvement.

Recognize that even the best processes have limits as demand and workload grow. Upgrade tools, technology, and human resources to sustain performance for present demand and future growth.

Identify the cow path theory in business processes and its persistence. Evaluate opportunities to question routines and redesign for growth and better customer outcomes.

Become a change agent by listening to clients, asking questions, gathering data, and testing to identify root causes and craft creative, patient-centered improvements for business processes.

Frame client goals as a range of possibilities, act as a change agent, and seek ongoing feedback to adapt to changing constraints in business process improvement.

As a change agent, recognize customers and employees, address emotions and fear of change, listen with patience, and design simple, enduring solutions that survive boredom and change.

Identify stakeholders and goals to guide process improvement; map primary and secondary stakeholders across the organization and balance goals, from a polite customer exchange to marketing data needs.

Block diagrams map how a business process connects with people and other processes. They show collaboration across purchasing, catalog design, printing, and customer service.

Prioritize stakeholder needs through a hierarchy of goals to control scope creep, implement a two-stage improvement—fix five essentials first to prove value and secure resources.

Flowcharts map a process with symbols for entry and exit, decisions, data collection, and deliveries, exposing areas for improvement. Involve stakeholders, test with orders, and refine to support IT tools.

Design and implement an improvement project by identifying stakeholders, defining a measurable desired state, and setting verifiable goals within a five year timeline.

Identify the present state of a process by comparing current outputs to goals. Assess alignment with the documented process and reveal gaps when actions diverge.

Explore gap analysis by comparing present and desired states, identify measurable goals, and scope a manageable sequence of improvement projects that fit budget and time constraints.

Investigate the process in detail, identify strengths and weaknesses relative to the desired state, research improvement options, and analyze and share findings to fit budget and timeline while gathering feedback.

Develop targeted process solutions and an actionable implementation plan by embracing external change agent perspectives, promoting innovative thinking, addressing project scope, and outlining step-by-step activities and deliverables for adoption.

Start with your solution to grab attention, then present the recommendation supported by a cost-benefit analysis, value-to-work ratio, organizational fit, and a clear implementation plan with metrics.

Start developing and applying business process improvement skills anywhere by identifying key processes, using block diagrams and flowcharts, and considering stakeholders and goals; essential in managerial roles.