Workflow Modeling:
Tools for Process Improvement and Application Development
by Alec Sharp and Patrick McDermot
"Start with the end--the result--in mind." That is the message
driving this visual models approach to improving the work flow process
for organizational success. Experts in management and information technology
provide use case scenarios for defining system requirements, real-world
examples, project checklists, and other aids for sharpening the competitive
edge.
This book presents a detailed methodology for swimlane diagramming in
support of workflow business processing. This book is for business analysts,
systems analysts and workflow specialists.
This is essential reading for analysts capturing business requirements
and a good primer for technicians assigned to the project team.
Achieve Lasting Process
Improvement:
Reach Six Sigma Goals without the Pain
by Bennet P. Lientz and Kathryn P. Rea
Although
new process improvement methods have been developed and implemented
over the past few decades, surveys indicate that many of these methods
fail outright, are disappointing, cannot be sustained, or cannot be
replicated by other organizations. Achieve Lasting Process Improvement
provides a commonsense, jargon-free, proven method of improving business
processes regardless of the size, location, and nature of the organization.
It presents a step-by-step approach and offers more than 200 specific
tips and guidelines as well as addressing specific issues and problems.
These have been gathered from organizations of many sizes in many different
countries that have achieved lasting benefits and success.
This book enables the reader to:
* Establish sustained and lasting process improvement.
* Achieve the results of Six Sigma without the pain and expense.
* Implement process improvement without risking business.
* Motivate employees to participate and contribute to process improvement.
* Achieve measurable, scalable, and flexible business processes.
* Address individual business, work, management, cultural, and political
issues. Answers questions such as:
* How do you define the long-term direction for a business process?
* How do you select which processes to improve? * How do you measure
business processes?
* How do you define a successful implementation strategy and project
plan for process improvement?
* How do you employ technology and automation successfully?
* How should you involve upper management in process improvement?
* How do you gain support, involvement, and commitment of employees?
* How do you maintain a business process over time?
* How do you sustain the benefits and change that you have implemented?
Authors present a step by step approach to the issue of effective process
improvement, offering more than 200 tips and guidelines as well as addressing
specific common problems and issues. The strategy presented is to take
a broad and intuitive, but learned view of process improvement methods,
and the tactics expounded are based on guidelines, common faults &
lessons learned.
Process Redesign:
The Implementation Guide for Managers
by Arthur R. Tenner and Irving J. Detoro
Comprehensive in scope, this book integrates the three major approaches
to process redesign -- benchmarking, continuous improvement, and reengineering
-- showing how to combine them for maximum effectiveness. It explains
the circumstances for which each approach is appropriate and describes
how to apply each specific technique effectively. The book also points
out the many potential pitfalls that can impede even the most well thought
out program.
You will find detailed and methodical coverage of such topics as defining
processes, measuring performance, reducing cycle times, team building,
benchmarking, the critical success factors for reengineering, and much
more. Numerous examples from many different industries demonstrate concepts
and techniques in action, illustrate common mistakes, and provide a
model for successful implementation that you can apply to your own organization.
The information is presented in an accessible format, with guidelines,
checklists, worksheets, discussion questions, and clear graphics to
help you absorb essential information quickly and apply it successfully.
Published
in association with the Workflow Management Coalition (WfMC), the Workflow
Handbook 2002 comprises four sections in over 400 information-packed
pages:
SECTION 1: The World of Workflow covers a wide spectrum of viewpoints
and discussions by experts in their respective fields. Papers range
from an Introduction to Workflow through to a peek into the future of
XML workflow architectures and integrating Business Process Technology.
SECTION 2 offers selected award-winning Case Studies from the annual
Excellence in Workflow awards.
SECTION 3, Workflow Standards, deals with the importance of standards,
and details the new Wf-XML 1.1 binding recently published by the Coalition's
Technical Committee.
SECTION 4: The WfMC Glossary, an explanation of the structure of the
Workflow Management Coalition and references comprise the last section,
Directory and Appendices, including a membership directory.
Business
Process Mapping:
Improving Customer Satisfaction
by Paulette J. Keller
Business
Process Mapping is a powerful tool that offers a solid understanding
of any given process, finds effective ways for that process to be more
successful, and ensures that true value is being provided to customers.
It allows all the individuals involved in a process to gain a better
understanding of that process with a simple, yet powerful approach that
anyone can utilize––from management to internal auditor
to external consultant. Process Mapping is a holistic approach that
includes the added benefit of increased employee ownership of ideas
and, therefore, increased company morale.
Business Process Mapping represents a full, prac-tical discussion of
this new tool. It provides the reader a fuller understanding of what
processes are, then provides practical applications for each step in
Process Mapping. It discusses the com-plete cycle of business Process
Mapping and links business objectives, risks, and measures of success
to the processes being mapped. Also included are numerous case studies
and a wide range of tools for better implementing Process Mapping. To
help understand the various steps in the mapping process, a detailed
example is introduced and used throughout the book.
The four major steps of Process Mapping are fully explained:
Process identification––attaining a full understanding of
all the steps of a process
Information gathering––identifying objectives, risks, and
key controls in a process
Interviewing and mapping––understanding the point of view
of individuals in the process and designing actual maps
Analysis––utilizing tools and approaches to make the process
run more effectively and efficiently
Included in the book are various specialized tools that include questionnaires,
process analysis worksheets, hierarchy/owner maps, and the techniques
to be used in developing effective process maps. Business Process Mapping
is a simple and definitive guide to Process Mapping suitable for individuals
at any management level
Process Mapping:
How To Reengineer Your Business Processes
by V. Daniel Hunt
A business organization, like a human body, is only as effective as
its various processes. Pretty obvious, right? Yet, as V. Daniel Hunt
demonstrates in this groundbreaking book, the failure to appreciate
this obvious fact is the reason most reengineering schemes fail. Managers
whose job it is to improve company performance, like physicians who
work to improve patient health, must develop a clear picture of how
each process fits into the overall organizational structure; how it
ought to function; and how well it is performing at any given moment;
before they can form a diagnosis or devise a treatment strategy.
Fortunately, a powerful new analytical tool that has emerged in recent
years helps you to do all of that and much more. Developed at General
Electric, process mapping has been implemented in companies around
the globe, and the results have been simply astonishing. Now find
out how to make this breakthrough reengineering technology work for
your organization in Process Mapping.
The first and only hands-on guide of its kind, Process Mapping arms
you with a full complement of state-of-the-art tools and techniques
for assessing existing business processes and developing a detailed
road map for ongoing change and improvement. Internationally known
management consultant and bestselling author V. Daniel Hunt guides
you step-by-step through the entire process. He helps you assess the
need for process reengineering in your organization and determine
whether or not a process map is what you need. He shows you how to
create a process mapping team and helps you select the best-buy process
mapping tools for the job. He explains how to gather vital information
about your business processes via focused interviews and other interview
techniques, and how to use this data in implementing process mapping.
He also offers expert advice on how to apply your process map to significantly
improve business functions and bottom-line performance.
