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It is essential that organizations have robust processes in place to meet the needs of their customers. Effective process design is, therefore, key to the success of any organization and should be an integral element of any continuous improvement initiative. Here, we discuss what is involved in process design and introduce some fundamental design types.
Definition of a ‘Process’
Any part of the organization which takes a set of input resources that are then used to transform something, or are transformed themselves, into outputs of products or services which satisfy customers. [1]
Remember that a ‘customer’ can be internal (e.g. producing printed material for the Marketing department) or external (e.g. the people who buy your product).
At its simplest, the design of a process involves identifying all of the individual activities that are needed to fulfill the objectives of the process, deciding on the sequence in which these activities are to be performed, and who is going to do them. There will, of course, be some constraints on this. Some activities must be carried out before others, and some can only be done by certain people or using specific equipment. Nevertheless, for a process of any reasonable size, the potential number of alternative processes is usually large. Because of this, process design is often done using some simple visual approach such as process mapping.
Process Mapping
Processes are designed initially by breaking them down into their individual activities. Often, common symbols are used to represent types of activity or steps in the process. The sequence of activities in a process is then indicated by the sequence of symbols representing activities. This, essentially, is what process mapping is.
Process mapping has two main benefits:
- It identifies the types of activities that take place during a process.
- It shows the flow of resources (people, materials, equipment, information) through the process.
Some common process mapping symbols include the following:
Process mapping symbols are used to construct a process flow chart. This is something that documents a process from start to finish, taking into consideration every point along the way. A simple example of a process flow chart is given below:
What Objectives Should Process Design Have?
Process design can be viewed as a transformation process in the same way as any other operation. It can, therefore, be judged in terms of its:
- quality – does the process produce an end product consistent with customers’ expectations?
- speed – is it the most time efficient way of doing things?
- dependability – how susceptible to defects or error is the process?
- flexibility – can the process be adapted in line with the changing needs of the organization and its customers?
- cost – does the process result in an acceptable return on investment?
These objectives are more likely to be satisfied if process design is done in conjunction with product or service design, i.e. design the processes while the product/service itself is being designed.
Process design must also take into consideration environmental issues. These include examination of the source and suitability of materials, the sources and quantities of energy consumed, the amount and type of waste material, the life of the product/service itself, and the end-of-life state of the product/service.
Process Types
Process types are general approaches to managing the transformation process, and they depend on the volume and variety of an operation’s output. There are a number of process types, split into manufacturing and service process types. Manufacturing process types include:
- Project – dealing with discrete, highly customized products, e.g. shipbuilding or bespoke pieces of machinery. The resources in a project process are usually exclusive to it.
- Jobbing – dealing with high variety, low volume products, e.g. specialist furniture makers or exclusive print runs. In jobbing processes, resources are usually shared with others, but the end products will not be exactly the same.
- Batch – similar to jobbing, but with less variety. This is because, unlike jobbing, batch processes do repeat themselves on occasion, e.g. clothing and tool manufacturing.
- Mass – high volume, lower variety products, e.g. bottling and food processing plants that deal with different brands.
- Continuous – higher volume, low variety products, e.g. bottling and food processing plants that deal with only one brand.
For service processes, there are:
- Professional services – high contact organizations where the customer spends a lot of time in the service process, and it is likely to be highly customized, e.g. a design consultancy, solicitor or accountant.
- Service shops – services that involve customer contact and a degree of customization, e.g. a high street bank, hotels and restaurants.
- Mass services – involve limited contact time and little customization, e.g. a supermarket or local transport travel
The Importance of Reviewing Processes
It is essential that processes are reviewed on a regular basis. As the expectations and needs of both the organization and customers change, current methods may become outdated or no longer suitable. The most effective organizations are those that put continuous improvement to the forefront and are always looking for ways to become more efficient and competitive. Process design will be a key element in any continuous improvement initiative.
References[1] Slack, N. Chambers, S. Johnson, R. (2004).
Operations Management. FT Prentice Hall, p 94. Available
here.
