The secret with exceptional process design

1. When is a process perceived as good?
2. When is a process perceived as bad?
3. What is process design?

 

These are questions that everybody that works with process should ask oneself. I use these questions frequently just to remind myself of the secret with exceptional process design. So what do I mean with process design? I guess you could include quite a lot in the term "process design". I have heard people say its about drawing activities and their relations and I have heard people say it is about a customer - supplier relationship and I have heard that it is anything in between. I will come back to what I think process design is but lets start with the questions in the right order.

 

1. When is a process perceived as good?

Can you recall any occasion when a process has been the subject for praises? No? Well any occasion when a process has been the subject for positive attention? No? A big thank you? A tap on the shoulder? A friendly word? A look? Any thing?

 

That something work fine is usually not expressed in gratitude of a process. Gratification is not that uncommon but it seldom correlates to a particular process. Customer experience can be good and when it is, thing just work. Why is that? How come things just work? Is it because they have the sharpest minds? Is it because they have the best process design? Is it because they have the best tools?

 

2. When is a process perceived as bad?

I guess that you can recall a few occasions where a process has been the subject for blame. I know I can. Why is that? Is it due to a bad process design? Bad tools? Lack of best people?

 

Whenever expectations are not met there will be a sense of dissatisfaction. Whenever expectations are met there will be a sense of satisfaction. Both of these cases will affect the trust and this trust is the basis for the overall experience and satisfaction. How do we create trust? How do we increase trust? How do we even influence trust?

 

3. What is process design?

There is a fundamental element with any process and that is the expected process output. But it does not stop there. There has to be a profound understanding of what that output is to be used for and what the expected result of that should be. This is commonly referred to as the value. The process has an output and that output is used to create value. This is the guiding star in all process design.

 

So lets go back to trust and experience. How do we influence trust and experience? What are the basics in trust? Trust is earned. It can not be demanded, asked for, taken for granted etc. It is earned. Earned by constantly proving commitment of a common goal over time. What are the basics for experience? Experience has a more short term relevance. We could have a bad experience and still have a solid trust. But over time if the bad experiences are frequent our trust will gradually decrease. The opposite also apply, if good experiences are frequent over time out trust will increase. 

 

The secret with exceptional process design!

It does not require the sharpest minds. It does not require the best tools. It does not require the best of anything. It does however require two things.

1. The fundamental element of process design.
2. Relentless effort to improve.

 

The fundamental element of process design.

Remember the guiding star? The expected process output and the understanding of what that output is to be used for to create value. This has to be the primary objective in all process related work.

 

Relentless effort to improve.

Any effort to improve process output and value could be a process related issue. It might not. It could be anything. Nevertheless, our ability to improve is dictated by our ability to identify and apply improvements. It does not matter how we identify the improvements as long as we do. Use anything at hand. Process -measurements, -operators, -stakeholders, -feedback etc. and never forget the primary objective, output to create value.

 

Summary

My conclusion is that nevertheless if there is trust or not. If there is inexhaustible effort to identify and apply value oriented improvements there will be an increase of trust over time and things will just work eventually. And what did we say about things that just work? That it is a sign of good processes. The key to exceptional process design is to never loose sight of you guiding star, value. And never get tired of digging down in the dirt to find gold nuggets in the shape of improvements. The improvements can be related to education, available information, routines and procedures, tools etc. It does not matter. If it increases value, put it on the list. That is the secret of exceptional process design!