In addition, there is a trend in the world to avoid large bureaucratic structures. Why? In addition to economic factors and long transmission chains, this is a breeding ground of irresponsibility. As a result, there are a lot of people in charge, but all are formally covered up, and Ivan’s locksmith is to blame.
Here is a practical example: the repair of industrial equipment has been exceeded due to a chain of events: could not form a brigade because one of its members failed the exam because the head of the service could not form a commission for the exam, because two people on the commission were on vacation… Additionally, nobody seems to blame, but in the end, the object is worth… Until the Chief Engineer, in a terrible curse, corrects the situation in the simplest but not the most obvious way for all listed.
This case isn’t really just about an organizational structure where, under the guise of collective responsibility, the mess is going on. It is also about the corporate culture, which is based on the direct execution of rules (the culture of rules), and formed it the same chief engineer and his predecessors.
Could even in this structure avoid these problems? Of course! With proper work of managers, building of control points, informal communication, leadership qualities of this situation would not be. Additionally, here the main thesis that will go through the book – it is impossible to build an effective business system with one tool.
Main approaches to modelling and description of business processes
Introduction
In addition to organizational structures, there is another key area – business processes.
A complete list of almost all approaches to description with illustrations, display examples and videos available IT-solutions is provided by QR-code and link below.
Business processes: notification and modeling, what to choose? (https://www.chelidze.group/en/post/business-processes-1)
Here I will consider the most common ones, answer who they are, show what I observe in life, use it myself, and summarize – what is more important: structure or business processes?
I understand that all this may seem boring, but in practice I have learned one simple rule – there is nothing worse than arguments «it is so clear», «it is too simple». Always, when I have met such arguments, this has not boded well. These theses are harbingers of chaos and disorderly problems. So, I chose this structure: first a little bit of general theory, then practice and working principles.
Basic approaches to the description of business processes
A business process is a certain algorithm of interrelated actions of people and IT systems, which is aimed at transformation of «raw materials» into «product» or result.
For example, the business procurement process involves the following stages: requisition, sourcing, solicitation, delivery of materials, delivery to the requisitioner. But each stage is also broken down into separate business processes. Therefore, you need to understand that the description of business processes is almost infinite task, and you will need to choose the level of detail, at which you say «all, enough». The lower the level of command competence, the more detailed should be made the description. Or you need to train the team, but then you have to grow as a leader. Smart personnel will not tolerate treatment as fools.
Conventionally there are several approaches to the description of business processes:
– Value Chain Diagrams (value added chain diagram, VAD);
– SIPOC;
– Event-driven process chain (EPC);
– BPMN 2.0 (Business Process Model and Notation 2.0);
– Flow Charting (Process and Procedure notations);
– IDEF (Integrated Definition Language);
– UML (Unified Modeling Languages);
– VSM (Value Stream Mapping);
– ARIS;
– DFD.
Value Chain Diagrams (VAD)
An approach that allows you to describe at the highest level the key activities of the company and departments, show the relationships between them. Here the focus is on graphical display of business processes that create value for the client.
That is, it is a kind of «master model», which gives the whole team an understanding of how its work affects the company as a whole.
Rules of construction of VAD-model of the value-added process:
– To begin with, it is necessary to identify the key tasks of the company or division that characterize its activities.
– Their logical relationship is then constructed.
– The owner and the unit responsible for the process shall be identified and specified.
– The main documents regulating the business process are indicated.
– Additional information and resources required to complete the business process are indicated.
– Links to lower-level diagrams (VAD or EPC) are attached to each upper-level business process.
An example of a VAD scheme
SIPOC
Approach to the description of business processes, which is a tool in lean production. The title reflects the whole essence of the approach, which focuses on five components:
– Supplier (supplier) – person or company that supply resources for the execution of the business process (production, money, materials, data);
– Input (input) – resources for business process: materials, money, production capacity, data);
– Process (process) – all those tasks that allow the result of the work to convert the raw material into the final product;
– Output (output) – products of business process activity;
– Customer (customer) – recipients of services, those who use the product of the business process.
The SIPOC business process is described from the end:
– Identify the customer of the business process;
– Describe the final product (output) that the customer needs;
– Highlight 5—7 key business process operations;
– Identify the necessary resources (input) for the business process;
– Identify the providers of these resources
The key advantage is the speed of description, the ability to identify unnecessary steps that do not create value. This approach is somewhat similar to VAD and is a top-level description. Allows to identify the most obvious losses.
