Streamlining Your Workflow: Easy Steps to Initiate Process Optimization
Process transformation can seem daunting and it’s easy to postpone in favour of other priorities. Here, we examine a few fundamental steps to help you get started.
Begin early to increase your chances of success
Where does process optimisation sit on your to-do list? Possibly after several other tasks that are essential to the daily running of your business. You know it’s important, but there are many reasons to postpone it, from lack of time to perceived cost and complexity.
However, did your mother ever tell you to ‘start as you mean to go on’? Process improvement might be a challenge, but it’s worth doing as early as possible. It will help set you on the right track to achieving continuous improvement.
Start with these two simple, practical steps
Step one: define the current process using your preferred discovery method
There are several ways to run effective process discovery: using data, creating a model from scratch, holding workshops.
In a data-driven method, you provide log files of each process’s supporting systems. BusinessOptix analyses them and highlights areas for improvement. If you haven’t got log files, there’s no problem. You can load files from other process mining tools. Or, if you’re using diagramming tools like Visio or Lucid, you can import its diagrams in a couple of easy steps.
The crowd-driven method is one of the most efficient ways, and isn’t as complicated as you might think. It involves creating a survey to gather information on how the process runs. A process diagram automatically generates based on the responses from your team. Thereby saving time and ensuring accurate results. For a complete picture, a rapid-capture tool lets you add actions that aren’t recorded, or don’t happen, online.
Image source: BusinessOptix
Step two: identify your ideal process using scenario modelling and simulation
The discovery phase might have revealed some obvious areas to focus on. But to build a full picture and achieve the best results, you must test as many contributory factors as possible. These could include adjusting metrics like cost increases, number of team members, or process duration.
Scenario-modelling tools help you run all types of simulation to improve your business’s flexibility. Use BusinessOptix to:
- Model your options and ideas to assess the impact of different activities
- Change or replicate your assumptions with a single click
- Compare results to learn which will have the most positive impact
- Implement the preferred option, using linked work instructions and documentation to ensure the process is carried out effectively
Image source: BusinessOptix
Discover your ideal future business today
BusinessOptix has extensive functionality, from the process capabilities outlined above to development of a full digital twin. You can use as much or as little as you like, to cater for your unique needs.
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