University of York Planning for Process Review

Using our Vision, Strategy and Medium Term Planning to inform our business and process change agenda..

Warning! Some changes can / will be tactical but most should be strategic If we make tactical decisions without the guidance of strategic oversight we will lose direction

Any change initiative should …. Fit to the organisational strategy Support one or more of the following: – Improved customer experience – Improved institutional value – Improved employee experience

Why review processes? Increase effectiveness Reduce waste (rather than cost) Enable scalability Increase capacity Enter new markets Increase revenues

Planning for Process Review Prioritising issues for review

Prioritising issues for review.... Focus on: – Customers – Innovation – Creativity – Processes – People – Developing teams of interdisciplinary change agents Rather than: – Rules – Regulations – Policies – Procedures – Tasks – Individuals

What ‘Business’ factors can we use to drive decision making (1)? Focus on initiatives which will deliver change linked to strategic plans. Focus on where change is most needed? Focus on business critical activities? Focus on areas of perceived ‘high wastage’ with potential for high levels of gain? Focus on where user satisfaction is lowest? Focus on statutory compliance?

What ‘Business’ factors can we use to drive decision making (2)? Focus on initiatives which will deliver benefits to one or more of the: – Customers of the institution – Employees of the institution – The Institution itself (in a corporate environment this would be represented by the shareholders) For each initiative assess whether it: – is easy to deliver – will provide high levels of gain / added value – will require significant investment to implement – carries a high risk e.g. is it complex and the downsides of failure significant?

Candidate high priority areas for process review include... Teaching focussed: – Timetabling – Student complaints, special cases, plagiarism management – Exams processing Research focussed: – Research support / Funding bids etc. Support Services focussed: – Estates maintenance and zone management procedures – HR Recruitment procedures – For further candidate ideas consult with: Heads of Department via MTP process Administrators’ Forum

Co-ordinate process review agenda... Top-down via: – MTP – SMG direction – Operations Group steer – Co-ordinated process review agenda and plan Bottom-up via: – Development of teams of interdisciplinary change agents – Continuous development of candidate change ideas via Administrators’ Forum and other initiatives e.g. ‘Being the Best’

For process change to be culturally enabled... Train the team Empower the team Trust the team Monitor the team

Showcase current work on process review.. Postgraduate admissions Student registration – U/G & P/G Student accommodation bookings, allocation & take-up

Overview of the process of change... Discover y AnalysisDesign Validatio n Impleme ntation Integrat e ManageImprove Effective change cycle

Getting started on a process change initiative...

Improving processes... Stage1 Define the problem Stage 2 Discovery Stage 3 Analysis Stage 4 Propose solution

Include in stages 1 & 2 of the work an examination of Strategic factors including...

Project Profile… Is the reputation of the Organisation, Department, Management, Project Manager, Team at stake? Who will get to hear about this project? Will a failure be public, or is this a “back room” project? Will the project be accompanied by publicity, either external or internal? Will there be a high-level management interest in the project? Will something have to be finished early in order to show success?

Time constraints… Is there a fixed target date? How fixed is it? (Legislative or business opportunity?) Who fixed it? Are there any intermediate dates that must be met? Is there a particular start date? Are the time deadlines as important as, say, cost? Can the implementation be phased?

Costs and Benefits… Has a cost / benefit analysis been carried out? If so, by whom, when and on what basis? Have costs been established? If so, how and what assumptions have been made? Does the project have a pay-back? If so, on what basis and how are the benefits to be measured? What are the relative importance of development costs against long term operational costs?

Business Risk… How badly will the Organisation suffer if this project fails or if the end product fails to live up to expectations? Will the University go bust? What would we lose if the project fails? Staff, students, partners? Do we need to keep any aspect of this project secret or confidential from competitors, staff etc.? What would happen if they were to find out? Do we need to involve Legal, Personnel, Finance, Auditors, Outside Regulatory bodies etc.?

Other strategic project factors include… Scope Requirements Involvement Technology Project Team Project Management

You can use the outcomes of the Strategic Factors exercise to… Set the strategy for the change initiative Define the business drivers and objectives Break a project into identifiable and manageable phases Plan and order the phases Inform the detailed planning