Business Process Reengineering Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is the means by which an organization achieves radical change in performance as measured by cost, cycle time, service, and quality, by the application of a variety of tools that focus on a set of customer-oriented core business processes.

Types of Reengineering Type 1 - Process Improvement; cost-reduction focus Type 2 - To achieve parity, or “best-in-class;” competitive focus Type 3 - Searching core business for breakpoints; rewriting the rules

BPR Process (1 of 2) Frame the project Create the vision, values and goals Redesign the business operation Conduct proof of concept Andrews & Stalick, Business Reengineering: The Survivor’s Guide

BPR Process (2 of 2) Plan the implementation Obtain implementation approval Implement the redesign Transition to a continuous improvement state

Physical/Technical Layer The Dimensions of Business Process Reengineering - Andrews & Stalick (1 of 3) Physical/Technical Layer Process structure Technical structure Organization structure

The Dimensions of Business Process Reengineering (2 of 3) Infrastructure Layer Reward structure Measurement systems Management methods

The Dimensions of Business Process Reengineering (3 of 3) Value Layer Organizational culture Political power Individual belief systems

The Top Ten Ways to Fail at Reengineering (1 of 2) 1. Don’t reengineer but say that you are. 2. Don’t focus on processes. 3. Spend a lot of time analyzing the current situation. 4. Proceed without strong executive leadership. 5. Be timid in redesign. Hammer & Champy, The Reengineering Revolution, 1995

The Top Ten Ways to Fail at Reengineering (2 of 2) 6. Go directly from conceptual design to implementation. 7. Reengineer slowly. 8. Place some aspects of the business off- limits. 9. Adopt a conventional implementation style. 10. Ignore the concerns of your people.

Benchmarking Benchmarking is the search for the “best practices” that will lead to superior performance of an organization.

Benchmarking is NOT A cure for all organizational ills A means to justify blatant personnel cuts A one-shot program A process cookbook with no creativity A process to conduct industrial espionage A one-way information flow An improvement tool requiring little cost or effort

Benchmarking Approaches Performance benchmarking To identify candidates for conducting benchmarking studies Process benchmarking To identify the “best practices”

Types of Benchmarking ( 1 of 3) Internal Comparing yourself against a similar process, product, or service within your own organization

Types of Benchmarking (2 of 3) Competitive Comparing yourself against the toughest external competitor or against world-class companies in your industry

Types of Benchmarking (3 of 3) Generic/Functional Comparing yourself against a world-class company that is not even in your industry, but that uses a process similar to yours

Benchmarking Process ( 1 of 6) 1. Getting Organized Obtain management buy-in Communicate and educate benchmarking concepts Plan the overall benchmarking process Address fear and concerns

Benchmarking Process (2 of 6) 2. Preparing to Benchmark Identify process to benchmark Establish benchmark team Understand existing process Determine process metrics

Benchmarking Process (3 of 6) 3. Conduct Research Who performs similar processes Who performs the best What information is needed 4. Select the organization to Benchmark Establish a relationship Reach an agreement on the exchange

Benchmarking Process (4 of 6) 5. Collect Data and Information Identify sources of data/information Site visits Interviews Third parties Documents Plan and collect data/information

Benchmarking Process (5 of 6) 6. Analyze and Adapt the Process Compare the data/information Determine process gaps Establish improvement goals Design the improved process Estimate the improvement

Benchmarking Process (6 of 6) 7. Implement the New Process Train the affected staff Implement the process on a trial basis Monitor the results Adjust and adapt Adopt the process Celebrate