Changing Process Optimization for the Better

At Ingenuus, we are committed to the manufacturing market, and the unique needs that manufacturing companies have when it comes to technology. Our product is very popular among those managing the processes related to products and product changes. But we have discovered over the course of time that many companies simply do not have their processes documented, so purchasing a product like ours seems to be too big of a step.

We also realized that the issue was not the technology - our technology is superb - but rather, how to best use it. Sometimes you are just too close to the answer to see it. Looking hard at our target market we found quality initiatives everywhere. Everything from Malcom Baldridge to Lean to Six Sigma to TQM. For simplicity I will simply call it Lean Six Sigma with my apologies to all those who may not like that label. We found one thing in common - all these initiatives were basically manual.

It became painfully clear that there were really two kinds of processes that needed to be addressed, and we were spending all our time and energy on only one.

Basically there are processes that document and manage other processes. We call these Type 1 processes for lack of a better term. These are your basic quality processes. They are generally not automated because of the traditional aversion to automation for most quality initiatives. They are used to document, evaluate and optimize other processes. They are usually called "projects" (especially in the Six Sigma world) and are how companies implement continuous improvement.

Then there are all the other processes, the ones we use everyday. We call these Type 2 processes. In general it is these processes that Ingenuus and all the other BPM vendors have been trying to show you how we can automate them.

Although the ROI is excellent, and the argument sound, there has not been a rush to automate Type 2 processes. I have a theory why.

Let's say your manufacturing company is looking to be more efficient. Upper management has asked IT and managers to look for software or programs to drive efficiency and improve innovation. You look around and find this amazing BPM product that does everything you ever dreamed of. You love the demo, and present it to your team. The team also things it is great so you prepare a presentation for upper management to get funding. You select a process to start with, you do the ROI, you prepare your justification. On the day you present the VP of quality says, "Well, we can do a Six Sigma/Lean/TQM evaluation of that process and optimize it without any technology. We do it all the time." The President nods, and just like that your project is dead in the water.

Of course, what the Quality VP said is partially true. But as a user you also know that only about 10% of the processes in your company are documented. Therefore, any changes to a process cannot be completely evaluated for impact. And everyone knows that once a process is changed, all the other processes that were not changed place pressure on the optimized process to return to its previous state. This is a well known paradigm in process re-engineering. But because everyone is convinced that this is under control and automation is not needed, it is business as usual.

Aberdeen did a recent study that showed best-in-class companies out performing others because they were careful to automate to increase visibility, not simply reduce errors. It appears that increased visibility makes a company more responsive and able to avoid costly problems and mistakes, or more quickly address them before they become too costly.

So, we developed a process optimization framework to help companies begin the process of documenting their processes. We call it, the Process Optimization Pyramid (TM). It is bascially a few Type 1 processes you can use to automate the documentation, evaluation, optimization, and eventual automation of other processes.

Now, the above scenario changes. You prepare your presentation and when you present, you demonstrate the automation of your companies favorite methodology for documenting and evaluating processes. You assure the stunned VP of Quality that now his Black, Green, and White belts can be more efficient and the company can more adequately evaluate processes for optimization. More importantly, because most if not all of the processes can be documented, inter-relationships that could not easily be seen before during evaluation can now be quickly and easily seen and explored.

For the first time you will be able to quickly establish a corporate Lean Six Sigma portal where all your process optimization activities can be orchestrated and reported on.

Yeah, I kinda like that. I would love to hear what you have to say.