BA 302 - Process Reconstruction & Diagrams
Metters
et al.
(p. 156):
Process flow diagramming is standard in industrial engineering.
Often neglected in services --> "
to their detriment
."
Operational processes are often more complex than we might expect:
Metters
et al
. pp. 162-163: Blockbuster
.
Operational processes might get "absurdly" complex:
Metters
et al
. p. 160: Emergency room inventory management
.
Lack of formal descriptions makes it hard to know how processes interact and link to each other.
We know that some things are broken, but we don't know the underlying causes.
We want to improve things, but we don't know how.
p. 156-157: inefficient or broken law enforcement processes.
Experience with broken processes?
COB 2007: switching students from BA to ACT email groups.
Shaw example of decoupled mortgage application.
Charity that continues to charge the credit card after canceling automatic donations.
Yours
?
Why is this happening?
Processes grow organically and incrementally.
Exceptions become new rules.
Unawareness of effects up and down the value chain.
Turf & ownership.
Lack of process control & oversight
Lack of performance data and metrics
Organizational inertia.
Etc
.
Process models:
Provide insight into the complexity of processes.
Show actors, actions and information exchanges.
Common or shared 'language' and symbolism ==> easy to read and understand.
Easier to find opportunities for improvement.
Document the process ==> persistent record of the process.
Lend themselves for simulation:
Allows experimentation with different versions of the process.
What-if analysis.
Optimization (rare in practice).
Simple process model:
OSU Category 1 proposal
:
Lots of individuals and groups.
Long and linear, but simple (very little branching; straightforward one-step loops).
Three groupings:
Academic Unit: College.
Internal: OSU.
External: OUS, State Board, NASCU.
Actions
(rectangles) and
decisions
(diamonds).
Note the loops or cycles: quality control steps; process is sent back for 'repair.'
Note concurrent actions:
Consultation option between OSU Curriculum Council and OSU Budget & Fiscal Planning Committee.
Supporting documents.
Each of the require information exchanges:
Problem
:
What (if any) information is exchanged?
What is its form (
data type
)?: Text? Number? Date?
Boolean
(Yes/No)? Something else?
What medium carries it? In someone's head? Written down on paper? Electronic? Other? Multiple?
Is this information
transient
(used once, then discarded) or
persistent
(must be kept)?
Does it ever change? Must we keep track of the change and/or the old versions?
Notice how data type and persistence are not tracked in the charts (Metters
et al
. or OSU Cat-1 proposal).
Notice how actors appear multiple times in the process;
e.g.
, Dean/Academic Unit proposer or Office of Academic Affairs.
However, relation between actor's multiple roles and process difficult to see.
Better solution:
Activity/Swimlane diagram
:
Two-dimensions: one for time (vertical); one for actors (horizontal).
Immediately shows where actors have a role in the process.
Notice the addition of a 'document' symbol.
Can include persistent storage and our information system as an actor
:
Notice how an action by an actor may leave information behind in the information system.
Notice how registering the document can trigger a notification action.
The notification action needs to know who to notify.
And sends the alert to the appropriate people.
Exercise
:
Complete the Activity/Swimlane diagram for the OSU Cat-1 proposal process
?
Homework
.
