COMMON PROBLEMS WITH PROCESSES

Although this is not a book about business processes, you should be aware of
some common problems with processes so that you can spot them when you
perform analysis. Following are 11 problems that have been encountered
repeatedly:
1. The process is chopped like a salad. Many different people handle a
transaction; thus efficiency is greatly reduced. You cannot find a specific
piece of information easily.
2. The current system is only used as an afterthought at the end of the
process. All the preceding work is manual and labor intensive. The
current system is of little value to the group.
3. The staff employs workarounds to the system. Data elements in the
system are used for purposes other than those originally intended. For
example, a fax number might be entered for a person’s middle name.
4. There are no formal procedures. That is, the process is not documented.
You can detect this if you see a bunch of yellow “sticky notes” hanging
on the office walls or in cubicles. Everyone has their own way of using
the system.
5. There is one person involved in the process who knows everyone and is
the base of knowledge about the process. If this person is sick, the
process takes a dive. Beware of this person. If you modernize the process
and system, their empire disappears.
6. Work is being performed in shadow systems. Data is entered twice —
once in the shadow PC systems and once in the regular system.
7. There is hidden rework. People routinely have to correct errors so that
most transactions are handled several times. Efficiency is lost. However,
because there is no automated tracking of this, there is no management
awareness of the extent of the problem.
8. People make manual log entries for each transaction as it passes their
desk. This is common in departments where there is fear of intimidation.
The motto is “Keep a record of everything so that you have your XXXX
covered.”
9. There is no measurement of the business process in terms of costs, errors,
throughput, processing time, and so on. No one really knows what is
going on.
10. Employees do not care. They have stopped requesting improvements
because past ideas have been met with indifference. How do you detect
this? Ask people what their oddest transaction was. If they look at you
with a blank stare, then you can sense a lack of interest.
11. Interfaces among departments are poor. Process work is split among
several departments. One department does its part. The output then just
sits on a desk or table for hours. So much for overall processing
efficiency. No one is in control of the overall process.
View problems such as these as opportunities for improvement. If there were no
problems, then you probably would not consider implementing a new system.