Process Optimization Comes to Fruition

For example, hosted solutions from companies, such as Varolii Corp. or Televox Software, may be a great answer for functions such as alerts or notification to customers. Some of the applications are also less “intrusive” to existing applications, allowing more rapid implementation and easier integration, thus further lowering IT demands. Another goal from the vendors in this marketplace is to drive more capabilities into the hands of the users, reducing the reliance on IT for process changes and enabling modeling first to determine if a change may be effective.

So the current market landscape offers quite a few good ingredients in the recipe for successful process improvement: maturing technologies, vendors and sourcing models; acquisitions bringing products together; and market changes that recognize both the high demands on the limited resources in IT and the business user needs to get more done — faster, easier and at a lower cost. The market is offering more robust capabilities with greater ease of implementation, use and optimization than it ever did before.

Envision the Future

Once you understand what’s possible, your next step is to envision your future. Defining your end-state is crucial to your process optimization initiative, and the knowledge of what technology can do for you fuels that vision. You have to assess your organization’s readiness for process change and the amount of change you can bear. Then create a vision of the technology that will enable your path to the end state. The vision can include new things or using what you have in better ways.

Process optimization is really all about defining where you are today, where you need to be, and what will it take to get there. That last step leads to the plan, including what technology changes you will execute. But successful process change efforts focus on creating business value and measurable results — not just implementing new technology or checking items off a project plan.

As you define your future vision, you need to consider the degrees of automation and options for meeting your business needs with technology. Figure 2, shows the process of moving from the current state to the end state, based on a vision of what is possible. Many technologies can play a role in enabling process changes.

Plan and Execute Your Process Change Initiative

Even though the time is right, process change is challenging. You should approach the initiative with an eye to best practices starting with a clear definition of the scope of the project. Involve a crossfunctional team that can ensure an enterprise view, understand the full magnitude of the change that you are planning, assess the organization’s ability to handle the change, and focus the effort by aligning the initiative with your business goals and drivers.

Once you have defined the scope, prepare your team to dedicate adequate time for research, planning, designing, securing approval and instituting process change. Take the time to understand current processes with an eye toward the end state goal. Adopt a customer perspective and assess customer impact as you define and shape new processes. That focus creates a credible value message that you’ll document to gain approval for your initiative. Define the tools needed to implement the proposed change, whether that is using your current technology more effectively or implementing new tools. Finally, devise the means to measure the outcomes of the process change. Documenting and communicating success lends credibility and facilitates subsequent approval for follow-on process initiatives.