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Homework answers / question archive / Process Improvement In the Week 3 Content, we cover Business Processes, including Process Improvement through streamlining and re-engineering, and process modeling of both the As-Is and the To-Be processes
Process Improvement
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In the Week 3 Content, we cover Business Processes, including Process Improvement through streamlining and re-engineering, and process modeling of both the As-Is and the To-Be processes. Read that content before responding to this discussion. |
Group 3: Drawing from your own experience, select a process (a set of specified steps to accomplish a task) used at your place of work or in your interaction with a business that you would like to see improved and briefly describe the process. Be sure you have identified a specific process rather than a general business problem or area.
1) Explain why you picked that process.
2) Explain the steps you might take to analyze how to improve the process.
3) Who should be involved with you?
4) What are some of the questions you should ask about the current process?
5) How will you know if the process was actually improved?
First, we need to be sure you can identify a process; many students have difficulty with that, so refer to your class readings. Be sure to pick a fairly narrow scope for your process – for example, processing an invoice for payment vs. Accounts Payable. I am also interested in the method to be used to improve the process, not a solution. (For example, I am not looking for something like: "The Café where I work is not selling enough coffee. We should use social media to advertise more." The discussion here is about identifying a specific process and how a business would go about deciding how to improve that process, who should be involved, what should be considered, and what steps should be taken to be able to analyze the current process and plan for improvement.) You should employ the techniques discussed in class or those that you find in your research. Keep in mind that outside resources strengthen your responses.
Remember – the Group 3 initial posting is due by Friday midnight; it should be about two short paragraphs in length, supported by external research, and it should be posted by clicking on "Start a New Thread". These postings need to thoroughly respond to the questions and incorporate relevant research correctly. Please look at what has been posted by your classmates before choosing your examples, and then select something that has not yet been discussed, if possible. Let’s try to spread the discussion across as many examples as possible.
Then members of Groups 1, 2 and 4 should reply to at least three different postings by other classmates before Tuesday midnight. Responses to initial postings should be specific and assess whether posting accurately and sufficiently addresses the questions asked in the discussion topic and should incorporate relevant research correctly. Explain your assessment as to why the information is or is not correct and/or complete, providing correct information to enhance the discussion.
Members of Group 3 should read the responses and reply to a minimum of two responses, reacting to the response and furthering the discussion
All students have a responsibility to check back and see if any questions have been posed to them and to respond as you would in a classroom setting. Use the Grading Rubric posted in the Discussion area to ensure your posting meets the expectations. Let’s have a great discussion and some interesting examples to take a look at improving business processes!
I work as a data center facilities manager for the government. In a day to day scenario I perform tasks ranging from hardware installations, software upgrades and modifications, verifying power and cooling operability and ensuring the security of the facility itself. Because the facility is secured both because of it's location and the sensitivity level of the data inside users and technicians have to file requests and various other forms of paperwork when adding or removing hardware from the building. This process is currently completed on-site when the users are actually there to install or remove the equipment and forces us to complete all paperwork for approval and documentation immediately. The complete steps list is as follows:
* Verify user(s) have access to facility
* Identify hardware/software changes to be made
* Determine impact to customer (should the requested changes be made)
* Create/update hand receipt log to reflect all equipment serial numbers entering/exiting facility
* Submit documentation to approving authority by 0900
* Receive response from approving authority by 1000am
If there is any discrepancy with the paperwork to equipment we are forced to turn the customers away to return when everything has been resolved which, as you can imagine, is always a completely calm and understanding process...Though the theory makes sense I chose this process because the actual steps currently in place are outdated and could be drastically improved with Business Process Reengineering (BPR) initiatives. Because these steps "include employees from multiple departments, require decision-making that cannot be easily automated, and change based on circumstances" (Business Process, 2014, para.21) I feel the benefit of utilizing BPR is certain. As the approving authority those involved in the process normally include myself, the technicians at the facility to make changes to the equipment, and any employees I have at the facility to start the paperwork process and assist the technicians. The system we have in place works, and has for sometime. That being said the main question that needs to be asked is, is there any way to make this process more efficient? Following BPR practices another question to be asked is, how can new technology enhance the process?
When it comes to utilizing information systems to find a solution I propose a software solution such as JIRA by Atlassian. This software combines issue and project tracking, real-time reports and updates, project workflow information, and automation solutions just to name a few. Though JIRA has many complex and in-depth features that can be taken advantage of agency-wide their software cloud solution allows users to "get started quickly and easily, and for teams who don't want to manage the technical complexity of hosting themselves" (Atlassian, 2020). By utilizing project and ticketing tracking solutions users will be able to submit requests online and in advance. This will not only keep all conversations online but will also allow all those involve to the the workflow of the request(s). Because all parties involved will have access to the information system and the workflow process it will be easy to track and verify that the process has improved.
References:
Atlassian. (2020). Jira | Issue & Project Tracking Software. https://www.atlassian.com/software/jira
Business Process [Course Resources]. (2014). In IFSM 300: Information Systems in Organizations: Summer 2020. Retrieved from http://learn.umgc.edu
