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Process Decisions
Introduction to Management Analysis Techniques
Strategic Planning: This is an idealized and systematic approach to deciding how to position and relate the organization to its expected future environment for successful operations and to make it secure from surprises. This plan, which may already exist , is the basis of setting the goals and objectives for any improvement analysis and implementation plan. If it does not exist, there are facilitated structured ways of creating it so that it will be realistic, cost-effective and meet the challenges of the future environment.
Model Construction: A structured analysis approach and one that has proven to be extremely effective, is to build two computer models: (1) the “As-Is” model of existing organizational processes and systems and then (2) prepare the “To-Be” model that will be responsive to the future objectives of the Strategic Plan. These models can include data to do “activity based costing” (ABC) so that the full range of resources, funding, external influences and internal performance demands can be modeled. If these models are done correctly, they will accurately portray the total and actual operations of the organization in both processes and performance.
Simulation and Improvement Analysis: Once the present and future models are complete, simulations of progressive changes in the present “As-Is” model can be examined as it is transformed into the future “To-Be” model. When the sequence of acceptable incremental changes are decided upon, the model simulations can also be used to create initial benchmarks for performance measurements of the intermediate steps.
Improvement Implementation and Project Planning: At this point, standard, structured project planning techniques of managing to cost, schedule and performance are applied to the phased transition of incremental changes from the As-Is to the To-Be environment. Included in this project planning are considerations for addressing organizational change management issues of skills adjustment including training, education, involvement and participation. If the changes are being made by an external contractor, then the concepts of automated acquisition management, requirements traceability and a compliance matrix have a critical role here in making sure: (1) the contract says what you want it to say, (2) is awarded to a contractor that can really do the work and (3) is performed as contracted. If the work is being performed at multiple sites over a wide geographic area, the concepts of Virtual Management would be most effective for a centralized office to manage and maintain control of the dispersed operations.
Continuous Process Improvement: Once the models are complete and being used to support and implement changes, the “As-Is” model must be kept current with the latest organizational, process and systems changes so that it might be used as a tool for future decisions support. As new requirements and environmental changes are imposed upon the organization, models of new “To-Be” processes or systems can be modeled and simulations run to optimize a response to the new requirements. In this manner, the models can be integrated into on-going management strategy and used as continuous benchmarks for performance measurements.
When the above five steps are performed correctly, often using specially designed and integrated software aids, the total method is called Business Process Reengineering (BPR).