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Modeling optimization implementation of business processes training. Optimization of the company's business processes

Anton Timokhin

Project Manager of the Directorate for Development of NPO "ELSIB"

In today's business environment, in order to improve operational efficiency, more and more companies decide to implement projects to describe and optimize their business processes. However, such projects, like any other improvement activity, can lead to both positive and negative results. Therefore, I hope this article will help managers who are starting to improve the activities of their companies in how to get around the pitfalls of possible errors at the stages of work on the description, optimization and further implementation of new versions of business processes.

The beginning of time

I repeat that the result of the project implementation on the description, optimization and implementation of new versions of business processes can be both positive and negative, with financial losses for the company in case of improper organization of work. Why do such projects start?

There are a number of root causes for which, as a result of diagnostics, company executives decide to start work on formalizing and optimizing business processes:

Performing unnecessary (non-value-adding) work, high variability in work cycles;
Lack of standardization and unification of business processes, arbitrary structure of business processes, lack of documentation regulating their implementation;
Inefficient architecture information flows(collection, analysis, storage of data), insufficient level of automation;
Excessive number of divisions and departments, duplication of functions, inefficient interaction between them;
Blurring of areas of responsibility, the absence of a person responsible for the business process and its result as a whole;
The concentration of all powers at the highest level of the hierarchy, the lack of practice of delegation of powers;
Excessive labor costs for control and reporting activities, significant loss of time on approvals;
The labor assessment system does not motivate employees to reduce costs and improve quality, motivational indicators are controlled by the motivated person.

The list goes on.

Having received a signal based on the results of the diagnostics that there are such problems in the company, the manager can conclude - "we need to describe and optimize our processes, and this will help us get rid of all problems :)". At the same time, a clear task and optimization criteria are not formulated. This approach to setting a task for a project in itself has several problem areas that will inevitably lead to negative consequences, and the probability of obtaining a positive result is minimal:

The blind faith of the top management of the company that the introduction of a new software system(ERP, CRM, MRP, etc.), which (according to its developers) after implementation and use best practices, embedded in the reference models, will perform a miracle and the business itself will begin to change in a positive direction ...;
It is an established fact that the description of business processes is considered by many as a universal tool for solving problems. But in practice, this is far from being the case - the description can help in eliminating problem areas, but not by itself, but within the framework of integrated approach, one of the components of which can be just the formalization of the company's business processes;
No business challenge. The company works, brings some profit. Yes, at the same time there are some difficulties in communications, but nothing more than “working moments”. Why change the established practice of performing work, especially since the description of business processes will require investment in software, training of specialists, distraction of employees from the work process? A decrease in the company's efficiency and an increase in costs is inevitable if the project's goals do not include an increase in business performance.

A few words about optimization

The description of business processes in most cases is perceived as a "cure for all diseases", but few managers think about why it is necessary to describe existing business processes? After all, the range of problems that can be solved by simple formalization of processes is limited, and in other cases, optimization of the company's business processes is required.
As a rule, optimization is treated as some abstract concept that does not carry any other load, except for the emotional one: “now we will solve all the problems”, while not paying any attention to the optimization criteria - which process, how much to improve and within what acceptable limits.

If there are usually no difficulties in identifying areas for improvement (for example, “it is necessary to reduce the time required to complete the process of coordinating the customer’s application”), then there are problems with the definition and digitization of improvement indicators. In many companies, balanced scorecards are not used, and it becomes impossible to determine “how much to improve”, because the indicators characterizing the functioning of a particular process are not defined and are not calculated. Thus, the measurement of improvements is often subjective, "feels like".

A separate point is the establishment of acceptable limits for changes. It is no secret that the head or owner of the company, at the stage of starting work on improvement, sets a number of restrictions and prohibitions, reducing optimization to the level of cosmetic changes that are unable to radically improve anything in the current situation.

About tools and methodologies

As a rule, little attention is paid to the issue of choosing tools and methodologies when initiating work on the formalization of business processes. It is understood that there is not much difference in which business modeling systems and which methodologies to use. However, the determining factor in the choice software and methodology should be the goals that are planned to be achieved during the implementation of the project for the description and optimization of business processes.

Depending on the goals set, the phase of development of the organization and the state of the management system, two approaches to the formation of the company's business model can be distinguished:

Identification and description of a set of individual business processes of the company - allows you to quickly identify cause-and-effect relationships and the temporal sequence of actions, formalize processes and procedures with an emphasis on determining participants, performers, initial and final events, sequence of actions, movement of object flows;
Creation of a complex model of business processes - allows you to create a comprehensive, consistent business model of a company with an emphasis on creating a description of the system, highlighting and describing management objects.

These approaches are not mutually exclusive, experience shows that situations are possible when it is necessary to solve problems both for describing the system as a whole and for describing individual (local) business processes. In this case, one should move from the general to the particular: first, create a model of the system as a whole and only then, using it as a basis, form models of individual business processes.

The issue of choosing software is usually highly specialized and is often referred to IT departments for decision with minimal involvement of the head of the company. However, do not forget that the methods and tools for describing business processes are specialized and are not suitable for solving problems for which they are not intended. An attempt to use for the formation of a complex model of business processes the system chosen by technical specialists, designed to describe the algorithms and relationships of the operational level, with a high degree of probability will require additional financial costs to improve the system, will make the task difficult, time-consuming or simply impossible.

What can be obtained as a result

In most cases, the head of the company, when initiating a project to describe business processes, does not take into account everything that was described above, and the very idea of implementing such a project was received by him from somewhere outside.

In the current situation, the wording of the task for the project boils down to “we need to describe the business processes of our company in a short time”. If you try to determine this need and ask a few clarifying questions, then the answer will most likely be logically unrelated to the task at hand.

The next step is to create a structural unit in the company, which includes analysts, or a decision is made to attract third-party consultants to implement the project. Possible options further development events are as follows:

The executor (the company's analysts or external consultants), without asking unnecessary questions, conscientiously proceeds to carry out the work on the project. At the same time, since there were no clear instructions on what to describe at the start of work, either all processes in a row are described, or those that are determined by the head of the company. Days pass one after another, the project, it would seem, is being successfully implemented, but the result obtained does not justify the investment. Business processes are described as it really happens in a company, the resulting models are complex, confusing and often not suitable for further use. Despite this, the performer makes an attempt to optimize processes, but due to insufficient experience in the company, using the opinion of a narrow circle of people, not taking into account the relationship between processes, in fact, does not improve anything. As a result, a significant amount of time and resources has been spent, current business problems have not been resolved, and the manager has a negative experience that does not allow him to return to such work in the future;
The contractor begins to ask questions, clarifying why a description of business processes is needed, what result is planned to be achieved, what optimization criteria are set. At this stage, a serious negative can be received from the company's management, because, firstly, there are simply no answers, and secondly, the task of describing the processes is formal, not supported by a logical chain of conclusions and subtasks. It turns out a number of "features" of the business that are unpleasant for the head of the company and to which he previously "turned a blind eye":
- It suddenly turns out that it is impossible to describe the processes “as is”, simply because they are not in the company - activities are carried out based on the experience of employees, decisions are made according to the situation, and even regular processes are not carried out as enshrined in the regulations, but as convenient for performers;
- The business is exposed to external or internal risks, there are no targets, the motivation system does not contribute to improving the quality of products/services, cost accounting is incomplete or absent;
- When describing the processes, the need for significant changes in the business model is revealed.

Do not forget that if the processes are optimized during the description, then after the completion of the project for describing and optimizing business processes, another project is needed - the introduction of new versions of business processes into the practice of using the company's personnel. But this project will require much more effort in order to change the foundations that have developed over the years for new, unusual ones, developed without the participation of most employees.

Thus, the description and optimization of business processes is a task that requires, in addition to the experience and knowledge of analysts, personal interest, readiness for change, a clear understanding of the need for the project, as well as ways to achieve the established goals on the part of the head of the company. Otherwise, faced with the problems and questions described above, when it will be necessary to make changes to the existing business, the project will end before it starts.

Best practics

The tasks of describing business processes are relevant today for many large Russian companies, regardless of industry affiliation. In most cases, to solve them, analytical divisions are formed that create models of an existing business that reflect the features of the functioning of internal business processes.

Formation of a full-fledged business model of the company is a highly labor-intensive task that requires careful study of the key stages before starting work. business challenge, network diagram, reporting and regulation, the depth and methodology of the description are the basic issues that must be resolved before the start of work, otherwise the result will not meet expectations.

This section contains recommendations for preparing and implementing a project to describe and optimize business processes. The section has been prepared on the basis of personal experience the author of the article based on the results of the implementation of the project at the enterprise of power engineering, as well as taking into account the best practices of other companies applied in the course of the work.

Assumptions: the project was implemented by the internal analytical division of the company, the specialists of the division have experience in implementing projects in the field of organizational development, at the time of the start of work, the company has a quality management system in place, the system is used as a business modeling system business studio.

Stage one - project initiation

To implement the project, a project management group is formed, a project curator is appointed, an order is issued to start work on describing and optimizing the company's business processes.

It is recommended that the project curator appoint an official from among the deputies of the general director, heads of departments that implement functions related to the development of the company. The curator should be endowed with all the necessary powers to resolve issues related to the implementation of project work.

The project management group includes analysts who later form the Competence Center for the company's business processes. If the company has implemented and operates a quality management system or an integrated management system, the specialists of the unit that implements these functions should also be included in the project management group. This will allow using the accumulated knowledge base on processes and problem areas, integrating functions for describing, optimizing and internal auditing business processes. Also, the groups include technical experts in various areas of activity to obtain expert opinions and prompt resolution of controversial issues on the functioning of individual processes

Step Two - Business Challenge

On the initial stage work on the description and optimization of business processes by the project management group, organizational diagnostics should be carried out. The goal is to identify shortcomings in the work of the company, problem areas and the reasons for the inefficiency of business processes; improving the quality of project work planning.

Diagnostics can be carried out in the classical way (interviewing, strategic session, analysis of performance indicators) or using the BIZDIAGNOSTICS online system. The BIZDIAGNOSTICS system is a management tool that allows you to quickly and with minimal resource costs conduct an internal audit of a company and obtain reliable and objective information about the quality of the company's management system, identify problem areas and receive recommendations for their elimination. The results of organizational diagnostics are the basis for formulating the business task for the project.

A typical mistake is the description of business processes for the sake of the description itself. Such an approach will lead to a negative reaction from the business, which will not receive significant results after the work of analysts, since the developed business process model is not a significant result in itself. This undermines the belief of the head and top management of the company in process approach in general and process management in particular, with subsequent organizational decisions regarding the “optimization” of the number of internal analysts or a complete stop of work in this direction.

To exclude this situation at the stage of organizing work, it is necessary to determine the consumer and formalize his requirements for the developed business process model. It is better if there are several such consumers. For instance:

Structural divisions of the company interested in regulating and optimizing their business processes;
Subdivisions that implement the functions of maintaining the functioning and development of management systems (quality management systems, integrated management systems), because without process management, the effective functioning of systems is difficult;
IT departments for which the process model simplifies the definition of work algorithms and the formalization of requirements for the implemented information systems.

Consumer requirements also allow you to set a set of documents that will be formed based on the developed business model of the company. This will determine the information (eg data needed to conduct cost analysis) to be collected by the project.

Formalization of consumer requirements in the form of terms of reference will allow eliminating most of the "unnecessary" work in the project, choosing a software product that best suits the task, as well as obtaining a significant business result with less time, financial and labor costs.

Based on the results of organizational diagnostics and the terms of reference, the project management group, after a session with the head and top management of the company, formulated a business task for the project - identified functional areas for improvement, optimization criteria (what and how much to improve), formalized the requirements of consumers of the developed business model. company processes. Also, in the business task, clear limits for changes should be clearly defined (which business changes are acceptable, which are unacceptable). After the approval of the business task, a network schedule for the implementation of the project is developed.

Stage three - software

Next important step is the choice of software required for successful implementation project - business modeling systems.

Business modeling system is a software product for creating and analyzing a company's business model, designing new business processes, developing and maintaining a package of regulatory documentation up to date. The system plays an important role in the business process description project, as it provides a single information field for joint work analysts, providing them with the necessary tools for describing, analyzing and optimizing business processes.

Choice software product was carried out according to the following criteria:

Ability to perform a full range of works on organizational design;
Automated system collection and analysis of the results of measuring the effectiveness of the company's business processes;
Automatic formation of a package of regulatory documentation;
Use of popular business process modeling notations, user-friendly interface that does not require specialized user training;
Support of the quality management system;
Possibility of flexible customization of the system "for yourself" (the ability to enter user parameters and directories).

After analyzing the market for business modeling systems, it was decided to use the Business Studio system in our project, which most fully meets the established criteria.

Stage Four - Methodology

A project to describe business processes in a large company leads to the development of a large number of process models. If we imagine that all diagrams are drawn differently, then the result obtained will not be of any practical value to the company. That is why it is important to define clear rules for modeling business processes in a company. For this, an Agreement on Business Process Modeling is being developed - a document that defines the methodology for describing business processes, the procedure for interaction between participants in the process of describing and optimizing business processes, as well as mechanisms for putting into effect the package of regulatory documentation being formed, maintaining the current state of the developed business process models.

The business process modeling agreement defines the modeling notations used, the number of decomposition levels (levels of sequential division of a business process into constituent subprocesses to obtain a more detailed view), the relationship of process models to each other, packages of generated documentation, establishes rules for working with objects and directories in the system business modeling, determines the parameters to be filled in the system. After this document is put into effect, the project management team is obliged to monitor its compliance with all company employees involved in the project to describe and optimize business processes. This will ensure the unification of the developed models, minimize the time spent on eliminating emerging “errors”, including when working in the business modeling system, and will allow you to obtain a package of regulatory documentation that best meets the requirements of consumers describing business processes.

When determining the levels of decomposition of business processes, attention should be paid to the requirements of consumers of the description of business processes, their validity, the need and sufficiency of detail in the description. Very often, business process models are decomposed to the level of individual actions of employees where this is not appropriate. This leads to an increase in the number of models being developed, a significant increase in labor intensity without increasing the value of models for business development, since excessive detail does not always provide information for optimizing processes.

Practice shows that each new level of decomposition increases the volume of models by an order of magnitude. Therefore, if it is necessary to optimize processes and define areas of responsibility between the structural divisions of the company, it should be limited to detailing to the level of divisions. Access to the level of elementary actions is used only if the model is developed for the purpose of automating or regulating the activities of individual performers.
Starting a project, together with the definition of the requirements of its consumers, it is necessary to establish which elements of the environment need to be described. Among the subject areas to be formalized, the following should be singled out:

organizational structure;
Information systems that support the execution of business processes;
Storage media used in processes.

In some cases, the generated model can be supplemented with performance indicators, requirements for information systems, etc. Thus, the business model, in addition to the actual description of the processes, integrates various subject areas, which significantly increases its practical value for further analysis and optimization.

Stage five - business model, working groups

The further scheme of the project implementation is presented in detail in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Scheme of the main phase of the project for the description and optimization of business processes

So, the next step is to develop a business process model top level. It allows you to get a unified view of the business structure. The formation of the model is best done with an emphasis on value creation, using the principles of defining and building value chains. The development of the model is carried out in the format of a strategic session or a business game with the participation of the head and top management of the company. To develop a top-level business process model, it is most convenient to use the IDEF0 notation.

When developing a model, it is recommended to use information on the structure of business processes of companies in a similar industry, industry reference models. Finished model should systematically show the top-level business processes of the company, as well as the most important relationships between them, necessary for understanding the functioning of the business.

Based on the approved business model, business process owners are appointed (with a focus on the current organizational structure company), as well as the formation of working groups for the description and optimization of business processes for each of the top-level business processes. In order to regulate the activities of business process owners, determine powers and delineate responsibilities, a Job description business process owner. The goal is to establish responsibility for the result of the process, to determine official duties, as well as the authority to manage the resources needed to complete the process.

Within the framework of the project, business process owners are responsible for ensuring that work is carried out on:

Description and optimization of their business processes;
Development of proposals for optimizing business processes;
Analysis and approval of proposals for optimizing business processes formed by members of working groups.

The project management group, together with the owners of business processes, is forming working groups to describe top-level business processes. The groups include managers and specialists of the structural divisions of the company, who, due to their experience in the company or the composition of their duties, have a sufficient understanding of the business process to be described and optimized. The working groups are headed by the leader working group. He is appointed from among the heads of structural units involved in the implementation of the relevant business process. The size of the working group varies depending on the "volume" and complexity of a particular business process.

Within the framework of the project, the participants of the working groups are responsible for developing a business process model, preparing proposals for optimizing business processes, preparing and agreeing on the developed package of regulatory documentation. For the efficient execution of project work work time group members are distributed in the ratio of 30/70 (project / job duties) by order of the head of the company.

After completing all the above preparatory activities and installing the business modeling system on user workstations, members of the working groups and, if necessary, middle and senior managers of the company are trained in the methods and principles of describing and optimizing business processes. Training is recommended to be divided into theoretical (for all) and practical (for participants in working groups) parts. More time should be devoted to the practice of describing business processes and working with a business modeling system, practicing working skills on simple examples and demonstrating "classic" mistakes.

Training can be conducted both by a third-party organization and by members of the project management group, provided they have sufficient competencies and experience with the business modeling system used.

Stage six - modeling, optimization

After training, the working groups analyze the activities of structural units, identify and structure the business processes that are performed in them. Information is entered into the process tree of the business modeling system indicating the name of the process, the manager responsible for its implementation, participants, initiating / ending events and results.

After identifying processes in the format of a business game, cross-coordination of processes is carried out, which is the 1st level of decomposition of top-level business processes, if necessary, the resulting structure is refined.

The next step is to establish relationships between sub-processes of the 1st level of decomposition through inputs and outputs, filling the model with information flows and object flows. The transition to the 2nd level of decomposition, the introduction of information into the business modeling system and the coordination of the structure of subprocesses is carried out in a similar way.

To avoid duplication of information in the system directories, at this stage, responsible persons are appointed in the groups for describing and optimizing business processes. They enter data into directories based on the requests of group members.
Also, in order to increase the efficiency of the work of groups, to structure information in the system database, to minimize the time spent on searching for information in the system, when entering data into the directories of the “Objects of Activity” group, it is recommended to create a directory structure (for example, as described in the article “Organization of work with documents on the Business Studio platform").

After completion of work at the 2nd level of decomposition of top-level business process models, the boundaries of sub-processes and top-level business processes are coordinated in terms of inputs / outputs, the beginning and result of the process. To minimize the time spent on coordination, it is recommended to carry it out in the format business games, built on the principle of reports, in which the working groups “model” their process, speak it from the moment it starts to the final result, and the rest of the participants (process owners, representatives of the project management team, project curator, technical experts) make the necessary adjustments. If necessary, in the course of business games, game participants develop joint solutions on controversial issues that arise in the course of describing business processes. As a rule, as a result of coordination, the structure of processes in the company's business model is adjusted.

The resulting first version of the company's business model is subject to further decomposition - models of the 3rd, 4th levels are being developed. The coordination of these models is carried out in the format of a business game with the involvement of the process owner, representatives of the project management group, owners of processes-consumers of the results of the business process, and technical experts. In the course of coordination, the movement of information flows and flows of objects is specified, the positions of managers responsible for the implementation of processes, the composition of participants at the level of structural divisions and positions of employees are specified.

After receiving the second version of the business model, its final approval is carried out, the result is the third, main working version, which will be the basis of the corporate knowledge base on the company's business processes. Based on this knowledge base, measures will be taken to further optimize business processes or develop methodologies and procedures at the level of elementary actions.

It is important for a business to get a quick return on investment. The project to describe and optimize business processes is no exception, especially since it is aimed at improving the efficiency of the company as a whole. In order to show a significant result in an acceptable timeframe, at the stage of describing business processes, it is recommended to form proposals for optimizing business processes using tools for identifying and eliminating losses, principles and methods for optimizing business processes. Proposals for optimizing business processes are considered during business games with the participation of representatives of the project management team, process owners and all interested parties and, if agreed, are reflected in the developed business model.

Stage seven - implementation

After agreeing on the final version of the company's business process model, the activity for describing and optimizing business processes is transferred to a permanent basis - as mentioned earlier, the project management group becomes the Competence Center for the company's business processes, members of the working groups for describing and optimizing business processes continue to combine its current activities in structural divisions companies with modeling, analysis and regulation of their business processes.

The developed models of business processes and regulatory documentation are put into effect by order of the head of the company. Information is communicated to employees in accordance with the rules established by the company, as well as using an HTML navigator hosted on a corporate network resource.

Compliance with the requirements of the regulations and procedures put into effect is checked during internal audits conducted by internal auditors (if the company has management systems in place) or by specialists from an internal analytical unit. The procedure and terms for conducting audits are established by the relevant regulatory document. The effectiveness of the company's activities is evaluated based on the results of organizational diagnostics, as well as on the basis of monitoring data on business process performance indicators.

Practice shows that at the time of the start of work on the description and optimization of business processes, companies already have big package regulatory documentation (especially typical for companies that operate management systems). Some of the documents from this package are often inappropriate to be transferred to a business modeling system for future formation in automatic mode due to the large time and labor costs. To synchronize existing documents with new versions of the company's processes, at the stage of describing the processes, it is necessary to analyze them for relevance. After agreeing on the final version of the business model, the existing documentation is fully updated with reference to new versions of business processes.

Instead of a conclusion

Summarizing the above, I would like to note that, as in any complex business, when improving the company's performance, it is important to accurately understand the reasons for initiating the project and use the best methods and tools in the project. We hope that this article will remove a lot of questions that managers have, and will make it easier to decide on the beginning of changes. We are sure that the result will not keep you waiting!

In many ways, the success of any company depends on the quality of work performed by each employee of the enterprise. The larger the company, the more difficult it is for the manager to control the work of the enterprise, and the more often he encounters insufficient productivity in the workplace. A business process optimization system can inspire new forces in the work of a company, reduce the burden on employees and, as a result, improve key indicators. But it should be remembered that the optimization process at the enterprise should be launched only after studying all the nuances and stages of business processes.

Many employees believe that "optimization" and "reduction" in the enterprise are the same thing. It is from this belief that the fear of specialists studying the current state of affairs in the organization is born. In fact, business process optimization is the improvement of actions aimed at achieving the company's goals by choosing the best way to perform. The best option is the one that best satisfies the requirements of the optimization goal, which can be formulated as follows:

Reducing the time spent on the operation;
Reducing the cost of a product or service;
Improving the quality of final goods and customer satisfaction;
Achieving transparency of the company's business processes, allocation of resources or strengthening control over its activities;
Release of resources for the development of the company;
Improving manageability and planning.

Determining the goal of optimizing business processes depends on the company's strategy and its positioning in the market for goods or services. For example, grocery supermarkets in the economy segment rely on price dumping (promotions, discounts, low-priced goods). price category), and elite stores - for freshness, quality and exclusivity.

Optimization of the organization's business processes requires the participation of all employees, the concentration of their strength and attention, so it is expensive and troublesome to carry out it regularly. But it is important not to miss the moment when optimization will bring the organization's activities to a new level of efficiency. There are certain signs-symptoms that indicate that changes in established processes are ripe in the company:

Too much time is spent on making decisions, and their implementation is delayed;
There is no control of key operations;
The work is performed at an insufficient level of quality;
Lack of clear delineation of areas of responsibility at different levels;
Communication between departments regularly fails, which results in misinterpretation or non-performance of part of the work;
The number of departments and employees has grown, but there is no increase in performance.

At the first appearance of such symptoms, it is worth at least starting to think about conducting an audit and subsequent optimization of business processes. Also, the reason may be significant changes in the structure of the organization or the introduction of a modern information system. The latter will also allow for the automation of certain work, freeing up labor force(which previously took part in routine processes and manual operations) to increase production or develop new areas.

But there are situations when optimization, with a high probability, will not bring the expected benefits. First of all, we are talking about small companies, where conclusions about the effectiveness of work can be drawn without costly long-term work. In opposite situations, when the number of employees exceeds a certain level (in different sources, the starting point is from one hundred to two hundred people), it makes sense to explore and optimize individual areas of activity.

It is necessary to start with the appointment of a project manager, on whom 90% of the optimization success will depend. The person at the head of such a large-scale work must have not only the appropriate status and resources, but also the right character. Most often, this role is played by general manager in small companies or his deputies in areas at large enterprises. If such powers are delegated to department heads, there are often problems with communication and bureaucracy.

Of great importance is the composition of the working group involved in the optimization of business processes. The most effective situations are when both the company's specialists and external consultants work on the project. Most often, their employees are trusted to study and improve existing business processes, and third-party specialists who already have ready-made methods for optimizing business processes are trained in optimization technologies.

It is worth taking great responsibility when choosing a third-party organization: pay attention to the experience and positive reviews of previous clients, do not agree to special offers with low prices, learn as much as possible about a potential partner, because we are talking about strategic business information that can fall into the wrong hands.

In addition to directly auditing and optimizing business processes, a consulting organization can help to significantly increase professional level employees. Despite the fact that there are many good sources of information on the Internet, the rich experience of specialists will save your company from the blunders of self-taught people. Self-education is wonderful and necessary, but interaction with professionals will allow you to gain new experience several times faster. Having trained employees, you can save on future similar work by using your own specialists who have studied all the main optimization methods.

In the optimization process, specialists use various tools:

An exception. It is necessary to eliminate interference, waste, unnecessary iteration, shorten transport routes, if possible;
The change. Implementation of new algorithms and volumes of work, improvement of technologies used at the enterprise;
Simplification. Reducing the complexity of placing orders and organizing work;
Acceleration. Automation of the mechanical stages of work, the use of modern technologies;
Standardization. Studying and applying the best world standards of work;
Ensuring interaction. Improving communication between departments, introducing a unified information system at the enterprise;
Addendum. Inclusion of the necessary nodes in new business processes.

The above tools will help not only improve the company's business processes, but also delineate the areas of responsibility of each department. You need to know this, because the lack of a clear understanding of these boundaries is the first step to reduce the efficiency of the company. After preparing the staff for the optimization project, the first steps can begin.

Before you start thinking best options business processes, it is necessary to understand what led to insufficient efficiency. To do this, most optimization methodologies use activities to study existing processes in the organization. If this stage is abandoned, it will be impossible to talk about full-fledged optimization, since employees will not only have to change the usual algorithm of actions, leaving something useful, but simply work with a completely new, albeit more effective, which is more like a revolution than optimization .

A thorough study of existing business processes in the enterprise will also help in classifying processes for optimization. Indeed, in any organization there are key processes, and there are auxiliary ones. Qualified specialists before the start of the project distribute all processes into three groups:

Basic. Necessary for customer satisfaction and profit;
Auxiliary. They exist for the stable operation of the enterprise, but do not represent great value for customers;
Managerial. Allows you to effectively manage, set goals and objectives, monitor the execution of orders.

When studying and classifying existing business processes, it is important that the company's employees are set to cooperate. As already noted, the attitude of the personnel of the enterprise directly affects the effectiveness of optimization, so it is worth enlisting the support of employees in advance. It should be explained to them that after the changes their work will become easier, and some work responsibilities will be removed from them.

After the study of existing processes in the company has passed, analysis and optimization will follow. If you make a short step by step guide these processes, it will include five main steps:

Count key indicators efficiency. Most often, this role is played by the money and time spent on the production of products or the provision of services. In addition, it is important to pay attention to the feedback of employees. If they are satisfied with these conditions, the process will go more efficiently;
Identification of redundant nodes. This category usually includes intermediate actions, without which it is quite possible to do without or automate them. For example, obtaining information about the balances in the warehouse, the census of inventory numbers in an additional list by the storekeeper, or obtaining additional personal signature leader;
Modeling an ideal business process. It must take into account the needs of the enterprise and the employee, the equipment available and the ultimate goal of optimization;
Implementation of the updated algorithm. It is important to explain the differences to employees and train them. It is necessary that the staff understand the benefits that the employee and the enterprise will receive from the changes;
Analysis and fixation of the result. After monitoring the work of employees according to the new algorithm and tracking and analyzing indicators, conclusions can be drawn about the effectiveness of optimization.

The scale and speed of optimization depend on many factors - company resources, employee loyalty, management cohesion, the right strategy and goal. The main thing is to try not to make serious mistakes that can cross out all the work.

Mistakes when optimizing business processes

If gross mistakes were made, then no optimization systems will help to increase the efficiency of employees. The experience of such projects has revealed typical mistakes when optimizing:

impulsive decisions. Each change in the processes taking place in the organization should be based on the study and analysis of the current situation. It is important to deal with the causes, not eliminate the effects;
The work of incompetent specialists. For maximum effect on the project, it is important to use modern technologies and take into account the experience of other companies. If people who are confused in terms and do not use the best tools are responsible for developing the optimization plan, then the experience of the project in the vast majority of cases turns out to be negative. V best case, it will take a lot of time and resources of the company;
The previous mistake often gives rise to another one - the wrong choice of tools for optimization. Despite the fact that the market for specialized software is quite wide, and the cost of programs can vary greatly, it is important to remember why the software is purchased, what functionality it should have, how it can be developed and maintained;
Starting work without a detailed study of the company's work. The desire of managers to save money very often leads to this. A full-fledged optimization cannot be carried out without studying business processes;
The desire of managers not to manage, but to take part in optimization. Without knowledge of technology, it is extremely difficult to calculate the elements without which the work of the enterprise will not suffer. Leaders must understand what is happening, but not stubbornly insist on their vision of the situation. Their direct participation is necessary when the optimization of enterprise business process management begins;
Incorrect goal setting or interpretation. It is important to remember at every moment of optimization why a particular work is being done and what the effect of the changes will be. It is also important that all changes are aimed at achieving the chosen optimization goal. For example, if a company does not have enough income from sales, then it is more expedient to deal with the process of selling goods than with accounting;
Wrong distribution of forces of the working group. It is important to understand the priority of each operation and, first of all, to distribute employees to important areas.

By following the basic principles of optimizing business processes and avoiding serious mistakes, you can achieve a very good result even on your own. In such projects, it is important to thoroughly understand all the nuances of the processes being changed. If you follow this principle and correctly “catch” the moment to start a project, then the efficiency of your business will increase significantly.

Department of Education of the City of Moscow

State educational institution

higher professional education of the city of Moscow

"Moscow City Pedagogical University"

Faculty of Applied Informatics

Department of Applied Informatics in Management

abstract

Topic: "Modeling and optimization of business processes"

Performed:

student of group O-D-M-06

Bocharova O.A.

Department head

applied informatics in management V.P. officers

Introduction 3

1. The concept of "business process" 5

2. Optimization of organizational structure 6

2.1 Definition of optimization 6

2.2 Organizational design approaches 8

2.3. Basic principles of technological optimization 12

2.4. Conditions and steps for optimization 13

3. Modeling business processes 14

3.1 The essence and significance of business process modeling 14

3.2 Methodology for conducting business process modeling 19

4. Methodologies for modeling and optimizing business processes 21

4.1 History of the development of business process modeling methodologies 21

4.2. Description of business process modeling methodologies 22

Conclusion 26

References 27

Introduction

Two hundred years ago, Adam Smith made the remarkable discovery that industrial production must be broken down into its simplest and most basic operations. He showed that the division of labor promotes productivity, as workers focused on one task become more skilled craftsmen and do their job better. And throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, people organized, developed companies, managed them, guided by the principle of the division of labor of Adam Smith.

However, in the modern world, it is enough to take a close look at any company - from a street stall to a transnational giant like Microsoft or Coca-Cola. It will be found that the activities of companies consist of a huge number of repetitive business processes, each of which is a sequence of actions and decisions aimed at achieving a specific goal. Receiving a customer's order, delivering goods to a customer, paying salaries to employees - all these are business processes.

It is quite obvious that the efficiency of the company's activities is largely determined by the efficiency of the implementation of business processes in this company. In the mid-1980s, when the opportunities for extensive growth of companies in developed countries had long been exhausted, management technology specialists in search of opportunities for radical improve efficiency, profitability and business value turned their attention to the problem of the effectiveness of the implementation of business processes. And they found that even in advanced, in terms of management technologies, companies, there are opportunities to improve the efficiency of individual departments and the company as a whole by optimizing business processes at various levels of the company.

It turned out that even in the best companies, many strategically important business processes are implemented so inefficiently that time and resource costs can be reduced dozens of times without compromising the quality of the task performed by this business process. Research carried out in Russian companies, gave similar results.

This discovery gave impetus to the development of a new management discipline called business process reengineering. It was reengineering that became one of the most important levers for the successful restructuring of American companies, allowing them to successfully return world leadership in efficiency and ensure unprecedented growth of the American economy and the stock market.

According to Emst & Young, the 100 largest banks in North America spent about $3.9 billion in 1999 just reengineering their divisions. Over the past year and a half, the US government has initiated more than 250 reengineering projects, and today's market for business process reengineering support tools is valued at more than $100 million and is growing at a rate of about 60% per year.

1. The concept of "business process"

Business processes are horizontal hierarchies of internal and interdependent functional actions, the ultimate goal of which is the release of products or their individual components.

There are the following categories of business processes:

Processes that directly ensure the release of products;

Planning and management processes;

Resource processes;

Transformation processes.

The business process is characterized by:

Existing technology for the implementation of the business process;

The existing structure of the business system;

Automation tools, equipment, mechanisms, etc., ensuring the implementation of the process.

The main indicators for evaluating the effectiveness of business processes are:

The quantity of products of a given quality, paid for a certain period of time;

The number of consumers of products;

The number of typical operations that must be performed in the production of products for a certain period of time;

Cost of production costs;

Duration of typical operations;

Investment in production.

2. Optimization of the organizational structure

2.1 Definition of optimization

When the working conditions of an organization change, the system of business processes adopted in it may become ineffective, which requires some purposeful change in this system, or optimization of business processes.

Optimization is a fundamental rethinking of the company's business processes in order to achieve fundamental improvements in the main current indicators of their activities: cost, quality, services and pace.

Actions accompanying optimization and leading to an increase in the efficiency of the enterprise:

1. Several work procedures are combined into one. There is a horizontal compression of the process. If it is not possible to bring all the steps of the process to one work, then a team is created responsible for this process, which inevitably leads to some delays and errors that occur when transferring work between team members.

2. Performers make independent decisions. In this case, vertical compression processes occur. Giving employees greater powers and increasing the role of each of them in the work of the enterprise leads to a significant increase in their impact.

3. Process steps are performed in a natural, not linear, order. This allows processes to be parallelized where possible.

4. Processes have different versions. The process should have different versions of execution depending on the specific situation, and each version should be simple and understandable.

5. Work is carried out in the place where it is expedient. At the same time, work is distributed across departmental boundaries and excessive integration is eliminated.

6. The number of checks and control actions is reduced. They should be executed in a streamlined manner, which will lead to a reduction in the time and cost of the processes.

7. The number of approvals is minimized (due to the reduction of external contact points). At the same time, the boundaries between functional divisions are erased.

8. The "authorized" manager provides a single point of contact. This mechanism is used when it is necessary to ensure the participation of the customer in a complex process.

9. A mixed centralized/decentralized approach prevails. At the same time, enterprise divisions can operate completely autonomously in the presence of a single corporate data warehouse.

2.2 Approaches to building an organizational structure

2.2.1 Structural approach

The structural approach is based on the use of various types of organizational structure of the enterprise, usually hierarchical. In this case, the organization and management of activities is carried out according to structural elements (bureaus, departments, departments, workshops, etc.), and their interaction - through officials (heads of departments, departments and workshops) and structural units of a higher level.

Flaws:

When splitting execution technologies separate work into separate fragments, they can be attributed to various elements of the organizational structure;

An integral description of the technologies for performing work is difficult, basically there is only their fragmentary (at the level of structural elements) description;

Lack of responsibility for the end result, interest in the end result, as well as focus on the end user;

Lack of intermediate results of activities responsible for these results, internal consumers of these results;

High costs for the transfer of results between departments.

High overhead costs, extremely inefficient management accounting;

Attempts to introduce corporate information systems mostly fail.

2.2.2 Functional approach

The result of the functional approach is the optimal design of the organizational structure - the definition of boundaries between departments according to the principle of functional areas. The initial set of typical functions is detailed and tied to a specific enterprise, its services and divisions.

The functional approach answers the question "What to do?".

The functional-structural model is based on the universal principle of the division of labor between services, departments, workshops, teams with the assignment of certain functions to them.

The disadvantages of the functional approach are the same as those of the structural one, but they are less pronounced, and the less, the more attention was paid to minimizing the crossing of boundaries of structural units in the process of work.

Any company, production or business is an organized team of employees who fully perform all the tasks. The duty of the leader is to ensure manufacturing process tasks that together help to achieve the main result - increasing profits. Process optimization in the organization of business activities is an integral part of a successful developing project. There are several ways to improve the development of a company.

Why business optimization is needed

When deciding which industry to build your business in, it is impossible to predict in advance all the risks, features and disadvantages of the market. Any market is a dynamic for better or worse, so you need to be able to correctly and timely conduct optimization processes to reorganize the existing business concept.

Optimization of work begins with the definition of tasks. In order to carry out effective work to improve an existing project, it is necessary to initially determine the goal: why optimization is needed, what is its role, at what stage it is advisable to improve, and what is the result of the entire campaign.

With the satisfactory operation of the enterprise, the manager intuitively understands that it is possible to serve customers faster, better, and cover a larger volume of potential customer base. To do this, it is necessary to carry out a set of works that are aimed at improving the work of each employee, department, and responsibility center. Business optimization is necessary in such cases:

if necessary, increase the productivity of the enterprise;
to improve the quality of service;
in case of high competition in the market;
to modernize individual processes of the company that will meet the new requirements;
to increase profitability;
if necessary, reduce jobs, but increase the productivity of the entire business;
when expanding the business;
in case of performance reduction;
for the planned improvement of the business in order to obtain greater profits.

Business optimization works are carried out at any stage of development. However, most often, such actions have a clear structure that helps to see the current problems and how to fix them.

Mandatory 4 Rules for Effective Optimization

The goal of business optimization is to improve sales, increase work efficiency, and reduce disadvantages. However, in order for such a structure to work, it is necessary to carry out a number of procedures that are aimed at studying and compiling a business model at this stage.

Top managers should not optimize the process in their own company. This is a matter for professional structures that have received education, own optimization technologies, and have experience in implementing effective business improvement techniques.

Methods for optimizing processes today are presented in large numbers. They differ in duration, principle of implementation, efficiency. However, in order for each method used to be truly useful for a particular business, it is worth following the 4 basic rules of optimization.

Rule #1 - Optimization Basis

In fact, the main task of optimization is to group all business processes in such a way that in the end it works more productively, more efficiently, and better. Therefore, before carrying out an improvement in the industry or in the business as a whole, it is necessary to single out and separate business processes, draw up a conditional pictogram that answers the questions:

business duration;
efficiency and effectiveness (in terms of profit);
the number of departments, people in each of the departments, the number of managers and workers;
success in the market during its existence;
market risks;
features of doing business, its specifics;
the course of the processes.

Such a clear structure allows you to see "from the outside" everything important points and the features of a particular business, what are its “misses”, and what actions have yielded results. Simply put, the basis of optimization should consist of a detailed review of a particular business, its goals and set but unrealized goals.

Rule number 2 - "Clean the fish from the tail"

This rule makes it possible to evaluate the optimality from "private to general". That is, it is worth paying attention to individual shortcomings of productivity, its unrealizable moments. For example, there is a task to sell 10 cars in a luxury class showroom. At the moment, the implementation is 5 cars. The specialist, when analyzing this situation, takes into account such points as:

business duration;
number of personnel;
market specifics;
competition;
salon pricing policy;
the presence of attractive moments for the buyer;
the quality of the goods sold.

Based on the data obtained, you can draw up a graph that will show the number of sales, and what has been done for this before. The specialist evaluates the prospects, gives recommendations that will help improve sales, subject to specific rules. That is, the goal is initially set, the optimization model is evaluated and its implementation is carried out. This essence is defined by the term "optimization". If it is advisable to use "from general to particular", then the process will be called "reengineering" or a complex, systemic change of the entire business, starting from the foundation.

Rule #3 - Optimization Flexibility

If the business has been working smoothly for several years, there is a certain stability that does not improve in dynamics, but does not worsen, then it is advisable to conduct an additional study of the interaction of all internal processes coordinated system. In some cases, optimization is a complete redirection of business, which can negatively affect individual, previously profitable structures. Therefore, flexibility in optimization should “smooth out” possible negative aspects that may appear both immediately and some time after the restructuring.

Rule #4 - The Human Factor

When carrying out optimization, you should be prepared for the fact that not all employees will be able to appreciate any innovations. Therefore, there is often a reduction in jobs in enterprises with process optimization. In any case, it should be understood that optimization does not aim to reduce jobs, it aims to redistribute working moments in such a way that the whole business only benefits. In fact, such a thing as an “unnecessary” person in the office disappears, each employee does his own thing, clearly performs tasks, follows the schedule.

The algorithm for introducing optimization may not appeal to every employee. Especially those who perform work that is not productive, not aimed at the main goal - making a profit. We can give an example of the distribution of work responsibilities in a standard office, where one department of 5 people performs the task of attracting customers, improving marketing products, and another department of 10 people is responsible for delivering products to the client. In fact, the profit of the business depends on attracting customers, and the delivery system can be optimized.

Techniques to help you optimize your business

Step-by-step optimization of business processes, their concept and organization options depend on the goals, business specifics and the intended result. The first methods for optimizing the company's business processes, which included a complete market analysis and project expansion options, are described in the literature by M. Hammer and J. Champi.

Until now, the monograph "Business process reengineering" is considered the best training material for business restructuring. However, with the development of the market and business, in general, there are new, more modern methods analysis and optimization of business processes.

Engineering optimization method

Engineering - a complex for the introduction of new technologies informational character, which help to model the existing organizational structure of a business. When providing paid engineering services, a businessman receives consultations of a different nature, which will help in the future to ensure the production process, improve the operation of facilities, maintain economic facilities, and sell products. There is advisory, technological and financial engineering.

Specialists who provide engineering services are required to have higher engineering and management education. Consultations of this nature imply knowledge in the field of engineering, and therefore it is impossible to get constructive and useful help without special education.

Reengineering Method

Reengineering is a complete rejection of existing business processes and methods. This internal method allows attracting investments, introducing new technologies, improving technical means, increase the growth of technological progress. They use methods of reducing resources, personnel, breaking blind spots, combining the work of several departments into one. The risk is a possible shutdown of the production process, since some points require a complete reformatting of the existing process.

Reengineering is the best option in the event that the existing business does not bring real profit, there is a question of either bankruptcy or improvement of the existing business. In fact, you should be prepared for the fact that production will need to be suspended for a while.

Continuous Improvement Method (CPI)

Business optimization systems need to be constantly improved, adjusted to the new needs of a developing business. The CPI method allows you to plan the process in such a way as to improve all its stages. Process management methodology is the basis of planning for a dynamic market that is difficult to predict. This method differs in that the entire optimization process is lengthy, and the production process does not stop, but is simply gradually improved.

Total Quality Management Method

Creating a new product that meets the needs modern market. In this case, the plan can be developed both in parallel with the existing project, and with the replacement approach of old products. The activities and actions of the program are aimed at the gradual improvement of work processes, the production of products initially in a limited period of time.

Optimization of a business or its individual processes is a mandatory moment in development. However, when choosing a specific method, it is worth paying attention not only to the duration of its implementation, but also to the final result. In some cases, incorrect and unprofessional optimization leads to a decrease in profits, the productivity of the entire business.

Are business processes necessary? Why are business processes needed? Business processes in the company, what is it for? Questions like this are often asked. It's not about whether they are needed or not. They have been present in the company since its inception. It is more important to answer the question “why?”. And everything is very simple:

In order for managers to manage more efficiently (easier, cheaper, faster).
In order to keep costs down.
To improve communication between employees and departments.
In order for your company to become really customer-oriented, and not just in words or in the form of declarations on the website or in PR articles.
In order for the company to become more flexible, respectively, quickly responding to changes taking place in the market.
To get ahead of your competitors.

You can continue for a long time, answering the question: “Why?”. If the listed arguments are not important to your company, then the introduction of a process approach is premature at the moment. The development of business processes, organizations require a meaningful decision, participation and firmness to achieve the intended goal on the part of the company's management.

BUSINESS PROCESS MODELING

Modeling and optimization make sense only when the company's management understands the benefits of implementation and has no illusions that all this is done on a “today for yesterday” principle and for free. Even if the optimization of processes and the implementation of business processes are carried out by the company's personnel, then time is also spent on this, and salaries are paid. Those. no longer free. Is it cheaper is the big question. It is safe to say that there will be much more mistakes and rake. Business process consulting will minimize standard errors.

It should also be understood that there are different. Those. It is customary to talk about notations (display standards). For example, a cross-functional business process flowchart is perhaps the most commonly used option. But hardly the most efficient. The eEPC business process description standard is more appropriate. Although it is not without certain shortcomings. BPMN is cool and fashionable these days, but you accidentally forget to tell you a lot about it. Searching for the ideal/correct/best standard for describing business processes is a deliberately utopian idea. Choosing the best standard for describing business processes for the company is not the most trivial task. It is also pointless to look for 12 key business processes. Or 13, 14, 15, etc. does not tolerate template solutions. Typical business processes can play a cruel joke on fans of everything “typical”, flying in the illusion that by doing so they will save a lot of time and money. Most likely, it will be exactly the opposite.

Optimization with a process approach is not a set of standard solutions. This is each time an individual search for an acceptable solution (on this moment time) using the principles and methods of optimization. It is pointless to look for a universal formula for "happiness", it simply does not exist.

BUSINESS PROCESSES TRAINING

What is the best place to start? It is not uncommon for a company to start some kind of practical work related to business processes, and then, having made a bunch of mistakes, they come to the realization that at first it would be worthwhile to understand this topic and come to training. Therefore, business processes -. Business process optimization - . Stages of business process optimization - . Modeling business processes - workshop (coaching). It is better to first understand what benefits the process approach will provide to your company and how to implement it, having gone through the main stages correctly - only then begin to act. Otherwise, the cart will be ahead of the horse.

We are ready to help your company become the best!

BUSINESS PROCESSES STAGES

In order to compete effectively and take a leading position in your market, you need to clearly know what business processes are carried out in the company and learn how to constantly improve them. To do this, you need to implement several steps:

Carry out on an "as is" basis.
Run , which is designed to find bottlenecks. A number of methods and organizational features allow you to quickly analyze business processes and determine future points for improving work.
When the "bottlenecks" are identified, you can proceed to, i.e. design processes according to the principle “as it should be”. At this stage, a number of principles can be applied and .
An equally difficult stage of work is the introduction of new business processes and their subsequent improvement.

BUSINESS PROCESS ERRORS

However, as our practice shows, many companies make a number of gross mistakes, which obviously lead to lost time, inefficiently spent financial resources and decreased motivation. There are also errors associated with a misunderstanding of the reasons, essence, advantages of the process approach in general and the need to model business processes in particular. The program of our seminar “Business Processes: Description, Analysis, Optimization, Implementation” is designed in such a way that it highlights common mistakes and, at the same time, represents an algorithm for implementing a project to transfer a company to a process-oriented approach to management.

So, at our seminar, all the key stages are considered:

Preparation for the project;
Description of the company's business processes on an "as is" basis;
Analysis of business processes;
Methods for optimizing business processes on the principle of "as it should be";
Implementation of business processes;
Organizational mechanisms for continuous improvement of the company's business processes.

MODELING BUSINESS PROCESSES

is a tool that allows you to solve a lot of organizational problems (from local improvements to the scale of improving the entire organization) and is currently the most effective management approach. It is enough to recall the names of some companies that support this approach: Toyota, Motorola, General Electric, IBM, Samsung and many others ... You should also understand - this is not only a destiny large companies. It is a matter of the company's long-term survival in the market. And if your company has 30-50 employees, it's time to start learning process management.