Case. How to describe business processes yourself?

The Internet is full of literature on how to write business processes. But almost nowhere is it indicated what trends are at work in this direction (what we should focus on now) and how recommendations for describing business processes change depending on what stage of development the company is at. And even if there are such recommendations, they are quite heavy and cumbersome. We set the task to give succinct and accurate recommendations, differentiated for different stages of business development.
The case was included in the series “Business Council Practice”.

Step 1.

To begin with, we decided to gather our thoughts, for which we conducted a historical express analysis and went over the experience of describing business processes that has been accumulated to date. The selection, of course, turned out to be not so great, but even such a cursory analysis gave us several interesting ideas.

To do this, we used the system operator (SO). The system operator (Fig. 1) includes a description of the system being studied, its subsystems and supersystems, where the system being studied is included as an element in the present, past and future.

We used the capabilities of SO to a very limited extent; we did not particularly engage in the decomposition of subsystems and did not really ask ourselves the question of which system business processes are part of. Sometimes you can deviate from the norm if you recognize its redundancy.

Rice. 1. System operator.

1. PRESENT.

1.1 System under study: business processes.

Business process system, special attention to end-to-end business processes (affecting the work of 2 or more departments or groups). Process flexibility.

Quote: “Most companies are organized along functional lines, but they must operate in a cross-functional environment. …Processes break the hierarchical structure.”

1.2. Supersystem.

Strategic management, balanced scorecard. Horizontal interaction between employees. Lean manufacturing, quality management system. Market, competition. Frequent changes of environment, environmental dynamics. Changes in legislation.

Quote: “From the point of view of the process approach, an organization appears as a set of processes. The management of such an organization is based on process management. Each process has its own goal, which is a criterion for its effectiveness. The goals of all processes are lower-level goals, through the implementation of which the top-level goals—the company’s goals—are achieved.”

1.3. Subsystems.

Quick access to information. Business process system (model), responsibility management, personnel management, process regulation, personnel reporting, process automation, process efficiency management.

2. PAST 30s 20th century.

2.1. System.

A person at the workplace, instructions from managers (namely, “instructions”).

One of the most famous methodologies for describing organizations as organizational and technical systems has become the methodology of structural analysis and system design SADT (Structured Analysis and Design Technique). It was developed by the American Douglas Ross (D. Ross) in 1973. One of the subsets of SADT, the functional modeling methodology IDEF0 (Integration Definition For Function Modeling), has become especially widely used. The initiator of its development and further standardization was the US Department of Defense. The IDEF0 methodology has been successfully used in military and commercial organizations to solve a wide range of problems (from software development for defense systems to the development of logistics and financial management systems). The availability and experience of using IDEF0 in various subject areas, along with growing computer support, has made it even more accessible to use. This, in turn, has also led to the widespread use of IDEF0 as a methodology for describing the business processes of organizations. The popularity of the IDEF0 functional modeling methodology is largely due to the simplicity of the notation, the main elements of which are the functional block and the arrow.

Also in the USSR in the early 70s, the Integrated Product Quality Management System (KS UKP) was introduced. Management was based on the logic of mass production, economies of scale, centralized control, and the resulting low rate of change and rapid loss of relevance of activities.

The management system inherited from the USSR is based on the concept of mass production, which dominated the entire national economy. The main goal of this system is to obtain economic benefits from increasing the scale of production. The larger the volume of production, the lower the cost per unit of output. At the same time, it is easier to standardize and unify processes, and it is also easier to exercise centralized control. Such a system made it possible to produce a huge amount of GWS (goods, works, services), but in order to change anything it was necessary to spend a huge amount of resources due to the lack of flexibility in management and processes. As a result, it turned out that our enterprises turned out to be uncompetitive in the international arena due to lack of flexibility and the inability to quickly adapt to market needs.

3.2. Supersystem.

3.3. Subsystems.

IDEF0 principles, process diagrams, process performance management, business process system (model), responsibility management, personnel management, process regulation, personnel reporting.

4. FUTURE.

4.1. System.

Flexible business process maps integrated into CRM systems and higher-level systems (ERP systems).

4.2. Supersystem.

Self-developing business (company), further development of LEAN, CRM system, ERP systems with integration, .

4.3. Subsystems.

Instant access to self-updating information. Flexible business process system (model), responsibility management, personnel management, process regulation, automatic reporting on indicators, flexible process efficiency management. Automation, robotization, competency development system, knowledge management.

Step 2.

The result of step 1 was the download of some concepts and facts that occurred at different times. Now we should generalize the results of studying the system using the system operator. As a result of this step, an image of the system being studied is formed, taking into account the experience of the past and our forecasts for the future.

The main points that you need to pay attention to when describing business processes (the result of using the system operator):

1. What have you lost from the past (and this is interesting and effective)?
2. What will change in the future? What can be left unchanged, and in what aspects should the foundation be laid now?
3. What should you pay attention to when developing an algorithm for describing business processes?

When analyzing the system for describing business processes using the system operator, we saw the following:

1. Subsystems: Quick access to information. Business process system (model), responsibility management, personnel management, process regulation, personnel reporting, process automation, process efficiency management. We see that business processes must be able to quickly be extracted from the information environment, have high flexibility, and have reference points that will show what will change in the supersystem when the business process changes at the level of a specific position.
2. Strategic management, balanced scorecard. Lean manufacturing, quality management system. Market, competition... Relative stability, gradual, smooth change of situation ( significant difference from the NS “Present”).Current legislature. When designing business processes, a system of indicators should be developed:KPI (key performance indicators) and management indicators by which we monitor the effectiveness of achievingKPI. The future shows us that business processes must be included with a knowledge management system, that is, a system of indicators linked to a competency model must be developed. Make sure there is no gap here! Special attention should be paid to the automatic collection of statistics on indicators, to develop a culture of working with numbers, gradually preparing the management system for the use of machine learning methods in the future.

1. The human factor significantly influences the performance and efficiency of processes. Therefore, when the responsibility matrix is ​​written down, the functionality is defined, it is necessary to select people for the team with a psychological and competence profile suitable for the given position. Otherwise, no one guarantees that the processes will work correctly and be implemented in full. It follows that business processes should not only be linked to the knowledge management system, but also to the job profile, which, in general, is logical.

1. Keep in mind that although people’s sense of time has developed since the time of A.K. Gastev, but still far from ideal, so business processes should be automated in a CRM system with an automatic notification function, but in any case, before preparing the technical specifications for CRM, where the description of the business process will ultimately end up, a paper document is created. It is important to consider that trying to regulate everything is stupid, and in small companies such attention to administration is fraught with loss of business. Therefore, before regulating processes, it is necessary to determine the company’s position onS-curve (most conveniently according to I. Adizes) and based on this, assign the “scale” of regulation, that is, determine the degree of detail of the process. It is also important to determine the degree of freedom of an employee’s decision-making in changing business processes in order to increase their efficiency. As stated above, provide for the possibility of promptly changing the process, but with markers indicating which of the related processes will be involuntarily affected. It is necessary to provide for differentiation of access rights to change processes.

1. Studying the success of IDEF0 shows us that in order to present business processes it is necessary to try to move away as much as possible from textual instructions in favor of graphics - infographics, drawings with short explanations. If more detailed explanation is needed, it can be provided as a note to the relevant point in the infogram. Such instructions are perceived and remembered much better, but there are also pitfalls. Good infographics are the best option from the point of view of user perception of instructions, but they have a huge disadvantage in that drawing diagrams is very expensive and time-consuming. Not all employees can do this. Today this problem has been resolved. In 2016 - 2017 there is a real boom in the integration of graphical display of business processes inCRM systems according to IDEF0 recommendations. It is therefore clear that it is worth paying attention toCRM systems that have just such capabilities and use them. At the same time, it is important to take into account monitoring according to the indicators indicated above, delimitation of access rights, signaling at reference points when changes are made.

1. The integrated product quality management system (KS UKP) of the USSR may be of interest only in the case of large-scale reengineering of business processes in large corporations. In other cases, you should not contact her. You should pay attention to the standard of notation and corpus of concepts adopted in the company. The body of concepts should be the same for everyone in the company and as unified as possible with the practice accepted in the world. “Translations” of terms within a company are too expensive. Therefore, along with the development of business processes, one should deal with the standard adopted by the company. It is better to immediately lay down standardized concepts and notations than to spend a lot of time and effort on correction later.

1. When choosing a CRM system and a method for preparing a description of business processes, you should take into account the rapid change in the environment; the system should be able to quickly make changes, preferably without the involvement of IT specialists. Otherwise, the dynamics may be lost, and the power supplies will turn into empty trash and stop working. You should not engage in home-written programs, but use ready-made systems with the possibility of expansion to provide the functions indicated above.

1. When describing the business process, the interaction between departments should be taken into account. It is at the junction of departments that the greatest communication defects, distortion of information and various types of failures occur. Recommendations - see above. Additionally: when determining a personality profile, do not consider the place in isolation, but look in conjunction with the departments and process owners with which business processes are most closely intertwined. Solve the problem at the local level, do not get lost in the properties of the material (see recommendations for schematization)!

1. In the future, the influence of IT technologies will increase, so the final product will be a CRM system with implemented BPs that provide hints in real time. In the form of a list of documents, the BP will exist only at the time of implementation, as project documentation. Further - only electronic format. Pay attention to software manufacturers who pay increased attention to the issue of hints and statistics.

Step 3.

When we took on this task, we already understood that the same recommendations cannot be applied to companies at different stages of their development. Therefore, at this step we decided to see how the solution concept we found changes depending on the company’s position on the S-curve. The stages of company development are best described by the S-shaped curve in the concept of I. Adizes (Fig. 2):

Rice. 2. Stages of company development according to I. Adizes.

What do we need to solve the problem? We lack subsystems for describing business processes that we can use as criteria by which we can evaluate changes in approaches to describing business processes depending on the stage of development of the company along the S-curve. Based on the concept of the process approach, we highlight these criteria. So, the subsystems:

• Goals of activity;
• System description of business processes (functional business model of a business);
• Organizational structure of the enterprise;
• Job descriptions of employees;
• Management reporting systems;
• Regulations of activity (standardization);
• Standards management procedures;
• Mechanisms for monitoring compliance with standards at the enterprise.

Now we can describe the requirements for power supply at each stage of company development in accordance with the selected criteria.

1. courtship:

Goals: ideas and intuition are at the forefront. There is no business as such yet, but there is a great desire to realize it.

Business processes: at this stage, we can say that there are no processes, but some work is being done. All activities are kept in the head.

Organizational structure: absent.

Job Descriptions: are absent, all working relationships are based on words. Job responsibilities are not specified.

Reporting: absent. The manager does not need reporting, since he is “completely in the know,” and there is no accumulated statistics. Work in the company is not organized properly to take into account the results for reporting.

Regulations: are missing.

Standards management: are missing.

None.

2. infancy:

Goals: goal setting begins to emerge, but it is not built according to the SMART method (SMART is an abbreviation for the method of goal setting and goal setting. Decoding S.M.A.R.T.: Specific (the goal must be specific), Measurable (measurable), Achievable (attainable), Relevant (to be relevant, i.e. e. correspond to the activities and needs of the enterprise, appropriate), Timed (determined in time).

The manager lacks the skill to set goals and does not have enough market information to specify them. Goals sound like slogans: “to be No. 1 (or simply the best) in the industry (niche)”, “to occupy the maximum part of the market”, “to become a leader in the market”, “to achieve maximum profit”, etc. and so on.

Business processes: at this stage, the founder (who is also the leader) does everything himself, sometimes giving one-time instructions to his employees (if any). Employees do everything through the manager, coordinating every step. In other words, business is based on solving one-time problems.

Organizational structure: The manager has not yet learned to delegate, and this is not required. The company employs those whom he was somehow able to find and retain (relatives, acquaintances...). At this stage, rejection of the organizational structure, any instructions and regulations is typical. The team is one family. There are no specific roles assigned to employees.

Job Descriptions: are missing. Everyone is responsible for everything, but no one is responsible for anything specific. Everyone helps each other, the company does everything not to “die in infancy.” All orders are given orally.

Reporting: absent. The manager still does not need reporting, since he himself is completely “in the know,” and there is also no accumulated statistics. Work in the company is not organized properly to take into account the results for reporting.

Regulations: business processes change at the speed of thought and are carried out uncontrollably. Formalization of business processes is impossible.

Standards management: absent.

Monitoring the implementation of standards: absent.

3. Come on, come on:

Goals: goals become more specific with experience, victories and mistakes. Development prospects become visible and statistics accumulate.

Business processes: a more or less formed product appears. Business processes at this stage should already be formalized, but be as short, understandable as possible, and easily adjusted if necessary.

Organizational structure: The complexity of delegation and lack of administration begins to make itself felt and interferes. At this stage it is no longer possible to succeed simply by helping each other. It is important to perform one’s functions well and be responsible for one’s area of ​​responsibility, but what “perform well” and “one’s area of ​​responsibility” is still understood intuitively and is not always accepted by staff. Different individual ideas about work begin to appear, which complicate management and create conflicts.

The organizational structure is one of two options. The first is “the manager and everyone else,” or the second is “all the managers” (the number of specialist employees is several times less than the number of bosses). Structural divisions are created at random, and often with promising names. Leaders are formal. No subordinates.

Job Descriptions: there is a desire to create job descriptions in order to specify the responsibilities of employees and somehow streamline activities. The first job descriptions appear. Most often they are downloaded from the Internet, or borrowed from someone. Job descriptions do not correspond to the actual work of employees. A formal attitude towards regulatory documentation arises. In order to somehow manage, often the manager, instead of a clear job description, tries to create an environment of punishment (penalties) for poor performance of work by employees. Judgments about quality are also often subjective and non-specific, i.e. The manager, colleagues and employees have different ideas about them.

Reporting: reports are starting to appear. Mainly financial. Reporting is not systematic: not for all employees, not in the context of business processes, weak analytical component. Lack of plan/fact.

Regulations: managers begin to feel the need to create business regulations and begin to create mini-instructions, for example, how to correctly accept a client’s request, package a product, or structure a conversation with a client (negotiation scripts). Instructions are created intuitively and are in the nature of plugging “holes” in the work (local standardization). There is no regulation methodology.

Standards management: Regulations do not go through the company’s approval and approval procedures; they are passed down to the staff “from above.” They are often perceived by employees as an additional burden and cause indignation that why is all this necessary and so “everyone works 100% and tirelessly.” The manager conducts spontaneous training as “shoals” are identified. He believes that employees should already know and understand everything themselves.

Monitoring the implementation of standards: absent.

4. youth:

Goals: Enterprise goals are defined in SMART terms.

Business processes: management is moving to a systematic approach in describing business processes, because There is a real need for business administration and standardization. Business processes are beginning to be divided into core, management and support. The realization comes that goals must be provided with appropriate functionality to achieve them.

Organizational structure: structural divisions begin to be formed based not only on the functional principle, but also on the process principle. Those. responsibility is assigned not only for the area of ​​knowledge and competencies, but also for specific business processes. Process owners appear.

Job Descriptions: existing and/or inappropriate job descriptions are replaced with new ones, which are created independently in accordance with the business processes of the enterprise.

Reporting: reporting forms are created in accordance with business processes and their owners according to indicators of interest to the manager.

Regulations: comes the realization that it is impossible to endlessly plug the “holes” and that the problem of administration and standardization on a company scale cannot be solved with separate disparate regulations; a more systematic approach to business regulation (standardization) is required.

A process approach is beginning to take shape in the company. Regulations begin to reflect a description of procedures (divided into stages by cycles and milestones), rather than individual parts of a business process. There is a need to automate business processes.

Standards management: in order to reduce staff resistance to changes, working groups are held to describe business processes with the involvement of staff, regulations undergo the approval and approval procedure, employee training activities begin, but they are often ignored (especially in end-to-end processes (when several structural units are involved in the work) .

Monitoring the implementation of standards: With the increase in the number of regulations, there is a need for regular monitoring of their implementation (audit).

5. Bloom:

Goals: goals at the enterprise are defined in SMART terms using a balanced scorecard (finance, marketing, processes, personnel development).

Business processes: a complete and systematic description of business processes on a company-wide scale was produced in the format of a functional business model. All business processes are interconnected by logic. Extra work goes away, necessary work comes. Managers begin to see prospects for business development through the optimization of business processes, the formation of new areas of activity, and understand functional and process strategies and tactics.

There is a need to carry out similar work with regular suppliers/contractors.

Organizational structure: The organizational structure of the company has become more optimal, namely: the number of structural divisions and business processes assigned to them has been balanced. The organizational structure has become more “flat”, unnecessary subordination has been eliminated. Responsibility for business processes is clearly assigned to the relevant managers.

Job Descriptions: fully consistent with the activities of the enterprise. Now, when describing job responsibilities, a special role is given to personnel competencies (knowledge, skills, personal qualities), the description of which is built into job descriptions. A competency model is created.

Reporting: reporting is not only a control tool, but also a means of supporting business processes and analytics. It acquires uniform rules and forms of its preparation. A reporting standard for managers is being introduced.

Regulations: The process of creating regulations has been put on a regular basis. At the same time, the company clearly sets priorities and understands the goals of standardizing each business process. Conscious business automation begins.

Regulation of activities becomes a corporate culture.

It becomes obvious that regulations need to be improved and updated over time and this is a constant process of improvement. The company acquires the characteristics of a self-learning organization. Heads of structural divisions themselves take the initiative to develop and update regulations at the enterprise.

Standards management: training procedures begin to take place regularly, in particular for end-to-end business processes.

Monitoring the implementation of standards: execution control begins to be carried out in the form of an audit throughout the company. The control process is regulated.

6. Stability:

Goals: The company's goals are defined in SMART terms using a balanced scorecard, and a system of company performance indicators has been created. Goals and indicators are cascaded to each position.

Business processes: The functional model is regularly adjusted in order to optimize activities and achieve new goals. Comprehensive automation of business processes has been introduced at the enterprise and at regular suppliers/contractors.

Organizational structure: stable and conscious organizational structure, optimization occurs when business processes change.

Job Descriptions: are adjusted and improved in order to improve the quality of staff work.

Reporting: regularly adjusted and supplemented with value-creating metrics and analytics.

Regulations: All company managers are familiar with standardization methods and independently use the tools in their work. Business is automated. Process optimization is carried out in an automation system. Self-learning organization.

Standards management: standards are regularly updated in order to improve quality, reduce deadlines and reduce costs.

Monitoring the implementation of standards: Regular audits are carried out.

7. Aristocracy:

Goals: goals cease to be revised and updated.

Business processes: clear administration has become a habit, but work on regular improvement of the business model and processes has declined. The company believes that it has achieved perfection, a separation from its competitor “forever” and is beginning to “rest on its laurels.”

Organizational structure: is not updated. Everyone is accustomed to the current state of affairs.

Job Descriptions: cease to be adjusted in order to improve the quality of staff work.

Reporting: is not adjusted or supplemented with value-creating metrics and analytics.

Regulations: decrease in the company's activity in the field of standardization. Mastery of the technique is lost as a skill. Business processes and automation systems are becoming obsolete.

Standards management: standards are not updated in order to improve quality, reduce deadlines and reduce costs.

Monitoring the implementation of standards: the quality of audits is not controlled.

8. Witch hunt:

Goals: the goals are outdated and not relevant.

Business processes: loss of relevance.

Organizational structure: uncontrollably acquires additional positions (inflated staff) without consistency with the functional business model.

Job Descriptions: cease to be relevant.

Reporting: ceases to be relevant.

Regulations: standardization is no longer considered as a tool for improving business and service. It turns into a tool for realizing one’s own ambitions without creating value. In fact, it is used more to “cut off” as much as possible the tasks that are assigned to the department, in order to do as little as possible. Management is engaged in “pushing responsibility” or, as office clerks say, “football.” Uncontrollable growth and loss of relevance of regulation begins. Standards are created on a functional basis and without focusing on the company's business model.

Standards management: standards are not updated in order to improve quality, reduce deadlines and reduce costs. Working groups are formal in nature.

Monitoring the implementation of standards: audits have been cancelled.

9. Bureaucracy:

Goals: the goals are outdated and not relevant.

Business processes: complete loss of relevance and structure of business processes.

Organizational structure: the emergence and/or liquidation of structural divisions is unfounded, unsystematic and intuitive in nature and is not consistent with the business model and processes.

Job Descriptions: outdated or created without focusing on the business model.

Reporting: loss of relevance, uncontrolled reduction in the volume of reporting information. The departure of work “in the shadows”.

Regulations: loss of control over processes. Stopping the process of standardization and process improvement. Regulations are created in violation of the methodology by managers independently without holding working groups (involving staff).

Standards management: working groups on standardization are not held, the approval of regulations is delayed indefinitely.

Monitoring the implementation of standards: absent.

Step 4.

This is an instrumental step (take it and do it).

By following the algorithm presented below, you can independently register any business process.

Please note the following:

• Do not forget to determine the position of your company on the S-shaped curve and write the BP, following the recommendations of step 3. This will help you not only correctly describe the BP, but also place the necessary emphasis when managing regulated BP.
• During the analysis of the description of the power supply using the system operator, we identified a number of important points that should also be taken into account.

A general algorithm for describing a business process, according to which each of you can complete the task in step 4:

1. Determine the company's position on the S-curve;
2. Based on point 1, formulate the goals of describing the BP, put emphasis;
3. Formulate Name process;
4. Work on vision and purpose of BP;
5. Define borders process (start and end);
6. Define inputs(resource) and exits(result) of the process as a whole;
7. Assign owner process;
8. Define compound And subsequence execution of work ( create cycle);
9. Define actions, boundaries, entrances and exits everyone stage;
10. Define deadlines each stage;
11. Define responsible for each stage;
12. Formalize the process documented(prepare the Standard).

For ease of use of the resulting concept, we summarize the result into a matrix.

Table 1. Recommendations for describing a business process depending on the company’s position on the S-shaped curve (which should be part of the description of the business process at various stages of the company’s development):

Abbreviations:

Business processes (BP)

Organizational structure (Org.)

Job descriptions (JI)

Reporting (Report)

Regulations (R)

Standards management (Control st.)

Monitoring the implementation of standards (CIS)

Table 2. Recommendations for describing a business process depending on the company’s position on the S-shaped curve (who should write the business process):

Abbreviations:

"-" absent;

K - team;

Ko is a consultant (expert).

Literature:

1. How to overcome management crises. Diagnosis and solution of management problems / Itzhak Kalderon Adizes - M.: Mann, Ivanov and Ferber, 2014.
2. Find an idea: Introduction to TRIZ - the theory of solving inventive problems / Heinrich Altshuller - 3rd ed. - M.: Alpina Publishers, 2010.

In our company, which manages construction projects for large energy facilities, the description of business processes is especially relevant today for projects and project teams.

Each project is a new team, many interested parties and relationships, its own specifics, high staff workload. The project management sets the task of describing processes quickly, simply and clearly. And naturally, they should work.

Having been describing business processes for quite a long time, I tried out different techniques, tools and templates. I'll share method, which I have been using lately and which has “taken root” in our company.

So, define the process, which needs to be described. Further

- meet with the person responsible for the process and main participants/experts (up to 3 people);
- we determine the boundaries of the process, participants, inputs/outputs, stages of the process– blocks into which we divide the process and the results of these stages;
- we come to an agreement and eventually draw the following process diagram:

We describe each block (subprocess). To do this, we use a graphical functional block diagram, the template of which is available in MS Visio:

In the description we use the following notation:

As a result, the process (stage) diagram looks like this:

The diagram shows the participants in the process, the actions they perform and their duration. We indicate the results on the arrows connecting the actions.

The diagram drawn in MS Visio is the final version. The whole point is in its creation. And the main thing here is the involvement of direct participants in the process.

We describe the process like this:

1. We organize a working meeting of process participants and experts;

2. Prepare a “sticky wall”, A5 cards, markers;

3. We appoint a moderator who leads the discussion, writes and sticks cards on the wall;

4. Mark the horizontal lines with masking tape;

5. We identify the participants in the process, write them down on cards and paste them on the left side of the wall in the appropriate lines;

6. Determine (confirm) the input/output of the process (yellow cards);

7. We divide the participants into two groups, each group discusses and writes on cards the actions of the process from “input” to “output”. Lays out on the table;

8. In turn, we take one card from each group, starting from the “entrance” of the process; We determine who is doing it and stick it on the wall, connecting it in series with masking tape (these are arrows). During this work, we agree on the wording and use of different cards, and bring the participants to a common scheme;

9. We go through the diagram (read), add the missing actions, ask the groups questions, determine the results of the actions (write on the arrows);

10. We take photographs and send them for digitization.

As a result, we get a diagram in MS Visio, as in the previous figure.

All description we placed on one page– compact and clear. The actions of each participant are described on a separate line, which allows you to quickly determine their role and functions in the process.

If the process is complex, the actions require explanation or are inconsistent, add comments page or write them in a free space in a frame directly on the diagram.

The final scheme is sent to all participants for approval. The project manager (or other responsible person) approves it, it is saved in the project process album and becomes a guide to action.

Description of an enterprise's business processes is one of the methods of combating inefficiency. The activities of any company can be described as the sum of many processes that are performed sequentially and in parallel. Once formalized on paper, it becomes easier to plan them and imagine “how it should be.” Read the article on how to describe them and see an example of a description of business processes of a financial service.

Why describe business processes

Any enterprise encounters various losses in its activities (time, defects, lack of management, missed opportunities) and incurs losses.

Having calculated the amount of damage at the end of the year, sometimes there is a strong desire to go back in time and correct a mistake, to do some of the work differently. But you can’t return the past, and how often are there cases when the next year an enterprise makes the same mistake? Errors that were not properly analyzed and communicated to personnel occur again and again and affect profits.

One of the methods to combat inefficiency is the introduction of a process-oriented approach and a description of the enterprise’s business processes. The activities of any enterprise can be described as the sum of many business processes that are performed sequentially and in parallel.

Why is this necessary?

1. When a chaotic idea of ​​an enterprise’s activities is formed into business processes and formalized on paper, it becomes crystal clear which actions are performed correctly and on time, which ones need to be adjusted, and which ones can be completely abandoned. Dots - error generators - become noticeable.
2. Once formalized on paper, it becomes easier to plan them and imagine “how it should be.”
3. Each business process has an owner and each action in it is assigned to an employee (group). If an error is detected, it will be easy to identify the “culprit” and together prevent its reoccurrence.
4. Using the described business processes, it is much easier to bring new employees up to speed. And even if 60% of the team changes, the threat to the business will be minimal.
5. The implementation of an integrated information system is always accompanied by the writing of business processes.
6. A business with the described processes is incomparably easier to scale. Opening branches (), divisions, partnerships, selling franchises - any opportunities are open to you.

What is a business process

A business process is a set of actions that must be performed to produce a product or provide a service. In this case, actions are performed not chaotically, but maintaining a given sequence.

It is convenient to represent them graphically in the form of block diagrams - flows. Every business process has consumers, no matter whether they are internal or external. The consumer sets requirements for the business process and the final result. The consumer can also influence the existence of the business process itself. At the input of each there will be a requirement (demand) from the consumer, at the output - the satisfaction of this requirement.

A business process has an owner - one official in the company who is responsible for the result of the process. In large companies, a process manager may also be appointed - someone who manages the execution of the process, but is not responsible for the result.

For example, consumers would be the Financial Director and the Commercial Director. The result will be the amount of overdue debt at the end of the period and the amount that was collected from debtors. The owner will be the Financial Controller. Consumers can set requirements for the process, such as the frequency of verification, a set of debt collection actions, and a planned return amount.

Business processes are:

1. Basic.
2. Auxiliary.
3. Managers.

The main ones are those that create a product (a product is produced, a service is provided). Without their implementation, the existence of an enterprise is impossible, so they cannot be eliminated, only optimized.

Auxiliary ones are carried out in parallel with the main ones and are needed to maintain the activities of the enterprise. These include personnel selection, payroll, quality control, etc. The source of savings lies in auxiliary processes. They can be optimized, synchronized, combined, and even sometimes eliminated.

Control business processes are the most difficult group of processes to describe and the most suitable for optimization. They satisfy the requirements for control, planning and forecasting, and company development. On the one hand, management is a very creative field, which is not always possible to document. But on the other hand, there are a lot of processes in management that can and should be formalized and optimized. This. For example:

1. Drawing up an annual budget.
2. Cash flow planning.
3. Checking potential partners, etc.

They form a significant share of management costs, so they must be analyzed and brought to the optimal result.

How to describe business processes

The description should always begin with a list of functions “as is” (what is actually performed). Both for an enterprise that is encountering a process approach for the first time, and for one where some of the processes have already been described.

The list is prepared in three steps:

1. Study (create) the organizational structure of the enterprise.
2. For each department, write down the functions and activities in which it is involved. It is important to note that in order to list all the processes performed by employees, you need to communicate with these employees personally. Only in the process of face-to-face communication can you get an adequate picture.
3. Examine the list to see if any functions are duplicated or any functions are missing. There are situations when two departments do the same work, for example, the calculation of KPIs for sales department employees is done by the Financial Service and the sales department itself. It happens that there is a function, but there are no employees performing it.

As a result, you should have a list: function - employee (group), in which there are no intersections or empty fields.

In order to form business processes from a pool of functions, you need to decide on what basis to group them. The main goal of the business process is to create a “finished product” and satisfy user requirements. If you look closely, the goal of each function will also be to create a specific “product”. Therefore, business processes are created from functions as shown in Figure 1.

Picture 1. How to create a business process from a function

After completing these steps, you will receive a list:

• Business process 1 and further functions
• Business process 2 and further functions
• And so on.

Give each process a name that reflects its essence. The preparatory work is now complete and it’s time to draw a process map.

The process map is somewhat reminiscent of a water flow, which begins with small sources, then is replenished with new streams, which merge and flow into the sea as a full-flowing river.

Arrange the figures on the slide in the order in which they are executed. It is customary to draw a map from left to right, using figures - arrows - to indicate the process.

Figure 2. Designation

Place those processes that can be performed in parallel above and below the main ones.

Connect them with arrows. It is not necessary to use only the arrow for one process. The process can be entered from one or several. The situation is similar for exits.

Now that the map is ready, the inputs and outputs for all processes are clear. You can start depicting each specific process.

1. To do this, place the input and output of the process on a blank slide.
2. Divide the sheet horizontally into areas - the roles of the participants.
3. According to the roles of the participants, arrange the main blocks - the functions of the process. Maintain consistency.
4. Add forks and additional features.
5. Place on the diagram the documents that must be generated during execution. An email, an excel table are also documents from a process point of view.
6. Identify the programs and databases used. It is advisable to write not the name of the program, but a specific block of software (for example, not 1C but 1C Payment Calendar, etc.).
7. Add performance indicators to the process where they are tested.
8. Link the resulting diagram to other processes.

After doing all these steps, you will get a complete diagram (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. Example of a business process description

When describing a business process, your main goal is to ensure that even the “man on the street” can read it. Therefore, detail, guided by the principle of efficiency. A business process written in general strokes, vaguely, will be incomprehensible without additional explanation. And too much detail will result in a lot of extra work for you (and the reader) but little added value.

And in conclusion, let’s add a very important rule: you should never mix the concepts of “as is” and “as should be” in the description. Many employees who are involved in data collection tend to embellish the reality and add features that, in their opinion, should be present, but in reality are not performed. Strive to clearly distinguish between such “wishes”.

At the first stage you write business processes “as is”, at the second stage you change them to “as should be”.

How to find unprofitable business processes

To identify company business processes that bring additional losses and identify those responsible, use management reporting. Break it down into business processes and assign a responsible top manager to each. This way you can understand who is responsible for the success or failure of a particular process, and coordinate the management team for future periods.

See the step-by-step algorithm on how to act to find and eliminate ineffective business processes. The financial director of the STAN production company shares his experience.

Disadvantages of describing business processes

In addition to many advantages, the description of business processes also carries a number of disadvantages.

The first, and most significant, is the high cost of implementing a process approach. You can describe the processes either on your own or with the help of invited consultants, but in both cases the implementation costs will amount to a significant amount. Enterprise management must be interested in the description and know how to apply the results of the process approach. Otherwise, the company's money will be wasted.

The second, no less significant, is the development of the enterprise and its business processes, which will also need to be described. The solution “described - got the result - forgot” is not suitable for the process approach. Otherwise, in six months to a year the processes will become irrelevant and the money will again be wasted. Be prepared for ongoing maintenance costs.

The third disadvantage is the duration of implementation. The project can take from 6 months to 1 year.

The fourth disadvantage is resistance from employees and managers. Like all efficiency improvement projects, the introduction of a process approach leads to optimization of enterprise costs, including staff reduction and increased employee workload.

The concept of a business process, the structure of processes and subprocesses

A business process (BP) is understood as a group of activities of an organization (events and tasks) that are aimed at creating a specific product or service. By conducting analysis, especially at the point of contact between two or more departments involved in the same business process, you can easily eliminate various costs and barriers and build a process-oriented enterprise or organization. Business processes are usually considered by dividing them into subprocesses and drawing up detailed maps. The hierarchical diagram of a set of business processes is called a business process tree. It reflects a simple diagram of the interconnections of all power supply units in their entirety.

There are general and detailed BP models. At the top (general) level, a list of operations for the sale of a product carried out by departments of the company is usually provided; in a more detailed version, the key stages and schemes with all aspects are more fully disclosed.

Business process groups

There are main, auxiliary and management processes - these are the main groups of business processes. Development BP is separately identified as a unique process performed once. Focus of the main group BP:

• production of products (services) valuable to the consumer;
• formation of added value;
• filling the product with qualities that are valuable from the customer’s point of view;
• profit estimate

The main business processes are customer-oriented, since their results are aimed at the end user. Supporting (auxiliary) BPs are related to the business on a closer basis; they provide:

• creating products for internal business areas;
• maintaining the company’s functions and its infrastructure component

Management processes coordinate the entire set of BP (main, supporting, development BP).

BP development is aimed at the long term in making a profit, as well as improving the company’s activities in the future (they do not ensure the organization of processes occurring at the moment).

The presented classification is not final. BP in each company depends on its specific distinctive features.

Description of the main power supplies for a manufacturing and trading company (example):

• marketing processes;
• design, development of a product or service;
• production of the final product;
• logistics processes (sales, delivery, supply);
• sales and service management

Supporting power supplies:

• financial control;
• service and personnel management;
• ecological processes (environmental protection processes);
• enterprise communications management;
• support of systems and their design;
• infrastructure management

Management business processes for this model include all processes associated with collecting information, planning and regulating activities, processes of analysis and control of the entire management cycle.

BP development is the improvement of activities, a kind of business engineering.

Description and analysis of BP

The description of the business process allows you to determine the place of each employee in the company, make the necessary changes in its activities based on the analysis: improve the information system, change risk management, carry out certification, etc. It allows you to make the organization more understandable for management, and allows you to find excess financial and other resources. For obvious reasons, staff are usually not interested in transparency, as well as reliability in the description of the business process - this makes it difficult to obtain factual information, for example, about the distribution of responsibilities.

Model visualization.

The model is usually displayed in the form of diagrams, tables with descriptions, or a combination of graph and text description (notation), etc. The degree of detail of the object and the completeness of the description depend on the specific application of this model. The task of any of these methods will be to describe the BP according to the principle: “action-function”. Each BP has its own executor - this also needs to be indicated. It will be a department or a specific position. “Inputs” are material, informational and financial, and “outputs” are presented in the form of a list of products or services. The result of the performer’s action will be an “output”; actions can also be combined according to the principle of a logical connection with each other, then the “inputs” and results must be coordinated between them. The connection between “input” and “output” is ensured by activities aimed at achieving a result during the transition between them.

How the description of the BP is implemented

As mentioned above, we can distinguish graphical, textual and tabular methods of implementing the model. Despite their advantages and disadvantages, they all find application, since each of them corresponds to the goals set for such a description.

1. Text description.

The main advantage of this form is the absence of exact standards and the possibility of flexible description of virtually any process or its nuance. An organization can use any text reporting form, as well as structure the collected information at its discretion. Flaws:

• sequential perception of text information;
• It is difficult to analyze the activities of an enterprise based on a textual representation;
• lack of formality and descriptive standards (both a plus and a minus, depending on the case);
• difficulty in perceiving and comparing large volumes of text

2. Tabular form. Suitable for describing sequential processes. Can be used as a transition to a graphical implementation as a database.

3. Graphic description in the form of models and diagrams.

If it is necessary to describe how regulation occurs at the stages of business process: who is the performer, how the implementation occurs, what sequence and documentation is involved, then it is appropriate to use an algorithmic method of describing the work in the form of a flowchart.

The next option is to represent the process as a stream of objects. It is applicable and convenient for describing individual tasks and those departments in an organization that work on the input-output principle, allowing you to directly monitor what is happening between these two components. The “input” and “output” flows will be information, material supplies, and documentation.

Technologies that are used to describe power supply:

1. IDEF - accepted as a standard almost everywhere. Integration Definition for Function Modeling – functional modeling technology. It is supported by the following software - BPWIN, MS Visio, etc. This set of modeling methods allows you to detail power supplies of all levels, presenting them both in one block and in separate diagrams.

2. Modeling technologies use the Unified Modeling Language (UML). It allows you to describe the power supply directly in a language understandable to computer programs and is an automation tool. Supported by leading software developers, the main implementation tool is Rational Rose software from IBM.

3. EPC (extended Event-Process Chain) diagrams. Thanks to them, it is possible to display the sequence of operations, participants, resources used, displaying the state at the current time.

4. ARIS (Architecture of Integrated Information Systems) technology is used as a built-in tool in one of the largest automation systems - SAP R/3.

BP modeling is a set of activities aimed at creating a model of an organization, implying a description of all objects (information, material, etc.) and processes, the roles of departments and individual positions and the connections between them. Drawing up models is the main method of BP engineering and their reorganization, which also allows the use of methodologies for their continuous improvement, allowing you to rethink and improve the efficiency of all types of activities in an organization or enterprise.

Algorithm of actions during modeling:

1. Definition of goals for describing the BP. Preparing for modeling, choosing a model. Since the model is compiled for direct practical use, the goals of such a description must be consistent with future prospects. All business processes - basic, auxiliary (supporting), management, development - are subject to description.

2. Descriptions of the entire BP environment, namely an indication of all the processes with which it is connected at the “input” and “output,” including all resources at these stages.

3. Description of the functional content of the BP. It implies a description of all areas of responsibility for each department or position in the organization.

4. Description of BP flows and their structure. Determined by the goals it pursues. If it is necessary to improve the information system, then the flow of information, document flow, etc. is described; if the goal is to distribute finances correctly, then the financial flow and BP in them.

5. Construction, depending on preferences and goals, of a text, graphic model or diagram.

6. Drawing up a sequence of actions in the BP. Determination of the sequence of functions to be performed, execution conditions, as well as parameters that determine just such an algorithm.

With the right approach, the implementation of this type of management does not take up a lot of resources, both temporary and material. The main thing is to make sure that such a reorganization is necessary within a particular company.

The basis of the business process, like the essence of the business itself, is the optimization of actions so that profits are maximized. To achieve financial benefits, it is necessary to apply effective methods, reasonable and logical systems and sequences for creating and promoting value, for which the demand in the market will be quite high. The best results can be achieved if you apply current types of business processes. However, difficulties often begin when all the main processes have already been fully formalized, but the company needs to update its working approach. You should not stop in the face of difficulties: it is important to constantly work to update business activities and improve the steps that make up them. Only the use of correlating areas of activity of an enterprise of financial business processes will help achieve the best result.

Forming new values

The essence of the business process, which is fundamental for any company, is this: a product is developed, promoted among an interested audience, and supported through after-sales service. The idea of ​​such work is to create value that is important to the client. In this case, value can be calculated as the ratio of the benefits received through the object to the costs associated with gaining access to it.

When a person receives a service or product at his disposal, he evaluates how much money it cost him, how much time was spent, as well as other resources, if any. In fact, these values ​​are exchanged for a service or product. Optimizing the structure of a business process is aimed at reducing costs and sacrifices on the part of the client. At the same time, managing such processes and taking into account information obtained through feedback should, if done correctly, lead to increased value. The efficiency of a company (from which business process tools can be assessed) can be calculated by comparing how much fewer resources a client needs to receive a service now than it was before.

Delivery and customer value

The described example of a business process, including the production of a product, its sale and support, can be divided into lower-level sequences that consider each of the points separately. Such nested categories are important for understanding the logic of the company’s work; it is through them that the economic activity of the enterprise is optimized.

One of the elements that is extremely important for the company is the supply chain. For example, a business process can be structured as a sequence of acquisition of material, manufacturing process and distribution of goods prepared for sale throughout the network. Considering the above, it becomes clear that deliveries are not just the transportation of certain items, but also an element that forms the value of products and services for the end client. For this business process, the stages must be optimized through smart approaches from logistics, which helps to synchronize all links in the sequence.

Is it that simple?

At the same time, the value of the product for the client is also formed through the businessman’s ability to explain to the general public why his product is needed by the buyer. This business process, for example, is also not as simple as it seems; it can be divided into several successive stages. When implementing, you will need the help of a marketer who is able to formulate ideas for a campaign to attract attention in such a way as to form a positive vision of the brand among a potential audience.

The correct implementation of all the business processes given as an example helps to maximize the organization’s profit, increase the efficiency of business activities, and also improve the company’s position against its competitors. It is necessary to understand that “entering the path” is preceded by calculations of the costs that will accompany the implementation of the plan. The company must have resources, develop a business process management system, adapting to the latest market requirements, and expand capabilities.

Opportunity is key

Two different organizations with approximately the same resources can produce completely different products, even if the business processes within the firms have certain similarities. This is due to the capabilities that a legal entity has. The term is usually understood as the ability of an entrepreneur to understand how to improve the management of business processes, improve the quality of the product, minimize production costs, and reduce the likelihood of errors. This helps the organization stand out in the market, despite the abundance of competing companies.

The more opportunities a company has, the better management and logistics processes are usually organized, which creates a cycle: thoughtful control and movement of positions provide good starting conditions for recognizing and implementing new opportunities and improvements to optimize business activities.

The most important features

When modeling business processes that consider delivery and the creation of value for the buyer, special attention is paid to the ability to create the kind of product that the client needs. Enterprise specialists must create unique items that have characteristics that suit clients. To do this, you need to analyze the market, identify not only current trends, but also predict changes in the near future in order to give designers the correct technical specifications. Any changes must be assimilated “on the fly”; only then will the company be highly competitive and adapt to changing conditions without losses for itself.

To model business processes associated with analyzing what the client needs, you can resort to automated tools and systems. Most often, information is presented in the form of charts and graphs, which makes the data more visual. Based on information structured in this way, one can quite correctly conclude what the market needs now, what trends are prevailing, what will be in demand tomorrow, what work needs to be started on today in order to be “on the crest of the wave” in the future.

Product development

You can give the following description of the business process of product development: concept formulation, production cycle, release of a trial batch of goods. Two options for implementing the chain are used: flexible, traditional. They differ from each other in the way they take to pass through the development stages, and are assessed by the number of prototypes and ideas.

A more complete description of the business process is as follows:

• concept creation;
• development of a design solution;
• prototyping;
• manufacturing;
• marketing campaign;
• services.

Enterprise flexibility

The very concept of a business process presupposes the orderliness of operations associated with a product. Currently, the market is literally overflowing with software systems that allow systematizing the work of any company with a high level of automation. It is impossible to establish a correct work process if the organization has hundreds of people on staff who are forced to interact with each other. At the same time, it is impossible to succeed in the market without being flexible.

When they talk about flexibility in relation to a legal entity, they assume the company's ability to adapt when the market situation changes sharply and unpredictably. Debugging all business processes within an enterprise in such a way that, while maintaining high efficiency, the organization remains flexible will allow you to achieve success, at the same time it requires literally opposite measures to each other. Thus, efficiency is highest if all processes are clearly, accurately, and immutably established through an automated system, but this negatively affects flexibility. This is also true in the opposite direction. The most modern schools of business building in our time are developing correct approaches that would allow us to find a “golden mean” when a company, while maintaining flexibility, could establish effective business activities. However, it is clear that this can be achieved by changing processes, and when forming the structure of an enterprise, it is necessary to include such an opportunity.

Change while maintaining the essence

As can be seen from the definition, a business process is a sequence of events, as a result of which a service or product is offered to the user. To always have what the client needs, you must be prepared to transform the company's structure. In many respects, this depends on the ability of each employee of the enterprise to continuously work on solving a certain problem. It is necessary for staff to be aware of the causes and consequences of everything related to the activities of the organization. It is important that employees are interested in improving operational performance, then they will collectively look for the most effective approaches to the task.

If you make some changes to the product, this may entail adjustments to the work of suppliers and distributors; customers may give a different response than before. For what reason does it become exactly the way it is, and how do all the processes associated with the product change? Personnel must work on such issues, expanding the operational level of information that managers then apply in formulating management decisions. The development of an enterprise is largely based on the ability to organize a diverse analysis, including aspects of the interaction of the supply chain. If the best ideas developed are brought to life, this will simultaneously improve the efficiency of business activities and increase the flexibility of the company, strengthening its position in the market.

The market sets the direction

If a company strives for success, it must be able to adjust business processes so that the resulting product meets customer expectations and market requirements. It is necessary to understand what values ​​buyers are interested in; this will allow, already at the concept creation stage, to put what is needed into the product, which will then be sent to mass production. At the same time, the product or service must be performed in accordance with consumer expectations, while errors in the provision of values ​​become an indicator of low quality.

Any failures must be noticed in time and, if possible, measures must be taken to prevent their occurrence. Sampling is the most effective tool at this step of the work. Value creation as a process is divided into stages, each of them is measured, and then the indicators are compared for the manufactured products, which allows us to estimate the frequency of occurrence of a defective product. If the indicators are within normal limits, the work process is adequate, otherwise it is necessary to urgently look for the cause, and as it is discovered, offer ideas to eliminate the problem. To collect as much data as possible about the process, you need to use different sources. These are statements, complaints written by different customers, partners giving feedback on the product, internal departments creating analytics. Correct interpretation of the information received will help generate a working idea for optimizing and developing existing business processes.

Will it be possible to implement it?

The enterprise does not always have enough resources to implement the invented method of improving the work process. In general, adjustments to business activities and various operations included in business processes are determined by the availability of an information base, concepts, and capabilities. If a company makes an effort to improve its chances of gaining new market positions, then turning theories about production improvement into reality will probably be easy. In the absence of opportunities, the company has little chance of improving the product and gaining a more stable position and the love of customers.

In order to establish the production process as efficiently as possible, to ensure that you have the opportunity to implement your plans, you need to understand how all the processes within the enterprise currently work. Special regulations, metrics, data on indicators through which the situation is monitored and results are analyzed come to the rescue. The greatest success is achieved by enterprises that have information tools and automated systems at their disposal.

It is equally important to have human potential - qualified personnel who can unite to achieve their goals. Another important point is efficiency. As soon as it becomes clear that changes are required, it is necessary to plan and implement them as soon as possible, and measure the result of the operation. Otherwise, the event will be late and the situation will either not be saved, or it will be possible to use new techniques that still need to be invented. Efficiency, cohesion and maximum control over business processes enable the enterprise to change while still occupying a stable position in the market.

Delivery as a business process

To some extent, this is the most obvious example of a business process, voluminous enough to be interesting to consider, at the same time, many of its stages are intuitive even for a novice entrepreneur. It is necessary to clearly understand that debugging a high-quality delivery business process is the key to a company’s ability to compete with rivals in the market. The chain must be properly designed taking into account the area in which the company offers services or produces goods.

Logistics management is the delivery of consumables, manufacturing of the product, distribution through the network and subsequent servicing of the product purchased by the customer. The main idea of ​​such a business process is to increase the efficiency of business operations, while the product or service must fully meet the client’s expectations in terms of the value of the position. To achieve this, it is necessary to structure supplies and ensure the quality of internal communication. Often it is necessary to rework some elements of the chain that makes up a business process, or change it completely in order to improve work efficiency.

Where to begin?

The first stage of adjusting the business process considered as an example is working on the topology, which involves identifying the main nodes of the sequence and determining their parameters. Much here depends on what market the enterprise is oriented to and what goals the organization’s management sets for itself. It is necessary to think about where it is most profitable to store stocks, how to formalize the procedures associated with them, as well as work out a transport policy, select counterparties, calculate routes, cooperation schemes that will help optimize the process.

So what should I do?

There are three main strategies involved in obtaining products. The first option involves planning production processes, and within the framework of such a strategy, it is calculated how much inventory is needed, and they are brought to the warehouse in advance. The second option is to purchase from the supplier the material directly as much as is needed to manufacture the product ordered by the client.

The most advanced approach is intellectual, which involves combining the two described. If the logistics business process involves the use of precisely this, then there is always some relatively small stock of material in the warehouses, and this quantity never drops to zero. The work requires a quick, clear response from all workers associated with the supply and orders department; the links in the logistics chain must be coordinated; violations and failures are unacceptable. It is very convenient to use automated systems to implement a business process. For all partners, you can create personal accounts and pages through which you can monitor the current status of work. This approach simplifies business process management, control, and also provides a clear understanding of the strategy that the enterprise adheres to.

Summing up

Correct transformation of the business process of logistics and supplies makes it possible to increase the efficiency of business operations, and the product will better meet consumer expectations, which will allow it to gain a foothold in the market. This means that understanding the essence of business processes is really important for any modern entrepreneur interested in developing his business.