Process Management: Applying Process Mapping to Analyze and Improve Your Operation

Even with the best business strategy and top talent in place, without sound process management, an organization can still fail to achieve its goals. This comprehensive seminar is designed for professionals responsible for improving business operations through process management.

Who Should Attend:

• Senior and mid-level managers responsible for process mapping and process quality improvement initiatives
• Industrial engineers, IT analysts, and design specialists working on operational improvement
• Operations and manufacturing managers seeking to enhance productivity and efficiency

This process management seminar provides proven tools for successfully implementing business improvements, including process mapping techniques, documentation of standard operating procedures, and analysis of value-added versus non-value-added activities. Participants will learn to identify improvement opportunities and implement lasting change.

Key Benefits:

• Identify specific process improvement opportunities within your organization
• Manage bottlenecks effectively to enhance workflow and increase productivity
• Evaluate non-value-added operations to determine if they should be outsourced or eliminated
• Use process management principles to discover where excess inventory can be reduced or removed entirely
• Achieve realistic and effective scheduling based on accurate process lead-time data
• Understand how each individual process contributes to the overall operation

Course Topics:

• Critical success factors for process improvement projects
• Business process elements, typical business processes, and performance measurement and control
• Applying project management techniques to improve processes
• Process mapping: planning and data collection methods
• Analyzing collected data and identifying desired improvements
• The importance of standard operating procedures (SOPs)
• Cultural and organizational barriers to process improvement

Learning Outcomes:

• Understand your organization's current business processes in detail
• Apply various tools and techniques for documenting existing processes and designing desired future processes
• Identify specific improvement areas that will reduce product cost, shorten lead times, improve quality, and enhance customer-perceived value
• Locate bottlenecks and develop strategies to manage them effectively
• Recognize and eliminate non-value-added operations
• Develop a comprehensive project plan for your process improvement initiatives

Process Improvement Fundamentals:

• Define terminology associated with process improvement initiatives
• Describe the characteristics and benefits of process improvement projects
• Identify reasons why process improvement projects succeed or fail

Process Definition:

• Define the critical elements and boundaries of a process
• Distinguish between high-level process overviews and detailed-level processes
• Apply these concepts by identifying processes relevant to your workplace

Project Management Application:

• Identify key stages in a process improvement project lifecycle
• Define project management tools and techniques applicable to process improvement
• Create a structured activity list for process improvement projects

Process Mapping and Data Collection:

• Plan the initial phases of a process improvement project
• Learn additional techniques for documenting and visualizing processes
• Create comprehensive process maps using a 3-step framework

Analysis and Improvement Identification:

• Apply analytical techniques to evaluate current (AS-IS) process maps
• Develop desired (TO-BE) process maps that incorporate improvements
• Gain stakeholder agreement on improvement recommendations

Implementation Through Standard Operating Procedures:

• Define the key components of an effective SOP
• Apply best practices in creating SOPs that capture desired process improvements
• Explore alternative approaches to implementing improved processes

Organizational Change Management:

• Identify organizational enablers and obstacles affecting process improvement
• Understand change management principles and their application to process improvement
• Recognize the ongoing role of process owners and senior leadership in supporting continuous improvement

Process Measurement and Monitoring:

• Understand why process measurement systems are critical to success
• Establish a comprehensive process measurement framework

Capstone and Action Planning:

• Review and synthesize key process improvement techniques covered
• Identify opportunities to apply process mapping across your organization
• Develop an integrated work breakdown structure to guide future process improvement initiatives