Advanced Business Process Techniques

Many organisations radically improve their performance through business process change initiatives, while others fall short. It’s easy to blame failure on technical factors, but they are almost never the primary cause. Experience shows three recurring themes in successful initiatives:

1. True end-to-end processes were identified, and the right ones were selected for transformation;
2. A holistic approach balanced technical factors with human, organisational, and cultural factors;
3. That holistic understanding was reflected in an implementable and sustainable process design.

This intense workshop provides proven, repeatable methods, well beyond what is covered in introductory courses. In particular, individual and organisational behaviour and culture often defy analysis, but specific techniques for discovery and assessment of these soft factors are a centrepiece of this unique workshop. Throughout, the emphasis is on methods that support shared understanding and engagement, leading to buy-in. Participants will be well-prepared for the challenges of successful business process analysis and design.
Topics will be covered with a discussion of the issue, a review of techniques, guidelines and examples, a brief workshop exercise, and a group solution and debriefing. The emphasis is on maximising the delivery of content while keeping everyone engaged. Real-life case studies are employed throughout – some participants say the examples of how the techniques are applied in practice is the best part of the workshop.

Learning objectives

• Understand how to communicate business process concepts with executives, managers, and individual contributors in a way that stimulates interest and builds support for change.
• Learn objective criteria for an end-to-end process, and top-down and bottom-up methods for discovering business processes and rapidly developing a process architecture.
• Learn how to encourage support for business process change at every stage of an initiative, and the critical importance of a “what first, who and how next, only then why?” approach.
• Understand a practical and agile business process change methodology incorporating specific techniques for addressing human, organisational, and cultural factors.
• Be able to apply innovative techniques for rapidly building relevant, accessible process models, especially at the scope (context) and conceptual (understanding) levels.
• Become familiar with the techniques for designing a future-state process, and how they are applied in a proven, step-by-step method.

Target Audience
Anyone involved in Business Analysis, Business Change, and Business Process Management (BPM) especially BPM professionals, Process Analysts and Designers, Process Architects, Business Analysts, and Project / Programme Managers. Also, Business Managers responsible for effecting process change, and Organisation Development professionals needing to learn more about business processes.

Prerequisites
It would be helpful, but not be absolutely essential, to have some practical experience with process analysis and redesign, or an introductory course in working with business processes.

Special features of this course

• Personally delivered by the creator of this MasterClass, Alec Sharp, known worldwide for his pragmatic methods and communication abilities
• Draws on 35 years of global consulting in process change in every field, across a range of cultures, in small and medium organisations through to the world’s largest and best-known enterprises
• Based on what really works in practice, not what should or might work in theory
• Covers a proven, scalable methodology for achieving real change in Agile timeframes while employing specific techniques to encourage buy-in and support for change
• Recent, real-life case studies and examples are used throughout to illustrate the methods.