What is a Process?
A series of steps or actions that are taken in order to achieve a particular result or goal.
Everything we do, see others doing, have machines do for us, or see nature doing is a
process. Processes can be found in various areas of life, including business,
manufacturing, computing, and more.
Standard Definition of a Process
A process is a series of steps and decisions involved in the way work is completed. We may
not realize it, but processes are everywhere and in every aspect of our leisure and work. A
few examples of processes might include:
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Preparing breakfast
Placing an order
Developing a budget
Writing a work order
Triaging a patient
Cleaning a room
Changing oil in a car
Strapping down a truck
Refueling an aircraft
Putting gas in the car
What is Missing from the Standard Process Definition?
A lot! Let me give an example of why the overused standard process definition won’t
describe most processes and why it fails during a process improvement project. At ESPN
there is a basic process for submitting a background check for a new hire. The process is
described below:
The process seems straightforward with little room for error. However, hiding underneath
the basic definition are key pieces of information that illuminate the problem and the
process improvement solution.
Timing and Interdependency
Timing and interdependency are key to understanding real process behavior. In the
background check process described above, the submitter only submitted background
checks on Tuesday between 3:00 and 3:30 PM. That means that a pending background
check could sit in the queue for up to 7 days before being submitted. Three other similar
delays in the background check process could add 14 unnecessary days of
delay. Understanding the timing of activities within a process is critical to any improvement
methodology yet remains unseen because the basic definition doesn’t describe it. The basic
definition of a process does not include the framework to describe when a process occurs.
Variability
Normally (no pun intended), averages are used to describe processing time
for activities under study. Averages work well to describe a business process containing
no variability in time (or process direction), not utilizing people and without interruptions. In
other words, averages hide critical business process behavior. Why do averages mask
process behavior? It would be like trying to explain the dynamics of a family from a single
photograph. You get some information from a picture, but you have no clue what happened
immediately before or after the click of the shutter. Variable times cause loss of throughput
because the system can’t be balanced precisely. That means from the perspective of the
entity; waiting will occur at various points in the process. Sometimes there is more waiting
than processing. Benjamin Franklin stated this principle concisely when he said: “Lost time
is never found again.” If variability in “time and direction” are ignored the real capability of a
system will be hidden. Understanding the effect of the variability in the “background check
process” mentioned above gave rise to new solutions that mitigated the extreme variability.
If Timing, Interdependency, and Variability are so important why are they
ignored in process definitions?
Traditional tools don’t have the framework for capturing or seeing the effect of these
critical process factors. Without the framework for capturing and using information, it will
be ignored by almost everyone. The framework opens the eyes of the process improvement
expert so that they can make effective decisions.
“If you don’t have “word” to describe something, you can’t see it. If you can’t see it, you
can’t manage it.”
A New Definition for “What is a Process?”
A process consists four major elements:
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Steps and decisions — the flowchart. A series of steps and decisions describing the
way work is completed.
Variability of processing time and flow — the pattern of processing times.
Timing and interdependence — when the arrivals happen, when people work, etc.
Assignment of resources — how many and where are they assigned.
The expanded definition of a process describes the behavior of the current system. Using
this information linked in a model, the characteristics of the system can be changed, and
the key metrics tested… before investing a dime!