Business Process Reengineering - Project Plan

A Simple Business Standard Process Reengineering Project Plan

The activities in the project might include:

1. Detailed Planning
   • Familiarisation and detailed planning for the project.

   
   

2. Data Collection
   • Review of the organisation culture, organisation structure, business plans, relevant benchmarks, policy framework, quality objectives, controlling legislation and operating constraints to identify externally and internally imposed organisation objectives. Expressed in both qualitative and quantitative terms, these form the basis for decision information needs of management. The objectives are classified into either static ( permanent and intrinsic to the purpose of the organisation such as cost minimisation, timeliness, independence, etc) and dynamic ( short term and generally project based such as delivery of a specific service, or completion of a specific marketing activity).
   • Vertical (top-down) and horizontal ( functional) review of current management decision information needs including:
     • Performance measures,
     • Cost drivers
     • Performance targets
     • Reporting cycles
   • Review of the system’s decision support information facilities
   • Decision requirements assessment and Process mapping of the operations for front and back office processes including:
     • A business process risk assessment to identify the key control objectives (and a Pareto Analysis if statistical control data is available for the existing system);
     • A client-provider analysis in which the interaction of the various business functions are viewed as either receivers or providers of information to one another governed by “contractual” undertakings as to the quality of the data exchanged;
     • A data-flow analysis in which we trace the movement and storage of data throughout the processes both on an off the computer system. The data flow analysis provides a detailed framework for:
   • Eliminating duplication of data handling and storage;
   • Eliminating unnecessary data;
   • Identifying data requirements for each process;
   • Optimising controls to business risks
   • Defining critical data paths between the initial creation of data (eg. the application clerk with whom the first point of contact is made) through to the ultimate use of that data in decision support (eg. the applicant whose business commencement is awaiting the approval, or the officer charged with the responsibility of maintaining application turn around times). The critical path is the longest route through which any component of the data in a decision must pass and therefore the path on which any delays are critical to performance. Time related performance objectives will be established and monitored for critical paths.

   
   

3. System Analysis
   • Analysis of information collected in the preceding steps and agree lists of:
     • global information requirements of the system
     • global control objectives (including performance characteristics of accuracy, timeliness, reliability, privacy, completeness, and relevance, etc)
     • organisational characteristics (behavioural model)
     • targets for key information processing times and other performance objectives
     • system client-provider(s) and their data dependency relationships
     • processes (tasks)

   
   

4. System Design
   • Establish appropriate preferred behavioural model for the control system framework .
   • Design, chart and document the new front and back office processes including the Active Control Management (ACM) control system which provides the backbone for continuous performance management of the system. The ACM tracks the performance of the control system providing regular statistical data.
   • Develop roll-out strategy for implementation of new process modules and identify change management risks and strategies.
   • Propose new system and its roll-out strategy to management and staff and adjust until agreement is reached.

   
   

5. System Implementation
   • Implement and test automated support systems (if any).
   • Commence Training of staff
   • Implement and test new processes on a staggered basis.
   • Use ACM performance reporting system to tune and modify the control system as appropriate.

   
   

6. Project Wrap-Up
   • Report to the CEO and the Board as to the success (or otherwise!) of the project, benefits achieved, key operational assumptions, built in performance measures (with their safe operating

   
   

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