Process Architecture
Document the organization's process architecture, using consistent terminology, precise definition of objectives, roles, flows, and relationships, and agreed protocols for process naming.
Improvement Planning
Practices-Outcomes-Metrics (POM)
Representative POMs are described for Process Architecture at each level of maturity.
- 1Initial
- Practice
- Encourage individuals to experiment with process documentation to maximize understanding by decision-makers, especially during periods of organizational change.
- Outcome
- Decision-makers improve alignment between organizational structure and expected outcomes.
- Metric
- Number of organizational changes that consider process flows.
- Practice
- Use general purpose productivity tools (e.g., Visio, Word, PowerPoint) to describe or document processes.
- Outcome
- Knowledge is gained by process documenters about effective documentation methods.
- Metric
- List of tools used to document processes.
- 2Basic
- Practice
- Document parts of the process architecture using a standard format.
- Outcomes
- Techniques of representation and decomposition are developed.
- Understanding of the reasons and drivers behind performance improvement deepens.
- “Quick win” improvements are identified and implemented.
- Metrics
- Number of process diagrams in the process architecture artefact.
- Number of “quick wins” implemented as a result of process documentation efforts.
- Practice
- Use and refine the process documentation when conducting root cause analysis.
- Outcome
- Root causes are more easily identified and addressed.
- Metric
- Number of recurring incidents associated with process issues.
- 3Intermediate
- Practice
- Use process representations to facilitate greater collaboration in a number of areas including root cause analysis, organizational changes, first-time and refresher training, and process improvement or redesign.
- Outcome
- Employees begin to instinctively turn to process documentation as a first step in addressing business problems and opportunities.
- Metric
- Rates of accessing process documentation by the organization's personnel.
- Practice
- Maintain detailed process information in an online repository that is accessible to all personnel.
- Outcome
- Personnel can easily access processes relevant to their roles.
- Metric
- Percent of high-level processes decomposed and defined to “detailed definition” level.
- 4Advanced
- Practice
- Decompose and represent, where appropriate, the entire process architecture down to a level of detail which describes human actions at the task level.
- Outcome
- Innovation and problem solving is facilitated by process models.
- Metrics
- Number of changes to the process architecture artefact in response to organizational change.
- Average cycle time for organizational changes to be deployed in the process architecture artefact.
- Practice
- Make pre-populated process models a requirement for newly launched operating units, and use them for training and operational guidance prior to and during start-up.
- Outcome
- The time to reach design performance targets in new operating units is significantly reduced.
- Metric
- Time to reach design performance targets after start-up.
- Practice
- Make a central process repository the “single source of the truth” to decide how work gets done, and to be the key reference for all discussions related to processes.
- Outcome
- The process architecture artefact is a key enabler of performance and improvement across all functions.
- Metric
- Time for personnel in new roles to reach performance expectations.
- 5Optimized
- Practice
- Have employees continually modify and extended the process content, so that the process architecture representation, becomes layered with all the relevant information.
- Outcome
- The process architecture is viewed as a virtual world representation of the real world, and gaps between the two are not tolerated.
- Metric
- Number of inconsistencies identified between actual operations and the process architecture artefact.
- Practice
- Provide access to appropriate parts of the process architecture, to external stakeholders who also contribute ideas for improvement.
- Outcome
- The organization utilizes insights from valuable perspectives outside the organization to improve performance.
- Metric
- Number and value of process improvements instigated by external parties.
- Practice
- Have the process architecture artefact reference all of the relevant Enterprise Architecture artefacts that relate to each process.
- Outcome
- Robust analysis of the organization can be performed to facilitate major organizational changes, including outsourcing, mergers, and acquisitions.
- Metric
- Time to achieve target performance after major organizational change.