Business Process Reengineering
(continued)

1. Define a Project Objective
For any BPR project to be successful you must define the end goal. There is typically a failure in some process or an organizational change that starts the ball rolling in a BPR project. FBO has been successful for 30 years, and the old management feels change is not necessary. New management, however, feels that since a major change in key management positions is about to happen, it’s a good time to review the overall business process and seek improvements. 
            First, they defined a goal of improving current employee productivity in the key areas of operations reporting and accounting. They also wished to enhance information value to make faster decisions regarding products and services for clients. The current systems were adequate, but employee training and technology needed updating.

2. Determine Key Participants
BPR success requires the support and cooperation of key players. FOB determined that administrative and accounting staff members were instrumental. The other key members of the BPR team included the outgoing CFO and vice-president of operations, plus their direct reports. The management information systems department was also integral since its input on current systems and recommendations of new systems would be required. 

At this stage, management needs to determine if they are going to handle the project on their own or bring in outside assistance. BPR and its methodologies are primarily implemented using outside consultants, as they are experts in the methodologies that can help facilitate the project. Outside consultants can also help implement new processes and assist in determining success measurements. FBO engaged a local consulting company that has had recent success with companies of a similar size and nature.

3. Outline a Project Plan
Once the team is selected the next phase is project planning. The basic outline of a project plan is represented below, which is an excerpt from the Process Reengineering Life Cycle (PRLC) approach developed by Guha et.al.

Envision New Processes

• Secure management support.
• Identify reengineering opportunities.
• Identify enabling technologies.
• Align with corporate strategy.

Initiating Change

• Create reengineering team.
• Outline performance goals.

Process Diagnosis

• Describe existing processes.
• Uncover pathologies in existing processes.

Previous page      Next page