Digital Action Field 5: Process Management
In principle, processes should not only become more standardized with digital transformation, but also more personalized, faster and more efficient without media breakages (process discontinuities) and, where possible, be digitized and automated. Process management in the digital age is planned and implemented in six steps (see illustration):
1: Process management preparation
The first step is to set up and organize the process management initiative/project. In the process, it is determined which employees are involved in process management, who takes organizational responsibility, and which area of the organization (if not all) is to be analyzed. At the same time, a communication strategy must be designed, as the process management project should be presented to the employees.
2: Opportunity identification (digitalization candidates)
The initial analysis identifies which processes within the selected business areas are suitable for process optimization and digitalization. Processes that could be suitable for digitalization are called ‘digitalization candidates’.
3: Process analysis/problem diagnosis
In this phase, the identified processes (digitalization candidates) are analyzed in detail, redesigned or newly defined. A process can be improved by different means. For example, the redesign phase can be focused on the management framework/system by changing the organizational system or adapting the management framework.
4: Definition of process metrics
Digitalizing and automating entire processes are often time-consuming. It is therefore advisable to first concentrate on simpler activities such as automating customer enquiries or processing orders. For each process, the extent to which the individual steps of the process flow (or the process overall) are relevant for quality, speed and result is determined and defined.
5: Process digitalization and automation plan
When introducing digital and automated processes, through discussion and prioritization, a process digitalization and automation plan will emerge which provides responsibilities and accountabilities, budgets, and deadlines.
6: Implementation, evaluation and optimization
The task is now to implement the outlined innovations for business process optimization and digitalization, and the redesigned or newly designed processes. Change management is a success factor for the implementation of new or redesigned processes, as it allows an organization to anchor the changed processes and structures in the corporate culture and implement it with the cooperation of the employees, instead of risking failure due to their resistance.
Manage, optimize and digitalize processes. Process management in the digital age is planned and implemented in six steps (Marc K Peter, https://the-digital-transformation-canvas.com/).
In the next blog post, we will introduce action field number 6, Digital Leadership and Culture, which will define a modern workplace / new work strategy in order to attract talents and motivate employees.
Strategy questions for the digital age:
- What is the maturity of your process management documentation and capabilities?
- Did you identify and implement cost-reducing process automations?
- Do you use technology to make your organization agile and to measure the process quality of your products/services?