The Process Ninja

Linking Process, Procedures & Business Requirements to Successful Customer Outcomes - a Business Analyst Guide

"Go out to the business and gather their requirements!"

How many times do we hear this said? 

When I hear this being it immediately fills me with dread; images of men in suits wandering through dark forests without maps, looking for mushrooms...needles in haystacks and the like (you get the idea...)

What generally happens in these situations is that business analysts go away and do just that - gather requirements - what the business thinks they want. Typically what this results in is a giant rambling document written in a pseudo business / IT speak that the business say they can't read and the IT guys say isn't detailed enough for them to build from. So the BA goes away and creates a functional spec which the IT guys love, but by this point in time it has morphed so far from what the business want, they have a heart attack when they see the final product!

"That's not what we wanted!" they say!

"But that's what you told us!" say the BA's and IT guys!

It doesn't have to be this hard. Here's how you do it:

1. Define the successful customer outcome(s)

What is it that the customer really needs? What does the business need to do to meet those needs?

2. Define the process scope

Establish what the process actually is from the customer's perspective - current state (if a current state exists!). Don't take the business's word for it - their interpretation of what a process is may be radically different to yours. Document the process at a high level (e.g. SIPOC) - confirm with the business. Tick in box from business? 

3. Define the current process

Proceed to document the process at a task level. Don't waste too much time on the as-is if you are going to change the process! Photos of sticky notes on a wall is sufficient. Tick in box from business?

4. Improve the process / define new process

List all the tasks in the current process and eliminate or improve tasks focussing on the outcomes required. If a new process, sticky note the tasks required to achieve the outcomes required with the minimal amount of activities. Don't just consider "sunny day processes" where everything goes right - consider everything that can go wrong! Look at the paths from every business rule in your process! Consider all process permutations!

5. Link Process Tasks to Procedural Steps

For each task, create procedural steps - how and why each process step is done rather than what is done. This can be done very simply in a spreadsheet ( For example my Process Ninja Workbook that utilises the CEM Method). What's more, you can then spit it into a procedural document for your staff to use for training and day-to-day operational procedures.

6. Link Procedural Detail to Business Requirements

The procedural detail helps to create a granular level of detail that greatly benefits the creation of specific requirements.  It forces the analyst to think of all possible permutations and options - it forces them to think in the context of the real world, not a gobbledegook business requirements document.

7. Link Business requirements to test scenarios

Use procedural detail and business requirements together to develop test scenarios and use cases - IT can then use these for their unit testing then they can be re-used for user testing. Easy.

8. Build it. Iteratively.

Presuming that there is actually an IT solution involved (and let's face it, there usually is), it's best to adopt an iterative (agile) approach where there are short development cycles with high business involvement. I have seen too many waterfall development disasters in my time.

So in eight steps a Business or Process Analyst can create complete traceability from the customer outcomes to the delivery.

It's not really that hard, but isn't it amazing that so many people can make it seem that way?

Cheers,

TPN

Manual Vs Automated Processes - Finding The Magic

A comment by Nimbus CEO Ian Gotts on my last blog "A Coffee Procedure" struck a chord with me:

"Great looking coffee. So you have described a process. One you want repeated accurately, one that would benefit from certain steps have photos or videos, but one you cannot automate.

That is why Nimbus Control exists. 80% of corporate processes are like this.

So to those who say BPM=automation, now I'd say its time to wake and smell the coffee"

In our rush to automate business process its sometimes easy to forget that work revolves around those funny things called "people". There seems to be a tendency to make the assumption that almost anything can be automated - but it can't. If we look at the complexity of everyday work and the decision making involved (never minding the social interaction glue that makes the business world revolve), automation is just a small part of making process work.

I believe that good process automates where possible as long as there is no negative impact to the customer experience. To me, process is the mechanism that links tasks together - it then guides the worker to complete the tasks in the best manner possible.  

Process isn't all about software, it's about putting practices in place that  enable the outcomes we want for our customers. Think about the millions of small businesses that do not have the luxury of software tools - they can still benefit from robust processes and procedures (I know because my cafe did!)

So when you become consumed by your quest to automate every process and every task you see, stop for a moment and consider:

• Do I need to automate the task, or the links between the tasks?
• Will automation negatively impact the customer outcome?
• Should I be telling or guiding the user?

There is a happy medium between manual and automated tasks in every business, and if you get that balance right that's when the magic starts to happen.

Cheers,

TPN

A Coffee Procedure

Those of you that know my history know that I am not only a process ninja but a cafe ninja! I'm also not a morning person so I depend on my daily cappuccino to spring my brain into life. I know many of us depend on this to start our days so I thought a more relaxed Friday might be a good time to share with you some process and procedural tricks of the trade from my cafe days, rather than a serious process post!

Firstly...a coffee procedure:

1. Check Coffee Order Docket
2. For white coffee select the appropriate type of milk jug (Regular, Skim or Soy)
3. Fill the jug to the appropriate level (depending on the number of coffees) with Fresh Milk
4. Move the steam wand to point toward the grill and purge the wand by letting steam through it
5. Move the steam wand again and insert it 2cm into the milk in the jug
6. Fully depress the steam handle to initiate texturisation of the milk
7. Once Texturisation is complete switch off the steam handle
8. Immediately wipe the Steam wand with a clean damp cloth
9. Purge the steam wand to remove milk from within the wand
10. Hang Milk Cloth onto right steam handle
11. Remove Appropriate Group Handle from Machine
12. Knock old Coffee out of Group Handle into knock drawer
13. Hit Group handle against cloth of bench to further remove old grounds
14. Ensure all coffee is out of handle otherwise rinse using machine
15. Place group handle into Cradle of Grinder 
16. Pull forward once for each 8oz dosage
17. Tap the Group Handle to Level the Coffee Inside
18. Press the Group handle firmly into the tamping mechanism & Twist the handle to compact the coffee
19. Brush the top of the group handle with hand to remove excess coffee grinds
20. Rinse water through machine using manual flow button ( * )
21. Place group handle immediately into group head, select glass and press the appropriate button to make coffee
22. Finish Making Coffee by adding milk
23. Serve Coffee with Saucer and Spoon (on right hand side)

And if you'd like to get REALLY technical, here's how the coffee grind should be adjusted:

About the grind

The Grind is a vital part of the coffee making process.       When the grinder is first turned on in the morning a small amount of coffee should be ground and then tested

How to tell if the Grind is correct

The coffee should pour in a steady narrow stream It should appear to spiral slightly It should take 25-30 seconds to pour The Crema should be golden in colour and should not immediately dissipate

Three shades of crema should be visible

How to tell if the Grind is poor

Grind Too Coarse

• The coffee will take less than 25 seconds to pourIt will pour in a waterfall like flow
• It will make a popping noise as it pours
• There will be little or no crema

or

Grind too Fine

• The Coffee will take more than 35 seconds to pourIt will drip out rather than pour.
• The Crema will be very dark and uneven

What makes the Grind too fine or too coarse?

 

• The Weather is the main contributing factor to fluctuations
• Whilst many coffee shops are located within air conditioned premises others experience fluctuating temperatures and differing levels of humidity
• When the weather is hot and humid, the beans effectively "sweat", releasing oils which cause the grind to be stickier than normal This causes the grinds to clump together which makes it more difficult for the water to push through the grinds.
• The opposite is true for cooler weather as the absence of oils allows the coffee to be dry and to stay separate. Thus, when the water is pushed through it meets little resistance and flows through too quickly 

How to adjust the grind

If the coffee is pouring too fast then the grind is too coarse and needs to be made finer. Push the lever no more than 2mm in the direction of the arrow which says "Finer", grind more coffee and test.

If still too coarse repeat, but do not be tempted to move the lever more than 2mm at a time
If the coffee is pouring too slow then the grind is too fine and needs to be made coarser.

Push the lever no more than 2mm in the direction of the arrow which says "Coarser", grind more coffee and test.       If still too fine repeat, but do not be tempted to move the lever more than 2mm at a time.

Continual Adjustment

To ensure perfect coffee the grind must be continually adjusted throughout the day as the weather and temperature change.       A good barista will continually monitor the pour of the coffee and adjust the grind accordingly

 

Let me know if you have any questions about the glorious process of crafting an espresso coffee!

 

Cheers,

 

TPN (TCN!)

P.S. And yes I made the coffee in the photo!

Video: Carphone Warehouse's Success with Process

Sometimes it's really hard to be a process guy. Sometimes the doubters and the non-believers get to you. Sometimes it all seems too hard. Then, just when you are about to lose hope, along comes a video like this one to remind you why you love process so much and what it really can achieve...

Cheers,

TPN

Process Ineptitude Personified

Insurance as a concept is not a difficult thing to grasp - so why do so many companies make a complete mess of it?

Yesterday I called around to get some quotes on a fairly niche insurance product - landlord insurance for a holiday rental property. Most insurance companies couldn't (or rather wouldn't) provide cover. But one who did was one of the major banks. Happily I used their online quote tool. After entering only my address details it instantly spat me back a quote.

Hmm...something not right there. Knowing what I do know about insurance and having completed other online quotes I knew that there was something wrong. Nonetheless I pressed on and was greeted with a screen which said something along the lines of "Oh you want an insurance quote, great, but this is all too difficult for our system to grasp so you're going to have to fill in a crappy form and someone will call you sometime in the future".

Confidence dwindling - but as their product looked good I pressed on and completed the online form. It gave me the option to enter my customer number (I have an account with this bank) which I thought was smart as it would streamline the application process.

A few hours later I had already signed up for another insurance provider (Ray White Insurance) who had provided me with some really good service.Still I was curious to see what our inept banking friends would do next.

At 11:30 am the next day (a mere 24 hours later! - too slow!) I received a call from the bank who proceeded to grill me about my account details: "what is your card number? What is your limit? What is your address? Do you have any regular payments? Where did you collect the card from?"

"Wait, is all of this necessary? - I just want to get an insurance quote" I replied to which I was told that it was necessary as the bank had called me and they needed to verify my ID (which I had no idea why they had trouble doing this since I knew very well what my address, card number and other details were). "What you'll need to do is to call us back."

"What????" I replied "But what if I wasn't a customer? How would I get a quote"

"Oh, you'd have to call us, we wouldn't call you".

So I take down the number I am supposed to call her back on and throw it in the bin. Or should I say, the "too hard basket".

So by all accounts this bank don't call people back to give them quotes. They also don't make it easy for current customers to take out insurance. They also don't have an online quote tool that works. They have created a process that suits themselves and not their customers, and the equation is therefore very simple - the customers will not buy - and that includes me.

- TPN 

Are you creating a monster? Repeatability & Scalability in Process

I'm working with a team at the moment who has a product that they sell to clients. As part of the ongoing managed service to this client they have 9 key services that they provide. Basic stuff really - service requests.

Think about this:

• They have 9 process maps for each service request type

• They have procedures for each service request type

• They are all "client specific"

So what happens when they bring on a new client? Yes, they create a new set of processes and procedures for that client.

And what happens if a change is required to a process - yes they have to change the process across all the clients!

Just think about the administrative overhead of all that and the potential confusion caused by 9 processes times X number of clients. Essentially what they have done is to create a process monster. We're now going through the process (ahem) of stripping back the client specific information to create 1 process and set of procedures that can be used across all clients. This reduces the admin overhead, reduces the margin for error and allows us to go to market quickly and implement rapidly if a potential client comes along.

So the message is, when you create or modify process remember:

• Repeatability - make it easily repeatable, don't re-invent the wheel each time
• Scalability - make it adaptable to growth

Don't create a monster.

TPN

Documenting your business procedures in ten easy steps

Hi all, this is an article I have recently written for Flyingsolo.com.au. It's audience is small / micro businesses, but you may find it relevant...

Processes. Love ‘em or loathe them, we can’t live without them. They are part of everything we do in our lives and in business. But often we take our business processes for granted until disaster hits or we we need to break free from our indespensible role as the boss; but how do you get started with documenting processes for your business?

Here are 10 easy steps to get you onto the path of process enlightenment:

1. Start with the basics
It is tempting to try to jump straight into writing procedures, but before you do this it is important to document information about your business that may seem obvious. It might be obvious to you, but ask your staff a few simple questions and you may get a surprise!  Start with the basics – what the business does, who its customers are, where you are located, who your suppliers are, what your operating hours are and how you can be contacted.

2. Who are you writing for?
Before you plunge headlong into your business’s most complex processes, remember who you are writing the procedures for - not for those like yourself who have intimate knowledge of the entire business, but for your staff.  The more accessible you can make your instructions the easier it will be for your staff to learn. Write your procedures as if you are talking to a child – that way everyone will understand them.

3. Make a list
Before you start writing procedures, make a list of all of the processes within your organisation, note who can provide the information and prioritise each one of them.

4. Just start
What are you waiting for? Just start! Stop thinking about it and do it. Procedures are like life insurance - don’t put it off.  You never know when you might need it…

5. Never mind the medium
Don’t be overly concerned with how you document your procedures. Whilst Word and Excel are good ways to start, it doesn’t really matter if you write them with a rusty nail dipped in blood - as long as you do write them (just make photocopies!)

6. Step By Step
When you write a procedure, break everything down, step-by-step. Try to number each step, write down who is responsible and clearly articulate what is required. You may find it helpful to start each step with a verb. For people like me, that means a doing word, like “create”!

7. Ask your staff
You probably think you know everything about your business (and I’m not saying you don’t!) but you should always let your staff review your procedures.  You might find out that they aren’t doing things the way you had hoped, and they may even have some new ideas for ways to do things better…

8. Re-invent
Documenting your processes and procedures forces you to think about the way things are currently done. This very act can help to stimulate creative juices and generate ideas to re-invent and improve your business.

9. It’s a living thing
Once you have documented your procedures don’t put them on a shelf and forget about them. It’s important to keep them alive and up-to-date. If you can’t handle continually updating them then set a date in your diary to review them on a regular basis.

10. Get Professional Help
If it all seems too hard or you can’t find the time, don’t be ashamed to get help. There are many experienced procedural writers out there who can help you to pull things together (like me!)

Why not share your experiences and tips for creating procedural manuals for your business?