Sunday, March 18, 2012

Week 10 - Redesign Principles and Tactics

Source / Reference:
1) "E-health: applying business process reengineering principles to health care in Canada"  by Michael Bliemel, Khaled Hassanein 2007
 
2) El Sawy's Redesign Principles and Tactics

Subject: 
The Role of BPR in Health Care

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Response:
There are 3 types of reengeneering principles according to El Sawy: 


There are many problems in the health care industry such as excessive waiting times for patients, lack of access to providers and information, high costs of delivery and medical errors. Heavy reliance on paper based patient records in medical institutions is one of the major contributor to these problems. Recent research has found out that doctors using computer based patient records performed better and more efficient than doctors who used traditional paper records. Thus, reengeneering is necessary for health care industry.

Applications of the ten principles in health care industry:

1) Lose Wait - Waiting times for patients and processes. 
By utilizing faster communication technologies such as email, the waiting time between when lab results are requested and when they are delivered can be reduced. Moreover, processing time can be reduced by having facilities closer to where they are requested. 

2) Orchestrate - Coordinating between health care providers to balance workloads. 
Rather than taking on patients until capacity is reached in one hospital, hospitals can share their patients when one of the hospital has extra beds for patients. In addition, medical staff have more time to service their patients and improve their services leading to shorter length of stay for patients. 

3) Mass customize - Providing flexibly of interaction options and service offerings to various patients
Various methods such as telephony, email, video call, or personal appointments can be offered to patients to access health care professionals when seeking advice. Customized advice and feedback can be given based on different patients through online support system. 

4) Synchronize - Synchronize the physical and virtual parts of processes
Tracking the movements of medical supplies, laboratory results, and patients electronically in order to ensure that everything is where it is needed when it is needed.

5) Digitize and propagate - Upgrading to 21st century
By doing so, information can be shared faster and more controls can be put into place to ensure their accuracy and completeness. Patients can be prompted to key in their own medical histories and complaints prior to consultation with a physician. This can reduce the amount of clerical work performed by professionals.

6) Vitrify - Making processes transparent
Only relevant data are shared among the system, thus ensuring the privacy policies. Patients do not need to worry about the exposure of their personal data. Management, researchers and policy makers can get a big picture of problems and opportunities within the system.

7) Sensitize - Preventing medical errors
The system will notify the medical staff when it detected prescription error such as incorrect dosage, changed of patients' medical conditions, etc. By having such information, the medical staff can take prompt actions to deal with such circumstances. 

8)  Analyze and synthesize - Enabling timely reactions to sudden changes in environment
Predictions of outbreak of influenza can be made and preventions can be taken through vast amount of information gathered through data mining. The analysis of such data can lead to the identification and simulation of further improvement to the health care system in terms of quality of care and cost reductions. 

9) Connect, collect, and create -Foundation of knowledge management
New insights and ideas can be gained through the sharing of knowledge about participants. Knowledge repositories can be created. Executive boards can make better judgment in decision making.

10) Personalize - Having closer relationships with patients
Patients can receive more personalized treatment according to their preferences. For example, different patients have different views about the use of antibiotics. Physicians become familiar with the needs of their patients through conversations about their lifestyle and professions.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Week 8 - Scoping an Enterprise Process

Source / Reference:
1) "A BPR Case Study at Honeywell"  by D.J Paper, J.A. Rodger, P.C. Pendharkar 2001
2) Official Website of Honeywell 
Subject: 
How BPR change the fate of Honeywell?

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Response: 

I'm going to talk about a case study based on Honeywell, a Fortune 100 company that produces a variety of commercial and consumer products, engineering services and aerospace systems for customers. Honeywell has gained a lot of competitive advantages after it has run BPR.

Back in 1989, Honeywell has implemented a three-year world-class-manufacturing(WCM) program to examine lagging performance results. It has reduced defect rates by 70 percent, customer rejects by 57 percent, cycle time on parts by 72 percent, inventory investment by 46 percent, and customer lead times by over 70 percent. 

However, Honeywell was not satisfied with the improvements brought by WCM program. Therefore, they reconstructed a factory-focused program called TotalPlant which supports global delivery of its manufactured products, serve the needs of over 40 regional TotalPlants and delivery centers worldwide, and align with global suppliers. The totalPlant model is developed based on four principles of success - process mapping, fail-safing, teamwork, and communication. 

Total customer  satisfaction and world-class manufacturing are the two main focuses of Honeywell in training their employees as it is important for employees to realize that  fully utilizing the whole system is the goal. There are three basis supporting the training philosophy - be non-blaming and non-judgmental, focus on process and results, and consider the big picture. 


8 Steps of Process-Mapping:
1st - Select process: Products list is given by the team and customers are identified.  
2nd - Identify boundaries: Document the boundaries for each product.  
3rd - Form teams: Ensure cross functional representation.
4th - Develop "as-is" map: Include both information and product flow through the system.
5th - Identify cycle times: Measure both the distance and the time required of a product.
6th - Identify opportunities for improvement: Search for opportunities that would not add extra costs.
7th - Develop "should be" map: A road map.
8th -  Develop the implementation plan: Specify specific changes, responsible parties, timetables, cycle time goals.


8 Steps of Fail-Safing:
1st -  Identify problem: Analyze data using pareto chart..
2nd - Identify causes: Identify places in the process map where red flag conditions exist.
3rd - Generate solutions: Brainstorming.
4th - Evaluate and choose: Eliminate ideas which take longer time to implement.
5th - Create plan: Consider every single person that are involved.
6th - Implement solution: Record down everything.
7th - Check results: Compare the result with expectations.
8th - Act on results: Determine what can be improved, a continuous process. 

Moreover, Honeywell offers training dolalrs to make teaming a natural part of the work life and rewards teamwork. Honeywell also assist their employees solving conflicts on a positive way by providing conflict resolution training. The training focuses on listening skills and confronting skills. 

Process mapping is a systematic BPR methodology to guide team process improvement efforts along process paths. Fail-safing is a method to help process teams identify and correct defects quickly and permanently. Teaming is encouraged through communication of the vision and rewards based on value-added activities. In conclusions, these four mechanism has brought Honeywell a brighter future.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Week 7 - BPR Methodologies

 Source / Reference:
1) "Critical Review of Existing BPR Methodologies: The Need for a Holistic Approach"  by G. Valiris, M. Glykas 1999

Subject: 
In Lecture 7 - BPR Methodologies

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Response:

There are a variety of BPR methodologies exist nowadays, namely  Management Accounting Methodologies, IS Influenced Methodologies and Organizational Theory Based Methodologies. However, these existing methodologies have a lot of limitations, namely: 
  • Lack of systematic approach
  • Lack of concentration on a combination of both process improvement and process innervation
  • Lack of business analysis tools that are integrated with the business modeling ones
  • Do not pay attention to the roles and responsibilities of the related employees
  • Design for specialists rather than organizational managers
  • Fail to recognize the importance of a diagnostic stage at the beginning of the redesign process
  • Business modeling do not take into account organizational issues
  • Business analysis is too subjective
  • No formal support to ensure consistency across models
Since there are a lot of limitations of existing methodologies, George and Michalis suggested a new BPR methodology called Agent Relationship Morphism Analysis (ARMA) which combines accounting BPR principles with organizational theoretic concepts and some upgraded systematic business modeling tools. By adopting systems thinking and object orientation, ARMA produces a more rigid techniques suitable for business modeling. ARMA emphasizes the establishment of processes and structure that support each other during business analysis and redesign. ARMA also introduces the concept of business rules and verifies the logical consistency of the diagrammatic models.



Advantages of using ARMA:
  • Provides theoretical basis for BPR
  • Highlights the importance of organizational strategy and its link to business processes
  • Provides a set of modeling techniques
  • Views the organization from both an individualistic (employee level) and a holistic (business process level) view
  • Provides a set of business analysis techniques
  • Provides guidance
  • Highlights the importance of BPR education and IT
  • Evaluates BPR in different cultures and organizational environments

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Week 6 - Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

Source / Reference:
1) "Business Process Reengineering BPR"  by Sotiris Zigiaris 2000 
http://www.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_BPR-en.pdf

2) "Business Process Reengineering: Role of Information Technology in the Implementation of BPR" by Nandagopal Ramachandra

Subject: 
In Lecture 6 - Basics of Business Process Re-engineering II

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Response: 

I'm going to emphasize on the role of  Information Technology in Business Process Reengineering (BPR) and introduce the 3 waves of Business Process Management (BPM) as the lecture notes only mentioned about 2 waves of BPM. 

Information Technology (I.T.) is critical in BPR as it allows businesses to be conducted without the geographic limitation, reduce delivery time and usage of papers. It improves the work performance effectively and efficiently. Disruptive power is one of the major advantage of I.T. in reengineering. It has the power to break the rule, make people think inductively and help a company gains competitive advantage. Amazon.com was one of the company who broke the existing rules by selling books through Internet. It has changed the way book stores make businesses. 

 The roles of I.T. in BPR: 
  • Empowering people
  • Providing information
  • Providing tools
  • Providing training
  • Eliminating unproductive usage of time
  • Eliminating Unnecessary usage of paper
  • Eliminating Unnecessary variations in the procedures and systems
  • Minimizing the burden of record keeping, data handling and general office work
Waves of Business Process Management (BPM): 


Efficiency and minimized costs were the primary business drivers during 1910s. Technology increasingly became a business driver and increased the speed of change by 1960s. This marked the start of the first wave of process orientation. The second wave of process orientation covered the late 1980s to the early 1990s. Focus shifted to TQM, and then to ISO compliance standards. Technology is shifted from being a process driver to a process enabler during the third wave which began in the mid 1990s and continues in the present as the "coming of age" of process centric business.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Week 5 - Business Process Reengineering (BPR)

Source / Reference:
1) "Business Process Reengineering BPR"  by Sotiris Zigiaris 2000 
http://www.adi.pt/docs/innoregio_BPR-en.pdf

2) "Business Process Reengineering: A Consolidated Methodology" by S. Muthu, L. Whitman, S.H Cheraghi 1999

Subject: 
In Lecture 5 - Basics of Business Process Re-engineering

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Response: 
As I have learned the basics of BPR during the lecture, therefore I won't be repeating what have been taught by the lecturer, instead I will be talking about the Characteristics of BPR, Methodology of BPR and a BPR tool that haven't covered. 



Business process re-engineering (BPR) helps in improving and modernizing the performance of an organization. BPR affects the performance of an organization directly, it is the key to transforming how people work. BPR focuses on processes and not on tasks, jobs or people. The best way in implementing BPR is by top down approach and not to undertake a project in isolation. 
Characteristics of BPR:
  • Several jobs are combined into one and get done simultaneously
  • Decision making is push to lower level
  • Processes have multiple versions
  • A hybrid centralized/decentralized operation is used
  • A single point of contact is provided to customers
  • Reconciliation is minimized
  • Controls and checks and other non value added work are minimized
Methodology:
  • Prepare for BPR
    The question ‘Is BPR necessary?’ should be asked.
  • Map and Analyze As-Is Process
    Understand the existing process.
  • Design To-Be Process
    Produce one or more alternatives which satisfy the strategic goals of the organization.
  • Implement Reengineered Process
    Develop a transition plan that aligns the organizational structure, information systems, and the business policies and procedures with the redesigned processes.
  • Improve Process Continuously
    Monitoring the progress of actions and the results. 

The use of a good BPR/documentation tool is vital in any BPR project. A good BPR tool should have the following characteristics: 
  • Graphical interface
  • "Object oriented" technology
  • Drag and drop facility
  • Customizable meta data fields
  • Analysis
  • Support for Value Stream mapping
  • CRUD or RACI reports
  • The ability to assess the processes against agreed international standards
  • Simulation software
  • The production of word documents or web site versions of the procedures at the touch of a single button
2c8 is a very comprehensive BPR software that meets all the above requirements. For further information about 2c8, please log on to http://www.2c8.com/ .

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Week 4 - Strategic Alignment Model (SAM)


Source / Reference:
1) "Strategic Alignment: Analysis of Perspective" by Preston Coleman and Raymond Papp 2006
http://sais.aisnet.org/2006/Coleman-SAIS2006-paper.pdf

Subject: 
In Lect 4 - Which alignment strategy in SAM model is the best? and why?


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Response:
The alignment of an organization is being assessed using Strategic Alignment Model (SAM). SAM indicates the degree of attention that needs to be paid to both business processes and information technology. Normally, CEO and CIO are the persons in charge of assessing the alignment of an organization.



Different organizations will have to use different perspectives according to their specialization fields. I wouldn’t say there is a BEST alignment perspective since everything has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s just like the Yin and Yang, where everything needs to be balanced. Thus there is no one universally superior perspective.

According to a study done by Preston and Raymond from The University of Tampa, the most common perspectives are strategy execution and technology potential. In Strategy Execution, business processes drives the changes of information technology architecture. It focuses on transformation of the business. Normally, Utilities industry uses this approach the most. In Technology Potential, the value of information technology is shown. Miscellaneous industry uses this approach more often than other industries. 

During the lecture, we have been taught the 4 perspective of SAM, namely Strategy Execution, Technology Transformation, Service Level and Competitive Potential. Actually there are 4 more, namely Organization IT Infrastructure, IT Infrastructure Strategy, IT Organization Infrastructure and Organization Infrastructure Strategy. Other than that, there are also 4 fusion perspectives that are formed from the combination of two of the previous 8 perspectives.