A misconception many organisations have is that efficiency problems are due to a lack of employee engagement. However, if you don't have a standard way of working, the same task may be performed in 10 different ways by 10 different people. If your organisation is having business efficiency problems or you want to improve business efficiency, consider a Process Library. A Process Library ensures that employees perform the same task in the same (most efficient) way, every time.  ..read more

 A RACI Matrix is a really useful tool used by many organisations, especially those that want to prevent process failure, ensure compliance, identify accountability and responsibility and manage their processes so that nothing is overlooked. This article explores what a RACI Matrix is, why capturing RACI metrics is so important, but also why you need more than just a RACI Matrix to deliver business process improvement ..read more

One of the questions I have often been asked over the years is, what is the difference between a policy vs process vs procedure? As I have both created lots of business management documentation myself and seen a great deal of processes, policies and procedures being created by Triaster’s and Process Envision's customers, I know that deciding which information should be captured in which type of document can be a real minefield. So here is the answer ..read more

Many people claim to capture business processes using a RACI Matrix, but fail to include all four essential roles: Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed. Throughout my many years working on business improvement projects, I have noticed this recurring issue. It seems that people fail to grasp the importance of the 'Consulted' and 'Informed' roles, resulting in potential problems when these roles are overlooked ..read more

If you are looking to implement a continual improvement initiative, it is essential to understand the 'As Is - To Be' model and how crucial it is to successful process improvement. Put simply, if you want to improve a business process, you first have to know its current state (As Is) and then you need to model the improved future state (To Be). For continual improvement: repeat ..read more

    The Noun-Verb process mapping methodology is a powerful, yet very simple way to document business processes. It is used by process mappers as the standard to deliver process diagrams that are both useful to a widespread, non-specialist workforce, and at the same time, to process improvement analysts.   The Noun-Verb business process mapping method perfectly balances out the need for simple, comprehensible process diagrams with the need for sufficient detail to enable the identification and analysis of process improvement opportunities. Anyone involved in process mapping or ..read more

 The benefits of process mapping your organisation can be vast and, if done properly, will deliver a substantial return on investment in time, money and effort. This article summarises the top ten benefits of process mapping, and explains why business process mapping can become one of your most valuable continuous improvement tools ..read more

So you want to be excellent? Will the EFQM Excellence model help you achieve that? Given its name it really should. In this article I explore the 2020 EFQM Excellence Model and how useful it really is for organisations striving for business improvement and more effective quality management ..read more

Over the years while helping customers who have taken a process documentation approach to their organisation's business procedures, I have often been asked about what should be documented as a process and what should be documented as a procedure. The whole processes and procedures debate can get quite tricky, so in this article I have provided examples which clearly show the difference between the two, and explore when to use business process mapping and when to use documentation for procedures ..read more

Six Sigma, Lean and Kaizen are continuous improvement methodologies that owe their origins to process improvement initiatives in the Japanese and American manufacturing industries of the 20th Century. However, while all three have some similarities, all three have their own part to play in developing an effective business improvement approach ..read more