analysis

This is typically shaping a clear view about the waste in the organization, related to poorly functioning processes. 

In reality, processes run do look very different than how they originally were designed. This because of multiple reasons: 

• product portfolio changed, but connected processes not updated accordingly 
• traditionally more product than process focus in the company
• fire fighting attitude, rather than Continuous Improvement culture
• lack of process knowledge / skills
• lack of data analytics skills

Process Analysis is done by taking a good look at the following process improvement opportunities:

• What process activities can be eliminated. Any activity, not adding any value, is a waste. This is the low hanging fruit: do we need this activity as part of a mandatory element of creating value in the business, or is it just unnecessary but a result of mistakes somewhere else in the process (delivery date changes, price changes) 

• What process activities can be automated. A step in the process can be mandatory, just because of legal or compliancy reasons. But when the decision criteria / parameters are clear, automation might be a good option for running an process faster, with less failures and more efficient.

• What process activities can be standardized. Standardization is not a goal in itself, since there needs to be sufficient flexibility and agility to support business dynamics, but in many cases, it helps to simplify and reduce the number of process variances.