Business processes: examples and description

What are business processes? Examples will allow us to better understand this subject, so we will actively use them.

general information

First, let's look at what business processes are. This is called the aggregate sequence of certain actions aimed at converting the resources received at the entrance to a completed product that has value for consumers at the output. Thanks to this definition, you can understand that business processes are within each organization. Whether they are formalized or not, it does not matter. Remember: you can everywhere meet business processes. Examples of them will be given further in the article.

Let's look at the household example. There is a housewife who wants to wash dishes (business process). She entrusts this task to the dishwasher. At the entrance we have dirty dishes. During the process, water, detergent and electricity will be used. And on the way out we get clean dishes. Under this scheme, business processes are built. The examples that will be given in the future will only confirm these words.

Functional approach

Since we are interested in the business processes of the company (specific examples), let's not postpone their consideration, but immediately proceed to work. Let's say we have a company with a functional approach to management issues. According to him, the enterprise is a set of units. And each one is working to fulfill its specific function. But in such cases, when individual units are focused on achieving their performance, the overall effectiveness of the company often suffers.

Let's look at one typical process with a conflict. The sales department needs to increase the maximum possible range for turnover growth. At the same time, they also want the stock of the goods to be always in stock. While the supply department plans to purchase a narrow range and in large quantities. After all, in such cases they will work efficiently, and their main indicator (more precisely, the price from the supplier) will grow. That is, there is a business implementation process, to which departments look differently.

Process approach

He sees everything as a set of processes. There are basic and supportive. Each process has its own specific goal, which is subordinated to the task facing the entire company. In addition, there is an owner who manages resources and is responsible for the execution of all necessary. There must also be a system for quality control and error correction. It goes without saying that no process can run without resources. And the system of indicators, on which business processes are evaluated, completes the list of components. Examples of this, for it was promised that they would? Now let's have one and consider.

Imagine a map. In the center is the main business process. It is divided into separate components. They are accompanied by a manager and supporting processes, which ensure that everything is executed as required. This will be the process approach. When the work of one element is completed, its workings are transferred to the next one.

Description of business processes

Examples of this in general form can be seen throughout the article. But the full documentation is often in thickness comparable with small books (or even larger, if you study the work of a giant company).

Modeling of business processes (examples of which are also given here) require that all operations of the enterprise are as clear and transparent as possible. This will allow them to analyze them in the best way and to identify various problems before they fail. It must be remembered that the main task of descriptions is to understand the interaction of disparate units, to track what and to whom they transmit at each stage of the assignment. This can significantly simplify the adaptation of new employees and reduce the dependence of the stability of the company on the unstable human factor. Also, with a competent approach, operating expenses will be reduced . This is what helps describe the business processes. An example of such optimization can be demonstrated by a manager of almost any successful company.

The order of development

Let's look at a practical example of a business process in an enterprise. Initially, we need to take care of the project's work team. It is formed from employees of the company. Most often it turns out that one working team is not enough. What then can be undertaken? To fill the shortage of forces, you can involve a temporary group. It will not hurt to create a description of how the process works at this point in time. In doing so, we should strive to identify all the links between actions, and not to fix the smallest details.

To avoid going to the side, you can use standard maps and process forms. When developing processes, it is recommended to use the method of successive approximations. In other words, it is necessary to repeat the cycle of improvement actions until an acceptable result is obtained.

What should I focus on?

You should concentrate on the following sections:

1. Standard forms.
2. Map.
3. Routes.
4. Matrices.
5. Flowcharts.
6. Description of joints.
7. Auxiliary descriptions.
8. Documenting.
9. The detailed description.
10. Definition of indicators and indicators.
11. The procedure for implementation.

The best concept about the necessary elements can give a real example-reengineering the business processes of the existing enterprise. But in such cases it is necessary to be prepared for the fact that you will have to read a huge amount of documentation.

On the cards, we will say a word

So, we have already considered what business processes are, what are their examples in real life. Now let's go through the technical documentation, which should be if we need an accurate and clear description. So, initially I want to pay attention to the business process map. It is a graphical representation executed as a block diagram. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that each participant has his own separate column. The lines are filled with time intervals. A fully issued card allows you to check whether the operation has been synchronized.

You can also see whether and how information passes between different parts of the company. To get the best effect, several questions should be posed. Who performs this operation? Why should it be performed? What is it? When to perform the operation? Where is it carried out? When improving the ongoing processes, one should even ask whether it is possible to improve it.

Matrices

They are necessary to identify the most important business processes within the enterprise. At the time of their compilation the interrelation of everything that is happening, as well as the degree of mutual influence, is taken into account.

When analyzing the chain of processes, it is easy to find out that the information exchange moves from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. That is, in such a mathematical form, the relationship between the supplier and the consumer is described as a rectangle. In each cell of the matrix, all necessary requirements for the action are indicated, which were / are / will be made. They are original two-dimensional models, with the help of which one can judge what and how is being done and what purpose is being pursued. Difficulties in composing the matrix here are that for the calculation with maximum accuracy you often have to use a significant amount of data. And this implies the presence of a large amount of information. In such cases, digital information is usually used, which often has to be shortened.