Business Process Analysis

Transcription

1 Business Process Analysis Or, How to Get Your Departments Talking Again CASBO 2017 Annual Conference John Ramont Director, Fiscal Services

2 Our College Located in Palm Desert, California Established in 1958 Serving Over 15,000 Students The Fastest Growing Community College in the System for Offering a Broad Range of Degree, Certificate, and Transfer Programs 2

3 A Bit About Me 20 Years in Government Financial Management, Audit & Oversight 11 Years in Education Former Assistant Supt. of Business, Coachella Valley Unified Current Director, Fiscal Services, College of the Desert Expertise in Performance Management & Process Reengineering 3

4 So What s the Problem? Symptoms of a neglected process Forms lost Unclear procedures Many single-points of failure You can t explain it Items frequently disappear into the black hole You re certain that all other districts don t have this problem 4

5 It s Not As Bad As You Think Eternal Optimist: Anything can be fixed It s probably not as big as you think It s probably easier to fix (or at least improve) than you think Or, It may be worse than you think 5

6 You re Probably Not As Bad As You Think It easy to assume your organization is the worst because you see your dysfunctions A couple of questions: Who is the best? What makes them the best? If you don t know who is, how do you know it s not you? 6

7 Time to Climb Out of the Silos It s not really us versus [fill in department here] Take a holistic view of what we re trying to accomplish Your students, faculty, and staff (and your Superintendent) don t care which department is responsible they just want it to work 7

8 Key Personnel Facilitator Keeps the group focused, on task Scribe Documents discussion & processes on the whiteboard Needs to know how to map processes (not that hard) Cognizant Managers Someone has to break the tie votes and keep the peace 8

9 Schedule Meetings I hate meetings Build credibility: Make them effective Commit to one meeting per week for one hour Start on time, end on time Set norms Be open No firehosing No blaming 9

10 Effective Meeting Tips Don t let the scope creep Use a parking lot to keep track of issues without getting sidetracked by them Make sure the right people are included Make sure there are assignments from each meeting Start out each meeting with a report back from the assignments from the prior meeting 10

11 Let s get started!

12 Start With the End in Mind Clearly articulate the goal State the desired outcome of the process Example of Payroll: Pay people accurately and in a timely manner Consider how to measure the effectiveness of the process 12

13 Step One: What isthe problem? Define the Universe of Problems Usually three or four problems make up 98% of that universe Don t try to fix everything at once Stick with the rule, set aside the exceptions Pick a big bang or a simple quick-win 13

14 Step Two: Map the way it is now. Really it s not a waste of time Oftentimes this is the first time people have seen the process from beginning to end Be meticulous in the documentation detail If something is not clear, clarify it It should be so simple even a Superintendent can understand 14

15 Step Three: Document the Requirements Make a list of the minimumthings that have to happen in order to achieve the desired outcome Example: Payroll Some form of attendance documentation that is approved by a supervisor Documentation must be received by the 15 th in order to be paid on time 15

16 Step Four: Compare the Requirements to the Old Process Compare the list of requirements to the current process Are there steps that don t add value to anything? Are there duplicative or redundant steps? Identify broken sub-processes (black holes) It is very hard for people to stop doing something even if it makes no sense 16

17 Step Five: Brainstorm Improvements No firehosing Do NOTreject any ideas no matter how unlikely they may seem Don t say We can t, but rather, We could if Even ridiculous ideas can lead to workable ideas Research best practices Vendors Other districts 17

18 Step Six: Formulate Potential Changes Identify alternative processes Explore potential technologies Identify any potential costs Analyze the alternatives Cost savings Efficiency gains Improving effectiveness Reducing cycle times 18

19 Step Seven: Implement and Evaluate Come to consensus on the best course action (even if it is no action at all) Once implemented, set a timeline or action plan to evaluate the changes Make adjustments and reevaluate Documentation becomes the basis for desk/procedure manuals 19

20 Questions? Step Up For COD Be Informed Vote Connect Engage Join Give Visit StepUpForCOD.com 20