6/16/2015 ProcessvsProcedure

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ProcessManagement

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ProcessversusproceduresThelanguageofthe20000revisiontotheISO9000seriessignificantlymovesawayfromproceduretoprocesssoisthischangeanymorethansimplesemanticsoristheresomethingfundamentalgoingon?

Identifyingandmanagingcriticalbusinessprocessesisavitalfactorintheeffectivemanagementofsuccessfulorganizations.Thisappearstobeafairlyobviousstatement.Attheheartofthebusinessexcellencemodelthereisastrongbeatgeneratedbytheemphasisonprocessmanagement.Withinthecontextofqualitymanagementstandards,andmorespecificallyIS09000,'procedure'isakeywordwhichhasacquiredaparticularmeaningovertheyears.

ThetermprocessontheotherhandmightappeartobenewinISO9001:2000buttheconceptofanorganizationbeinganetworkofprocesseswasaddressedinISO9000:1994soitisnotnew.Whatisnewistheconceptthattheresultsanorganizationachievesaretheproductoftheinteractionbetweenitsprocessesandnotitsprocedures.

Thefollowingtableillustratesthedifferencebetweenproceduresandprocesses.Procedures Processes

Proceduresaredrivenbycompletionofthetask Processesaredrivenbyachievementofadesired

outcome

Proceduresareimplemented Processesareoperated

Proceduresstepsarecompletedbydifference

peopleindifferentdepartmentswithdifferent

objectives

Processstagesarecompletedbydifferentpeople

withthesameobjectivesdepartmentsdonot

matter

Proceduresarediscontinuous Processesflowtoconclusion

Proceduresfocusonsatisfyingtherules Processesfocusonsatisfyingthecustomer

Proceduresdefinethesequenceofstepsto

executeatask

Processestransforminputsintooutputsthrough

useofresources

Proceduresaredrivenbyhumans Processesaredrivenbyphysicalforcessomeof

whichmaybeactivatedbyhumans

Proceduresmaybeusedtoprocessinformation Informationisprocessedbyuseofaprocedure

Proceduresexisttheyarestatic Processesbehavetheyaredynamic

Procedurescausepeopletotakeactionsand

decisions

Processescausethingstohappen

Procedures

Initssimplestformaprocedureisawayinwhichoneworkstoaccomplishatask.Itcanthereforebeasequenceofstepsthatincludepreparation,conductandcompletionofatask.Eachstepcanbeasequenceofactivitiesandeachactivityasequenceofactions.Thesequenceofstepsiscriticaltowhetherastatementordocumentisaprocedureorsomethingelse.Specifications,contractsandrecordsarenotproceduresastheydonottellushowtodoanything.Thesedescribetheoutputsresultingfromcarryingoutproceduresortasks,leavingustodecideanyfurtheractionsnecessarytousetheseoutputs.Theoutputwillmorethanlikelybeusedasinputstootherprocedures.

WeneedprocedureswhenthetaskwehavetoperformiscomplexorwhenthetaskisroutineandwewantittobeperformedconsistentlyHenceproceduresareintendedtomakesomethinghappeninacertainway.Ifwearenotconcernedabouthowsomethingisdoneandareinterestedonlyintheresultwedonotproduceproceduresbutissueinstructionssuchas'posttheletter','repairthespindrier'or'recruitanotherperson'.Theseareworkinstructionsastheyintendustodo'quantitative'workwithouttellinghowtodoitorthe'qualitative'standardtowhichtheworkshouldbecarriedout.Instructionsarenotproceduresunlesstheyfollowinasequenceandenableustoperformatask.

Asetofselfassemblyinstructionsisaprocedureasittellshowtoproceedtoassembletheproduct.Butthewordingonthelabeltellingusnottoputhotobjectsonthesurfaceisaninstructionorawarning(aspecialtypeofinstruction).Asproceduresarenormallyusedbypeopletheyaredesignedwithauserinmind.Theuserisnormallyanindividualoragroupofindividuals,althoughprocedurescancoverasequenceofstepseachofwhichisperformedbydifferentindividualsorgroups.However,perceptionsofproceduresvaryconsiderablydependingonthecontextinwhichtheyarecreatedandused.Anysequenceofsteps,nomatterhowsimpleorcomplex,canbeexpressedasaprocedurethatisintendedtocausesomeonetoactinacertainwaytoaccomplishatask.Thekeyisthatthestepsfollowasequence.Arandomcollectionofstatementsisnotaprocedureunlesswerearrangetheseinasequencethatenablessomeonetoproceed.

Isitaprocedureoramisnomer?

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WithinthecontextofQMSs(andmorespecifically,ISO9000)theprocedurehas,formany,takenonparticularandsometimespeculiarcharacteristics.Such(documented)proceduresmaybewritten,notasasequenceofactivitiesorstepsbutasaseriesofrequirementsoraseriesofresponsibilities.Neitherofthesecanbeproceduresastheydonottellushowtoproceed,whatstepstotakeorhowtomeasuretheresult.

Suchproceduresoftenfollowauniformformatwithapurposestatement,applicabilitystatement,responsibilitiesandthenprocedurestatements.Oftenthereisnoconnectionbetweenthepurposestatementandtheprocedure.Purposestatementsoftenaddressthepurposeofadocumentnotthepurposeofthetaskwhichthesequenceoftasksisintendedtodeliver.Again,ifsuchprocedures(andrarelytheydo)containmeasuresofsuccess,theseareprobablyquantitativemeasuresrelatedtothetaskitselfandnottowhytheprocedureiscarriedout.Themostcommonperceptionofsuchproceduresisthattheyaresimplyassociatedwithpaperworkandfillinginforms.

Weseemtothinkthatwehavecreatedaprocedurebyclassifyingadocumentasaprocedure.Thesedocumentsareoftenthoughtofashighlevelprocedures.Proceduresdonothavetobedocumentedtobeproceduresanddonothavetobeonlyhighlevel.Weoftenhearofproceduresaddressingthe20elementsofIS09000andworkinstructionsbeingusedatdepartmentalleveltoguideactivities.Thesecharacteristicsofproceduresonlyservetoconstrainourthoughtsandourintent.

Processes

Processesproduceresultsbyconverting.transformingorsimplyusinginputstocreateoutputs.Aninputcouldbematerial,information,peopleorasetofconditionsandthesearepassedthroughasequenceofstagesduringwhichtheyareeitherused,transformedortheirstatuschangedtoemergeasanoutputwithdifferentcharacteristics.Henceprocessesactuponinputsandaredormantuntiltheinputisreceived.Ateachstagethetransformationtasksmaybeprocedural,butmayalsobemechanical,chemicaletc.Inherentlyprocessesdonotnormallyrecognizedepartmentalorfunctionalboundaries(butareoftenhinderedbythem)northeboundariesbetweencustomersandsuppliers.Eachprocesshasanobjectivewithbothquantitativeandqualitativemeasuresofitsoutputsdirectlyrelatedtoitsobjectives.Thetransformationorprocessstagesaredesignedtoensurethecombinationofresourcesachievestheobjectivesthedesiredoutputs.Ofcoursethismeansthattheprocesshastoreceivetherightinputstodeliverthedesiredoutputsandthatthecorrectresourcesareappliedattherightstages,inthecorrectquantitiesandintherightmannerItistruethataprocesscanbeillustratedasasequenceofstepsjustasaprocedureisillustrated,butthesimilarityendsthere.

It'sthewayweusethem

Thewayweusethewordsprocedureandprocesstellsussomethingabouthowtheydiffer.Wetendtostartandstopprocesses.Weimplementproceduresandcommenceandcompletethem.Weprocessinformation.Wedonotprocedureinformationbutwemayemployaproceduretoprocessinformation.Wehaveplatingprocessesandtheremaybeplatingprocedures.Inthiscontext,theplatingprocesscomprisestheresources,people,plantandmachinery,andtheplatingprocedurecontainstheinstructionsonhowtoplatematerial.

Wehaveprocessinterruptbutnotprocedureinterrupt,becauseprocessesareperceivedascontinuousandrununtilphysicalintervention.Inourbodieswehaveprocesses,notprocedures.Thereproductiveprocess,thedigestiveprocess,therespiratoryprocess,theseprocessesarecertainlycontinuousandstoponlywhenaninterventiontakesplace.Theymayrequirehumaninterventioninwhichasurgeonmayemployprocedurestoeffectarepair.Proceduresontheotherhandareperceivedasbeingdiscontinuous,havingstepswhichcanbepausedwithactivitiesoractionspickeduporputdownatwill.

Proceduresusuallyrelatetogroupsofactivitieswithagivenoutputwherethatoutputmaynotbecompleteuntilacteduponbysomeoneelseatalaterstageintheprocess.Therefore,proceduresaretheactionstakenbyindividualsinaprocessthatmayspanacrossseveralfunctionsandusemultipleresourcestodeliverapredeterminedoutputatagivenrateatagivenlocationonagivendate.

Allchange

Whetheranychangeisnecessarydependsuponperceptionandattitude.Ifdocumentedproceduresmerelyrespondtorequirementsinastandardtheyarenotlikelytodemonstrateaclearlineofsighttotherealpurposeofwhytheprocedureisnecessary.Thisisveryoftentherootcauseofwhythepeopleinvolveddonotseethevalueincarryingouttheactions.Itisverylikelythatmanyorganizationswillhavetoundergoafairlyradicalrethinkofthewaytheyregardtheirmanagementsystem.Inordertosatisfytherequirements,needsandexpectationsoftheinterestedparties(customers,shareholders,employees,suppliersandcommunity)organizationshavetoidentifythecriticalprocessesthatdeliversatisfaction.Itisalsoclearthattheeffectivemanagementofthoseprocessesdependsuponcommonunderstandingandmonitoringofhowsuccessismeasured.Perhapsthemostcrucialandradicalfactoristheconstantfocusandalignmentofthekeystagesonachievingtheendresults.

Theimplicationhereisthatinmanycasestheorganizationandtheactivitiesmusthaveagreateralignment.Thepreviousnotionofa'functional'organization(forexample,wheredifferentdepartmentshavecreatedtheirowninternalagendasandcultureswithnoclearlinkagetodefinedorganizationalobjectives)hastobeseriouslyquestioned.Itisalltootemptingfororganizationstoaddressthisissuebysimplyadoptinga'crossfunctional'approachwhichinrealitymeansthattheygathertogetherrepresentativesfromdifferentfunctionalbunkersandletthemfightitout.Ingeneral,crossfunctionalteamsarenotasubstituteforprocessmanagement.Simplistically,functionstendtobeverticalinnature,processesarehorizontal,withstakeholderinterestatbothends.

Tomakeatransitionawayfrommanagingprocedurestowardsprocessmanagement,anorganizationmustanswerwhetherithas:

clearlydefinedwhatitsobjectivesareandhowitwillmeasureandreviewthesuccessofachievingthoseobjectives

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evaluatedtheimpactofthoseobjectivesontheinterestedparties,thestakeholders

designedthecritical,endtoendprocessesnecessarytodelivertheobjectives

assessedandprovidedtheresources,skillsandcompetencetomaketheprocesseswork

TheunderlyingprinciplesofthebusinessexcellencemodelandthelatestversionsofISO9000,ISO9001andISO9004shouldleavepeopleinnodoubtthatthechangeinlanguagefromproceduretoprocessisnotaboutperceptionorsemantics.Thereisaveryrealchangeoffocusrequiredbymanyorganizationsiftheyaretoremaincompetitive,andwiththischangecomesthesignificantopportunitytoensurethattheirprocessesaredesignedtoconsistentlyaddvalue.

NowlookatourFAQsonprocessesformoreinformation

ActivescriptingneedstobeenabledinIEtousethepulldownmenusLastamended24/08/2013

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