Business Process Modelling for every business person
What really is Business Process Modelling?
Well, in the book of elders, they say, if you don’t know where you are going, then at least, you should know where you’re coming from. Can one really model a business if they don’t know what business really is? I dare say No! Hence, the reason I would instead start this aspect by trying to explain what a business is ideally about. What is business and when is one considered to be in Business?
A business is an organisation that provides goods and services to customers who want or need them. The term “business” also refers to the organized efforts and activities of individuals to produce and sell goods and services for profit, which means, I need to build some kind of organized activities around my products and services; it may start with me, but I need to structure it in a way that it can run properly.
Business is also about process innovation – meaning instead of inventing a new idea, I simply take an existing idea that is ‘raw and dirty’, or even in the market that is not originally licensed to anyone. Then, I analyze how customers/market want to be served and go ahead to improve the process that delivers the products and services to the market.
The fast-growing startups and businesses scaling and doing well in Nigeria and all over the world are into Process Innovation Management whether in fintech, Agritech, Edutech etc. So long therefore, as I am delivering services or product for value, I am in business. Also, if I am refining process of service delivery, I am in business.
So, what is Business Process Modelling? The discipline in which people use various METHODS to discover, model, analyze, measure, improve, optimize, and automate business processes. Any combination of methods used to manage a company’s business processes is BPM. It helps the business to take predictable processes that make up the core of its business. This means you’ve got to be scientifically or mathematically driven when designing processes for your business.
For example, the first switching company arguably in Nigeria is Interswitch Ltd; out of 17 million verve cards in circulation in Nigeria, Interswitch has 15 million users of their ATM card. Their service delivery and processes has been almost the same for more than 10 years. Then, about 4 years ago, Paystack came on board and simply improved on the Interswitch process of service delivery. They brought in seamless integration with websites and made international payment possible and easier. Within 3 years, they became the leader in the industry, of course with the help of VCs, that is, Venture Capitalists. Contrast them with E-transact, another switching company in Nigeria. They couldn’t scale like PayStack. They had their moment too, but based on innovation and creative problem solving, they couldn’t scale. The same is the case with Remita. Therefore, business process management becomes a key consideration in any business.
Bottom line: business is creative problem solving, not just mere solving problems today because the market is now very aware due to technology and globalization. A customer in Nigeria can access information of how services are delivered in any part of the world and so expectations for service delivery is so high and must be creatively delivered. So, cherry picking and not following a well-defined and tested model will crash your business sooner or later. You therefore cannot see something working for another business, then you go copy that process without really testing if it will for work for you or interfere with your core business vision.
An Example in Creating a Marketing Strategy
So, let’s say you are creating a marketing strategy for your business or a client. What you create for that specific business or client is probably going to be original work. Also, let’s assume that within that business you have broken down the entire process into smaller projects, the projects will have a task you want to see accomplished. But it must be designed based on the unique vision of that business, which means my marketing plans and channel can be unique to my business or client. I recommend the conventional platforms. It will also affect the technology I use to reach my market.
So, how then do I set up my business process to help me? The first step then becomes I do a business analysis.
First, vision: What is my business vision?
Once that is sorted, I design my process around this vision. Then I test models; You execute based on testing and validation with the business first before going into the market. I will show you the methodology questions to ask around the modeling stage.
You execute based on testing and validation with the business first and then the market.
Then you monitor the process, its implementation. If you need to go back to the drawing table, go back. Set up communication strategy, customer service and management plan etc.
In order to optimise, you need to do a business analysis. The business analysis phase is vital within the business process framework. This phase involves identifying key business objectives and collecting as much data and information as possible.
This data will enable you to put together a comprehensive picture of the issues facing your company and what your objectives are. Then, you will be able to design or enhance processes and procedures that enable you to reach these objectives and implement the right solutions for your organization.
Within this stage of the business process framework, you need to ask yourself some questions to help provide focus for what actions need to be taken. The following questions can be used to guide your thinking:
1. What is the purpose of this process?
2. What key business objectives does this process achieve?
3. How can we monitor and measure this process to make sure it is achieving a key business objective?
4. How will a change or creation of a process affect the employees and structure of our company?
5. What sort of training and development will be needed to implement this process?
6. What resources will be used in this process?
7. What might be some potential obstacles with this process?
8. Is this process in line with our strategic goals? More importantly, will this process better enable us to reach our organizational goals?
Thorough answers to the above questions will help direct your thinking. Most importantly, the answers you provide will enable you to determine what course of action to take when implementing your process changes and to optimize your business.
In the next article, we’ll talk about “How To Conduct A Business Analysis” – the six essential steps to conducting a business analysis: