Process Management

For last few days, I have been thinking that what should be the first post on this redesigned blog. And after some thought, I decided to post on the concept of "Process Management". Time and again, people ask me what do I do? Merely saying that I am a "Six Sigma Black Belt" actually doesn't help much. It is usually followed by a "What do you actually do?" look. Then I try to explain my job further by talking about quality, continuous improvement, and process management. So, what exactly is process management? What is a process? What is process improvement?

Based on my experiential learning, I have made a visual to explain these terms and their inter-relationships. And now I will try to explain them.

Process: A series of steps, or tasks which add value to their inputs and result in an output. An input can be in the form of information or a physical material. Similarly, the output of a process can be in the form of a material, product, or information.

Process Improvement: It includes a series of tasks with the sole objective of improving the process. The improvement can be in terms of improving the quality of the output, increasing the efficiency of the process, or reducing the operating cost of the process itself. The data generated from process-monitoring and the feedback on the output need to be analyzed properly to identify the improvements needed in the process, or in the process-monitoring to get a better picture of the process. The last but not the least is the execution of those improvements leading to process management.

Process Management: Process Management means the ability to manage processes efficiently and improving them continuously. It encompasses an expertise in utilizing the tools-set of Six-Sigma, Lean, Project Management, Systems Thinking etc., the art of devising right strategy, and the ability to drive change in the system & among the people. It is the efficient process management which results in a sustainable change/improvement in the process.

Now, processes exists at each and every layer in the hierarchy of an organization. Those at the high level are termed as business processed, while the ones in the subsequent layers are called functional processes. And never forget that no matter what your process is, it needs to be improved!