A process structure is characterized by management focused on the final delivery of products or services through work organized by processes throughout the entire value chain.
It represents a framework of identifiable and measurable process elements (steps, tasks, activities, procedures, and actions) that create a process hierarchy and determine how the process will be performed. It defines the process boundaries within which each element will be interconnected with others.
A clearly defined structure is the guarantee that the elements of the process are free from disparity and complexity. There are five key requirements that help determine if any process has its defined structure.
If at least one of the requirements is not met, the process may manifest a poorly defined structure. Consequently, there may be problems with the implementation of this process. To cite an example, if the elements are not interdependent with each other, it will most likely reduce the performance of the process and also, waste resources.
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To achieve a proper and efficient process structure implementation, certain important factors must be considered.
Process culture: firstly, installing a process culture in the company will help make employees aware of the activities that each one must perform, and in this way, roles and responsibilities will be better defined. Likewise, there must be an objective consensus on the part of the employees on the production of value and delivery to the customer.
By developing a quality process, you will more efficiently achieve a process culture. It will be necessary to have the knowledge and skills for each process and to understand why one process can influence the rest and their results.
In the healthy structure of processes, another important factor that influences it is the definition of the owners of the processes, documenting them systematically, and carrying out constant measurements of all these and their results.
Based on this alignment between knowledge, organization, defined roles, and performance measurements, it will be possible to establish a true process structure that makes a difference in the way companies work. In this sense, when the processes acquire a formal status, an agile, intuitive BPM tool provides greater fluidity to communication and transparency to information.
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When a process structure is finally defined, the main functions involved in managing processes in an organization can be delimited.
The person responsible for sponsoring and promoting the process structure should be a member of senior management. Among its most outstanding functions we can mention the following:
It refers to the employee directly responsible for a process, which must be followed up, and periodically reviewed to supervise its performance.
In this case, the employee is responsible for the execution of a project management process, with a specific objective to be met. This person is subordinated to the decisions and orders of the process office.
The process analyst must pay attention to the performance of the processes to propose improvements based on the detection of possible irregularities. This role includes providing unconditional support to those responsible for the process so that they obtain the information they need to make decisions.
Process architects play a very important role within the process structure since they must ensure that the architecture is the most appropriate to the needs of the processes, but also, if required, they can suggest changes and improvements that promote effective results and add value to the company.
The business analyst, unlike the process analyst, deals with the technology demands that the company needs to manage its processes, starting from the search for more accurate and efficient solutions to achieve more profitable business results.
These are employees with some experience, closely linked to process improvement initiatives. A specialist is someone who knows what needs to be done in certain circumstances, that is, they collaborate in making decisions so that they are profitable for the company.
In short, the process structure is management oriented to the delivery of products or services through standardized work processes. It not only allows ordering the tasks and activities of the different departments of a company but also helps to save time and effort by carrying out precisely the sequence of tasks corresponding to the functions of each employee. Therefore, it also helps define roles and responsibilities, which facilitates workflows by optimizing the value chain.