Winds of Change - Part 4: Lean BPM

by Tom Bellinson

Well, it's finally time to put this series out of its misery.  I'd like to thank both of my readers (especially you, mom).  I realize that this is just riveting stuff and you've been on the edge of your seat to see how it all ends.

I'm sorry to report that it never does end (this series does, but not the journey).  If there is one takeaway from these four posts it is to keep trying.  I once read a quote that said something to the effect that you cannot fail until you quit (that person never took a timed test).  Both BPM and Lean are about identifying areas for improvement and trying new things in a never-ending journey.

Whereas lean practices don't have a lot to say about how to identify areas for improvement, BPM fills that void by prescribing a very specific approach to analyzing processes to look for non-value added activities and exception handling.  Process maps provide a great way to illustrate these things.  Further, if you happen to have a complete set of process maps, they can be used to trace exceptions back to their root cause, which may not be in the process in which they occur.

Both Lean and BPM talk of low-hanging fruit.  Lean focuses on things that are easy to fix, whereas BPM tries to put a value on the problem to identify if the effort to fix it is worth it.  I am fond of saying that it doesn't make sense to spend $5,000 fixing a $5 problem unless it happens a lot.  Hard core process practitioners will model processes with tools that allow them to be simulated.  When done properly, the cost of process exceptions can be calculated in labor and material expenses.  Process timing data can also be used to calculate how exceptions affect throughput.  So, if a value can be assigned to the output, productivity loss can also be calculated.

Whether you run the numbers or not, the tools can help provide better estimates of the impact of process issues.  This is where Lean principles kick in.  Using Kaizen events to remediate process issues, teams can systematically provide for process changes, team member education, and physical plant changes.

The good news is, there is always low hanging fruit.

The three charts above have a different scale, but the biggest problem stays...well...BIG!  So it is with the way we look at our problems in general.  The biggest ones are always big -- relatively speaking.  If you're starving, getting your next meal is a big problem.  If you're rich, not being able to order your car with gold-plated rims could cause a similar aching in your stomach.

So, four blog posts later, is there anything that you can take away from this and use?  I sure hope so.  Otherwise, this has been a terrible waste of bits.  There's so much to know about both BPM and Lean.  If you took anything away, I hope it is that BPM is a great way to identify and quantify areas for improvement and Lean is a great way to tackle and remediate them.

Do either of these disciplines/philosophies/frameworks (pick your term) provide the necessary motivation to do anything?  Nay!  That, my friends, must come from you.  It takes a lot of work to create a culture in which people feel free to fix the problems they see -- or even study them to determine if they should be fixed.  If indeed we do live in such an organization, the next move is yours!  You may now return to your regularly scheduled program...already in progress.