WORKFLOWS

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT: The Project Management Office is the best approach to brokering processes across the organization. They possess the tooling and insight for effective and efficient business design.

DISCUSSION: A major obstacle we are confronted with today centers on ‘information adaptation’. That is to state that any organization that attempts to apply various information technologies to its operations is often challenged to adapt; to change. This challenge can be far reaching resulting in a clash of architectures, cultures, and practices as the organization attempts to gain control of processes. The presence of such a clash may be observed when there are expeditors, data accuracy issues, and operational processes that keep adjusting. During these conditions IT and accounting departments sometimes scramble to grab control while management often makes educated guesses without reliable information. The challenge is to begin a change process that will phase in increasing management rather than ceasing control.

The change process is not about the technology nor a specific department directly although there is a connection when technology is leveraged to support the processes coming under stronger management. Unfortunately, the connection is often incorrectly made and one department ends up making many decisions for the whole organization. Similarly, reporting of operational performance is not a r basis for organizing the operations but rather the outcome or result of well designed processes. The best approach is to develop a third party that has the entire organization in consideration. The Project Management Office, PMO, is such an entity. The PMO has the charge for correctly managing the project and involving the entire organization appropriately focusing on the processes across the organization. For the PMO, the grander focus centers on adaptability, zero latency, and fluidity of the organization as a whole while meeting the project objectives of cost, time, quality, and scope..

Operational adaptability is the speed and ease with which an organization molds or flexes to emerging economic, competitive, and environmental conditions. Zero latency is the time it takes an organization to answer a need for information, knowledge, or other unanticipated requirements from the point of identification to actionable results. Fluidity is the ease with which information and work move through the organization.

The current state-of-affairs have incredible numbers of professionals in various business disciplines engaged in the design and implementation of business systems. Therefore, a need for sage and knowledgeable guidance that focuses on work-flow management and process improvement is necessary. Operations management professionals trained in project management methods should provide this guidance. The guidance should be arranged around three topics:

1. Workflow and Process Modeling: Critical to properly framing the organizational processes, understanding the current processes, design of new processes, development of case scenarios, and identify differences between processes.
2. Business Process Improvement Methods: Includes a host of programs such as TQM, ISO, Lean, and Six Sigma that have become known in the last couple of decades as preferred methods to change management..
3. Technological Application: The employment of technology in support of operational processes achieving financial gains or benefits. This is an improving field at present having more qualified professionals entering who can achieve quantum successes. The discipline of applying technology falls under the auspices of the Project Management Office where there are tools and techniques for cost effective design, development, and implementation management is held.

The tools and methods available within these systems will tremendously aid in the identification of processes and developing solution. There is overlap in each of these topical areas, the PMO should vet using established project management methods to avoid duplicate work or options that are simply too costly or demonstrate a low return.

CONCLUSION: Adapting an organization in an information world is challenging. Many tools are available and methods are dramatically improving to strengthen business processes. The PMO should conduct a strategy-to-task effort for the organization. The reason for having the PMO is to broker broader processes across the organization with the whole organization in mind.