Consultant “Do you have your processes documented?” Client: “Of course, let me show you the ringbinder where we keep them. I had to use them the last time we did an upgrade and they are somewhere here. Oh yes, here it is the red ringbinder in the back of the overhead on my cubicle. What? Do the executives review them…you have got to be kidding.”

Consultant: “Can you show me how they cross all the organizational boundaries? Where they start and where they end? What are the results and who is the owner of the process? Who is getting value at the end of the day?” Client: “Huh?, I just keep the binder of the visio documents, I don’t know who uses the process documentation.” And so on, and so on.

Process is not something to keep in a binder on the shelf, but something to review on an iterative basis. Do your processes remain static? Are the roles always the same, do they change? If so, how and who integrates the change into the organization to ensure it is accepted? It is important to identify the stakeholders, the change agents, the processes that change and how they change. Is the change a result of a policy change, a change in the system, a role enhancement, a performance concern either system performance or performance of an associate? There is an impact to the organization which will effect systems, people, process, procedure outcomes or results that must be addressed.

Who owns the process? The process owner is the person who gets value at the end of the day. What does that mean? It means the highest level ownership in the organization, the role that ensures that part of the organization is achieving the results expected and the results that support the organizational vision and direction. I wonder how many associates can explain how what they do will impact the direction and strategy of the organization..in fact, how many can articulate the vision or strategy of the organization?

Process is the absolute foundation of the organization and determines where any implementation or upgrade will go and whether or not it will be successful. It is the foundation for system, customizations, training, testing, and ongoing support of the organization so again I ask…where are your processes? In a binder on the shelf, or in the forefront of organizational and strategic discussions?

It seems Business Process templates are used on every project with varying degrees of success.I have used Rational, Visio, PDF’s, and templates that have been developed to encompass a modified Rational approach.

The current project is reviewing all the delivered processes and using them as a basis for the development of the “to be” processes for the implementation. New projects always result in a search of the “PeopleSoft” now Oracle website to find the delivered processes and each time it is a matter of wading and searching to find them.

Daniel, who is one of our business analysts on the project found this link which has provided an excellent resource for our process development work.

http://download.oracle.com/docs/cd/E17355_01/hf91bpm0/index.html

Oracle also has a PDF of the 9.1 processes. Let us know where you are in your business process work and how you developed your “to be” processes for your implementation.