What is a Process?
A Process may be defined as:
'a particular course of action intended to achieve a result' or more specifically as
a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. [From - Understanding senior management's behavior in promoting the strategic role of IT in process reengineering: use of the theory of reasoned action, Information & Management, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 8 March 2003, Ing-Long Wu - doi:10.1016/S0378-7206(02)00115-5]
In both of these definitions the key thing is that what is important is the end result. A process exists to achieve a purpose. It is also useful to think of roles and responsibilities in this way. A person's job is not to carry out a process it is to achieve a result. Emphasising this can make it easier for people to think about how they might achieve that result in different ways.
Michael Hammer, often called the father of business process re-engineering, defined a process as:
a related group of tasks that together create a result of value to a customer. [Moriarty T. & Thompson V. 1996. 'Business Analysis Techniques.' www.inastrol.com/articles/9608.htm]
This definition best fits the JISC infoNet client-centred approach.
Processes can be viewed in a variety of ways - one of the simplest is to see the components of each process as input, transformation and output.
Inputs may be information, materials or activities. The fourth, and most important, element of the process is the client. The purpose of the process and its end result is to meet the needs of a client. In education we can only really create effective and value-adding processes if we recognise that the client is usually the student. When reviewing our processes we need to think about WHY we are doing them and what output the client requires. In the case of education, the learner is the client because they are the recipient of a final product with the choice of where to seek it.
Keep the strategic vision and output in mind when thinking about your processes. There are many tools you can use to help in your review, and we will explore some of them in this infoKit, but before you get into the detail remember to focus your efforts on the WHY (the strategy) and the OUTPUT (the transformed input). It is easy to spend a lot of time analysing the detail and a lot of that time may well be wasted. Above all else keep thinking about WHY you are doing the process at all and the OUTPUT you need from it.
This clear focus will be necessary once you start to examine the realities of processes in your organisation. It will help you cut through the organisational smokestacks that currently exist to see the process overall.
