Business Process Review at Kingston University

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Business Process Review at Kingston University

• An overview of KUs 7 steps of review
• Some of the lessons learnt and
• critical success factors

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About KU

• Approx 18,000 students
• 7 faculties of varying size
• School structure in larger faculties
• Income related budgets for faculties
• Autonomy and authority of Deans
• 10 corporate/service departments

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Objectives for BPR

• To deliver high standards of service
• To reduce duplication of effort
• Encourage development of harmonised more
  streamlined procedures
• Clarify roles and responsibilities
• clearer division of labour between parts of the
  University

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Approach and methodologyProject management
(formal project documentation) and
inclusiveImplementation of recommendations a
separate project
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7 key steps of review at KU

• Project initiation including PDD
• Desk review
• Interviews
• Workshops
• a) fact-finding b) process redesign
• Review options and develop preferred solutions
• Report Preparation
• Presentation to Project Board

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Step1 project initiation

• For each process first agree a project definition
  document
• Define your aims
• Define the scope
• start finish of process, inclusions, related
  processes, exclusions
• Define process objectives and measures
• State expected business benefits of potential
  improvements
• Define known constraints
• State deliverables and expected resource
  requirement
• Provide a high level work plan
• Suggest the project team and team members roles
• Do a thorough stakeholder analysis
• Start a risk analysis
• Define your success factors, a communication plan
  
• Suggest the time for the post-implementation
  review if possible

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A word about stakeholder analysis

• Lots of people can be affected by the change
• To ensure a positive contribution seek to
• Understand who they are
• What influence/source of power they bring to bear
• And what they have at stake
• Then establish a process to actively manage
  stakeholders through communication
• Your analysis can be based on
• Impact, orientation, need and/or power

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Lesson 1

• Be thorough in your analysis
• Be proactive and communicate
• Dont ignore key players
• Seek out and manage individual key stakeholders
• Seek out and manage individuals who may be
  road-blocks

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Business Process Review of xxxx processes -
Stakeholder Analysis
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Start your risk log now
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High level project plan
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Steps 2 and 3

• Project initiation including PDD
• Desk review
• Interviews
• Required to get an overview of current process
  and problems and use this to
• Draft a high level current process map as is
• Start your issues log
• Plan how to approach the workshops to ensure you
  can achieve the results you want
• Think carefully about how to structure these and
  what groups to put together
• Admissions example

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Admissions example

• Desk review interviews revealed serious
  conflict between faculties and centre because
• Central department was established to improve
  response times to applicants
• Based on assumption 80 applications
  could be processed centrally
• This was translated into should
• But reality was 50 applications
  required academic scrutiny

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Step 4

• Project initiation including PDD
• Desk review
• Interviews
• Workshops
• fact-finding
• process redesign

• TIP
• Start fact finding workshop with validation of
  your desk researched current process steps map
• Helps settle attendees
• Easier to correct whats wrong than start from
  blank sheet of paper
• Teases out differences in process
• Teases out issues

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Lesson 2

• Separate fact-finding redesign workshops
• Usually 1 week apart
• Enables move to solution finding

• TIPS
• Have good chocolate biscuits!
• Half day sessions work well
  (9am 2pm)
• Working lunch encourages useful informal
  discussions to happen
• Write up findings for validation, additions
  corrections by workshop attendees

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Lesson 2 continued

• Provide clear guidance for each workshop
• Explain what you mean by process review
• Explain your methodology and approach
• Tell them what you expect from them
• Give ground rules for the workshops
• Tell them what output the workshop should be
• Eg for fact-finding workshop together you will
  define
• The As Is process map, showing ownership of
  steps and critical path, identifies some measures
  of the process (including elapsed time if
  appropriate)
• A consolidated and categorised issues log
• The requirements/objectives of the process

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Use process step analysis
WHY - Why do we do this Process Step? - Is
its purpose clear?
WHAT - What is done in this process step? - Is
there a clearly defined method for doing the
step, with clear performance standards?
OUTPUT - What are the outputs? -Who are the
customers? -What are the standards and how are
they measured
INPUT - What are the inputs? - Who are the
suppliers? -What are the standards and how
are they measured?
THE PROCESS STEP
HOW WELL -How well is this process step done?
- Is its actual performance measured and
compared to the standard? - Is corrective
action taken when required?

• HOW
• - How is this process
• step done?
• Is there the capability
• to achieve the standard
• (skills, equipment,
• facilities)?
• - Is all the information and
• knowledge available?

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Identify the cause of problems

• Cause

• Cause

• Cause

• Cause

Aim is to identify improvements, not to
apportion blame
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Step 4 continued

• Project initiation including PDD
• Desk review
• Interviews
• Workshops
• fact-finding
• process redesign

• TIPS
• Write up notes from workshop quickly agreed
  process, list of issues, process objectives
  circulate these for validation, ask for
  additions thought of since the session
• Start redesign workshop with the agreed
  objectives and categorised issues list output
  from fact-finding workshop eg from admissions

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Example - objectives of admissions

• To select and recruit suitable applicants to the
  right courses
• To optimise process to meet recruitment targets
• To embody good practice
• ensuring it remains appropriate as the
  recruitment environment changes
• To provide high quality service to applicants

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Example of key issues in admissions

• Conflict exacerbated by lack of clarity
• about roles responsibilities
• about terms definitions
• Inefficiency, non-adherence to SLAs
• No central deposit of information
• Resource issues
• Inadequate information flow

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Process redesign workshop

• Develops ideas for an improved process,
  based on our agreed requirements
• Creates a To Be roadmap by
• Critically evaluates and challenges the status
  quo
• Looks for creative alternatives
• Looks for more efficient ways to achieve
  objectives
• Asks questions of each process step, such as

Is it required ?
Should you do it ?
Can it be automated ?
Does it add value ?
Is it duplicated ?
Can it be simplified ?
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TIP - for complex processes Critical Evaluation
is a useful technique to manage redesign in steps
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7 key steps of review at KU

• TIP
• Remember to write up notes from re-design
  workshop quickly circulate for validation and
  additions before reviewing options developing
  preferred solutions

• Project initiation including PDD
• Desk review
• Interviews
• Workshops
• a) fact-finding b) process redesign
• Review options and develop preferred solutions

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Final steps - project team develops preferred
solutions

• Takes ideas generated at workshops
• Looks at other HEIs for ideas and possibilities
• Evaluates and develops preferred options

• TIP
• May be useful to bring some faculty
  representation to the project team

• 6 elements of good process
• Customer (end-user) focus
• Adds value (not cost)
• Responsibilities clearly owned
• Those operating understand the process
• Well measured
• And continuously improved

• 6 principles of good process design
• Streamline (remove duplication)
• Simplify (common standard approach)
• Move decision points (to as early in the process
  as possible)
• Remove linear or sequential steps (adopt parallel
  steps where possible)
• Take a multi-skill/team base approach
• Use technology as an enabler

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Administrative principles appropriate to any
process - JISC

• Do it ONCE
• Do it RIGHT
• Do it QUICKLY
• Keep it SIMPLE
• TRUST me
• I am ACCOUNTABLE

• TIP
• Validate preferred options with key stakeholders

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Example conclusions from admissions

• A fundamental lack of trust between central dept
  and faculties
• Distancing of admissions tutors from central dept
  and vice versa
• All staff involved in admissions feeling
  disempowered and frustrated
• Difficulty in managing the process centrally due
  to lack of data input to student records system

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Key changes in redesign

• Accepted the changed environment and
• Removed the assumption that the majority of
  undergraduate applications be centrally processed
• Required adequate resources for the additional
  academic decision making and interviewing
• Acknowledged the process as a joint activity
• Accepted control of information in corporate
  system was critical to managing the whole process
  
• Adopted a process whereby the decision was part
  of a timely process
• Embedded customer relationship management

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Steps 6 and 7

• Project initiation including PDD
• Desk review
• Interviews
• Workshops
• a) fact-finding b) process redesign
• Review options and develop preferred solutions
• Report Preparation
• Project team develops preferred options into a
  business case for change
• models the redesigned processes
• Presentation to Project Steering Group
• Ultimate decision making point

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Lesson 3

• Communicate widely
• Used BPR internal web page provides
• briefings prior to workshops
• updates on findings and interim bulletins
• final reports with recommendations process
  models
• Invest time in a roadshow to present and
  discuss findings and recommendations
• Tailor the approach to take account of structure
  and culture of your organisation
• Visit sites if campus is not on one location
• Use appropriate forums/committees to get
  colleagues to understand and therefore support
  change

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Lesson 4

• Be flexible
• Be responsive to constructive criticism
• Be prepared to review your recommendations
• Take account of feedback and concerns from your
  stakeholders
• They may be right !! example from admissions

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Faculties invited to comment on

• CRM plan and timeframe maximums
• Principles
• Removal of assumption of majority processed by
  central dept
• Academic decision making absolute (no
  matriculation checks by central dept)
• Use of corporate system for all steps in process
• Process
• Allocation of roles and responsibilities,
  particularly
• Faculty/central department split
• Single faculty contact point
• Interview administration

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Lesson 5

• Manage expectations of benefits
• Tendency to expect to savings from change
• Address qualitative benefits of new processes
• Measure what you are doing now
• marker to demonstrate improvement against
• Model the costs of new processes

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Lesson 6

• Enable change in policy
• BPR may result in recommendations that require
  change in policy
• Decide best approach to achieve the desired
  change
• Use established good practice guidelines to
  underpin your arguments for change
• Use benchmarks from other organisations where
  appropriate

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Lesson 7

• Be patient, hold on to your goals
• Agree a time for post implementation review
• Compare against measurements of current processes
  to demonstrate benefits achieved by change
• Be aware of the time lag before being able to
  demonstrate improvement
• Many processes are based on the annual cycle of
  events in academic administration which makes it
  more difficult to maintain momentum and
  motivation because of the delay in showing
  improvements have been achieved

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A word about implementation

• Separate project for implementation
• Project best led by process owner
• Ensures line management authority for action
• Manages clash of resource for operational
  responsibilities
• Project management approach to implementation
• Project steering group/board to manage progress
  with BPR manager as a member to
• Provide continuity from review
• Assist project team to understand objectives to
  be achieved
• Assist project team to establish project plan
• Ensure original recommendations not watered down
  because of difficulties during implementation

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What we achieved

• Harmonised procedures
• Clarified roles and responsibilities
• Developed user confidence trust in the process
  and central department
• increased demand for central processing now
• All processing recorded in corporate system
• Enables recruitment and admissions strategies to
  be measured and analysed for effectiveness
• Provides mechanisms for continuous improvement

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What we achieved (continued)

• Improved quality of service response time to
  applicants
• At least 80 applications processed within the
  timeframes
• 45 of those processed within 5 working days
• Because we removed duplication of effort and
  reduced costs
• U/G 11.5 efficiency gain P/G 2.2 efficiency
  gain
• Able to cope with growth
• 49 increase in applications between
  2001/2-2005/6
• (average for comparator group 16) UCAS annual
  datasets
• 40 increase in offers made to applicants

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Week by week trend Oct 2005 - July 2006
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Critical success factors

• Respected top level sponsors proactive champions
  of change
• Independence and internal knowledge of BPR team
  
• Inclusive approach to review that involves
  stakeholders
• Project management approach to review
  implementation
• Good planning adequate time resource
• Separate implementation and
• Plan procedures to support new operational
  process
• Remember balance of resource design of
  change 20 effort implementation of change
  80 effort
• Accept the transitional steps in process of
  change and retain your determination!

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• Thank you for listening
• Paula Thorne-Jones
• BPR Manager
• p.thorne-jones_at_kingston.ac.uk