Customer Reviews

Process Mapping, Process Improvement and Process Management

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Overall, this book is solid practical advice and a generic methodology for process improvement. It is obvious that the author has extensive experience in applying traditional industrial engineering practices for process improvement. A good guide for those just beginning this kind of work and some parts, particularly the 38 design principles, that even an experienced professional can find useful.

As someone who has been doing this kind of work for over 15 years, I found four of the chapters in the book particularly interesting, Chapters 1, 7, 10, and 14. Chapter 1, "The Importance of Process", presents a framework for "styles of work management" which is a kind of organizational structure maturity model that progresses from (1) traditional management, (2) involvement management, (3) process management, (4) cross-functional management, (5) matrix management, to (6) process-focused or "F-Type" management. I found this to be a useful framework that can be used to assess an organization's orientation and commitment to business process management. In case you are wondering, the difference between the "process organization" and the "process-focused organization" is that in the former, "processes" are managed within functional areas while in the latter, cross-functional processes are managed by process owners.

Chapter 14, "Building Cross-Department Process Management" has a table, "Levels of Interdepartmental Cooperation" (IDC), that is complementary to the "styles" in chapter 1 and could be viewed as a way to judge which level or "style" an organization matches. The table is labeled Level 0 - Level 6 and has columns for a brief description, examples, "forcing work conditions", and "forcing environmental conditions" that gives you a set of criteria to evaluate and determine which "maturity level" or style an organization matches.

At 44 pages, Chapter 7, "The Four Lenses of Analysis", is more than twice as long as any other chapter in the book and is probably the most thorough discussion of any of the topics covered. The four lenses discussed are: Frustration, Time, Cost, and Quality. The author presents several techniques for evaluating a process from these four perspectives, but the techniques presented are pretty basic. Interestingly, the author omits any discussion of statistical analysis although he mentions Lean and Six Sigma repeatedly throughout the book, and there is a whole chapter, Chapter 15, that touts the value and benefits of simulation. Unfortunately, that chapter was all about how useful it is and where to apply it. Unlike the rest of the book, that chapter did not present any "how-to" information - neither how to do it nor how to apply it in process management. I think that kind of information on simulation would be of tremendous value.

Chapter 10, "Design Principles for Process Redesign", along with chapters 1 and 14, really distinguishes this book from other basic process improvement tomes. In this chapter, the author presents 38 "design principles" that he organizes in 5 categories: work structure, information flow, design guides, organizing people, and general guidance. While many of these are "common sense" to a process management practitioner, it is always good to have a checklist to follow to make sure that you haven't neglected anything. Some of the "principles" are "Mom and Apple Pie" type statements for process oriented workers, such as "Redesign the Process First, Then Automate It", or references to other methodologies that aren't presented in the book, for example, "Use design for Six Sigma (DFSS)". However, I really liked the idea of keeping a list of design principles and plan to start my own list for use in the future. A modified version of the author's list will be a good starting point.

So, in summary, if you are new to process improvement, this is a good introduction with a generic "one-size fits all" methodology that will get you started. If you are a seasoned practitioner, you probably have at least one more robust methodology than you will find in this book, but there is plenty of other valuable material in here that would be worth your time. I bought two copies for our team library.

It would appear that 2005 will certainly go down as the year of the process book. With the steadily increasing number of titles, it becomes increasingly hard to be objective and find interesting things to say about a book in a review.

At first glance this would appear to be another "me too" title, and while in some ways that may be true. However there are a couple of things that set this book apart and mean that it can be of value to those experienced in process improvement as well as those new to the subject.

For anyone new to the subject I would say that reading as many books as you can, even if they appear at first glance to overlap is a good thing. You will need to find an angle and perspective that works for you and it is only through distilling the thoughts from a number of sources that you can achieve this.

From a reading perspective this book is well written and easy to digest. It is also very applicable to any type of process related improvement project and so should have broad appeal.

For me the most important part of this book is the 38 design principles that Dan lists in the appendix. These provide great value and can act as a great check list on any project to ensure you get the maximum value from a project. Checklists are something else I found useful in the book, Dan provides a great many work sheets and check lists, all of which can be put to use quickly with the aid of the clear explanations he provides. In my opinion the check lists, work sheets and design principles alone will justify the cost of purchasing the book.

Particularly useful is the section on the "lenses of analysis" - this helps the user to remind themselves of what problem they are actually trying to solve. A great way of ensuring that analysts remain focussed on the business problem at hand.

I did not feel that the chapters provided by the guest authors really added to the good work in earlier chapters written by Dan himself. Although the chapter on organisational issues talks of an important aspect of change and provides some useful information, I felt the style was just different.

In summary I would suggest that this is a good book for anyone involved in any kind of process improvement project. It will provide a good introduction for those new to the discipline of analysis and design. While acting as a useful refresher for those with more experience.

This book has all you need not only to start, but also to continue with process improvement. It covers all basic steps you need to fulfill, gives you a broad overview about what you have to have in mind and also gives nice examples. I'm sorry I didn't have it much before, it could save me a lot's of mistakes I did.

Of course, I wouldn't call it a Bible, for more details in any area you'll need more detailed literature, but it can be used as a very good checkbook and guide when starting with process improvement. It's very simple and systematic. Highly recommendable not only for those who start with process management, but also for everyone who already works in this area.

This book is very useful and practical, especially for people who are starting to work in the area of process improvement. It provides a step by step how to conduct a process improvement and redesign project. It can be a guide also for experienced employees in the field. I recommend beginners to read this book as a start!

Excellent Book.
Well Organized.
Well Writtent.
Quotable Content.

Anyone NEW to the Business Process Approach. Start here!

Not about how to implement IT changes to get it done.
Very little "System" Talk.

This book could take a motivated Lay-Person and help transform them
into a Business Process GURU!

If you are an IT person, it is worth reading so you know the game
plan, and the score. It lets you argue AGAINTS implementing ANYTHING
until people have TESTED their ideas WITHOUT system changes!!!

Dan's book is a life saver for anyone who is interested in process mapping and doesn't know where to start. He gives you the beginning line, the tools to use along the way, and brings from mapping to analysis to management.

And note - dealing with process is more than mapping - it's analysis, identifying "issues and opportunities" - solutions.

Likely not emphasized enough is the need to do the mapping and some of the analysis with the business units to garnish the buy-in critical to solution implementation.

A must-have how-to for someone who is getting started or needs a refresher when it comes to process mapping, analysis, and management!!

Phil

I really found this book useful. I've just started to implement process mapping and improvement activities in the companies. It presents you many tools to be used for preparing process maps and they are easy to use. Language is simple. You will find many tables and figures which facilitate understanding of the idea very quickly.

Dan Madison's Process Mapping is an excellent starter course on process redesign. He not only provides an overview the steps for mapping processes; he also gives crucial guidance regarding change management. Setting team goals and ground rules; fully engaging senior management; viewing problems through the four lenses of quality, cost, frustration, and time; dealing with cross-department communication issues... these are all crucial elements of a successful project, and Mr. Madison provides critical reminders for ensuring a streamlined and efficient process. Finally, his 38 Design Principles are a great checklist for finding the core cause of process issues - an excellent contribution to the knowledge base of process improvement.

Wow, I have been very impressed with this book. I lead about 15 Business Analyst and 10 Project Managers and I have found this book to be a real gem. It is methodology agnostic and gives the appropriate amount of detail to utilize when evaluating business processes.

This book provides a very easy to understand overview of process mapping and its implementation across different types of organizations and industries. It includes explanations as well as examples of templates to use when trying to adopt and use process management. Great intro and reference!