Anything we do is a process.  The more we acknowledge our processes and start the journey of managing and improving them, the lower the risk in overall operations.

The first step in managing processes is to understand all their components and a simple tool that could be used is SIPOC (suppliers, inputs, process, outpus customers).

PROCESS SCOPE
“PROCESS” is an overloaded word: “process” is NOT only the process steps / actions / tasks associated with it, we also have to consider:

• Suppliers.
• Inputs AND their quality requirements.
• Outputs AND their quality requirements.
• Customers.

The quality requirements for inputs and outputs are the measurements we need to ensure that we have all we need at the parameters we need (inputs) to execute the process that meets customer needs (in a verifiable way = quality requirements).  This is what we mean by “process requirements”.  When we also consider the assumptions for the inputs and outputs, the ability to manage what we do is considerable increased.  This is the proactive, preventive approach, as oppose to an reactive mode of doing things.  This is the difference between (on one hand) understanding process requirements and using them to running and managing what is being done, and (on the other hand) just doing, thinking that we know what to do and having to react (read put out fires) because we don’t have what we need or we have to adjust multiple times until we finalize what has to be done.  The bigger the gap in our understanding of process requirements, the higher the risk in our operations, the higher the risk of meeting customer needs and, of course, bigger frustration and nightmares to deal with.

LET’S LOOK AT A COLLEGE EXAMPLE
For example: company x engages a college to provide introductory management courses to several groups of employees.  Since everything we do is a process, I want to look at the “teaching a management course” as a process and  describe it with the extra information mentioned above.  The SIPOC for it could be described with the items below (without flashing out all the details).  We are not focusing on process steps which are usually the ones that receive the most attention.  We are illustrating items that contribute to process requirements:

Suppliers:

1. Company x,  providing the students as inputs to the teaching process.  For this process to be successful, we can think of the following requirements for the students taking the course:

Inputs:

1. Students. Quality requirements:
   1. interested in learning. The specific measurement could be “yes/no”; or I could use ranges like:  “low/medium/high”, or with more granularity
   2. experience with basic process improvement. Specific measurements could be defined as above.
   3. experience with basic project management. Similarly, specific measurement could be defined as above
2. College organizing the course providing the following

Inputs:

1. Classrooms; requirements: set up with projector, enough space for all the students, etc
2. Teaching material for instructor and for students; requirements: correct format (for example, power point loaded on the computer, ready to be projected, printed pdf versions for the students); complete, correct version, etc.
3. Logistics: dates / times / address / contact information, etc; requirements: accurate, complete, communicated on time.
4. Instructor; requirements: well qualified to teach this course, know the course materials, etc.

Customers:

1. Company x, that the students are part of.  From the process perspective, the students are outputs; quality requirements: to be able to describe best management principles and the methodologies and tools that could be used for creating and sustaining a high performing organization.  Here we can make a specific list and decide a percentage that would measure how the customer “wants” are met.
2. College

Outputs:

1. Students (quality requirements:) are satisfied with the course in all its dimensions: registration, facility, course content, presentation, materials, instructor, etc.
2. Instructor satisfied with logistics and outcome of the course, i.e., students were engaged and were able to follow and learn the concepts.

Traditionally, the inputs and outputs in a SIPOC are not required to include the quality requirements.  But, the information in a SIPOC is a lot more “actionable” if we also add the “quality” requirements on the inputs and outputs as it was illustrated above.  The “quality” requirements become the measurements to ensure the process starts with the right inputs and it is executed in such a way that creates the desired outputs.

SCENARIOS
Let’s  now imagine a few scenarios when the inputs are not what the process expects.  The “teaching the management course” process expects students to be interested and participate in the course activities; if the students are sent (read volunteered) to attend the course and if they just show up and/or they don’t have the right attitude, this will impact the process and the people participating: the rest of the class, the instructor, the overall outcome.  The other requirement for students is to have basic exposure to project management and process improvement; for example, they should be familiar with the concept of “charter”.  If this is not the case, then, the instructor may have a challenging time to focus on management best practices, because s/he has to focus on establishing foundations. Another “quality requirement” for the students / classes is to have groups of people that have similar experience and background.

If the class is a combination of people who are very familiar with project and process tools and people who never heard of project and process tools, then it will be a challenging experience for everybody: the people who now project and process tools will get bored if the instructor spends more time to discuss project and process tools; the people who don’t know the project and process tools will feel overwhelmed and frustrated because they have a hard time to follow and/or class is moving too fast.  The instructor will be frustrated because instead of teaching management best practices, has to go a lower granularity level and ensure the process and project management tools are understood as part of the foundations for good management. If, on top of this, you also have in the class a combination of people with more authority and power (the more experienced ones) and people at a lower level in the organization (that usually have less experience and background), then is almost sure the lower level people will get lost and they will also not say anything because of the hierarchical relationship.

SIPOC BENEFITS
When a SIPOC is used, there is an opportunity to discuss with all stakeholders the quality requirements for inputs and outputs and avoid the risk of processes that cannot or have a lower rate of meeting the customers expectations because the inputs are not good.

When there is strong collaboration and communication with the suppliers, the teaching process may get engaged students at similar levels of experience, background and organizational authority as inputs. This will ensure a much better execution of the teaching process with better outcomes in skills and knowledge the students gain and a much better experience for everybody, students and instructors. Both organizations, company x and the college, will be pleased with the relationship and may result in opportunities for more collaboration (read business).

Bio:

Adina Suciu CSSBB, CMQ/OE, is principal consultant at Adav, LLC a Seattle based company focused on helping people and organizations to attain and sustain agility. She is also a Baldrige examiner and assessor for the European Framework for Quality Management. She can be reached at adina@adavconsulting.com and at 206.234.8014.