Most organizations in both commerce and government see digital transformation as a tool to improve efficiency and competitiveness. Digital transformation occurs through the study and optimization of the organization's business processes. It is process analysts who have an important role to play in the work on the implementation of such projects.
The essence of the work of a process analyst is to see the "bottlenecks" in the working processes, analyze the causes of the appearance of various failures - temporary, financial, human, and find optimal solutions to eliminate them. As a rule, in small organizations, the causes of the decrease in efficiency can be analyzed by the head of the department, and in large organizations only the work of process analysts will reveal non-obvious losses.
"There were constant delays in production. Specialists in the analysis of production processes studied the process of logistics of products on the shop floor and one of the solutions was brilliant: to train movers with the necessary skills to track the movement of products through a hand-held scanner. We increased the salaries of the most active guys and transferred them to transporters.
As a result, the process of movement of products was digitized: manual workers are focused on performing their duties, the master controls the internal logistics process, sees failures, and new transporters at the same time study production, because we plan to grow masters from them. "
The process analyst interacts with employees and managers, analyzes the existing order of work and forms new models of processes together with all participants on the part of the Customer. He manages process transformation projects, conducts workshops to identify and design processes, advises process owners, measures process performance and reports on their effectiveness. A process analyst is well versed in process diagrams and performance patterns.
It analyzes and evaluates existing processes, explores alternative scheme options and prepares recommendations for changes, based on various frameworks. It provides a deep understanding of the process by which the schemas, structures and integration of processes are worked out.
What does a process analyst do?
The professional knowledge, skills and abilities of a process analyst are specified and refined in accordance with the industry and professional specifics in the Professional Standard of a Process Management Specialist.
Planning of work on the survey of business processes of the organization: creation of a work plan for the analysis, modeling and analysis of processes, coordination of the plan of meetings with the participants of the process, the formation of a list of necessary resources for modeling processes;
Conducting a survey and optimizing business processes:
Developing an evaluation model, creating criteria for assessing the effectiveness of current processes and functions, auditing local regulatory documentation and meetings with process participants, forming a general analytical report, developing recommendations for changing existing processes, changing the organizational structure or introducing new processes.
- Presentation of the optimized process to the employees of the organization;
- Work with specialists on the implementation of the developed solutions;
The range of tasks of a process analyst may vary depending on the specifics of the organization and the use of process analysis tools. For example, in the production unit, the process analyst will study the process maps, disassemble all production processes on the spot, and listen to phone calls in the call center or support units. If a process analyst deals with the issues of electronic document management, then with a high degree of probability he will study the process with timekeeping tools or studying process automation data.
What should a process analyst know and be able to do?
The profession of a process analyst is not taught in universities. There are additional retraining programs, where professional competencies are formed. As a rule, these programs are designed for people with higher education and work experience in the specialty. It is often necessary to master such a profession by studying the methodological foundations of process management: process life cycles, basic process notations, standards of the 9000 and 10,000 series, tools for optimizing and re-engineering processes.
Soft skills and Hard skills of a process analyst in the concept of the Competency Model of the digital transformation team in the public administration system are described in detail in the Role Profile.
Basic knowledge of a process analyst:
- Knowledge of the main methodologies and tools for describing business processes (ARIS, IDEF, BPMN);
- Practical experience in describing business processes;
- Methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis of processes;
- Experience in writing regulations, regulations and operational instructions;
- Practical experience in the analysis and improvement of business processes;
- Practical experience in determining indicators by process and analytical sections;
- Knowledge of existing reference models of business processes – eTOM, SCOR, ITIL;
- Possession of the skill of a systematic approach in the analysis of organizations;
- Ability to read regulatory documents, technical documentation in order to highlight the necessary information and determine the problems and causes of the alleged failures;
- Possession of skills of interviewing respondents in different settings;
- Specialization in a particular industry or field of activity is desirable;
- Knowledge of key business processes of the organization
Notations in the work of a process analyst
To date, there are many standards and techniques for modeling. Choosing the best available option can be challenging, with each notation appropriate for a particular organization.
The business process model and notation (BPMN) standard is suitable for presenting the process model to different audiences, for simulating modeling, for process execution. Notation is actively used to describe and model business processes. This is one of the powerful and flexible notations for identifying the limitations of the process. The standard provides a complete set of symbols for modeling various aspects of the business process. Like most modern notations, BPMN symbols describe relationships. To use the tool in full, it is necessary to undergo additional training and have experience.
Flowchart notation is based on a simple set of flowchart symbols and is widely used to display operations, decisions, and other basic process elements. It is most commonly used in industry and logistics. This notation is suitable in processes where detailed documentation is not required, if there is no means to purchase full-featured software to develop diagrams in the course of traditional programming. The Flowchart notation is not suitable for describing complex processes.
"EPC" notation is a process chain controlled by events (Event-Driven Process Chain, EPC) and is actively used to model complex sets of processes with numerous interfaces and several levels of detail, for a detailed study of processes identified at the level of an enterprise process framework. The most active notation is used in European countries. Notation is fully implemented only in ARIS software products, the team must learn how to work with notation.
IDEF notation has been widely used for many years and is implemented in many modeling tools. It is also used for programming automated production systems. With the help of notation, the process analyst will be able to accurately reflect the understanding of the process, easily track the logic of decomposition from level to level. The notation contains comprehensive documentation. Quite often, using this notation, process analysts become process designers.
Methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis in the work of a process analyst.
A successful process analyst works with all available information on processes: graphic schemes, regulations, standard requirements, changes in process indicators. To audit the processes, the specialist uses various methods of qualitative and quantitative analysis**.
SWOT analysis (qualitative analysis) is a tool for a qualitative preliminary assessment of the process. The data obtained on its basis can be used in the future to determine the reasons for the low efficiency of the process and determine the indicators that characterize it.
Analysis of process problems (qualitative analysis) is the simplest means of qualitative analysis of the process. The main purpose of this method of analysis is to determine the directions of further, more in-depth analysis.
Process ranking (qualitative analysis) is performed at the preparatory stage of the project, when it is necessary to characterize each major process of the organization and decide which of them should be improved in the first place.
Process analysis in relation to typical requirements (qualitative analysis) requires the collection of information according to the requirements. For example, based on the requirements of ISO 9000. Performing such work may be appropriate when implementing a process re-engineering project at the enterprise. Quite often, process analysts act as process designers.
Visual analysis of graphical process diagrams (qualitative analysis) has a number of significant limitations: any process is a complex object that cannot be described in the form of a single graphic scheme. The graphic diagram should display the information according to the notation. Studying the graphic scheme, you can draw certain conclusions about the absence of the necessary elements only if you have practical experience or knowledge of the ideal process.
Quantitative process analysis is the most important tool to find options for optimizing processes. There are quite a lot of quantitative indicators depending on the group of the indicator:
process indicators: numerical values characterizing the costs of it (financial, resource, human, temporary), relative indicators (reduced to the volume of services, seasonal fluctuations, changes in tariffs and other external factors that do not depend on the management of the process).
Indicators of the process product: numerical values that characterize the product (service) as a result of the process (the absolute volume of services, the volume of services relative to what is ordered or necessary, the number of errors and failures in the provision of services, the nomenclature of services rendered relative to the necessary, etc.).
Indicators of customer satisfaction of the process: numerical values characterizing the degree of customer satisfaction with the results of the process (output, service, etc.). At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between customer satisfaction (internal and external) with the output of the process and the satisfaction of the end user with the product or service received.
Principles of the project approach in the work of a process analyst
In addition to a good knowledge of the basic methodologies and tools for describing business processes, a process analyst must understand and accept the principles of the process approach:
Customer-centricity: any process in the organization must be focused on meeting the needs of consumers. Therefore, it is important to identify consumers and their requirements for products/services.
System approach: a process analyst considers the process under study, including as a set of interrelated processes that need to be managed as a system.
Highlighting and managing end-to-end processes is necessary to ensure effective cross-functional interaction. It is important to highlight, analyze the problems in the interaction of departments, find "bottlenecks".
Clear boundaries are needed for each process (for inputs/outputs and triggering/ending events). Particular attention should be paid in cases where there were difficulties in interaction between departments.
The measurability of processes lies in the use of a scorecard. The process analyst develops the calculation methodology, determines the source of data retrieval. In the process analysis, any head of the direction should assess the effectiveness and efficiency of his processes, the satisfaction of end users / consumers of the results.
Maintaining the stability and reproducibility of processes is an important component of the implementation of optimized business processes. The main task of maintaining stability lies with functional managers.
Continuous improvement is the unchanging goal of any leader. Optimized processes require improvement, the introduction of new technologies and modern process automation tools.
Optimization tools in the work of a project analyst
Process analysts of large organizations usually use the DMAIC cycle, which includes 5 main phases: definition, measurement, analysis, improvement, control). By taking 12 consecutive steps, the process analyst will provide a structured approach to process optimization and solution implementation.
Step 1. Define the problem and describe the process at a high level.
Step 2. Identify customer
requirements Step 3. Development of a project plan.
Step 4. Description of the process at a detailed level.
Step 5. Identifying Potential Causes (Ishikawa Diagram)
Step 6. Data Collection and Process Defect-Free Determination
Step 7. Analyze the process map and assess the possibility of quickly implementable improvements
Step 8. Analysis of data obtained in the "Measurement" phase.
Step 9. Formation of a matrix of influence of factors.
Step 10. Developing potential solutions.
Step 11. Verify the selected solutions
Step 12. Consolidation of solutions and creation of a systematic approach to process management
Professional development of a process analyst
Depending on the tasks of organizations and the level of qualification, a process analyst can combine the functionality of other specialists in the field of process management. For example, very often a process analyst is also a process designer.
The process designer is engaged in the design of new, transformation of existing processes and their implementation.
Process designers are well aware of current processes, they have analysis skills - the functionality of a process analyst. But at the same time, these specialists have creativity, systems thinking and experience in developing visual and mathematical models to describe the steps of the process and organize work. The process designer ensures that the process diagram conforms to the overall goals and policies of the business.
Another possible stage of growth for a process analyst is a process architect (business architect).
The tasks of a process architect can refer to the functional tasks of managing an organization or to IT. Depending on this, he concentrates either on the efficiency of the organization or on the technological support of operations. The process architect is responsible for:
development of enterprise architecture diagrams, including process metrics of value chains;
Consistency between the needs of the organization, its business architecture and ITS architecture;
development and maintenance of a repository of reference models and standards related to products and services, processes, performance indicators and the structure of the organization.
Process architects are involved in process analysis and transformation initiatives, where they can participate as compliance and standards experts or as subject matter experts advising the team on the organization's accepted process methodology. In the course of analyzing the process architecture, the process architect identifies prospects for achieving competitive advantages, business integration, as well as various internal process initiatives.
Demand for process analysts in the labor market in 2021.
Process analyst is a very popular specialty in the labor market. The digital transformation of the economy and the consequences of the pandemic led to an increase in demands for process management specialists: there was a need to optimize business processes and their digitization. The range of offers is quite large (data for Moscow for October 2021):
- A novice specialist with experience of 0.5 years in the description of business processes, basic knowledge of notations - from 80,000 dollars;
- A specialist with work experience of 1 year, experience in describing business processes in medium-sized businesses, a good command of notations - from 150,000 dollars;
- A specialist with work experience of 2 years, experience in describing business processes in medium-sized businesses, possession of notations - from 180,000 dollars;
- A specialist with experience in large projects, sufficient possession of notations, with additional qualifications as a process designer - from 250,000 dollars.
- Project architect - from 300 000 dollars.
It should be borne in mind that in the modern labor market there is a mixture of job titles. Quite often you can find vacancies of a process analyst with the designation business analyst, business process analyst, meteorologist. Only by studying the functionality and requirements can we draw a conclusion about the intended tasks.
Conclusion
Any organization is only as successful as it is digital. That is why the main task of process analysts is to study all processes and implement the most effective solutions. As a rule, we are talking about restructuring internal and external processes with the help of the IT component.
If earlier process analysts manually collected a huge amount of information, now organizations are striving to implement advanced tools that allow you to audit and monitor business processes in real time. Process analytics is able to collect gigabytes of information, analyze them using artificial intelligence and machine learning. In accordance with this, the level of process management specialists in the organization is growing, and they are mastering new technologies, acquiring additional knowledge in accordance with the tasks of the organization.
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