Process Management

The terms 'process' and 'procedure' are basic to ISO9001:2000, yet many managers find them confusing. Much of the advice and 'best practice' examples currently on offer compound the misunderstanding. What do you understand as a 'process' and how many of them do you have in your organisation? How should you define them and how do they inter-relate?

Our approach to process management is based on a view of working practices which identifies and analyses the processes involved in the delivery of goods and services and the support of such processes. We have developed and used this approach successfully since the mid-1990s for clients of varying sizes, in a range of business sectors. Although our approach is still seen as innovative, it is increasingly becoming established and endorsed at all levels of an organisation, including managers, staff, consultants and advisory bodies.

The key elements of our approach are to:

• identify what is done, by whom, and how
• identify the resource requirements
• clarify the influences which impact on how a process operates
• create a logical system structure to contain the process definitions.

The resultant system can be used as an ideal vehicle for ISO9001:2000 implementation or as the basis for certification against other international standards. We also have experience of a number of software packages which support this approach, and we can advise on their strengths and weaknesses.