Business process improvement

Understand the process before you pay to change it

Business process improvement starts by mapping how the work is actually done, including hand-offs, delays, workarounds and exceptions, before deciding what should change.

Show us the processRun the assessment

Map how the work actually gets done

We map the people, decisions, systems, data and exceptions involved before recommending a change.

Include workarounds and undocumented steps

The real process includes old workarounds, spreadsheets carrying data between systems and checks that depend on one person's memory.

If you automate only the written procedure, the missing workarounds soon cause problems. We map them first.

Signs the process needs attention

01

People copy information between systems

Your team copies data, chases approvals or keeps private spreadsheets to finish the work.

02

The process has accumulated extra steps

No one is responsible for the whole process, and every workaround adds another step.

03

You need to choose what to change

You need enough information to choose between a process change, integration, automation, AI or custom software.

04

A previous change did not solve the problem

The tool shipped, but the delay, error or manual work appeared somewhere else.

Engagement options

Choose advice, implementation or both

01

Consultation

Map of the current process, prioritised changes, proposed process and implementation plan.

02

Implementation

Build a defined process change, integration, automation or custom system.

03

Consultation and implementation

The same ATC lead stays involved from the first workshop through release and handover.

What you receive

  1. Map of the current process

    Steps, people, systems, data, timing and exceptions as they work now.

  2. Prioritised changes

    A clear list of which changes matter most, what they depend on and how hard they are.

  3. Proposed process

    The proposed process, owners, controls and measurements.

  4. Delivery plan

    A staged build with test results, planned business changes and a support owner.

Compare the current process with the proposed process

Before

Before

After

After

A preferred tool is looking for a problem
becomes
Options are compared against one mapped process
Exceptions are discovered during development
becomes
Exceptions and owners are part of the scope
Benefits depend on broad estimates
becomes
Benefits use a recorded baseline

Next step

Tell us about the process that is causing problems

Tell us what the process should do and where it goes wrong. We will help work out what needs to change.

Start a conversation

Questions

Questions people ask us

What is process mapping and what do I get from it?
We record what actually happens now, including the parts nobody wrote down, then show where the time and money go. You get a current-state map anyone in the business recognises, options compared on the same facts, and a recommendation with the reasoning attached.
How long does it take to map a process?
A day or two for a single process in most cases, including talking to the people who run it. Longer if it crosses several teams, and that is usually a sign there is more than one process wearing the same name.
Why not just automate it?
Because automating a process that should not exist in that shape makes it fail faster and more consistently, and much harder to change. The most common finding is that a step can be removed rather than automated.
Do you need access to our systems?
Not for mapping. We mostly need access to the people who run the process. Systems access matters later, when something is being built.
What if the answer is that we should change nothing?
Then that is the finding and you have saved the cost of a project. It happens, and it is a legitimate outcome rather than a failure of the engagement.