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BPM Blog

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Education

Teaching and communicating others about your processes might seem like a no brainer for most of us, yet many look at processes and employee training as separate items.
If investment is made in developing and successfully documenting processes, it makes perfect sense to communicate those processes to those that need them.

Training new staff, linking procedures to existing processes and providing detailed instructions are all possible using your process maps as a basis for this important project. Maps that already documented can be repurposed for facilitating change (when new tasks are introduced or modified), and ongoing updates.

The additional benefit of using process maps for education purposes is you have one source of the current status of a process. This makes it much easier to keep changes and modifications to processes and procedures in line with the latest and more accurate practices in the organization.

Education is the gateway to standardizing processes and procedures. This will start to make institutional change take hold in the organization.

 

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Processes are pervasive throughout every organization, even the smallest ones. The operation of an organization relies heaving on either institutional (sometimes called tribal) knowledge of these processes and procedures or will have spent a good deal of time ensuring that the process is known and training ensures everyone uses it in the same way.

The cultural aspect of processes in the organization should not be underestimated. Ever heard the phrase “that’s not the way we do it here”, or “that’s not right”, depending on the organization these may be red flags that information is not being shared openly. The willingness to share information might sound like an obvious virtue in an organization, but as we know that is not always the way of the world. I don’t know how many times I have heard the phrase Information is Power in my life, but is usually has some sinister application that follows whoever is spreading that Gospel. Mainly because if you look at information being power, then where there is power, there is often misuse of power. Anyway, before I head out onto some diatribe that doesn’t help our cause, just be warned that many don’t want to share the information you desperately need for your project, and be prepared with tools and methods to help them change their mind.

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Why we need processes

In any organization we need processes for four main reasons:

1. Increase efficiency;

2. Control quality

3. Ensure the organization is meeting Governance or Compliance requirements

4. Help manage change

In early stages of process technology and method development, each reason for using process technology was different. If you have been around enough you may recall the “time and motion” studies for industrial applications. I recall my father, who worked in a British factory, was always wary when the Time and Motion specialists came in to time his work. Needless to say, work practices were different when the timing was going on, as most workers were being paid bonuses based on volume of output.

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Short history of processes

This was an example of work in efficiency improvement, other programs such as Six Sigma began to identify areas of improvement in quality, Lean, Kaizen and others followed. Today we have a combination of these methods in use in different areas, but the overall message is now we need to look at our processes holistically; that is in a complete way. So when we have patient open for surgery in the efficiency area, we review quality and all the other reasons that should make things better at the same time.

In many ways this is a great improvement over sending teams of specialists in that are all looking at different aspects of the work. We have also learned from quality advocates like Deming and Japanese industry that quality is something that has to be built into the organizational culture as well as its processes to be truly effective.

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Identifying and flagging risk levels within tasks can be easily accomplished with TaskMap 4 Professional. There are two ways of flagging risk levels, manually and automatically through TaskMap Capture for Excel. In the image below, you can see that different colors are used to indicate the level of risk on a scale of 1 to 5. Five being the highest level with a red indicator and green being the lowest level, or a level 1.

Selecting the data graphics panel from your TaskMap ribbon or menu will allow you to create a real time instance of the risk levels within your process. 

 

RISK LEVELS

In addition, you can assign risk levels from TaskMap Capture from Excel, and display the results automatically as the TCE worksheet automatically updates the content of your process map. This is particularly useful if you are creating the risk assignment level based on other parameters within the TaskMap or external spreadsheet. This might indicate the work is going to be late or delayed, over budget or not within quality guidelines previously set by your team.

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In addition to creating dashboards the general progress of a project, it is also possible to create a dashboard for the analysis of an existing process. The first steps will include:

  1. The number of tasks and their specific path in the process and
  2. The time taken for each task and
  3. Elapsed time between each task

Analysis through time thresholds

 

The above process shows where tasks have been flagged where the take more than 3 minutes and then presented with a time threshold visual graphic. The result a simple dashboard of the process showing where analysis should be taken place for tasks and wait time between tasks.

 

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Much is being written on the topic of process dashboards, but in reality there is not as much being done as is possible. I will start today by making the case for a process dashboard and we will pick up how best to go about  doing this in detail in the coming days.

Process dashboards are going to become popular for several reasons:

  • Management and project managers want to see critical issues in summary format for reporting and action
  • The future will require individual projects using best practice processes to be based on the same methods and procedures
  • Problems remain hidden for tool long in a project, until it starts to affect, schedule resources and budgets adversely

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How many times have you saved a file, and had the system shut down or power run out, creating a moment of flat panic.

At our firm we have automated back up on our systems, use SharePoint for version control and an online back up service as well. However at the weekend, I worked on some files for a presentation I had on Saturday afternoon to a group of ski instructors. I could not find the file I had been working on for more than 4 hours in preparation for the meeting. With the room filling up with people I was beginning to sweat. Fortunately, the correct file had been saved, just to another default location. Phew! That discovery was two minutes before the presentation was to begin. Thank you God!

Anyway, got me thinking again about the importance of version and revision control. We really don’t have any excuses not to use it any more, however many organizations still don’t back up or track changes between versions of their work in progress.

Perhaps a good New Year resolution that will give us the following peace of mind:

  • Files and versions stored and backed up in a safe location
  • Minute but importance incremental versions of files can be tracked
  • Ability to undo unwanted changes
  • History of progress and changes easily managed

TaskMap Central version control and process repository based on hosted SharePoint services from HCG.

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Following skills (the details)

Door-openers

A door-opener is an non-coercive invitation extended to another to talk.

Open-ended questions

An open-ended questions is one which allows another to answer in any way or in any depth he or she choses. This kind of question does not invite a “yes” or “no” or a short response.

Open-ended questions can assist the other in exploring avenues that were not perhaps at “top of mind”.

Closed-end questions, on the other hand, tend by their nature to limit the other to short responses. Closed-ended questions usually begin with “are”, “do”, “is”, motives or justifications, and therefore tend to promote a defensive reaction in the other person. Closed-ended questions should be avoided when practicing reflective listening techniques in your meetings.

Examples of some open-ended questions include:

  • How to you feel about that?
  • Could you tell me some more about that?
  • What’s on your mind, Joe?
  • Could you give me an example?
  • Can you fill me in a little more about …?
  • Can you say more about … ?
  • How was that for you?

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    Following skills (overview)

    The three biggest barriers to more effective listening are:

    1. The listener talks too much
    2. The listener doesn’t listen for long enough before starting to talk
    3. The listener remains silent and entirely unresponsive

    All the tendencies make it hard for the other to tell his or her story or opinion.

    If the listener finds that he or she is talking more than the speaker, the listener may not be listening effectively. The other extreme is passive listening, where the listener it too inert and inactive to be very helpful.

    Following skills are elementary ways of responding during a conversation to let the other know that he or she is being heard. Here are four following skills that we will review in more detail.

    1. Door-openers
    2. Acknowledgement responders
    3. Active Silence
    4. Open-ended questions

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      Attending skills

      Posture

      The listener usually leans slightly toward the speaker in a relaxed manner. Relaxation is important because tenseness tends to take the focus off the other. An open posture is a sign that the listener is open to what the other has to say. The other should be faced during the conversation.

      Gestures

      The listener communicates much with body movements. if the listener moves excessively or rosses his or her arms over the chest, an unintended message might be communicated. The key is to avoid distracting movements.

      Environment

      The environment should be supportive of the communication. A space that promotes privacy for undisturbed conversation is essential. Physical barriers between the listener and the speaker should be removed or the individuals should choose an alternate space.

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      Attending skills (the details)

      Contact

      Eye contact is a way of indicated intense interest in the other person because the eyes are of other key modes of communicating. This does not mean that eye contact must be a fixed stare to be effective. If the listener is honestly interested and at ease, he or she will look naturally at the other throughout the communication.

      Another element of contact is the distance between the listener and the other. Some experimentation is usually necessary before the most comfortable distance between the two is discovered.

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      Attending Skills overview

      Attending is giving physical and psychological attention to others in a communication situation. Effective attending conveys non-verbally that the listener is interested an is paying careful attention to the other.

      Effective physical attending takes place when the listener adopts a posture of involvement, including facing the speaker and leaning slightly toward him or her, establishing good eye contact, and arranging to have an appropriate environment for the conversation or meeting.

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      Benefits of reflective listening:

      1. Lets the other reaslize he or she is heard, understood and supported and thereby helps the other stay in touch with others on the project.
      2. Gives the other feedback on what he or she said and how it came off.
      3. Lets the listener check the accuracy in hearing what the other has said.
      4. Helps the other focus on self, ventilate, sort out issues, discharge and express feelings and deal with issues.
      5. Allows the other to move to deeper levels of expression at his or her own pace.
      6. Allows the other to think more clearly.
      7. Helps the other arrive at a solution to her or her own problems.
      8. Helps the listener clarify what he or she is expected to do.
      9. Helps the listener deal effectively with the issue, problem and needs of the other.

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        Reflective listening skills can be grouped into three clusters attending skills, following skills and responding skills.

        Attending skills

        These are Contact, Posture, Gestures and Environment.

        These skills set up the environment for the meeting and encounter. We all can see when these are unfavorable, but the converse it setting them up so a friendly but productive atmosphere is created for the meeting.

        Following skills

        These are Door-openers, Acknowledgement responses, Active Silence and Open-ended questions. 

        Door-openers, acknowledgement responses, active silence and open-ended questions are used as appropriate during the listening process, with all but the open-ended questions normally used early in the conversation. The open-ended questions are used to clarify listener understanding and prompt the other to elaborate more in a particular area.

        Responding skills

        These are Paraphrasing, Reflecting Feelings, Reflecting Meanings and Summarizing.

        The responding skills of Paraphrasing, Reflecting Feelings, Reflecting Meanings and Summarizing are the most effective in facilitating the listening process and are used more frequently throughout a communication session or meeting.

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        I had the good fortune recently to attend a reflective listening workshop led by an expert in this field. Although the purpose of this workshop was to improve my personal reflective listening skills,  the content was so useful that I would like to share with you BPM buffs.

        Over the next few days I will outline what this set of skills represents and how we can apply them to BPM projects.

        What is reflective listening?

        Reflective listening is a two-fold process which involves:

        1. Really hearing and understanding what the other person is saying through words and body language, and
        2. Reflecting feelings and thoughts you heard through your own words, tone of voice, body posture and gestures so that the other person knows he or she is understood.

        Briefly stated, the essence of reflective listening is:

        • Hearing accurately what another is communicating
        • Understanding what the other is feeling
        • Accepting the other’s feelings
        • Committing to be with the other as he or she expresses a need or deals with a problem

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        Harvard Computing Group is pleased to announce the general availability of TaskMap 4.0.5, a minor update to the very successful release of TaskMap 4. We recommend that all current TaskMap 4 users update their copies of TaskMap to take advantage of this interim release.

        TaskMap 4.0.5 includes a number of fixes that will improve the operation of TaskMap. As always, our goal is to ensure that TaskMap provides the simplest and most effective way for you to document, analyze and improve your processes.

        For a list of the improvements in TaskMap 4.0.5, please visit the TaskMap 4.0.5 page on our website.

        If you have questions about any of the issues that were fixed in TaskMap 4.0.5 or about TaskMap in general, don’t hesitate to contact us.

        Installing TaskMap 4.0.5

        If you have already upgraded to TaskMap 4 and have a current maintenance plan in place, you will receive a separate email from us containing the download link and instructions for installing TaskMap 4.0.5.

        Upgrading to TaskMap 4

        If you have not yet upgraded to TaskMap 4, this is an excellent time to do so. In fact, we are offering a 10% discount during the month of December for current TaskMap 2 and 3 users who are ready to move to TaskMap 4. Simply visit our TaskMap 4 Upgrade Page and then enter coupon code DecemberDiscount during checkout.

        Upgrade now to take advantage of features like the following:

        • Check My TaskMap: validate the correctness of three key aspects of your TaskMap.
        • Visio 2010 ribbon: experience the easiest-to-use version of Visio yet and see how smoothly TaskMap takes advantage of the Office ribbon interface.
        • Automatic map creation: let TaskMap build your map for you, dropping pre-linked Tasks onto the page in an arrangement you select.
        • Automatic map creation from TaskMap Capture for Excel: simply enter Task data into Excel and TaskMap will drop fully populated Tasks onto the page (PRO only).
        • Customizable user-defined fields: create date fields, dropdown lists, text and numeric fields with your choice of names and descriptions (PRO only).
        • Save as PowerPoint: turn your TaskMap into a full-featured PowerPoint slide show with one click! (PRO only)
        • Save as Project: let TaskMap build a Microsoft Project plan from your map (PRO only)
        • Create TCE workbooks from existing TaskMaps: build a complete TaskMap Capture for Excel workbook from any existing TaskMap with two clicks (PRO only).

        Still not convinced? Watch this one-minute video for more reasons to upgrade.

        Other HCG News

        • HCG Partner Scott Helmers has been hired by Microsoft to film a series of five-minute training videos about Visio 2010. The videos will be filmed and edited in December and will be released by Microsoft during the first half of 2012.
        • Harvard Computing Group recently participated in two Chicago area events:
        • An enormously successful Visio Day run by Microsoft in conjunction with the Chicagoland chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysis
        • A lunch meeting of the Chicago chapters of the International Legal Technology Association and the Project Management Institute; the luncheon was hosted by TaskMap customer Seyfarth, Shaw LLP
        • At both events, HCG gave away copies of TaskMap Professional and Scott Helmers’ book, Visio 2010 Step by Step.
        • HCG consultants are currently converting flowcharts and text narratives into TaskMaps for a $350M west coast construction company. Can we create TaskMaps for you? Please contact us at sales@TaskMap.com or +1 978-800-4590 option 7.



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        This was a short week on blog postings, will get back into the routine again next week after the Thanksgiving holiday. Any feedback on the tutorials will be most welcome.

        The Tutorials are coming … the tutorials are coming

        Posted in Process Mapping on Dec 1st, 2011

        We are finalizing the tutorials for TaskMap 4 Standard and Professional Edition. Take a peak at the beta version from the links on this page. Feedback is welcome. Add Tasks to Page Drag and Drop Tasks onto a Page Use Quick Connect to Shoot Shapes onto a Page Add Blank Tasks (Multiple) to a Page [...]

        The psychology of spending and how it can help BPM ;-)

        Posted in Change Management, Project Management on Nov 28th, 2011

        This long weekend in the USA, tied around the Thanksgiving holiday, is rooted in family renewal and enjoyment. In America, that also means an opportunity to get ready for the upcoming “giving season” of Christmas and Hanukah. Retailers typical get up to 40% of their annual sales in this period, so nothing is left behind [...]

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        We are finalizing the tutorials for TaskMap 4 Standard and Professional Edition. Take a peak at the beta version from the links on this page. Feedback is welcome.

        Add Tasks to Page

        • Drag and Drop Tasks onto a Page
        • Use Quick Connect to Shoot Shapes onto a Page
        • Add Blank Tasks (Multiple) to a Page
        • Add Tasks to a Page from a TaskMap Capture Workbook

        TaskMap Capture for Excel

        • What is TaskMap Capture for Excel
        • Create a Blank TaskMap Capture Workbook
        • Create TaskMap Capture Workbook from a TaskMap
        • Link a TaskMap to a TaskMap Capture Workbook
        • Update TaskMap Capture Data

        Customize Role Names

        • Add/Edit/Delete Roles
        • Import Role Names
        • Export Role Names
        • Updating Roles in a TaskMap Capture for Excel Workbook

        Renumber Tasks

        • How TaskMap Determines Task IDs
        • How to Renumber Tasks
        • How to Renumber Tasks in a New Numeric Order

        Check My TaskMap

        • Verify task Link Connections
        • identify Duplicate Task IDs
        • Verify Connector Hyperlinks

        Turn Task Details On/Off

        Task Link Display Options

        • Change Task Link Display Options for All Task Links on a Page
        • Change Task Link Display Options for All Tasks Links in a TaskMap
        • Change Task Link Display Options for Selected Task Links

        Save as PowerPoint

        Save as Process Folder

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        This long weekend in the USA, tied around the Thanksgiving holiday, is rooted in family renewal and enjoyment. In America, that also means an opportunity to get ready for the upcoming “giving season” of Christmas and Hanukah. Retailers typical get up to 40% of their annual sales in this period, so nothing is left behind to try and pry every last dollar from bank accounts and credit cards of consumers.

        A huge amount of market research and psychology is applied to this to ensure that little is left to chance, any factor that increased the amount you spend in a store (or online in the case of Cyber Monday which is today!) is mercilessly used as a tactic. I am going to list three of the important factors for retailers in getting our money, and show how similar principals can be applied to our BPM project. Comments are welcome.

        1. You shop counterclockwise. Shoppers will spend 5-6% more by traveling around a store counterclockwise.  Don’t ask me why, because the researchers don’t even know, but it works.
          • Show the members of the BPM team how things are being done today and let them come to some conclusions about how to do the work more effectively.
        2. Play holiday music. Another 6% gain from playing holiday music while shoppers … shop.
          • Well playing music may not help us that much in a BPM project, but having a good environment for meetings, well prepared, organized, briefing materials send out in advance, an agenda … all will help your project meetings and project go more smoothly.
        3. Don’t us gift cards. Retailers love gift cards, however more than a 1/4 of them go unused …. making them a gift for the retailer.
          • There are no short answers. Each improvement in our project should have a before and after; what is costs now, what it will cost later. So be specific in your project and don’t just lay out “trust me” benefits in any cost justification or change in your BPM project.

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          Happy Thanksgiving

          Thanksgiving is a holiday I have come to cherish since moving to the USA in 1984. A time to renew and enjoy family time together, regardless of religion, race or location. We hope that all families savor this time, and perhaps even take that extra step to forgive someone in your family that needs to feel the reconnect at this time.

          Enjoy.

          Mike Cunningham and the team at Harvard Computing Group

           

          BPM Blog–The need to refine

          Posted in Process Improvement, Project Management on Nov 22nd, 2011

          This blog is now in video/audio format for your listening pleasure. The need to refine narrated by Michael Cunningham Download in podcast mpg3 format The need to refine

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          Processes as instruction tools

          Posted in Process Mapping on Nov 21st, 2011

          At this time of year in the north east, I get ready to put the skis on again, as I have a weekend job as PSIA instructor. The ski industry in recent years, has become dominated by lessons for children and young adults, 80% of lessons are given to that group. So each year, at [...]

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