BPM made simpler
Posted in Change Management, Compliance, Law Processes, Process Mapping, Project Management on Feb 3rd, 2012
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Project Management on Feb 2nd, 2012
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Discovery, Process Improvement, Process Mapping on Feb 1st, 2012
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Mapping, Project Management on Jan 16th, 2012
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Legal processes on Jan 9th, 2012
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Discovery, Project Management on Dec 22nd, 2011
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Discovery, Process Mapping, Project Management on Dec 22nd, 2011
Following skills (overview) The three biggest barriers to more effective listening are: The listener talks too much The listener doesn’t listen for long enough before starting to talk 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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Discovery, Project Management on Dec 21st, 2011
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Discovery, Project Management on Dec 20th, 2011
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Discovery, Project Management on Dec 19th, 2011
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Discovery, Process Improvement, Project Management on Dec 15th, 2011
Benefits of reflective listening: 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. Gives the other feedback on what he or she said and how it came off. Lets the listener check the accuracy in hearing what the other [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Mapping, Project Management on Dec 13th, 2011
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Analysis, Project Management on Dec 9th, 2011
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 [...]
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 [...]
Posted in Change Management, Project Management on Nov 18th, 2011
Thinking Things Through with Mike Cunningham This week, we are introducing a new feature, a video blog of one of the posts from the week. Please let me know if you like this feature. Podcast Thinking Things Through mpg3 audio file Project and Processes (responses to the questions) Posted in Change Management, Process Mapping, Project [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Mapping, Project Management on Nov 16th, 2011
It’s been a while since we wrote about the issue of processes and projects. These often get muddled up, mainly because we tend to look at the disciplines as being very different. For example would a business analyst call themselves a project manager, or vice versa? The answer of course depends on the person. Vendors, [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Improvement, Process Mapping, Project Management on Nov 15th, 2011
It’s been a while since we wrote about the issue of processes and projects. These often get muddled up, mainly because we tend to look at the disciplines as being very different. For example would a business analyst call themselves a project manager, or vice versa? The answer of course depends on the person. Vendors, [...]
Posted in Change Management, Project Management on Nov 14th, 2011
What happens when another factor in a project has changed again? How do you react to that situation? Can you deal with ever changing priorities and the moving targets of budgets, priorities, resource changes and more. It’s a complex subject, and unfortunately, one that is sometimes fraught with politics and emotion. We all feel like [...]
Posted in Change Management, Process Analysis, Process Mapping, Project Management on Nov 11th, 2011
A friend of mine gave me a heads up that today would be the last day that the date would have a nice digital ring to for the rest of my lifetime. Here is the blog summary for the month so far. Monthly Archive for November, 2011 TaskMap Automated tutorial: TaskMap Capture for Excel [...]
Posted in Change Management, Legal processes, Process Analysis, Process Improvement, Project Management on Nov 5th, 2011
Yesterday I had a long lunch with a great friend of mine from Sweden. Over the years we have set up new companies together, skied the slopes of New England, seen our families grow together. We have also been through some ups and downs, but have always stayed in touch. We have one of those [...]
Get the BPM RSS feed