How to bring New Process to life
#003: Discover how the New Process Life Cycle and its underlying role concept enable you to bring New Process into reality.
In this episode, I am going to answer the question “How to bring New Process to life?” and I will explain exactly how this can be done by applying the New Process Life Cycle and the New Process Role Concept.
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Please note that the transcript was generated automatically and only slightly adjusted. It does not claim to be a perfect transcription.
Mirko (00:00:19) – Thank you very much for tuning in again, and welcome to the third episode of the New Process podcast. In this episode, I’m going to explain to you how to get new process to life. So that’s, I think one of the big questions after learning about the new process principles. But before we dive into that question, uh, let’s quickly recap what you already know. So new process, the term is osis of new work on the one hand side and process management on the other side. So it’s the idea to bring both worlds together to get to the next level in process management or to push your process to the next level to get to a more human-centric and purposeful process management or to more purposeful processes themselves. So that’s the idea of new process. And um, core of new process are the so-called new process principles.
Mirko (00:01:18) – Just as a brief reminder, it starts with the first principle from inspiring people for excellence processes and ends with giving meaning to the processes. And, uh, there are also other principles we will touch within this episode. And, uh, yeah, if you haven’t heard about them, switch back one episode and uh, learn more about these principles. But, uh, yeah, that’s the core of the new process idea to get to more human-centric mindset within bpm. So to trust the people, to involve the people, foster the development of the people design corporation to meet people’s needs, and, uh, also encourage diversity and inclusion through processes. And, uh, yeah, finally disrupt established processes. Also, one of the new process principles. So this is just a brief recap of the different principles as a reminder. And, uh, now it’s always the big question, ah, now I know about these principles, but how do I bring these principles to life or into life, into action? And this is what we are going to deep dive into today’s episode. Exactly. So that’s what is coming up today.
Mirko (00:02:45) – So to answer the question, how to bring new process to life, there are two important elements which I would like to explain to you today. So first one is to having a human-centric process of process management implemented. So I’ll tell you more about what that really is, uh, in a few minutes. And, um, the second element is a role concept which enables a sustainable implementation of this process of process management. So these two elements are, uh, what you should implement within your organization to bring new process to life. So let’s have a closer look onto the process of process management. So, uh, the idea of the process of process management is to define a process which explains how to manage and continuously improve, innovate, steer, and so on the business processes of the respective organization. So that’s the idea of a process of process management and, um, to use this process of process management to bring new process to life.
Mirko (00:03:57) – There is a human-centric BPM process approach needed. And this is what I’m covering with the so-called new process lifecycle. And basically this is a process of process management, which takes all these new process principles into account. And it’s also some kind of reference model with tools, methods, and best practices which you can use to improve your own management of processes as well, or your own process management process. That’s great. Or, um, I love these wordings. Yeah, great. So let’s have a closer look onto how a new process life cycle looks like or how the new process life cycle looks like. Basically, it’s something like a plan to check act cycle. You might know, uh, there are other life cycles out there in, in this specific case. The new process life cycle consists of seven phases and um, it starts with defined process purpose as first phase of the life cycle.
Mirko (00:05:04) – So we start with defining the purpose of the respective process we would like to manage and improve. After knowing the purpose of the process, we can develop the process strategy in the second phase. So develop process strategy is a second phase of the new process lifecycle. That’s where we take, uh, all the knowledge from the process purpose as guidance for the strategic direction of our processes. And we combine this with the business strategy of the company we are working for. So we try to transform the business strategy into a so-called process strategy, which then helps to fulfill the purpose of the process as well. So this is, um, how we define more or less the target picture of the process within the strategy phase. And then we go to the third phase, which is the design process phase. And in that phase we try to close the gap from where we are right now to fulfill the target picture, which we develop in the strategy phase phase, as well as the process purpose, uh, from the first phase of the new process lifecycle.
Mirko (00:06:21) – So that’s where the creative, uh, work is done to design the new process or take whatever we have and improve this process or innovate it and create a process design of how the future process could look like. And yeah, based on the process design, as soon as we know, yeah, this is the direction we would like to go into, we continue with the first phase, which is model process. And that’s the phase where we model the process in hopefully a tool, not necessarily, but this is what I would recommend to use a standardized notation there, put the process into a tool. Uh, the tool question is also big one will cover within one of the upcoming episodes or I guess in several of the upcoming episodes. Um, so put the process into the tool and, uh, easy to understand notation, um, and, uh, yeah, get the approval by the process owner, for example, to make sure that this is really the process design the company should work too according to.
Mirko (00:07:30) – And then go into the implementation phase. So the fifth phase is, uh, to implement process or the implement process phase. And um, that’s where we create all the prerequisites to execute the new process. So make sure that we have all the organizational prerequisites, like having legal entities established to execute the process, having all the organizational units, and then, um, have the people there train the people. So this is minimum for implementation, tell the people about the new process, but uh, also other training measures might be applicable there as well. So, uh, whatever is necessary to bring the process into the reality to let the people know what exactly to do and how to do it. And um, finally, also technical prerequisites should be fulfilled within the implementation phase to make sure that we have all the infrastructure, the tools, the equipment, whatever is necessary to perform the process there.
Mirko (00:08:35) – So, and then as soon as the process is implemented, we can go into the sixth phase, which is steer process execution. So there we hopefully can use indicators, some kind of process indicators, which were defined based on the strategy in the design phase. And, um, yeah, then these indicators can be used to steer process execution on a global level. Uh, that’s basically the, the overall lifecycle of the process design. And in addition to that, there is a seventh, uh, circle or inner circle, uh, within the new process lifecycle, uh, where we improve process execution locally. So based on the global process design at all the different locations, we can improve process execution and hopefully all the good ideas from the different locations then go back into the overall cycle and, uh, yeah, flow back into definition of the process purpose or continuous improvement of the process, purpose, redefine of the strategy, and then redesign of the process modeling, implementation, steering, and so on.
Mirko (00:09:46) – So that’s the integrated life cycle here, which has six phases, uh, regarding process design. And then at the end an integrated, uh, improvement cycle for the improvement of process execution. How this really looks like can be found on new process lab.com. If you just go there and have a look into the toolbox, I’ll tell you how to get there later on. Uh, but that’s basically the idea of new process lifecycle. And uh, now it’s the question, how do we apply the different new process principles along this process lifecycle? And just to give you an example or some examples, start by taking the new process principle, give meaning to the process. That’s why we have the first phase, which is quite new compared to all the life cycles out there, which I know from the past. So we have this defined process, purpose phase in the beginning of the life cycle, and that’s simply to give meaning to the process.
Mirko (00:10:49) – So to talk about the question, why do we have this process here? And um, yeah, this, uh, the answer to that question will guide us through the whole life cycle itself. So based on the process, uh, purpose, uh, we can then develop the process strategy and the design and so on. And even within the execution of the process, the process purpose can still guide the employees and, um, help them to make decisions while executing the process. So that’s how we apply the first or the eighth principle give meaning to the process within the first phase. Another example would be to involve the people working in the process into the work on the process, which is one of the new process principles. This can already be done within the definition of the process purpose. So never do that on your own without the people. Always ask the people to invite them to participate in the workshops, bring in their ideas, let them, um, yeah, work on the improvements as well.
Mirko (00:11:56) – And, uh, get their ideas there to, uh, get a great process design, for example, another process principle to trust the people working in and on the process. So you maybe remember the example of the purchasing process, taking out all the approval steps, uh, if employees would like to purchase material. So that’s a principle which can be applied within the design phase. So whenever you design new processes or redesign existing processes, take that principle into account and try to trust the people, um, provide all the necessary information, uh, to the people, and then let them make their decision on their own within the process without asking for approval all the time. Just one example, how to trust the people working in and on the process. And same with encourage diversity and inclusion through processes, which is another new process principle. So make sure that within all the workshops, um, the different locations, for example, to represent different cultures are represented as well.
Mirko (00:13:08) – Or another example for the design phase as well is, uh, taking the principle to disrupt established processes. So encourage the people within the workshops when they try to design or redesign processes to really question existing processes to disrupt what is there, what has been done for years, and ask why are we doing this and that the way we are doing it, can we do it the other way around? Try to innovate processes there and uh, yeah, be courageous enough to, uh, disrupt established processes and question the status quo there, or classical example for another new process principle, foster the development of the people working in the process. This is what should be done within the implementation phase. So whenever you implement new process, think about what is necessary for the people to get all the information to be able to execute the new or the improved process.
Mirko (00:14:13) – And therefore best way is to ask the people. So, um, take the other principle into account, involve the people also in the development of training measures and, uh, yeah, set up formats to train the people and not just send out an email with the information. Hey, here’s a new process, please work according to this picture here. So think about real methods like training format platforms where you invite the people, even gamification ideas like having simulations of the process and so on might be applicable here as well. Yeah. And finally, uh, and an example for the principle to design corporation in and on the process to meet people’s needs. This would be something which can be done in this, uh, inner circle to improve process execution, where we have a given process design, which is executed at one specific location where we can have a closer look, where are the people located that are executing the process?
Mirko (00:15:19) – So are the roles which are interacting in the process, sitting together in one room, in one workshop, how does the material flow through the process and so on? Does this really meet the people’s needs? And do they have the tools and infrastructure they need to execute the process in the best way? So this is also part of the new process lifecycle. And um, this is how you can bring the different new process ideas on new process principles to life, or at least in theory, into a process. And now that’s where the magic really happens. How can we bring this new process life cycle into the reality, how to get that executed. And therefore we use roles, so roles like process owner or process architect, which then can be assigned to the people in the organization. And these people can be enabled, can be trained to execute their roles and to execute the new process lifecycle, including the new process principles there.
Mirko (00:16:33) – So taking all the good ideas of, uh, how to, yeah, live human-centric processes and push the process to the next level. That’s why I would like to explain to you in more detail how, uh, human-centric role concept, uh, which is also part of the new process lifecycle could look like. So take a seat, , and let’s deep dive into the theory of the concept. Um, don’t worry, you can look it up later on, uh, new process lab.com as well. But just to give you an idea, first, to understand the role concept, we have to differentiate between two different types of responsibility. On the one hand side, we are talking about the so-called design responsibility, that’s the responsibility which tells the employee how to do something. So this is basically the process design, which is used to define how a process should be executed. And then on the other side, we have the execution responsibility.
Mirko (00:17:42) – That’s the responsibility that tells the employee what to do, so which roles to execute, for example, by which employee. And this combination of on the one hand side, telling the people what to do within the execution as well as how to do it coming from the design, then completes the picture for the employee and, uh, really enables the person to yeah, work in the processes. So that’s basically the idea to split responsibilities into these two responsibilities, design and execution. And then we’ll have a closer look onto the design responsibility. So there, the core role of the design is the process owner. So the process owner is with regards to r classification, accountable for the process design and its overall coordination. So that’s the person which goes into jail if something goes wrong, because the process owner is accountable for the process design. And same on the other side.
Mirko (00:18:57) – Within the execution there we have the role of the line manager, so the boss of an employee, the head of an organizational unit, and that role is accountable for the process execution of the respective organizational unit. So, uh, if I’m the line manager of an org unit, then I’m accountable for whatever my employees are doing within my organizational unit. So this role can be cascaded on all the different levels of an organization, and that’s the role which assigns the roles within the process to the employees and tells them what to do. Okay, so these are the two core roles. The process owner on the one hand side was in the design as well as the line manager, as the core role within the execution responsibility. But um, unfortunately the reality shows that the world is not as simple as this, and it’s, uh, unfortunately not enough to have only the role of a process owner defined within the process design.
Mirko (00:20:12) – So that’s why the new process roll concept adds more roles within process design. So let’s, um, stay with the accountability of the process owner. So this is, um, the role that we are using as soon as we are talking about specific processes. So whenever we can define roles and activities and how they interact and so on, this is where we have a process owner in place. So typically we have process models here with swim lanes, for example. And then on the higher levels in the process architecture, when we are talking about process maps with just groups of processes, then um, we, we have to add another role here to differentiate the different types of accountability. So there we are going to introduce the role of the process domain owner. That’s basically the role which is accountable for the strategic direction of all the processes within the respective process domain.
Mirko (00:21:28) – So starting on the highest level of the architecture of a good organization, on the first, on the highest level map, there is always a process domain owner. And then you go one level further down, like going into production processes. And there you have another level, the row process domain owners there as well, being accountable for the production processes. And then maybe we get to a level where we can already talk about roles and activities, and that’s where we then define the process owners of the different production processes. Or maybe this is also the role of the process domain owner here, but uh, often we then switch to the process owner. So these are the two different accountability levels within process design. And then finally, on the lowest level, when we talk about process definition, often the process owner itself or he or she is not the expert for all the nitty gritty details of the process design.
Mirko (00:22:30) – And that’s why I would always recommend to establish a role like a process architect. So this is a role on an employee level, on an expert level, taking over, um, the process design responsibility. So the process owner is still accountable, and now the process architect takes over the operational responsibility for the process design. So in best case, the person is working full-time on the improvement of the specific process, bringing together all the ideas from the employees of the different locations, and making sure that we have a cool process design fulfilling the process strategy and, um, helping to fulfill the process purpose as well. So that’s role of the process architect as one of the helping hands of the process owner. And then there is, uh, the role of the process manager. That’s the last role. So you nearly got it here. Um, and the process manager takes over the responsibility for the coordination of the process from the process owner, but um, not for on a global level for all the different, uh, process instances, only for the respective process instance.
Mirko (00:23:48) – So if we are talking about a process which is defined on a global level and then executed at different locations, uh, you will have to, uh, assign the process manager role for every single location, which then is a so-called process instance. Um, in addition to locations, instances could also be products or customers, uh, which I’m executing a process for. Um, yeah, but this is way more complicated than explaining that here in this episode. So for more details, I would always recommend to head over to new process lab.com and have a look into the toolbox there, um, to get more ideas on how the role concept really looks like. But that’s it. So we do have these four roles within the design process, domain owner, process owner, process architect and process manager. And we have the role of the line manager on all the different levels of the organization as the core role of the execution responsibility.
Mirko (00:24:55) – And that’s it. So now we can use these roles to bring the new process lifecycle to life by assigning the roles to the people. So, um, like taking business, uh, process, like whatever production process there will have a process domain owner for all the production processes and um, also a process owner for the different parts of the production process. And, um, yeah, if there is a strategy, for example, to add digitize, yeah, this is bullshiting right now, but uh, to digitize the production process more and more, that might be a business strategy as well. Then, um, we, we can use this idea to develop a process strategy that fits to the business strategy of the organization always by taking the process purpose into account, which should also be developed by the process owner, for example, together with process architect, process managers, and representatives of the different locations and employees as well.
Mirko (00:26:06) – And, um, yeah, if we go through the process, like within process design, that we have the role of the architect as the key role to push design of the process ahead, bringing together all the relevant roles like having their, the process managers represented, and also taking employees, working in the process into the workshops to design the process and then map the process in the system. So this is also, uh, something where we have the process architect as leading role. The architect is by the way, not the person mapping the processes. Um, that should be a specific process modeler role there in my opinion. And, um, yeah, finally the process owner is going to approve the process design there, the model to process design and, um, decide if this is what we are going to implement or not. And then within implementation, we have the architect coordinating the rollout of the process to all the different locations together with the respective process managers and the local line managers and so on.
Mirko (00:27:17) – And then we can steer the process where the architect and the process owner talk to the different process managers of the different process instances and so on. So this is, um, yeah, how we get from the new process principles which are integrated into the lifecycle to the changes in the reality by assigning the roles and training the people for the execution of their roles within the process of process management. And then the, the high art, i, I would say of this is to apply this new process lifecycle to BPM itself. So to start with defining the purpose of your business process management process, and then to develop a strategy of how the process should look like, how it should be implemented, and then design the process in in a way that it fulfills the new process principles. So there you can easily take the new process lifecycle as a reference model, but this is also them part and uh, yeah, it continues through all the other phases as well.
Mirko (00:28:25) – So that’s the idea there. And that’s it. So it’s so easy, , okay, I know with hard with all the theoretical ideas. Um, by the way, the concept itself, um, this role concept was developed in a joint research project with University of Baumberg, and we published the concept in several academic conference papers, and it’s also benchmarked with in several different industries. So it definitely works. You can apply the lifecycle as well as the role concept in big corporations as well as in small startups, uh, doesn’t matter which industry we’re talking about. So it’s quite universal applicable there. And if you would like to learn more about the new process lifecycle as well as the underlying role concept, then head over to new process lab.com/toolbox. That’s where you can find all the details of the lifecycle, the role concept and so on. I will also put the link into the show notes.
Introducer (00:29:39) – Let’s recap today’s new process. Inspiration. Inspiration.
Mirko (00:29:43) – Yeah, so that’s it for today. Um, the big question was how to get new process to life. And the simple answer, simple as theory can be is to use a human-centric process of process management and process management roles. It’s like process owner, process architect, and so on. And yeah, to, to have a best practice example. Therefore, you can always refer to the new process lifecycle. Um, and this also includes the new process, role concept. There. You can find all the details on new process lab.com/toolbox or just send me an email and ask questions about that. I, I will be really happy to help you to understand and then apply and implement these ideas within your organization or even just, uh, for your specific business process because this is quite interesting. It cannot only be used for whole organization. It can also be used just for one specific business process.
Mirko (00:30:52) – So it doesn’t matter what the other part of the organization is doing, you can still apply it to your own process, use this concept and then yeah, push your process to the next level to give you an outlook. What is coming up in the next episode. It definitely makes sense to have a closer look at the first phase of the new process life cycle, so the defined process purpose phase, and to get some more ideas for that. There will be an interview with an expert. I’m going to talk to Benjamin Rolf, who is, uh, one of the experts being active within the area of new work. He founded the New Performance Academy and um, he’s also an expert for purpose questions, and I’m going to interview him to get ideas on how to use these ideas to push processes to the next level. So yeah, um, see you within the next episode. I hope you enjoyed this more or less little bit theoretical episode, and got some inspirations to rethink your own process. Um, in case of questions, feel free to send me an email at noko new process lab.com. Um, that’s it for today. So thank you much and bye-bye.
Mirko (00:32:31) – Okay. Before you go, I’d like to ask you for a favor. Um, if you like what you heard, then it will be great if you recommend the New Process podcast to your friends and colleagues. So maybe it’s also interesting for them. Simply send them a link to new process podcast.com. They’ll find all the different ways on how to listen to the other episodes. Thank you very much.
