Business Proces Reengineering (BPR)

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Business Proces Reengineering (BPR)

• Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of
  business processes to bring about dramatic
  improvements in performance
• -Hammer

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History

• Began as thinking in the 1990s.
• Started as a revolution with phrases such as
• ...taking and ax and machine gun to your existing
  organization...
• ...shoot the dissenters...
• ...reengineering will require a lobotomy...
• ...what you do with the existing structure is
  nuke it!
• ...break legs...
• ...the way you deal with resistance is a bloody
  ax...
• ...we will run over you with the train...
• Has a tarnished history because of badly managed
  projects.

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Continuous Process Improvement
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Motivation

• poor financial performance
• external competition
• erosion of market share
• emerging market opportunities.

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BPR is not

• downsizing
• restructuring
• reorganization
• automation
• new technology
• etc.
• But..

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Focus areas

• Involvement of Top management
• Heavy use of "Change Management"

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Change management

• Quy Nguyen Huy
• Formal structures
• Changed through commanding
• Work processes
• Changed through engineering
• Beliefs
• Changed through teaching
• Social relationships
• Changed through socializing

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BPR today

• Example Implementing an ERP system

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• The seven basic principles

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• Organize around outcomes, not tasks
• Away with the assembly-lines

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• Have those who use the output of the process
  perform the process.
• Away with specialists

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• Subsume information-processing work into the real
  work that produces the information.
• Have department that gets information also
  process it.

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• Treat geographically dispersed resources as
  though they were centralized
• Have a server.

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• Link parallel activities instead of integrating
  their result
• E.g. testing in software development.

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• Put the decision point where the work is
  performed, and build control into the process.
• E.g. sales the does accounting.

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• Capture information once and at the source.
• Have a server.

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• BPR and MUST

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Objectives
MUST BPR
The goal is improvement with focus on existing system The goal is improvement, by completely rearranging the business structure
Improvements by small, but relevant, changes Improvements by radical changes
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Objectives (cont)
MUST BPR
CSCW Improvement with technology/IT as a primary tool Technology/IT should not be used a stop-gap solution. The problems lies in the processes
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Objectives and visions when?
MUST BPR
Goals and visions are made clear after observations and surveys are made Goals and visions are decided in the beginning, used as final objectives
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Focus
MUST BPR
Examine work processes with improvements in mind Break down work processes and reengineer
Consider existing routines Break down existing routines
Find hidden workmethods Break down workmethods
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Tools / Methods
MUST BPR
Work with the users, not against Change Management
Evaluate advantages, disadvantages and costs Only the advantages are in focus
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Tools/Methods (cont.)
MUST BPR
Observe / interview / get inspiration Best Practice / Learn from others
Flexibility Rigid structure
Users as experts Consultants as experts