AAOM Handbook

Context

This document provides a high level outline of the Business Process Framework (BPF). The BPF was developed as a system for managing the work that people do. Its aim is to help a group of people, tasked with working together to produce a set of outcomes, to understand the work they must do to be successful, and how the work activities should be sequenced, assigned and executed for the group to function as an effective team. The system is a called a business process framework as it describes the basic activities, structure and guiding principles that are necessary for the successful establishment and operation of any type of business process involving the work of a team of people. It is called a framework because, while the basic elements will be consistent for all business processes, the actual work being undertaken, and the tools and systems involved in implementing the BPF elements may differ widely between processes. For most of us, the recognisable processes we encounter are those involved in the physical transformation, transfer or storage of items. Such processes are all around us, and a few moments of contemplation will be sufficient for most of us to identify them in our personal or work life. Getting dressed in the morning is a process, as is dining at a restaurant, shopping, mining, mineral processing and manufacturing. Each of these examples is a physical process, where it is generally easy to sense (see, hear, feel) what is happening to items as they move through the Process – ie the process is tangible. There are also Processes that deal with less tangible items such as information. Examples of these are producing a set of accounts and the provision of specialised technical advice in areas such as safety, environment or engineering. The activities behind the delivery of such services are basically transforming, transferring and storing information to finally deliver the accounts, advice, report, specification or procedure required. Information that is transferred or stored (either in paper or electronic forms) is tangible and we can, with some imagination, visualise these steps. Transformations of information, such as in making a decision, are often more difficult for us to visualise but can still be represented, as for example when decision algorithms are programmed into software. The set of sequenced, specified activities that are necessary to continually deliver a desired set of materials or information is a Process. A Process can be seen in the flow sheet of a mine or mineral processing plant. It can also be seen in a flow sheet for producing a set of financial accounts, or solving a technical problem in order to deliver advice. What is a Process? A Process can be defined as a set of activities (work), performed in a specified sequence and manner, for the purpose of producing a desired outcome.

© McAlear Management Consultants 2005 – 2012

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