Hello, this is the first article on the topic of Process. Here I’ll introduce some core concepts about Engineering and Business process. What they are, why they are important, and several other factors. In later articles I’ll elaborate on various types of processes approaches. Various methodologies, and how to get the most out of process improvements for your organizational needs. For this series I will intentially be approaching it from the perspecitive an engineering, and engineering based businesses processes. The concepts apply universally.
In reality, process is a web of interconnect sets of other processes that work together in complex, but repeatable ways to achieve consistent results…in theory.
Sucessful implementaiton of processes is heavily dependent on your requirements management practices, and getting organizational buy in. As we move forward with this series, we’ll also reference these topics
What do we mean by process
In Business and Engineering, the term process casts a wide umbrella. In short, it’s the systematic set of steps required to deliver a completed “product” to an end customer. I use product loosely, as a deliverable could be anything, such as a market analysis, prototype product, or any other end result of value to the organization. In reality, process is a web of interconnect sets of other processes that work together in complex, but repeatble ways to achieve consistent results..in theory. As we move forward in this series, here are some key points I’d like to focus on. As you will see, they will become a recurring theme:
- Processes exist to create a systematic approach to repeatedly producing a similar output. For example, a car, earnings report, or consumer product.
- Processes are specific to the industry, company, group and the topic of the “product”
- Some processes, or parts thereof are dictated by industry guidelines, certification authorities, such as DO-178, or IEC61508. But there is always room for customization.
- Good processes are tailored to the specific organization, great processes are designed with flexibility in mind, and evolve over time with guided effort.
- Processes assume and rely on the existence of other complimentary processes.
Trust me, it sounds complex, but everyone follows processes, whether they realize it or not, we’re here to learn how to document them, then improve them to the right level for you.