Performance Design Lab

Title	Pub & Date	Author	Description
What do Process Owners do?	BPTrends - October 2009	Alan Ramias, Cherie Wilkins	In their July column, Alan Ramias and Cherie Wilkins discussed various approaches to process ownership. In this article they focus on what they have observed individual process owners doing and offer some advice on what they should be doing. The difference between tasks performed and those that should be performed will surprise you. Read Alan and Cherie's analysis to see how your process ownership performance stacks up. Read more>
Varieties of Process Ownership	BP Trends - August 09	Alan Ramias, Cherie Wilkins	In this article Alan Ramias and Cherie Wilkins describe the evolution of process ownership. Besides identifying various approaches to process ownership and citing examples from our own experiences, they also suggest the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. The question arises; do we need process ownerhsip at all? ... Read more>
The Two Performers: People and Technology	BPTrends - April 2009	Alan Ramias, Cherie Wilkins	There are two types of performers that do the work of organizations – people and technology. Both are performing the work of the organization’s business processes. In order to effectively diagnose performance, design and implement change, and manage process performance, we need to understand and engineer the performance of both the human performance system (HPS) and the technology performance system (TPS)… Read more>
A Framework for Defining and Designing the Structure of Work	BPTrends - Aprill 2008 Sept 2008 Jan 2009	Geary Rummler, Alan Ramias	This is a three-part paper describing a framework for modeling the business architecture (BA) layer of enterprise architecture (EA). Part 1 describes the view we call the Value Creation Hierarchy (VCH). In part 2 we add the management dimension. In part 3 we add the technology and human resource dimensions.. Read more>
The IT-Business Gap	BPTrends - February 2007	Geary Rummler, Alan Ramias	We examine the IT- Business gap. Our own clients these days are likely to be from the IT shop of a company because that is where concern about end-to-end process design has migrated. So we are all for success in technology, and strongly support the engagement of IT professionals with process professionals. Our interest in IT failure is not a witch hunt but an authentic concern that the marriage of process and technology could be careening toward disaster. Read more>
IT Disasters: A Root Cause	BPTrends - July 2007	Geary Rummler, Alan Ramias	We believe that a big part of the failure to choose and implement technology effectively is traceable to not understanding the nature of the organization in which the technology is to be used. The purpose of technology is to enable human performers to do their work or to replace manual work with automation. What is being enabled or enhanced are business processes. So it follows that if an organization’s business processes are not well defined, designed, and managed, then the technology that enables them is going to be an imperfect fit at best. How can rational choices about technology be made without a deep understanding of how work is performed in a given organization and how best to monitor, manage, and guide that work? Read more>
The IT-Business Gap: Another Root Cause	BPTrends - September 2007	Geary Rummler, Alan Ramias	The fear factor in messing with IT is all too real in the executive suite. But this has to stop. IT must become managed and accountable just like any other function. And senior executives must pay as much attention to the details of what goes on inside IT as they do regarding what goes on inside Sales or Manufacturing. Read more>
Where Have All the Leaders Gone? The Long-Lost Executive Process Improvement Project	December 15, 2006	Alan Ramias	Process improvement projects that directly involve Executives have largely gone away but the potential for achieving powerful results haven’t. The benefits of involving Executives in the analysis and redesign of the work and the management systems that govern the work. Read more>
Potential Pitfalls on the Road to a Process Managed Organization (PMO)	BPTrends - November 2006	Geary A. Rummler, Alan J. Ramias, and Richard Rummler	In part 1, we propose an Organization-as-a-System (OAS) lens to guide efforts to create a process-centered or process- managed organization. In part 2, we examine potential pitfalls in the process and describe the "type of journey that will lead to success." Part One Part Two
When You Say "Process" You Mean...	BPM Institute.org - August 1, 2006	Alan Ramias	A great deal of confusion and frustration often occurs among people when they use the word “process” typically because they are talking at different “levels” of process. We put forward a process hierarchy to help sort out what they mean and understand the potential impact of affecting process performance. Read more>
The Manager's Role in Performance Support	BPM Strategies - August 2006	Alan Ramias	The organization’s supervisors and managers are ultimately responsible for making sure there is an effectively functioning performance support system – including tools – in place. Far from being a matter of technology, we discuss what management must do to support effective performance. Read more>
Why I Love My Business Process Architecture (BPA)	2006	Performance Design Lab	Business Process Architectures are usually the product of support functions like IT/IS and are seldom recognized or utilized by the executives that run the business. In this paper we explore how a successfully institutionalized BPA would be used and valued by the CEO. Read more>
The Mists of Six Sigma	BPTrends - October 2005	Alan Ramias	The origins of Six Sigma can be traced back to Motorola, but there are many myths that surround its invention and impact on performance. We explore some of these myths to ensure that valuable lessons learned by Motorola in their transformation are available for others to see. Read more>
Measuring Process Performance	BPTrends - May 2010	Alan Ramias, Cherie Wilkins	>In the first of three Columns devoted to process metrics, Alan Ramias and Cherie Wilkins cite some of the pitfalls they have encountered over the years, including some of their own mistakes as well as those committed by others. They name and define the five most common pitfalls and end their Column on a hopeful note by citing what they consider the requirements for effective measurement of process performance. Read More
The Role of Performance Architect	BPTrends - January 2010	Alan Ramias, Cherie Wilkins	In two previous Columns on process ownership Alan Ramias and Cherie Wilkins discussed various approaches to process ownership and what process owners actually do. In this, the final installment in the series, they focus on the critical role of the performance architect. Broadly speaking, process owners should be managing while performance architects carry out the tasks that enable the process owners to manage. Combined, these three Columns offer an excellent reference for defining the roles and responsibilities of process owners versus those of process architects. Read More