Business Proces Reengineering (BPR)
Fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to bring about dramatic
improvements in performance-Hammer
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.
Motivation
• poor financial performance
• external competition
• erosion of market share
• emerging market opportunities.
BPR is not
• downsizing
• restructuring
• reorganization
• automation
• new technology
• etc.
But…..
Change management
Quy Nguyen Huy
• Formal structures– Changed through commanding
• Work processes– Changed through engineering
• Beliefs– Changed through teaching
• Social relationships– Changed through socializing
• Subsume information-processing work into the real work that produces the information.– Have department that gets information also
process it.
• Link parallel activities instead of integrating their result– E.g. testing in software development.
• Put the decision point where the work is performed, and build control into the process.– E.g. sales the does accounting.
ObjectivesMUST 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
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
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
FocusMUST 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
Tools / Methods
MUST BPR
Work with the users, not against
Change Management
Evaluate advantages, disadvantages and costs
Only the advantages are in focus