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Background and Purpose. Reengineering and Business Process Redesign (BPR) has become very useful for both private and government organizations seeking to achieve breakthrough performance and competitiveness by making processes faster, better and cheaper.

Since the early quality efforts, approaches to BPR have been tested and improved tremendously. At the same time, the applications of collaborative techniques and collaborative tools have only begun to be explored and fullyexploited. The purpose of this paper is to map the use of collaborative tools within the BPR process that will result in faster, better and cheaper solutions at each stage of the effort.

The Phases of BPR. There are numerous references and instructions written on the subject of improving business processes. Nearly all of them portray the BPR project as a series of steps or phases that an effort should go through to achieve good results. Although one may find a variety of labels, the ones in the figure below generally typify the process. Note that the entire process occurs in an environment where change is constantly managed and the evaluation phase is not a last step, but an ongoing activity that continually refines and adjusts the new processes.

In each of the phases, effective use of collaborative methods and tools can shorten the project schedule and improve overall results.

Collaborative tools (groupware) are computer-based tools that help people work together and share information. They allow for virtual on-line meetings and data sharing. Some examples of collaborative tools include:

Collaborative tools are great for bringing geographically dispersed teams together for virtual meetings. A benefit for process redesign teams is that they can now interact more easily with process experts in other locations. This can bring more information to the core team faster and can elicit important inputs that may have been missed just because it was inconvenient or expensive to transport the person to the session physically. Additionally, collaborative tools allow better change management by permitting the team to continuously communicate with the organization at large.

The numbered items under the phases below are not intended to be all-inclusive, but highlight some "best practices" at each phase. Collaborative tools can make it easier to carry out these best practices by making communications easier and faster.

The startup activities during the planning phase should include the following as part of the checklist:

1. Ensure top leadership support and sponsorship for the project
2. Communicate the need for change to the entire organization
3. Define the scope and boundaries of the project
4. Select team members who have the proper skills and attributes for the project
5. Begin change management activities

At this point, it is critical that senior management be involved in the project. By using text tools and presentations capabilities of collaborative tools, a team can reach a wider audience of busy executives without dragging them away from their desks. Meetings that are very difficult to schedule now are easier because the time and distance requirements are greatly shortened. In a virtual meeting, a team can establish leadership agreement on project scope, goals, objectives and participants. Using tools like e-mail or electronic bulletin boards, the team and leadership can keep the entire organization informed on the project – an important aspect of managing the change that will occur.

Effective use of collaborative tools at this stage will establish important practices that will help avoid the top three mistakes management can make during a major change: not being directly involved with the project; failing to engage all management levels in the change; and, sending inconsistent signals or not communicating enough. (reference BPR Best Practices Report http://www.prosci.com/study99.htm

During the analysis phase, collaborative tools such as chat or text can be used to contact important stakeholders in the process being designed. A team may choose to post a questionnaire in a virtual file or a web page and then direct visitors to that location. This can result in a great amount of input from customers or even your own organization’s employees. Teams can prepare for and conduct benchmarking studies by coordinating cover letters and non-disclosure agreements on a whiteboard before the actual mailing or faxing occurs. Teleconference meetings with benchmarking partners can be more productive with white board tools and online presentation capabilities. Using chat, text or presentations can result in critical inputs during process evaluation from people who are unavailable at the main office because they are traveling or working at a remote location.

Keep change management alive through e-mail, presentations and other tools to communicate consistently and often with employees. Let them know what to expect and why the change is needed by everyone in the organization.

Teams need to develop a vision of what they want the new process to be and how they will achieve it. Use whiteboards to let everyone from any location look at processes and sub processes and discuss alternatives. Post proposed process design solutions in virtual files so that people working at other locations can access them for review on a time available basis. Use text tools for brainstorming with people who have a stake in the process, but are not members of the core team. This will help the BPR team find solutions for the process redesign. Use presentations to brief all levels of management on the business case for change – usually a cost benefit picture. This will be important to the approval of the proposed change.

Providing frequent information to employees and stakeholders through e-mail, presentations, bulletin board or web site postings using the organization’s electronic network can contribute greatly to change management. Some of the information provided to management on cost benefits may also be important to employee acceptance of the upcoming change.

Implement

1. Complete detailed design
2. Communicate new solutions to employees
3. Develop a training plan
4. Implement and manage the change

Get appropriate reports out to all levels of the organization over a web site or via an emailing. Provide web-based presentations to affected employees that explain new job roles. During work with the training department to develop a training plan for the new processes, use text tools, presentations, white boards, chat and emails while determining the training needs, how it should be delivered and who should be involved.

Implementing or actually delivering the training can be facilitated by using presentations and other "distant learning" capabilities to reach everyone in the organization – even those who telecommute. Organizations who do not use distance learning tools as a way of reaching more people at more locations in a faster manner and at less cost are missing great opportunities.

Avoiding chaos that results from non-communication is an outcome of good change management during implementation. Keeping current schedules and events of interest on a local area or wide area network website lets everyone have immediate access to the latest status. Problems encountered during implementation can be posted immediately, so that staff everywhere can benefit from the lessons being learned.

Evaluate

1. Define key measures
2. Establish a continuous improvement program
3. Issue final report
4. Document knowledge and lessons learned, including change in the organization

The evaluation phase is important to "cement" the process and to not let it whither after being established. Data gathering and measurements can be established using the virtual team meeting capabilities of collaborative tools mentioned above. Once measurements are developed, reports of results compared to objectives can easily and quickly be made available on web-based facilities. Management and process teams can meet in virtual rooms or auditoriums on a scheduled basis to discuss results and to consider recommended improvements to the living process.

Use a collaborative tool that is "persistent" in capturing the historical project information so that the information will not disappear as soon as the team leaves the virtual session. Experiences from this project can be posted in virtual files and arranged in an effective "knowledge management" scheme so that future teams and personnel can take advantage of those lessons learned during this effort.

The use of collaborative tools can enhance any Business Process Reengineering/ Design effort by bringing in more inputs from critical points throughout the organization. Even within the same building groups may not often talk to one another or know what the other is doing. Collaborative tools are particularly essential if the organization operates from more than one location.

But beyond the obvious, collaborative tools and virtual get-togethers can sometimes be better than other more common means of getting the word out or conducting traditional meetings. These meetings can ensure that:

• More than the usually restricted numbers of people attend important meetings
• All personnel believe that they are frequently informed on important changes underway in the organization
• Better channels of communication exist to ensure that more of the right people have an opportunity to provide input

Furthermore, collaborative tools include knowledge management and other "persistent" means that can decrease the time required to accomplish operational activities. Lessons learned data banks, project management records and reports, corporate letter templates, procedures and guidelines, and sales contracts are only a few examples where "reinventing the wheel" can be avoided through the organization and maintenance of corporate knowledge and making it available to those who will want it and need it.

About the author: Chuck Boyce is currently a Senior Partner with CollaborX, Inc. He has worked extensively in education and training, planning in the international environment. He has advised foreign government organizations on reengineering processes and evaluated state programs for the Colorado General Assembly under the auspices of the State Auditor. He is a member of the American Society for Quality and is a Certified Quality Manager. For more information on Collaborx, see http://www.collaborx.com

Finding Collaboration Tools

For a complete listing of collaborative tools, go to the Collaboration and Knowledge Management Learning Center at http://www.collaboration-tools.com.

More information on Collaboration Tools

For a complete listing of collaborative tools, go to the Collaboration and Knowledge Management Learning Center at http://www.collaboration-tools.com.

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