Re: Defining Key Processes in a Company - "Key Process Master List"
Don't think about flowcharts and process maps. Think about your company. You already have departments in your company. Many of them will be the same as processes. Sales, Engineering, Purchasing, Manufacturing, Maintenance, Shipping, Quality. Just begin with some Post-it-notes, and start from there. String them together, and it will begin to take shape. Some people also find it useful to separate the core processes that make product, from the supporting processes that do administrative things.
I've just been reading through this thread and another user has said that while the functional departments may be well-aligned to the processes, they are not the same.
Now I am very confused as to which way to go. I have defined the functional divisions - marketing, sales, project management, engineering, production, service support, IT, admin, HR, Quality and Top Management.
But now what?
I went through and detailed what happens in each of these.
e.g., I said in marketing we a). develop a marketing plan, b). create marketing documents, c). do market analysis/research.
For sales I said we a). identify customer needs, b). create a plan/quote, c). receive a contract from the customer and then later on, after the project has been made and sent sales we do d). invoicing and payment.
From sales it links to project management, who identify and plan the project, then delegate the project and then manage it throughout.
And on and on it goes through each department.. but are they functions or are they processes? E.g., the marketing process is planning, document creation and market analysis. To me the planning, the document creation and market analysis are all separate processes but within the main marketing process.
I do have other processes that occur in multiple departments though, such as non-conformance and procurement – they’re used by each of the departments/functions.
Ah, I’m so confused. They all seem like processes to me, but they’re also departments/functions.
Then I was told to have 4 to 9 main processes. But is non-conformance a main process? If so, then we need continuous improvement process and customer communication and then marketing and sales and engineering and production etc and soon we’re at well more than 9.
If anyone can decipher this and lend some insight that’d be fabulous. Thanks!