How Value Stream Mapping Helped Increase a University’s MBA Enrollment by 70%

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The University of North Alabama had been part of the steady decline nationally in students enrolling in MBA programs. In order to turn the tide at the UNA College of Business, a team utilized Value Stream Mapping. By focusing on adding value to the student recruiting process, UNA College of Business was able to dramatically […]

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How Six Sigma Tools Sharply Decreased Downtime At The Nature Conservancy’s Headquarters

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The web development team at The Nature Conservancy in Arlington, VA, was able to utilize Lean and Six Sigma tools to close the gap in downtime due to a coding freeze every 45 days. The Nature Conservancy used such Six Sigma tools as process maps, The 5 Whys, and cause-and-effect diagrams to dramatically bring the […]

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Step-by-Step Guide to Understanding and Using Process Decision Program Charts

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An analytical management tool used to develop a basic outline of core processes and help the analysts consider what may go wrong with each step.

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How Hyper Micro Process Maps Can Help Businesses Boost Productivity

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Sometimes you have to break something down into the smallest possible pieces before you can make it right. Process mapping is one of the first major steps when adopting six sigma, so it’s something business leaders should learn to love. Depicting workflow and processes in a visual format sets the stage for defining, understanding and […]

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How Thought Process Mapping Can Help You Achieve Your Goals

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A thought process map (TMAP) is a tool used to help you learn, remember, and teach others. Using a TMAP allows you to organize information in a clear and concise way so that it can be easily understood by others, even if they are not familiar with the subject matter. This is beneficial for both training purposes as well as project management purposes.

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How to Make Process Performance Management Work for Your Business

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You’ve heard the saying “everything is a process.” It’s a diplomatic way of saying something is taking too long, is too inconvenient, or that an outcome is out of one’s control. But processes are not carved in stone. They are meant to be continually analyzed, taken apart, cleaned up, enhanced, and optimized. And business leaders who constantly engage with their company’s processes do so because it’s how they are empowered to control every detail, every outcome, every time.

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Layering: A New Approach to Business Process Mapping

Layering: A New Approach to Business Process Mapping

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Business process maps are a popular continuous improvement tool. A six-layer approach elevates their usefulness.

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California High-Speed Rail Authority

Best Practices for Process Maps at California High-Speed Rail Authority

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The California High-Speed Rail Authority built their program on a foundation of disciplined process mapping. Check out their excellent best practices and up your game with this meat-and-potatoes tool.

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Assessing Process Performance: The Value of Establishing Baselines

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How do you know if your diet is working? You need to start with a baseline and then measure change from that. You should do the same for all your processes. From that process baseline, you can know whether your process is getting better, worse, or not changing. The term “process baseline” typically refers to […]

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A Comprehensive Guide to Input-Process-Output Models

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Creating and mapping business process models can sound like a daunting task with little tangible value. With input-process-output models, we debunk these myths and introduce a versatile, straightforward methodology that can be used to transform your business.

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Insights from COPIS for Improved Efficiency

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What does your process look like from 30,000 feet? Your extended process view can be described using COPIS, or customer, output, process, input, and supplier. Let’s get in our balloon and go up. 

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A Comprehensive Guide to Business Process Management Systems

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While you may be familiar with Lean Six Sigma as a methodology for improving your processes, have you heard of the Business Process Management System (BPMS)? If not, this article will provide lots of information on what it is and how to use it. Business Process Management System (BPMS) Business Process Management System (BPMS) is […]

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5 Service-based Business Process Mapping Tips

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Business process mapping is a great method for understanding the complex processes that impact a business’s bottom line. Comparing a map of how a process is supposed to work and how a process actually works can be revealing. These methods, originally developed to understand manufacturing processes, do not always translate well to service or transactional […]

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Organizational Process Flow: A River of Possibilities

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Fifteen years ago, a student of mine introduced me to the Toyota Way. As a participant in a project management program and then in a Six Sigma course, this young man (who happened to be across the world from me in Japan) began posting assignments using methodologies from his employer, Toyota. Later, that student became […]

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Reduce a Change Request Process Cycle Time by 50 Percent

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Reading a generalized description of how waste was reduced or eliminated in a process is interesting but it is in the details that the true impact and challenges of process improvement are found. This article describes a DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control) improvement project, including key deliverables, challenges and how the challenges were met. […]

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Avoid The Four Most Common Mistakes of Sales Process Mapping

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Process mapping is a well-known technique for creating a common vision and shared language for improving business results. It helped one management training and development firm realize that people within their sales department had been working at cross purposes, and crucial executive-level discussions with customers were not taking place. Based on sales process mapping, the […]

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Product Guide: Process Mapping Software

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Sponsors: Minitab Cate Twohill 814-753-3463, [email protected] Before practitioners can improve a process, they must understand it. The process map, a visual representation of the steps taken to complete a process, is a valuable tool in this effort. Project team members can adapt the map from a high-level view during the Define phase to focus on […]

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Review All Components for Well-rounded Process Analysis

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Several management approaches, including Six Sigma, involve a key focus on process analysis. Too often processes are schematically represented in boxes and arrows. While this final result of a process analysis is beneficial, practitioners should ensure they are considering the numerous factors and components that influence a process and how it is viewed. Stakeholders and […]

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Building Valuable Process Maps Takes Skill and Time

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Practitioners who think process mapping can be completed in a two-hour session with a group of subject matter experts, a white board and some sticky notes are likely to end up with a nice piece of paper with a bunch of squares and diamonds. This is because process mapping is not for wimps. Creating a […]

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More Value: Value Stream or Detailed Process Mapping?

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Imagine a company starting a journey of change without factoring in where it is starting (baseline), and where it wants to go (making changes). No successful company or Six Sigma practitioner would begin such a journey without that information and a map. When a novice Black Belt began his Six Sigma journey, he asked his […]

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BOLO (Be On LookOut) List for Analyzing Process Mapping

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Process mapping is a technique for making work visible. A process map shows who is doing what, with whom, when and for how long. It also shows decisions that are made, the sequence of events and any wait times or delays inherent in the process. Process maps are good for streamlining work activities and telling […]

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