MENU Process Documentation Best Practice #6
6) Establish a System to Govern, Update, and Communicate Best Practices.
For decades, Bob Boehringer and I have spoken about the need to create “living documents.” Even the best process documentation can become outdated after six or 12 months. How do we make sure the documentation stays current as existing processes evolve and new processes are created? How do we communicate process changes and share improvements? The answers to these questions make the difference between a process documentation initiative that delivers short-term success and one that makes continuous process improvement part of your culture.
The bottom of every process documentation packet that Orion creates for our clients includes a Process Governance section:
This section addresses three key questions:
- Who owns the process?
- Who is responsible for keeping the documentation up-to-date?
- How often should the process documentation be revalidated?
Some organizations have a formal role of Process Owner or Process Manager. Whether or not your company has those titles, one person should be the process expert with the authority to approve or reject changes to the workflow, business rules and tools. That person has ultimate accountability for maintaining the “one true process.”
The Process Documentation Steward is the person who has hands-on responsibility for updating and communicating the SOPs and maps. (In some organizations, this may be the same person who was designated as Process Owner.) The Steward must have the requisite technical skills in Word or Visio or Promapp, etc. to maintain high quality work products.
Communicating any changes is a critical responsibility for the Steward. More on that below.
There is no best practice timeframe for re-validating your process documentation. That should be determined on a process-by-process basis. Orion defaults to a 6-month requirement. Some processes may be more dynamic – especially if they are new or utilize new technologies. Other processes may be extremely stable and only change every few years. If you are unsure about a particular process, settle on a shorter timeframe for starters.
It is extremely important to set the timeframe and to adhere to it. If this does not become baked into your routine, then process documentation will become outdated. Innovations will not be standardized. New employees will learn from outdated materials. Variations in process execution will pop up as new employees navigate the workflow without proper guidance. Which brings us back to communication…
Your one true process standard is not chiseled in stone. Changes will occur. How do you communicate those changes?
• In small organizations, you can email all the process performers and even post updated process maps in a common area.
• If the change to workflow is significant, consider having a meeting with your team to review the changes in addition to providing the new process documentation. If the workflow changes are very significant or involve new technology, hands-on training may be advisable.
• For larger organizations, SharePoint or a similar web-based collaboration / document management platform may be the best medium.
For most small and mid-sized businesses, it does not make sense to invest in a standalone process documentation platform such as IBM’s BlueworksLive, Signavio, Interfacing, Nintex’s Process Manager [nee Promapp], Touchstone, or ProcessPro. However, if you have Promapp, for example, it will push notifications out to every stakeholder when a process changes. That system also allows stakeholders to ask questions and recommend changes to the Process Owner. That’s a nifty way to foster continuous improvement.
In process management, communication is very much a two-way street. Standards come “down.” Improvement ideas and process wisdom flow “up” from the frontline. If you are looking for a dedicated process documentation platform, make sure that two-way communication is one of your requirements.
Final thoughts regarding improvement: Your business process documentation initiative should deliver operational ROI. Utilize surveys and metrics so that you can quantify the benefits. It is nice to be able to say, “That went great, and we really like the quality of our maps and SOPs.” It is much better if you can tell people that your team is saving X hours per week due to the process clarity. Your department is saving $X per month due to less rework and fewer unnecessary exceptions. Employee satisfaction is up X% because work is simplified and less frustrating.