Process Defined

Michael Hammer1 defined process as "an organized group of related activities that together create a result of value to customers."

 

Each word in this definition is important:

  • A process is a group of activities, not just one. Value is created not by single activities, but by the entire process in which all these tasks merge in a systematic way for a clear purpose.

  • Activities are related and organized. They present a stream of relevant, interconnected activities that must be performed in sequence – the right things in the right way – to produce the desired outcome.

  • All the activities in the process work together toward a common goal. "People performing different steps of a process must all be aligned around a single purpose, instead of focusing on their individual tasks in isolation."1

  • Process are not ends in themselves. They have a purpose, they create and deliver  results that customers care about.

Create Customer Value: 10 Matsushita Lessons

Business Process

Howard Smith and Peter Fingar2 defined business as "the complete and dynamically coordinated set of collaborative and transactional activities that deliver value to customers."

 

 

References:

  1. Agenda, Michael Hammer

  2. Business Process Management: The Third Wave, Howard Smith and Peter Fingar