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Organisation

The organisation panel is one of two panels that straddle the 'Intent' and 'Planning' columns of the Big Picture. On the one hand there are aspects of your current structure that may strongly influence your role and goals (at least for a while), but on the other hand, reconsidering the structure provides an excellent means for better orchestrating and managing your plans for delivery. We tend to find that most organisations on their first cycle of QFD based systematic management tend to retain (in large part) their current structure, and then to progress toward a solely process based structure on their second or third cycle. (For more on process, click here).

The tools section within the 'process' area of the site contains many tools that will help you and your organisation to develop a process perspective, and to ensure that it is used to maximum effectiveness. Some of these tools are shown on the panel above, and are listed below:

Organisational Transformation is a practical and structured way of understanding what you are doing as you reconsider your organisation in the process model (whether this is for the first time or whether it is moving from an existing process model to one that will provide new insight and better leverage over your objectives). The same model (of organisational transformation) is described in more detail on this website, but under the heading of process improvement. The connection comes together when we realise that our entire organisation is really just one big (and maybe complex) process. This idea is further expanded in the 'Design' slide set (PowerPoint 923 KB) and the Process Definition slide set (231 KB) provides the basis of a practical approach to undertaking organisational transformation from a process design perspective.

Process Mapping provides a means to fully understand and objectively review and design your processes to achieve peak performance. In practically all professions, diagramatic representations of key systems are used to diagnose issues and prescribe effective remedies - the Process Map is management's equivalent, and is hightly effective in aiding both. The approach to process mapping is contained in a pdf guide which can be downloaded by clicking here (410 KB).

Activity and Workflow Mapping are basically simple forms of the process map. But their simplicity makes their application easier, and sometimes even makes them a more powerful tool in generating consensus and understanding, particularly at the start of your work to implement a process design perspective in your organisation. Their formal names are the Affinity Diagram and the Activity Network Diagram, and they are part of the 7 Management & Planning Tools.

Process Context Mapping provides a means to explore the boundaries of a process and, thereby, its relationships. This simple tool is an excellent way for a process team to fully understand its responsibilities in a flexible and creative way. The website contains a basic guide to process context mapping (365 KB) and also supporting slides (310 KB)

Process Design is essentially a process which uses the other tools described on this page, with an emphasis on ensuring creative options are explored, tested, refined and implemented to ensure that the process is able to fulfil its potential. It starts with process context mapping, and then uses process mapping to design the ideal solution.

Pages 104-126 of Managing by Design can be found in Chapter 8, which can be read as a pdf file (124KB) by clicking the link above.

Chapter 3 of How To Build A Better Business can be read as a pdf file by clicking here.

Blank templates of this panel can be found in the Big Picture Storyboard file - these can be used to capture your own experiences and progress in this area (by annotating them either in PowerPoint, or as a printed panel), and then to physically cut and paste them onto the Big Picture to create your own storyboard of implementing systematic management in your organisation.

To explore another secion of the big picture, please click on the relevant area of the image below: