Detail Process Charting: Speaking the Language of Process - Hardcover

Graham, Ben B.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471653942 ISBN 13: 9780471653943

Publisher: Wiley, 2004

Synopsis

Praise for Detail Process Charting
"A must-read for any competitive organization, Detail Process Charting: Speaking the Language of Process provides a comprehensive, yet clear, explanation of how to utilize one of the most powerful tools available to improve work processes. [Graham] has successfully integrated the history, success stories, and wisdom of those in the field who have applied this time-tested tool."
-Jim Denyes, Training Manager
Naval Occupational Safety and Health, and Environmental Training Center
Author, Work Smarter, Not Harder
"This book will be a valuable resource for all those interested in work simplification and its implementation. Excellent answers to the 'who,' 'what,' 'when,' 'how,' and 'why' of work simplification are provided in an understandable and very useful level of detail. Graham has obviously 'been there, done that.' "
-John A. Roberts III, Adjunct Professor
School of Business Administration, University of Dayton
"The keys to this approach . . . are the involvement of the workers and the simplicity of the charting approach. Even those participants who have never seen a process chart can almost instantly see how the process works, their role in it, and how it can be improved. This level of involvement means continuous buy-in, which significantly improves the chances of success. The emphasis on the document as the key process element and the ability to diagram the document to flow easily, rapidly, and clearly set this approach apart from all the others."
-Fredric D. Heilbronner, Director of Systems Consulting, eForms
Digital Consulting & Software Services, Inc.
"Much has been written about charting and business systems analysis, but I have not seen anything as comprehensive and clear as Ben Graham's book. Writing in simple, easy-to-follow language with plentiful illustrations and practical examples, this book takes the reader through the full spectrum of the charting process from initial analysis to managing charting libraries. This book is a must-have for all process improvement analysts and managers wanting to improve their organizational efficiency."
-Robert Barnett, Managing Director
Robert Barnett and Associates Pty. Ltd.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Detail Process Charting is a practical tool for helping professionals at all levels gain stronger control of their work environments. Applicable to all organizations, this guide revisits the work-simplification approach to process improvement that prevailed for much of the twentieth century, with a special focus on the detail process chart. Looking forward to the demands of the twenty-first century, the method described in this book helps readers see the detail process chart with trained eyes that perceive fresh ways of applying this valuable approach to work improvement.

The work-simplification approach first and foremost taps into the process-specific experiences of the people who do the work. It calls upon external resources for technology-specific expertise and alternative perspectives. There is no place for a "clean-slate" approach that ignores the current process and the experience of the people who do the work.

Detail Process Charting proposes a method of work simplification that incorporates teams of people, not individuals, from different parts of the work process coming together to improve the work they share. In fact, the more people who get involved in work simplification, the more opportunities for improvement will arise.

Detail Process Charting provides a brief introduction to the history of information process charting and its derivation from manufacturing process improvement methods, offering a commonsense approach to data gathering akin to following the path of the process with a clipboard. It defines the elements of a process flowchart (symbols, conventions, and words) and explains how each is applied. With the help of more than a hundred informative illustrations and a variety of real-world examples, this book demonstrates how to construct and use detail process charts to examine business processes and improve specific situations.

Many professionals debate who should be involved in improving work processes and what kind of solutions to look for. Some arguments discuss using outside help or internal resources, whether to apply radical solutions or incremental solutions, and whether improvement efforts should be top-down or bottom-up. Detail Process Charting suggests that these "either-or" arguments force a choice between one option and another to the detriment of the overall solution. The methodology presented here gives every option for work improvement a place in the process, the key being to know the right technique to apply to the right situation.

Detail Process Charting is an essential book for CIOs, IT professionals, auditors, and analysts.

About the Author

Ben B. Graham is President and CEO of The Ben Graham Corporation, a company that provides process improvement consulting, coaching, and training services to organizations across the United States and Canada. He has more than twenty years of experience working with the Graham Process Improvement methodology. He has helped develop organization-wide improvement programs. He has worked with the government at all levels, and he’s worked with nonprofit and private enterprise with people in R&D, legal, finance, IT, customer service, warehousing, and other departments. His organization publishes Graham Process Charting Software, which is designed specifically and solely for preparing detail process charts.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0471653942
• ISBN 13: 9780471653943
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 187