Current State Assessment

Process flow for organizational assessments

Business improvement begins with assessment of the current state. A solid understanding of how core operational processes are actually functioning within the business is necessary before any change that will make a difference can be designed.

A sample list of current state assessment findings from recent projects.

Operations

  • Significant number of resources are engaged in non-standard processing
  • Current structure of batch processes causes material delays in processing
  • Metrics and management processes are not driving the right behaviors
  • Current operating structure is insufficient to support effective scalability
  • Weak linkages exist between strategic objectives and departmental priorities

Infrastructure/Organization

  • Core IT systems are out of sync with key operating processes
  • Process checks & balances are based on quality control and not quality assurance
  • Numerous manual processes are largely aimed at moving documents not information
  • Processing is based on a people-capacity model not a technology-capacity model
  • Job roles are defined by an individual’s characteristics rather than by formal job descriptions

Professional Business Solutions’ assessments are always tailored to the client’s program objectives. The assessment is generally comprised of three components, but client circumstances can dictate variations:

1. Current State Assessment Design
This stage delineates the program objectives, governing and scoping of the project. It addresses the questions,

What are the core objectives of your program?

When do you want to accomplish them by?

Different clients have different needs. Some typical objectives are to improve:

  • Productivity of key business processes
  • Utilization of appropriate Performance Metrics
  • Effectiveness of resource allocations
  • Synergy between core processes and organizational goals
  • Ability of IT to enable operational efficiencies
  • Operational ability to deliver more customer value
  • Efficiency of inter-departmental hand-offs

2. Operational Analysis and Process Review
Once the objectives of the program are established and its focus is clear, it is necessary to select the core business operations and processes to assess.

Main considerations include:

  • Program design
  • Scale and timing
  • Functional prioritization
  • IT dependency

For each selected process, PBSI consultants will develop analyses that capture how the business is currently working. Operational workflow (OW) development gathers information on process performance, activity-based productivity and procedural dependencies. OW development utilizes best practices in:

  • Information gathering approaches
  • Leveraging client documentation
  • Collective PBSI expertise

3. Process Analysis
After the current state of the process has been identified, operational analysis seeks to identify process improvement opportunities.

This approach typically examines various stages of the workflows, procedures and IT utilization that have been developed in comparison to:

  • Productivity measures
  • Performance metrics
  • Organizational competencies
  • Process costs
  • Program objectives
  • Best practice comparisons

4. IT Analysis
IT improvements are essential to achieving profitable growth. To make them pay off, a company needs to focus on more than just technology – the improvement has to be felt in the business results. And this means joining IT closely with End-User operational processes. This prerequisite is essential to an organizations’ ability to:

  • Enhance operating efficiency
  • Improve consumer interfaces and services
  • Assess data risks
  • Maximize intellectual capital

Some of the key aspects that typically benefit from close examination include:

  • Strategic Systems Plan
    • Linkages between the organization’s IT strategy and its business plan
    • The role of information in driving the business in general and in the functional areas being examined
    • Moving from strategic objectives to IT objectives
    • Operating Model – the effectiveness of business integration & standardization employed
  • IT Governance & Service Level Agreements
    • Organization and approach
    • Management processes over project selection and approach
    • Risk Assessment Protocols
  • Distribution of the current IT Portfolio and its impact on the areas under review.

Desired Future State

Based on the results of the Current State Assessment, it is practical to gauge the possibilities of short and/or long-term improvements that address the weaknesses or opportunities that have been identified in the current process. The Desired Future State consists of the design and prioritization of practical operational improvements.

The Future Desired State, once designed, becomes the goal that the implementation phase of the project is driving toward.

The Future Desired State Assessment is intertwined with the implementation of actual improvements, as described in the Future State Build Implementation section.

Typical engagement deliverables include:

  • Observations and Findings
  • Recommendations for improvement
  • Operational analyses and workflows
  • Risk Matrix
  • Performance Metric Evaluation
  • Improvement Implementation Plan
  • Desired State Design & Implementation Success Factors
  • Project Plans
  • Status Reports
  • Flash Reports and Heat Maps