Abstract:

Businesses often undertake projects to improve the efficiency of their processes. Many times, however, what is delivered not only misses the mark of making the process more efficient, but may even make it perform worse (by focusing on functional and siloed areas instead of the process as a whole). A good business analyst will analyze the complete process and establish process levels, decompose, and identify differences between functions, activities, and tasks. By communicating to the organization standard definitions of processes and getting everyone in consensus, the overall process can then be solved, rather than just improving one functional area. Using swimlanes to identify processes are great, but knowing how to use them to improve processes helps instead of just making one’s own lane more efficient. This presentation will show you how identifying patterns in processes can make them more efficient in the long run and improve your organization’s position within the industry.

Learning objectives:

• Why companies need to understand process levels and the differences between them

• Create a common naming convention for processes for identification and confirmation

• Look for ways to improve processes cross-functionally, not just in one swimlane

Bio:

Paul Mulvey, Director, Client Solutions, B2T Training, has been involved in business analysis since 1995, achieving CBAP designation with the IIBA in 2010. He has served as the lead Business Analyst on projects in several business domains, including sales, marketing, pricing, incentives, customer service, real estate, and CRM. Projects included both custom development and purchased packages.

During his tenure at a large logistics organization, he was one of the founding members of the BA Center of Excellence, and developed the global BA competency operating model. Paul has been a mentor and coach to BAs for over 10 years, and has taught foundational BA skills, business process modeling, use case modeling, and communication techniques. One of the hallmarks of his communication style is to break down complicated processes and concepts into understandable analogies and explanations. He remains active in the BA community through B2T Training’s Business Analysis blog, participation in social networking sites, and speaking engagements. Paul can be reached at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .