Business Process Reengineering Flashcards

Question 1

What is business process reengineering, in its basic meaning?

Accepted Answer

Business process reengineering is the fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of core business processes to achieve dramatic gains in cost, quality, service, and speed. Rather than making small adjustments to existing methods, it asks managers to start from a clean slate and question why work is done at all.

Question 2

What key feature distinguishes reengineering from ordinary process improvement efforts?

Accepted Answer

The key feature is the scale of change: reengineering seeks radical, often discontinuous redesign, while ordinary improvement refines existing steps incrementally. Continuous improvement typically accepts the current structure and tunes it, whereas reengineering questions the structure itself and may eliminate or combine steps entirely.

Question 3

What is a business process, and why does reengineering focus on it?

Accepted Answer

A business process is a set of related activities that together produce a result of value for a customer, such as filling an order or resolving a claim. Reengineering focuses on processes because they cut across departments, so improving one function alone rarely fixes the end-to-end outcome.

Question 4

What role does the customer play in defining a process under reengineering?

Accepted Answer

The customer is the starting point for judging whether a process is valuable, so reengineering measures success by outcomes customers actually experience. Teams ask what the customer needs and how long delivery takes. Work that adds nothing a customer would pay for becomes a candidate for removal.

Question 5

What are the core performance measures that reengineering aims to improve?

Accepted Answer

The core performance measures are usually cost, quality, service, and speed, often grouped as four dimensions of performance. Reengineering sets targets on these measures that are large enough to justify rethinking the whole process. Good practice ties each target to a clear baseline, so that progress can be checked objectively after the change.

Question 6

What is meant by a process owner in a reengineering effort?

Accepted Answer

A process owner is a senior manager made accountable for the performance of an entire end-to-end process, regardless of how many departments contribute to it. The owner holds authority to change the process design, secure resources, and resolve conflicts between functions. This gives the effort a clear point of accountability.

Question 7

How does reengineering differ from downsizing in its goals?

Accepted Answer

Reengineering aims to improve how work is performed, while downsizing mainly reduces the number of people doing it. Cutting staff can lower costs, but it does not by itself change the steps, handoffs, or information flows that cause delays and errors. Reengineering may reduce headcount as a result of a better design, yet headcount reduction is not its purpose.

Question 8

Why is the phrase starting over central to the reengineering philosophy?

Accepted Answer

Starting over means setting aside the existing process and asking how it would be designed today if no legacy structure existed. Existing work often reflects old technology and outdated policies rather than current needs. By beginning from a blank page, designers avoid automating inefficient routines and can consider new ways to deliver value.

Question 9

What is a process map and what does it show?

Accepted Answer

A process map is a visual diagram that shows the activities, decision points, inputs, outputs, and people involved in a process, arranged in the order they occur. It makes an invisible workflow visible to everyone. Maps are the starting point for finding delays, duplicated work, and unnecessary handoffs.

Question 10

What is the difference between as-is and to-be process models?

Accepted Answer

An as-is model documents how a process currently operates, including its actual steps, delays, and workarounds. A to-be model describes the intended future design after redesign. Comparing the two highlights the gaps that the reengineering effort must close, and it gives teams a concrete target for implementation.

Question 11

Why do analysts measure cycle time and wait time during process analysis?

Accepted Answer

Cycle time is the total elapsed time from the start to the finish of a process, while wait time is the portion spent idle between activities. Analysts measure both because most elapsed time in many processes is waiting rather than productive work. Knowing where waiting occurs points redesign toward the largest savings.

Question 12

What is value-added analysis and how is it used?

Accepted Answer

Value-added analysis classifies each activity in a process as value-adding, non-value-adding but required, or pure waste, based on whether the customer would pay for it. Activities that add no value and serve no required purpose become prime candidates for elimination. Required but non-value-adding steps are often simplified or automated rather than removed.

Question 13

What does a root cause analysis add to process analysis?

Accepted Answer

Root cause analysis looks beneath visible symptoms, such as late shipments or repeated rework, to identify the underlying reasons they occur. Common techniques include asking why several times in succession and grouping causes by category. Fixing root causes prevents problems from returning, whereas treating symptoms alone only hides them temporarily.

Question 14

How do data gathering methods such as interviews and observation support process analysis?

Accepted Answer

Interviews reveal how people perceive their work, including informal practices that never appear in official documents. Direct observation captures what actually happens, which often differs from what participants describe. Analysts combine both sources with system data and documents to build a reliable picture of the current process before proposing changes.

Question 15

Why is it important to involve frontline staff when mapping a process?

Accepted Answer

Frontline staff know the daily reality of a process, including exceptions, workarounds, and informal shortcuts that managers may never see. Their knowledge makes maps more accurate and reduces the risk of designing a process that looks sound on paper but fails in practice. Involving them builds ownership, which helps the eventual change succeed.

Question 16

What is a bottleneck, and how does it affect a process?

Accepted Answer

A bottleneck is the step with the least capacity relative to demand, which limits the throughput of the entire process. Work tends to pile up in front of it, while downstream steps sit partly idle. Improving any other step rarely increases overall output, so reengineering attention should go first to the constraint.

Question 17

What are some widely taught principles for redesigning a business process?

Accepted Answer

Widely taught principles include eliminating unnecessary steps, combining related tasks, having the people who need results perform the work, and capturing information once at its source. Others favor parallel work over sequential handoffs. These principles guide designers toward simpler, faster flows without prescribing one fixed solution.

Question 18

Why should work be performed where it is needed?

Accepted Answer

This principle reduces handoffs by letting the person who requires an outcome produce it directly. Each transfer between departments adds delay, queue time, and opportunities for errors or lost information. When the user of a result also creates it, the process becomes shorter and accountability becomes clearer.

Question 19

What is the purpose of combining several sequential steps into one task?

Accepted Answer

Combining steps reduces the number of handoffs and waiting periods that occur when work passes from one person to another. When one person or team handles a complete task, fewer errors are lost in transfer and fewer approvals are needed. Combined tasks must still stay manageable.

Question 20

What is parallel processing in process redesign, and when is it useful?

Accepted Answer

Parallel processing means performing independent activities at the same time rather than waiting for one to finish before starting the next. It shortens elapsed time when tasks do not depend on each other's outputs. A credit check and address verification, for instance, can run together.

Question 21

How should automation be used within a process redesign effort?

Accepted Answer

Automation should follow redesign rather than precede it, so that organizations do not simply speed up an inefficient process. Once unnecessary steps are removed and the flow is simplified, automating the remaining routine tasks can deliver large gains in speed and accuracy. Automating a broken process merely produces errors faster.

Question 22

What is the role of a design team in a redesign effort?

Accepted Answer

A design team is a cross-functional group that drafts the to-be process, tests alternatives, and recommends a preferred design to decision makers. Its members should include people from each affected function plus someone who understands the technology involved. Clear scope and decision authority keep the team focused.

Question 23

Why do reengineering projects benefit from a prototype or pilot before full rollout?

Accepted Answer

A pilot tests a redesigned process on a limited scale before the change spreads across the whole organization. It reveals practical problems that analysis alone could not predict, such as system gaps or unclear responsibilities. Lessons from the pilot allow adjustments at low cost, reducing the risk of a large failure.

Question 24

What is a benchmark, and how can it inform redesign targets?

Accepted Answer

A benchmark is a reference measurement of performance, often taken from best-in-class organizations, peer firms, or internal top performers. Benchmarks help teams set realistic targets by showing what is achievable in practice rather than in theory. Teams should choose comparable operations, since a benchmark from a very different context may set unrealistic expectations.

Question 25

What is the role of information technology in reengineering?

Accepted Answer

Information technology enables new process designs that would be impractical with paper or isolated systems, such as shared databases and workflow engines. It can connect separate functions so that one record serves every participant. Technology is an enabler, not the design itself, so it should serve the redesigned process rather than dictate it.

Question 26

What is an enterprise resource planning system and why is it relevant?

Accepted Answer

An enterprise resource planning system is an integrated software platform that links core functions such as finance, procurement, inventory, and human resources in a shared database. Such integration removes many manual data transfers between departments. Reengineering projects frequently involve these systems because redesigned flows must match what the platform can support.

Question 27

How does organizational structure affect the success of a reengineering effort?

Accepted Answer

Traditional functional structures separate work into departments with their own goals, budgets, and measures, which can block end-to-end process changes. Reengineering often requires realigning reporting lines, shifting budgets, or creating process teams that span functions. Without structural support, a redesigned process tends to revert to old departmental habits.

Question 28

What is empowerment, and why does reengineering depend on it?

Accepted Answer

Empowerment means giving employees the authority, information, and resources to make decisions within their work rather than referring every question upward. Redesigned processes often remove approval layers, so the people performing the work must be able to resolve exceptions on the spot. Without that authority, a streamlined design quickly becomes slow again.

Question 29

What kinds of skills do reengineering team members need?

Accepted Answer

Team members need process knowledge from their own functions, analytical skills to map and measure work, and facilitation skills to manage conflicting views. Technical understanding of relevant systems and change management skills also help. Strong teams combine these abilities so that analysis, design, and people issues are addressed together rather than in isolation.

Question 30

How can leadership commitment influence the outcome of a reengineering program?

Accepted Answer

Visible, sustained leadership commitment signals that the change is a priority and that the organization will accept the disruption it causes. Senior leaders provide funding, resolve cross-functional disputes, and protect the team from competing demands. Without this support, reengineering efforts often stall once early obstacles appear.

Question 31

What is change management, and why does it matter for reengineering?

Accepted Answer

Change management is the structured set of practices that prepare, support, and guide people through a transition to new ways of working. Employees must understand why roles and routines are changing. Good change management addresses resistance openly, because a technically sound design can still fail if people do not adopt it.

Question 32

How does information flow affect the design of a redesigned process?

Accepted Answer

Information flow determines who can make decisions and when, so designers must decide what data each step needs and where it should come from. Redesign often reduces duplicate data entry by capturing information once at the source and making it available to later steps.

Question 33

What are the most common reasons that reengineering projects fail?

Accepted Answer

Frequent causes include weak executive sponsorship, poorly defined scope, underestimated resistance to change, and attempts to redesign without understanding the current process. Overly ambitious goals, inadequate communication, and insufficient attention to supporting technology also contribute. Many setbacks trace back to treating reengineering as a one-time project rather than a sustained management commitment.

Question 34

What should a communication plan include during a process redesign?

Accepted Answer

A communication plan should state the reasons for the change, describe the expected benefits, and explain what will be different for each group of employees. It should identify key messages, audiences, channels, and timing, along with a feedback mechanism that lets people raise concerns.

Question 35

How should managers track results after a redesigned process goes live?

Accepted Answer

Managers should track the same baseline measures used during analysis, such as cycle time, error rate, cost per transaction, and customer satisfaction, to compare results before and after. Dashboards that update regularly make trends visible early. Measures should be reviewed on a fixed schedule, and teams should act on deviations.

Question 36

Why is it important to set a clear scope before starting a reengineering project?

Accepted Answer

A clear scope defines which processes, departments, and systems are included, and which are excluded, and what outcomes the effort must deliver. Without boundaries, projects expand, deadlines slip, and teams lose focus on the goals that justified the investment. Scope should be agreed by sponsors before analysis begins and revisited only through change control.

Question 37

What is a service level agreement, and how might it relate to a redesigned process?

Accepted Answer

A service level agreement is a documented commitment that defines the expected quality, timeliness, and responsibilities for a service between a provider and a recipient. Redesigned processes often include agreed service targets so that handoffs between teams have measurable expectations. This prevents blame when work stalls between functions.

Question 38

How should risks be identified and managed during a reengineering project?

Accepted Answer

Teams should list likely risks early, such as resistance, data quality problems, system delays, or loss of key staff, and rate each by likelihood and impact. High-priority risks need named owners, mitigation actions, and regular review. Risk registers should be updated throughout the project rather than completed once at the start.

Question 39

Why should teams agree on decision rules before a go-live decision?

Accepted Answer

Decision rules state in advance which results will justify full rollout, which will trigger adjustments, and which will mean stopping the change. Agreeing on them before results arrive protects the decision from optimism, political pressure, or sunk-cost thinking. Clear thresholds make the choice transparent.

Question 40

Why do process gains often erode over time, and how can teams prevent it?

Accepted Answer

Gains erode when staff drift back to old habits, when ownership changes hands. Preventing erosion requires documented standard procedures, periodic audits, and clear ownership of the process after the project team disbands. Continuous monitoring of the core measures lets managers spot drift early and correct it before performance declines.

Business Process Reengineering Flashcards

1Foundational concepts and core ideas

2Process analysis and mapping

3Redesign principles and methods

4Enabling technology and organization

5Implementation, measurement, and risks

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