What is a Business Process Review and Why Do You Need One
When preparing for just about any new system or a significant upgrade, doing a Business Process Review (BPR) is one of the first places to start. If you are spending a large chunk of time, energy and money, you need to be sure that your new solution will meet your needs and solve any issues you are having. Only by being honest and figuring out what issues you are having prior to defining a solution, can you hope to make meaningful change.
What is a BPR?
While there is no standard BPR for all companies, you can generally expect a consultant (usually from outside your company) to come in and help you do a thorough analysis of your company.
To start, this will likely include a breakdown of your processes and day-to-day tasks, as well as reviewing any written process docs. In addition, consultants often meet with employees and/or stakeholders to get an inside perspective on what is going on.
The whole point is to do a thorough analysis to identify the pain points and inefficiencies in your company, as well as discuss potential solutions. Ideally, the BPR will shed new light on the problems for the client and give the consultant the information they need to make recommendations, and lay out a solution plan.
Why Conduct a BPR?
So you already know what issues your company is having and probably have a few ideas on how to fix them, so why do you need to pay someone to come in and confirm your hunches? Why not just get right to fixing things?
Well before you dive in, consider that an outside consultant can give you a fresh take on your problems, and might even have a level of knowledge or experience you and your team doesn’t have. This could potentially lead to shortcuts you didn’t know were there and all-around better results.
Aside from that, a BPR has three essential benefits that are good for any company:
Defines the scope and parameters of the Implementation
- By being able to discuss the current process and issues in-depth, the BPR gives the consultant a much better idea of what needs to be done. This leads to a more comprehensive plan and ensures seamless functionality where nothing can slip through the cracks. Without a BPR, there is always an increased chance that part-way through an implementation, a big-time issue will arise, derailing the whole project because it wasn’t foreseen and prepared for.
Better Cost Estimates
- Because the consultant is able to get a detailed plan in place prior to doing any work, cost estimates become much more accurate. A BPR helps avoid unexpected costs and allows both client and consultant to budget time and hours accordingly. Further, by identifying risks, you can also identify where money can potentially be saved before jumping into the implementation.
Sets More Realistic Expectations
- Almost no amount of success can make up for a terrible client experience. Imagine going out for a world-class dining experience and having terribly rude waitstaff. No matter how good the food, or how much wine you drink, your experience can be ruined. Same goes for an implementation project. We find that one of the best ways to ensure a quality client/consultant experience is to set realistic expectations up front. Sugarcoating a timeline or budget at the beginning only leads to tension and distrust later on. By doing a thorough BPR at the beginning, and forthright project terms, consultants can establish a happier working relationship through realistic expectations from both parties.
It can be challenging to truly change your business, especially if you have been doing things the same way for a long time. However, if you are going to make any changes, it is always best to thoroughly commit and scrutinize as much of your business as possible. A BPR is an essential tool to really dig in and lay out the path to a better future.
BPR’s for Salesforce
At CloudMyBiz, we do a Business Process Review for just about every project we do. Our years of experience have taught us that the BPR is an essential ingredient to every successful project. We perform our BRP’s prior to submitting any proposal, which allows us to create detailed and customized project plans, rather than generic, one-size-fits-all solutions.
Our BPRs aim to follow this general outline:
- Discuss and map out your current business process – including what is working, what isn’t working, and why
- Brainstorm solutions and potential changes – there are often a number of possible fixes, including customizations, apps or simply changing workflows and processes
- Identify any goals and significant needs from the project – it isn’t enough to know what needs to be fixed, knowing the why is just as important to a successful implementation. Goals and needs are often broken down into an order of importance. Critical solutions are of course first, while the minor adjustments will come after.
- Design a solution that will not only fix the issues but meet any goals along the way.
- Submit the proposal
This formula allows us to create a roadmap for success for each project we do. So when the question comes up “Why don’t we create project proposals without doing a BPR?” it is because we believe in the old adage of “measure twice, cut once”.
-Ryan and the CloudMyBiz Team
CEO of CloudMyBiz Salesforce CRM consulting services with a deep knowledge in the lending industry. Taking keen interest in the project management side of operations, playing a vital role in the 31% YOY company growth. Strategic leader, mastering the ability to problem solve at every level of the business, providing effective solutions for clients.