Process Design, Redesign and Process Reengineering
This domain tests the difference between incremental redesign and radical reengineering, and the design principles used to create a better to-be process.
Design and redesign
Process design creates a to-be process; redesign improves an existing process incrementally. Business Process Reengineering (BPR) is radical, dramatic change of end-to-end processes, defined by Hammer and Champy as fundamental rethinking and radical redesign. Redesign principles include eliminate, simplify, integrate, parallelize, automate and outsource. Design should start from customer outcomes, not from the current org chart, and must consider exceptions, controls and change management.
Worked example
A loan application process takes 15 days across five departments. Redesign eliminates duplicate data entry, integrates credit and collateral checks in parallel, and automates standard approvals with a rules engine. The target is three days with the same risk controls. Reasoning: parallelization removes waiting; integration removes handoffs; automation fits rules-based, high-volume steps. BPR would question whether collateral checks are needed at all for low-value loans, a more radical scope change.
Traps
Do not call every improvement reengineering. BPR is not downsizing. Do not automate a broken process; remove waste first. Do not design without a baseline and measurable targets. Ignoring change resistance and regulatory controls causes failed implementation.