According to a Harvard Business Review article from 2010, the new business environment is described as unpredictable, unprecedented, unstoppable and unlikely to change soon. Globalization, disruptive technological innovation, regulatory reform and other shifts and forces are causing rapid changes in the business landscape. This is causing customers, suppliers, and competitors to change. Adapting quickly to market trends is key to staying open to business and becoming a leader in your industry.
Optimizing through Business Process Improvement
A business process is a collection of activities that result in a product or service. Companies are constantly looking for new strategies and methods to improve their processes and provide better service to their customers, given the current volatile business environment. It is obvious that improving the process that delivers those results is the best way to improve results. These models include ISO 9000 Quality Management, DMAIC In Six Sigma, and CMMI.
Process Improvement Initiatives are considered projects
Business process improvement (BPI), is a systematic approach that applies a series of actions to existing business processes to achieve new goals and objectives. While most business processes are operational, process improvement is not. BPI goals will most likely result in significant performance improvement and great impact. They are more suited to being used as projects. Genius Project, a software company that manages enterprise projects, has published a whitepaper about how to treat process improvement initiatives like projects and the importance project management, especially Organizational Project Management Maturity Model, (OPM3), as well as change management in the implementation of these initiatives.
The Phases
As with any project, a plan must be created that includes milestones, deliverables, and documents that will support the transition from the old way of doing things to the new. A project leader is the best person to help with knowledge transfer and continuous track. These phases are usually followed by process improvement projects, according to the Genius Project whitepaper.
Project Kick-Off
Identifying the process improvement needs
Analyse of the current process in question
Redesign of business process
Pilot for an improved process
Stakeholders are presented with process improvements
Implementation of an improved process
Evaluation and measurement of success
The OPM3 Framework: Getting familiar
The Organizational Project Management Maturity Model, or OPM3, was published by PMI and is a best-practice standard. The success of process improvement projects is dependent on the quality of the project management team, including how it involves staff and executives. OPM3 helps deliver successful projects, and provides program and portfolio management strategies and best practice that ensure the implementation of the most valuable initiatives.

Management of Change
Process improvement leads to change that affects not only the way things are done, but also the people and organizations that do it. It is important to include a strategy to manage resistance to change as well as organizational roadblocks. The new process should be communicated to all parties in order to promote and explain the positive results. Stakeholders and end users must be able understand and believe that the process improvement will be beneficial to the entire organization, even though it may seem difficult at first.
Finding the right tool
Along with the right organization