22
APPROACHES TO PROCESS STANDARDIZATION PROCEDURES
Falk Maiwald
* Thomas Reicks1
In e na ional G adua e School in Zi au
Ins i u e o P oduc ion Managemen and In o ma ion Enginee ing
Ma k 23, 02763 Zi au, Ge many
maiw[email p o ec ed]
* In e na ional G adua e School in Zi au
Ins i u e o P oduc ion Managemen and In o ma ion Enginee ing
Ma k 23, 02763 Zi au, Ge many¨
[email p o ec ed]
Abs ac
This pape desc ibes possible app oaches o p ocess s anda diza ion p ocedu es using he
example o a p ojec . S a ing wi h he iden i ica ion and selec ion o p ocesses wi h
s anda diza ion po en ial in he p elimina y s udy, he modelling o p ocess s anda ds is ca ied
ou in he nex s ep - he concep phase. Re lec ions on ypical si ua ions in he de ini ion o
p ocess s anda ds, aking in o accoun he p ocess o mass cus omiza ion, show h ee
app oaches. Di e ences a ise in he s anda diza ion o se e al p ocess le els, o p ocess
in e aces and o he c ea ion o s anda d a ian s. Finally, he a icle add esses he
implemen a ion and con olling o he p ocess s anda ds. Changes in cus ome equi emen s
and p ocess inno a ions mean ha p ocess s anda diza ion is no a one ime p ojec , a he an
ongoing ac i i y.
1 In oduc ion
Se e al s udies in ecen yea s ha e con i med he inc easing impo ance o he subjec o
business p ocess managemen (BPM). Hamme and Champy de ine a business p ocess as a
collec ion o ac i i ies aking one o mo e kinds o inpu and c ea ing an ou pu ha is o alue
o he cus ome [1]. Acco ding o Schmelze / Sesselmann, BPM is an in eg a ed and long- e m
concep o leade ship, o ganiza ion, con ol and op imiza ion o business p ocesses. The
app oach should allow o a ge ed managemen o business p ocesses, and align he en i e
o ganiza ion on mee ing cus ome needs and demands o o he s akeholde s. The key objec i es
a e seen in he inc ease o he e iciency and e ec i eness o he p ocesses o he company
([2] p. 4-5). The s anda diza ion o p ocesses has an impo an ole in achie ing hese goals.
S udies epea edly show he s anda diza ion as a cen al aspec o BPM. Howe e , he e a e
only ew publica ions on how p ocess s anda diza ion ope a es and wha aspec s a e o be
conside ed. This pape i s makes clea wha can be unde s ood by p ocess s anda diza ion.
The au ho s p oceed o demons a e a p ojec -based p ocedu e o p ocess s anda diza ion and
in oduce h ee possible app oaches o p ocess s anda diza ion.
1 Falk Maiwald is a lec u e a he Uni e si y o Applied Sciences Zi au/Gö li z. Thomas Reicks is P ojec
Manage Financial Se ices a he Consileon F ank u GmbH. Bo h a e PhD s uden s a IHI Zi au.
23
2 Basics o P ocess S anda diza ion
S anda diza ion gene ally means uni ica ion on a speci ic pa e n. P ocess s anda diza ion
p o ides a uni o m and consis en p ocess landscape, h ough which he exchange o se ices
be ween business uni s and wi h ex e nal cus ome s and supplie s can be managed anspa en ly
and e icien ly ([2] p. 201). I will mainly be ini ia ed when a ce ain deg ee o a uni o m
o ma o business p ocesses is likely o sol e quali y o pe o mance p oblems o p ocesses.
In addi ion, ex e nal equi emen s such as legal amewo ks o s anda ds along he supply chain
can igge a s anda diza ion o p ocesses.
S anda dized p ocesses open up a numbe o oppo uni ies o companies om which some
objec i es o p ocess s anda diza ion can be de i ed. Fo example, imp o emen s in he quali y
o ca ying ou he p ocess as well as ime and cos ad an ages a e men ioned. Employees can
amilia ize hemsel es quickly wi h he s anda dized p ocesses. Coo dina ion cos s can be
educed h ough de ined in e aces. P ocess pe o mance is compa able o using s anda d
p ocesses.
S anda diza ion is also associa ed wi h isks. In pa icula , p ocess s anda diza ion esul s in
limi ed lexibili y in se ice c ea ion. This con adic s he inc eased cus ome demand o
indi iduali y, and i can lead o disad an ages o he company in compe i ion. A solu ion o
his dilemma, he concep o p ocess o mass cus omiza ion, is o be u he elabo a ed in
sec ion 3.2.3.
I a p ocess is o be s anda dized, he ollowing ques ions mus be answe ed:
• Which p ocess elemen s a e o be s anda dized (objec o s anda diza ion)?
• To wha deg ee should he s anda diza ion o hese elemen s be ca ied ou (deg ee o
s anda diza ion)?
• A which si es o business uni s should he s anda diza ion be implemen ed ( ange o
s anda diza ion)?
F
igu e 1 Basic model o a p ocess (acco ding o [3] p. 50)
The indi idual elemen s o a p ocess can be an objec o s anda diza ion (see Figu e 1). In he
ollowing sec ion possible objec s o s anda diza ion a e desc ibed b ie ly. The app op ia e
deg ee o s anda diza ion is also discussed.
An e en igge s a p ocess, when, o example, s ocks all below he eo de poin .
S anda diza ion can be seen as igge ing e en s. This will ensu e ha a p ocess is ini ia ed a
he igh momen .
24
P ocess inpu and p ocess ou pu a e physical objec s o in o ma ion. The de ini ion o he
deg ee o s anda diza ion depends on he obse ed objec and on he ups eam and/ o
downs eam p ocesses.
The ac i i ies ep esen he co e o a p ocess. Wi h he implemen a ion o he ac i i ies a
p ocess is ealized. In s anda diza ion on he one hand, he single ac i i y has o be conside ed,
bu on he o he hand also he p ocess logic, which de e mined he o de o execu ion o he
ac i i ies. Es ablishing he deg ee o s anda diza ion mus be seen in he s uc u e o p ocess
(also known as p ocess hie a chy). This is unde s ood as he g adual ( op down) b eak-down o
a p ocess in o i s sub-p ocesses; p ocess s eps up o ac i i ies. Al e na i ely, one can speak o
di e en p ocess le els. The highe he deg ee o s anda diza ion, he mo e le els a e consis en
in e ms o hei ac i i ies and p ocess logic. Fo s anda diza ion p ocess a ian s also play a
ole in he con ex o hese ac i i ies. These a ise when di e en ac i i ies o ac i i ies wi hin a
p ocess ou ine a e possible, o example, depending on whe he s anda d p oduc s a e used
which a e in s ock, o whe he indi idual p oduc s a e p oduced. The deg ee o s anda diza ion
is hen highe when we ha e he lowe numbe o a ian s.
In o ma ion may be p o ided om an ups eam p ocess s ep as inpu , possibly by ob aining i
om an in o ma ion sys em. In bo h cases, i is impo an o he necessa y in o ma ion in he
same scope o be a ailable o employees pe o ming he same ac i i ies. The be e his is
ul illed, he highe he le el o s anda diza ion.
The ange o s anda diza ion is he hi d aspec ha needs o be cla i ied in connec ion wi h
s anda diza ion. A p ocess can be s anda dized in a single si e o ac oss mul iple loca ions. In
he i s case, in one loca ion all ele an employees mus ca y ou he ac i i ies in he same
way, ha ing access o he same in o ma ion and using he same ma e ial esou ces. In he
second case, his equi emen applies ac oss di e en loca ions. The de ini ion o he ange o
s anda diza ion may also be ele an o businesses, such as s a egic business uni s o
subsidia ies.
Building on hese ounda ions, he ollowing sec ion desc ibes a possible sys ema ic app oach
in p ac ice.
3 P ocedu e o p ocess s anda diza ion
Depending on he scope o he expec ed changes, he implemen a ion o p ocess s anda disa ion
o a company may be ca ied ou wi hin a p ojec . The ollowing pa will b ie ly discuss he
di e en p ojec phases.
Implem-
en a ion de elopmen
STOP
Ini ializa ion
P e-S udy
Concep
Realiza ion
Implemen a ion
1
2
3
4
5
Implem-
en a ion de elopmen
STOPSTOP
Ini ializa ion
P e-S udy
Concep
Realiza ion
Implemen a ion
1
2
3
4
5
F
igu e 2 Phases o a p ojec (acco ding o [4] p. 15-16)
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The p e ious igge s ha e shown ini ializing o he p ojec . In each phase he p ojec eam
de elops p ede ined ou comes (miles ones). These p o ide impo an in o ma ion abou he
p ojec ’s p og ess and o m he basis o he app o al o ejec ion o he nex phase by he
p ojec commi ee. The phases a e shown in Figu e 2. Below he indi idual p ojec will be
con empla ed mo e closely.
3.1 P e-s udy: p ocess analysis and selec ion o ele an ields o s anda diza ion
The pu pose o p ocess analysis in a p elimina y s udy is, on one hand, he desc ip ion and
e alua ion o p ocesses al eady s anda dized. On he o he hand, hose p ocesses a e o be
iden i ied and p io i ized in o hose ha ha e a po en ial o s anda diza ion and hose whe e
he e is a necessi y o s anda diza ion. Fo his pu pose, he s ep-by-s ep app oach desc ibed
below would be ecommendable (inspi ed by he app oach in [5], p. 30 ).
3.1.1 The i s desc ip ion o he ac ual p ocesses
In o de o gi e a b ie ou line o he ac ual p ocesses in hei in e ac ions and ela ionships,
depending on he si ua ion, he wo op le els o he espec i e p ocess hie a chies a e
desc ibed. The o e iew o he p ocess low s uc u e is es ablished by demons a ing he
p ocesses in he p ocess map (e.g. alue chain diag ams) o he espec i e le els.
3.1.2 Iden i ica ion o signi ican p ocesses wi h a po en ial o s anda diza ion
To be able o un a s anda diza ion p ojec success ully and wi h e ec i e use o esou ces, one
should now ocus on ac ual p ocess maps and on s a egically impo an p ocess issues. This
means an e alua ion o he di e en p ocesses ega ding alency and signi icance o achie e
he o e all objec i es o he company (key p ocesses o s a egic ele ance). The p ocesses a e
placed acco ding o hei impo ance in a hie a chy.
Then an es ima e mus be ob ained o he ex en o which key p ocesses a e gene ally sui able
o s anda diza ion, and i a bene i o he company could a ise in eaching he company’s
objec i es.
E en ually a mo e de ailed iew on he p ocesses on a lowe le el o he p ocess hie a chy
(b eak-down in o sub-p ocesses o p ocess s eps) could be app op ia e.
The ollowing aspec s indica e s anda diza ion po en ial o necessi y (in pa based on [6] p. 51
and [7] p. 227 ):
• (high) ep oducibili y and gene ali y o p ocesses wi hin he en e p ise business uni a
one loca ion, in di e en loca ions o in di e en business uni s
• (high) coo dina ion and consul a ion equi emen s wi hin p ocesses o in e nal and / o
ex e nal in e aces, and c oss-sec o al (e.g. p oduc / echnology de elopmen ), ac oss
business uni (e.g. de elopmen o sys em solu ions by composi ion o componen s o
indi idual business uni s) o ac oss business uni s (e.g. supply chain managemen ),
• cen aliza ion o eloca ion o se ices (e.g. ou sou cing o p ocesses),
• in a-and in e -company in eg a ion o IT applica ions o be accompanied by p ocess
in eg a ion.
I should be no ed ha easons may exis which speak agains a s anda diza ion o ce ain
p ocesses. Fo example, key equi emen s o ex e nal cus ome s may no allow he
implemen a ion o s anda dized p ocesses, o he necessa y IT sys ems and in as uc u e migh
no ye be a ailable.
As a esul o his phase, he iden i ied p ocesses o he en e p ise wi h a s anda diza ion
po en ial a e ep esen ed in a p ocess map o in ano he app op ia e o m.
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3.1.3 P io i iza ion and selec ion o s anda diza ion ields
Fo a possible s anda diza ion you e alua e he cos -e ec i eness o he iden i ied p ocesses in
he nex s ep. Tha means, cos s and bene i s o he s anda diza ion a e weighed agains each
o he . The esul is a p io i iza ion and selec ion o p omising s anda diza ion ields. Thus, he
phase o he pilo s udy is comple ed. The ollowing s age is now he design, i.e. he modelling
o de e mina ion o he p ocess s anda ds.
3.2 Concep : modelling company-speci ic p ocess s anda ds
The co e o he s anda diza ion p ocesses is o design p ocess s anda ds on a concep ual le el.
P ocess s anda ds a e he no ma i e equi emen s o he ideal ype o uni ying p ocesses in
en e p ises. P ocess s anda ds he e o e ha e e e ence cha ac e speci ic o a company as
ega ds he p ocess objec s wi h he app op ia e deg ee o s anda diza ion o ega ding he
s anda diza ion place espec i ely.
3.2.1 Re e ences o p ocess s anda ds
In he case o modelling o de ining he p ocess s anda ds, a gene al decision mus be made on
wha basis he a ge p ocesses should be buil in acco dance wi h he p ocess map. I we i s
conside he indi idual p ocess, i is clea ha , on he one hand, he in e nal idealized ac ual
p ocesses (Bes P ac ice) can be aken as e e ence. Due o he no ma i e na u e o p ocess
s anda ds, he ac ual p ocesses p o ided as e e ence p ocesses a e o be e alua ed in e ms o
hei e ec i eness and e iciency. By measu ing and e alua ing he p ocess pe o mance o
simila p ocesses o o he companies and he compa ison wi h one’s own ac ual p ocesses
(benchma king) adjus men and op imiza ion measu es can be de i ed o he p ocess
s anda ds.
On he o he hand, i is o be conside ed whe he any ex e nal e e ence p ocess models a e o
be included and adap ed. An example o a e e ence p ocess adap ed by many Ge man sa ings
banks, is he so-called “Modell K” which means "model o ganiza ion o e icien loan
p ocessing“([8] p. 3).
Re e ence p ocess models can also desc ibe holis ic p ocess s uc u es (le el app oach), which
a e ele an as a amewo k o a pa ial o comple e ake-o e o adap ing.
A e e ence p ocess model wi h a holis ic poin o iew is, o example, he Supply- Chain
Ope a ions Re e ence model (SCOR model). In he le el concep o he SCOR model, an
in eg a ed s uc u e o p ocesses o he supply chain managemen (SCM) is p ede e mined.
I hus con ains a s anda dized app oach o s uc u ing he p ocess h oughou he supply chain
alue chain o he pu pose o imp o ing p ocess pe o mance along he Supply Chain. Fo
example, Siemens has decided o use subs an ial pa s o he SCOR- model
in he de elopmen o company-speci ic p ocess s anda ds in he ield o SCM. ([5] p. 22)
3.2.2 De ailed modelling o p ocess s anda ds
In de ail, he de ini ion o he s anda ds p ocess is done by cla i ying he s anda diza ion
cha ac e is ics, as explained in sec ion 2. This applies o bo h he indi idually modelled
p ocesses, as well as o he e e ence p ocesses aken o e o adap ed. The p ocess objec s a e
desc ibed acco ding o he desi ed p ocesses om he beginning (sou ce) o he end
(dep ession) o he p ocess om he in e media e ac i i ies and co esponding p ocess logic,
p ocess inpu s and i s supplie s and / o p ocess ou pu , and hei add essees (" he Cus ome ").
The deg ees o s anda diza ion and s anda diza ion ange a e depending on he indi idual
company objec i es and a ge s. Re lec ions on ypical si ua ions du ing he de ini ion o

27
p ocess s anda ds – aking in o accoun he p ocess o mass cus omiza ion – esul ed in
di e en app oaches.
3.2.3 Typical app oaches in he con ex o P ocess Mass Cus omiza ion
I is mainly o easons o compe i i eness ha a acili a ion o a ce ain lexibili y o p ocesses
is necessa y despi e s anda diza ion. Acco dingly, his should be aken in o accoun as a
necessa y condi ion o p ocess s anda ds. A lexibili y o p ocesses is sough by he concep o
p ocess mass cus omiza ion. On he one hand, his aims o s anda dize as many epea able
p ocesses as possible ("P ocess Mass ..."); on he o he hand, i s a ge is o make p ocesses as
cus ome speci ic as much as possible o inc ease cus ome ´s sa is ac ion ("... Cus omiza ion ")
([5], p. 3). Please no e ha mixed o ms o he app oaches ou lined below a e possible.
App oach I: s anda diza ion p ocess o e se e al le els (holis ic app oach)
In a p ojec ha aims a p ocess s anda diza ion a di e en loca ions, in di e en business uni s
o subsidia ies, he holis ic app oach o s anda diza ion o se e al p ocess le els could be used.
In ha case he p ocess is mo e likely be desc ibed as s anda d in less de ail on a highe le el
(Mass); he sepa a e si es/di isions/subsidia ies being designed indi idually on he lowe
le els (Cus omiza ion) (see igu e 3).
F
igu e 3 S anda diza ion app oach o se e al p ocess le els ( ollowing [5] p. 28)
App oach II: s anda d a ian s
To design he (s anda d) p ocesses o be mo e lexible, s anda d a ian s could be c ea ed. A
p ocess (Px) is di ided (de ailed) in o sub-p ocesses (TPx) and o he sub p ocesses, possible
a ian s (V) a e de i ed. A e ha , he mos equen ly used a ian s in a sub-p ocess mus be
selec ed, desc ibed in de ail o modelled and decla ed as s anda d a ian s (Mass.). The
indi idual si es/di isions/subsidia ies can hen pu oge he , he en i e p ocess using indi idual
s anda d a ian s (Cus omiza ion) (see igu e 4).
F
igu e 4 S anda diza ion app oach wi h p ocess a ian s
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App oach III: s anda diza ion o p ocess in e aces
In case o ou sou cing, s anda diza ion o p ocess in e aces is ypical. Besides he p ecise
de ini ion o he sou ce and dep ession o he p ocess (p ocess cu s), he exac desc ip ion o
he ou pu s o be deli e ed by he depa men o se ice p o ide o he ollowing (pa ial)
p ocess and a possible de ailed desc ip ion o he necessa y inpu s a e essen ial (Mass).
The depa men o he se ice p o ide s do no ha e o ollow he de aul p ocesses ca ying
ou he p ocess; hey can ac mo e lexibly (Cus omiza ion) (see Figu e 5).
F
igu e 5 S anda diza ion app oach o p ocess in e aces
3.3 Implemen a ion / ealiza ion o s anda dized p ocesses
A e he a ge p ocesses ha e been modelled, he ques ion a ises how his could be
implemen ed in he company. In he subsequen implemen a ion phase (see Figu e 2), he
s anda dized p ocesses a e ealized, i.e. ope a ing p ocedu es will be adjus ed, so wa e
de eloped o pu chased, s a ained e c. O en he concep and implemen a ion phase o e lap
in p ac ice. I possible i is ecommendable o ho oughly check o and ix e o s be o e
in oduc ion o he new p ocesses.
Wi h he in oduc ion phase he old p ocesses a e u ned "o ", and he new p ocesses "on".
This c i ical phase o he p ojec 's success can depend on complexi y o be ca ied ou in he
"Big Bang" s yle (all a once) o in s ages. A e accep ance o he s anda dized p ocesses by
he line o ganiza ion o he ecipien , and new p ocesses ha ing been launched, he p ojec
comes o an end. Now he p ojec documen a ion is o be comple ed, and he possibly
emaining asks a e o be ca ied ou . In addi ion, an impac e alua ion could be done o
e alua e i he economic o ecas s we e co ec .
3.4 Con olling o he implemen ed p ocess s anda ds
The implemen a ion o a s anda diza ion p ocess has been success ul i he p e iously de ined
objec i es ha e been achie ed. To be able o gi e a p ope assessmen , i is necessa y o
measu e he p ocess pe o mance (Con olling). Sui able o his pu pose a e indica o s which
can measu e he p ocess pe o mance. Examples a e ([7] p. 354):
• Technical p ocess indica o s (e.g. lead ime, p ocessing ime, e c.),
• Financial indica o s (p ocess cos s, p o i abili y, budge es ic ions, e c.),
• Se ice le el ( ime guidelines, numbe o e o s, esponse ime, e c.),
• Quali y indica o s (de ia ions, sc ap a es, e c.),
• Cus ome pe spec i e indica o s (cus ome u no e , new cus ome s, e c.).
I , du ing he egula p ocess con olling, de ia ions om he indica o s a e de ec ed, a e iew
o he p ocess s anda ds is equi ed, and i necessa y al e a ions a e o be ca ied ou . This
p ocedu e ensu es sus ainable success.
29
4 Conclusion
This pape desc ibes he undamen als o p ocess s anda diza ion on he basis o he elemen s
o a p ocess. One possible app oach was shown by he example o a p ojec , s uc u ed in
di e en phases and s eps.
In he p e-s udy he iden i ica ion and selec ion o he impo an p ocesses wi h s anda diza ion
po en ial was done. The modelling o he company-speci ic p ocess s anda ds akes place in he
concep phase. The modelling can be done indi idually, based on he company's own bes -
p ac ice p ocesses, o by adop ion o adap a ion o ex e nal e e ence p ocesses. Re lec ions on
ypical si ua ions in he de ini ion o p ocess s anda ds ha e led o h ee app oaches - aking
in o accoun he p ocess mass cus omiza ion. Di e ences a ise in he s anda diza ion on se e al
p ocess le els, he o ma ion o s anda d a ian s as well as he s anda diza ion o p ocess
in e aces. A e he modelling his pape also conside s he implemen a ion and he con olling
o p ocess s anda ds in companies. Con olling allows he measu emen o p ocess pe o mance
and ini ia es a new p ocess analysis i de ia ions om he a ge indica o s occu .
Th ough p ocess inno a ion, p ocess imp o emen s o changes in cus ome equi emen s,
p ocess s anda diza ion is a no a one-o p ojec , bu an ongoing ac i i y in he company.
30
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Dipl. Kau mann (FH) Falk Maiwald
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