The value of process thinking: it all depends on who’s in the room

The value of process thinking: it all depends on who’s in the room

In articles that were previously published on the Solid Port Solutions website, Jordi van Kogelenberg and Jennifer Vermaas shared complementary perspectives on improving project success. The message of both articles is to effectively use valuable assets from the organization, may it be people or processes.

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Jordi van Kogelenberg elaborated how operational employees play a crucial role in successful project implementations. He emphasized the value of involving them early in the process to bridge the gap between planning and execution, through cross-functional teams, pilot programs, and knowledge-sharing platforms.

Jennifer Vermaas explored the importance of using business process modelling (BPM) as the foundation for any project. By applying process thinking, you can gain a holistic view, spot bottlenecks early, and design better interfaces that enable smoother collaboration and communication across teams.

While both articles make a good point on their own, they might be even stronger when combined, as they perfectly complement each other. Let’s bring the perspectives together: imagine a project with the steady foundation of business process models, built on the insights of (and thus carried by) a multidisciplinary team of employees of the company. In this project, the best of both worlds will be combined.

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So who should be in the room when creating the business process models?

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• Operational employees: they know the actual process best. They know how to run day to day operations and understand what happens in the ‘real world’; what exceptions they come across, workarounds they use, and how decisions are made in practice. Without their insights, business process models will be just theoretical documents that are disconnected from real operations.
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• Planners: they are the link between operations and the systems. They know how the systems work and can give insight into the gaps between the systems and operations.
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• Supervisors: they bring structure. They know how operations should ideally run and are aware of the standard procedures, compliance requirements, and higher-level organizational goals.
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• IT: they can indicate the technical feasibility, what’s possible and what’s not. They know the system’s capabilities as well as constraints, interfaces, and data flows.
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• Project manager: while this person might not know the process in dept, they participate by structuring the conversation and creating the flows based on the input of the other participants. They bring modelling knowledge, structured thinking, and critical questions.

So why does this mix matter?

When process models are created by just one group, they tend to fall short. Include only supervisors, and the models might look great on slides, but miss operational realities. Include only operational employees, and the models might be detailed, but misaligned with the bigger picture. Cross-functional input will ensure that both the reality and the intent are captured.

Another substantial advantage is buy-in. People are far more likely to support changes to a process they helped design and feel represented in. The more people with different perspectives help design the business process flows, the easier the project will be adopted.

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Conclusion‍

To conclude, process thinking is a smart start for any project, but its success depends on who’s in the room. If the process flows are created by a narrow group, this might result in oversimplified flows and limited ownership. But if you bring in a diverse mix of perspectives, you’re far more likely to create something grounded and complete: a strong foundation to carry the project forward.

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Interested in how Solid Port Solutions can help design your optimal business processes?

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