Business Processes

There is much in common and considerable overlap between computer systems and Physical Asset Management.  Each area is process centric in that the systems, tools, and activities involved have no value beyond the ends that they help or cause to come into being.  Even the very best managed and accomplished preventive maintenance program is meaningless without resulting increases in reliability and cost effective ownership of the physical assets being maintained.  In the same way, it does not matter how up-to-date, powerful, or state-of-the-art computer systems and software are if they do not increase reliable performance and cost effectiveness of business processes.

The term “business processes” is an important starting point.  A business process represents a real and meaningful result or product that needs to be continuously produced or developed.  Some general examples include mining operations producing a flow or ore or raw materials, farms producing streams of agricultural products, or manufacturing plants producing truckloads of widgets.  Business processes are not restricted to income producing activities.  Physical Asset Management is a business process itself, producing a “stream” of effectively maintained systems.  Others business processes may be very individual such as effectively managing family finances or even managing a family tree.

Perhaps the most important point is that the business process itself is of central and almost solitary importance over any other consideration, especially specific tools, systems, and configurations used to accomplish the business process.  Tractors are commonly used in farming while computers are commonly used in financial management.  However, if there were highly effective ways to use tractors to accomplish financial management, they would be used without question in those business processes.

Destination/Journey Reversal

Because computers in particular configurations along with common types of software have become ubiquitous for various business processes, those configurations and selections tend to replace the underlying business processes in terms of design, selection, and configuration.  Computer system service provider and users alike begin with these commonly used configurations and software systems as a given, working from there to develop a solution that best meets the business need.

But computer systems and software are actually the most malleable tools man has ever possessed.  Restraining ourselves to what is and has been used for similar business processes may simply freeze us into what has already been done.  In some cases, this may be ideal.  We do not want to reinvent the wheel.  If someone has already designed and built an excellent plow for prairie soil, and you need to plow prairie soil, then by all means, find and use that implement.  However, the key there is the need to plow prairie soil, not for a particular color or style of plow.  In the same way, a business need may be to manage dental work and patients in a small office environment.  Confusing this business process with mere selection of dental record management software could result in frustrating and ineffective solutions, not to mention significant and wasted expense.

Solutions not just improvements

A dentist office wanting to “go digital” should first work to understand what they do as a core business and the important aspects of it.  They need to find what the limiting aspects of the business are.  For example, if a receptionist spends considerable time managing records “manually” what will she do if a computer system does it instead?  If the role of receptionist still needs to fulfilled will a large investment in computer systems merely give her less to do while she needs to be there anyway?  Perhaps the real limiting factor is completeness and accuracy.  Computer systems and their application may be quite different within the same business processes for increasing completeness and accuracy verses reducing manual workload.  Entire hardware structures, software systems, configurations, and work flows might be different.

This is where InspiraWorks’ expertise and comprehensive understandings of both computer systems and business processes are invaluable.  InspiraWorks is happy to assist with specific and focused tasks such as software selection.  However, the larger perspective of beginning with the business processes and cultures and unbiased comprehensive perspectives on what is available results in creative application of true and focused solutions at remarkably economical cost.

One of the most important business objectives of any computer system is that it can be effectively operated and maintained by the people who use and need it.  This means that any solution must not only be comprehensively delivered through training and documentation until the users are comfortable with it, but design of the entire system to be within the cultural capabilities of the organization.  If a complex server installation would normally be the most effective solution for a particular business need, it may be completely out of the question for a small office of professionals with expertise in areas far from computer systems.  The right solution is not to try to turn an automotive body shop office clerk into network administrator, but to find a solution that does not require a network administrator.  In the same way, such a system should not be imposed on a business when it would result in their being held hostage by computer professionals into the future.  The “best” solution does not mean the same thing for everyone in the same business.

Is innovation and design on this basis possible and does it work?  Absolutely.  Simple software tools I have designed using these principles remain in use without maintenance or upgrade nearly a decade after they were developed and are still highly effective and well liked by their users.  A complete office system I designed and installed consisting of several computers in a main office plus multiple remotely connected terminal computers operated effectively for over two years with only the local office staff monitoring the system and perform all maintenance such as backups without any special training or certification.  Even then, the system notified the users of a hardware failure while it continued to perform using automatic fail over equipment.  A casual call for a relatively inexpensive and routine repair got them going for another few years.  The system was designed and built for them, not imposed on them like their previous system which never fully supported their business processes and required professional attention nearly monthly.  The cost of the entire system – design, hardware, installation, configuration, and training – cost less than the maintenance the previous systems cost them over a year or two.

Contact InspiraWorks by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it if you are ready to take back your computer systems from those holding them hostage or if you want your systems to start supporting your business process instead of forcing you to be computer system managers.  Get back to what you do best.  InspiraWorks can help.