Use SIPOC Diagrams to Find Process Inefficiencies

Sometimes, you have to go backwards to go forwards.

Our clients have ambitious goals for their businesses: they’re looking for smart ways to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and improve reliability, and they know they need help.

But we're not necessarily here to help you make a mad dash to an impossible launch date. One of the ways we help is with careful analysis at the outset of the project, because our commitment is to solve the root cause of your problem, not just launch a software product.

One of our favourite tools is the SIPOC diagram.

A SIPOC diagram helps you visualize how a specific business process works. It’s used in lean project management and Lean Six Sigma process improvement, and is especially useful for manufacturing or customer experience processes. SIPOC diagrams are often created in a working session (or series of sessions) with multiple stakeholders who can supply the different pieces of the puzzle.

Ideally, you would create one of these diagrams for each process that will be impacted by your business transformation. They will give you a solid foundation, with all the details available at a glance, that you can use to examine each part of the process, find opportunities to improve, and as a tool to communicate about the process with stakeholders and employees.

Why take the time to make SIPOC diagrams?

It’s to make sure you understand the impact your business transformation will have, that the results you’re aiming for are achievable, and that you can explain the "why" to your team and impacted users.

It will also help you understand the true scope of work you’re undertaking – something that’s easy to miss otherwise.

When we talk about careful analysis at the outset of the project, this is the kind of thing we mean; a really rigorous information-gathering exercise that can help you make smart, informed choices.

If your project is on shaky ground, an outside assessment using tools like this could help get you back on track.

Reach out to us at WorkWithUs@SolveConsulting.ca if you’d like to learn more!