AIMS Project

Audit and Integration of Management Systems
     
 
 

Business Process Reengineering

Links

Many visitors to this page will have read the introductory material previously and will wish to navigate directly to the material for a specific BPR workstream using the links in the table below. First-time visitors to this page are encouraged to read the introductory material in the sections below the table.

BPR Wave 1
(Mar - Sep 2000)

Purchasing
Receipting and Revenue Allocation
Payroll and HR Administration
Undergraduate Funding Office
BPR Wave 2
(Oct 2000 - Apr 2001)		 P&S: Project Realisation
P&S: Reactive Maintenance
Research Administration
Development Office
BPR Wave 3
(May 2001 onwards)		 P&S: Planned Maintenance
P&S: Service Centre
Investigations

P&S: Postal Services
P&S: Classroom Facilities Unit
P&S: Educare
Internal Audit
Insurance Office

 

What is BPR?

BPR (Business Process Reengineering) is a methodology for either significant improvement to a business process, or for radical change in, or complete replacement of, such a process.

A business process is simply the series of steps or activities needed to convert some "input" into the required "output". An example of a process at UCT is where a staff member receives a cheque payable to UCT, sends the cheque together with a completed invoice requisition form (the "inputs" in this case) to the Finance department. The desired "output" is additional budget available in the SAP R/3 fund specified on the invoice requisition form. The "process" is the set of activities carried out by one or more individuals in the Finance department in response to receipt of the inputs and necessary for the desired output to occur.

The business processes selected for reengineering as part of the AIMS Project (shown in the table above) are all major processes (e.g. purchasing), or process areas (e.g. Undergraduate Funding Office), which were selected either because the University community had expressed significant dissatisfaction with them or where the department concerned had indicated the need for major process improvement or change.

The methodology we have followed for BPR as part of the AIMS Project is illustrated in Fig. 7A.

Fig. 7A

The main steps followed in this methodology are as follows:

  1. Define the process and establish its boundaries, do initial data gathering (e.g. organograms, operational plans, existing process maps, performance measures), develop high-level problem hypotheses.
  2. Document the "as-is" process, refine the problem hypotheses, establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), measure baseline KPIs, draw-up opportunity charts for benefits.
  3. Design the "to-be" process, revise the process flows and define any additional interventions required, establish benefits targets, carry out gap analysis (skills, costs), do micro-organisation design, define roles and responsibilities (RACI).
  4. Run a pilot implementation where there are significant uncertainties about aspects of the new process or the organisational design, use this to adjust process flows, validate benefits, and develop implementation plans.
  5. Implement. Put new organisational design in place (this may be a major step if there are ER complications), carry out training, establish performance measurements (KPIs, benefits tracking), set up Service Level Agreements (SLAs), hand over to line management.

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Training Material

The best way to learn more about BPR is to view some of the training material used by the AIMS teams. Links to pdf files produced from the Powerpoint panel sets are provided below. Please note that these materials will only be accessible from a computer that is directly connected to the UCT network.

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Links to Additional Material

File of printable Figures from this page (pdf 69kb)

To navigate to additional pages on the AIMS website please make use of the buttons in the navigation sidebar near the top of this page.

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Last updated: 2001-09-27