Philosophy

There had to be a better way to bring technology implementations, business processes, policies and people together. We use our technical writing, documentation, business analysis and training skills to help do just that: enabling people to work more productively, enjoyably and profitably, with a gained understanding of compliance and process requirements.

So we write, we build policy and procedure documents, we detail processes and analyse work flow and when called on to complete the cycle: we train.

Business processes need to be properly documented

Many of the tools of quality management are based around the concept of a 'process'.

The simplest example of a process is a manufacturing production line. Raw materials go in one end, labour and machinery are used on the line, and the finished goods come off the other end.

The key here is that the focus is not on the people operating the line (although they are the most important resource), and it's not on the products that come off the end of the line, but on the process that produced them.

There is a nice story to illustrate this. In a jet engine factory, a defective engine has just been produced - it has a cracked turbine blade. The engine is due for delivery today, and there are six engineers working on it to try to fix it. In another jet engine factory, a process-oriented plant, a defective jet engine has also been produced, also with a cracked turbine blade. It's also due for delivery today, but no-one is trying to fix it. Instead, there are six engineers trying to figure out how the blade got cracked in the first place.

This is an example of 'process improvement', where the focus of the organisation is not so much on production outputs as on the development and improvement of the production process.

The long-term effect of this focus is to improve quality; fixing only the product does not improve quality long-term. Non-manufacturing organisations can also be seen as collections of processes.

A software development company has a software development process, with user requirements being fed in one end, and finished software coming out of the other. Clerical functions are also processes. And all processes can be improved.

People are critically important in process improvement, because the people operating the process are the ones who have the best ideas for its improvement. The operator who watches the process all day will already know how to improve it, if only they are asked in the right way.

Why Document? (or, "what's in it for me?")

The value of your business is more than its tangible assets. The business' investment in plant, equipment, inventory and real estate is easy to see and to value. The hidden capital of a business, represented by the accumulated skills of its staff, cannot be measured as easily as its physical assets. In fact, until it is written down, this business knowledge (often built up over many years) is almost impossible to quantify, analyse, or pass on.

However, once this knowledge has been documented it can be used as the basis for:

• Reviewing processes and identifying areas for improvement
• Ensuring that best practice is identified and used
• Establishing quality or performance standards
• Training new or existing staff
• Business continuity and/or disaster recovery
• Supply chain management, minimising the business risk of supplier failure

The development of standardised documentation is the first step towards recording the essential knowledge assets of your business. It's easy to see how this can lead to more customer satisfaction, increased sales, reduced staff turnover - the positive effects impact on almost every measurable area of the business.

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