our team of operational experts focused on:
- Creating comprehensive documentation on the current business processes to understand the data flows from one system to another.
- Delivering comprehensive documentation on the current state of systems architecture to see all their applications in one place and how they work together.
- Providing a framework to capture work instructions for each business and IT process that allows version control and establishes ownership.
- Establishing visibility for the IT team within the business process to better understand gaps and challenges and identify opportunities.
- Creating a strategic roadmap addressing prioritized opportunities, and identifying resources required for each initiative.
the challenge.
This Public Research University offers world-class leadership and management education to 2,300 full and part-time students supported by 200 faculty and 250 staff.
As the school and its supporting systems have evolved, so has the operating complexity of its IT systems.
The university needed to understand how data was flowing through its systems (from admissions, student and faculty on/off-boarding to alumni data processing) to boost productivity, reduce the overall cost of IT, and reduce complexity and operational risk.
The university turned to Randstad Digital to better understand its data flows and to make critical recommendations for operational improvements in subsequent fiscal years.
the solution.
To help the university optimize its operations, Randstad Digital recommended the following approach to create the operational transparency needed to develop a roadmap for optimization:
- Document their current state of business processes
- Create a current state architecture diagram representing the inventory of web applications supported by current technologies
- Conduct a transition workshop to coach the team through how to use and maintain the documentation provided, which will enable the university to better sustain future changes.
Randstad Digital started by documenting the current state of core business processes.
Along with the process flow diagrams, the team also worked on SIPOC (Supplier, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers) diagrams and RACI (Roles & Responsibilities) charts.
The goal was to understand:
- How does data move through the organization?
- Who are the primary owners of the various process steps?
- What are the various hand-offs, and the various technologies being utilized?
SIPOC documents helped supplement and provide additional context to the process steps, highlighting the key data elements and objects moving through the end-to-end process.
The RACI charts help to clearly articulate the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder within a process. Given the lack of current documentation around any of the processes, Randstad Digital also provided the university team with a flexible framework to document work instructions for better, sustainable future knowledge management.
In parallel to documenting business processes, Randstad Digital also created a system architecture diagram representing the inventory of web applications supported by current technologies.
Web applications were organized by the processes they supported. Randstad Digital highlighted gaps and opportunities for improvements along with the documentation with recommendations on either retaining or discontinuing/replacing applications.
Lastly, Randstad Digital conducted a transition workshop with the stakeholders and the team to coach how the current state documents should be utilized for future strategy planning conversations.
Stakeholders were coached on tools and techniques for maintaining the documentation to keep them up to date, and the value of these documents in providing operational transparency.
Through stakeholder interviews and observations, Randstad Digital was able to document current challenges, pain points, future-state improvement opportunities, and automation opportunities within each process.
Throughout the process, Randstad Digital also maintained an opportunity log containing potential solutions and improvements for the operational gaps and pain points identified.
The opportunities within the log were prioritized and rated against potential impact and estimated level of effort. The opportunity log was a key deliverable for the University, informing their strategic initiatives and planning.
the outcome.
At the end of the project, Randstad Digital delivered documentation on over 20 business processes, with process maps, SIPOCs and RACI charts to accompany each one.
Randstad Digital also updated the university systems architecture diagrams. For the first time in years, they could see all their applications in one place. Our recommendations and identified opportunities will enable the university team to create a strategic roadmap with an understanding of ROI and level of effort required for each initiative.
The university was not only able to establish visibility and transparency between business and technology teams but also establish change management and governance, working together to maintain the technical and business processes. These recommendations will lead to savings in man-hours and software costs per year.