• Then, set goals to be achieved, such as: reduce paperwork 50% in order processing, or cut procurement time by 33%. This will force people to look past the current approaches to achieve the desired approaches. It will also help ensure that the project will generate a healthy return on investment. Emphasize that processes need to be re-engineered, not just replicated on a new computer system.

Try putting flow charts up on the walls, life size, using actual forms, screens and reports. Connect the flows together with highly visible arrows. Record cycle time, responsibilities and applicable policies/procedures for each process. Put notes on the wall explaining what is being done, how and why. Review these flows with various departments, auditors, even customer and government people- anybody who will listen and provide feedback! The day before this was written, the President of one of the companies using this approach was out with the team as they were working on the wall charts- making suggestions! When's the last time that happened at your company? An amazing array of people have contributed to the process at this company.

Now here's a key point...

Have people write down all their suggestions, their name and the date on little cards or yellow "Post-It"™ notes and slap them up on the wall where they apply. The project team can record, classify, edit and prioritize them on an issues list, used to drive change activities. Talk about empowerment! Once the as-is configuration is documented, discuss issues and direction, then start right in on the to-be.

The to-be charts may be reworks of the as-is, but it seems to work even better with new charts, side by side with the old ones. By the way, these charts can become massive. We saw one that consumed eleven large walls. The re-engineered "to-be" version was less than half of that. More words of advice: don't let specialists work in isolation- employ cross-functional teams to get a balanced picture and full knowledge of system interactions.

Also, It stimulates the team's creative juices if they are provided some challenging objectives, such as: "reduce cycle times and administrative paperwork by 50%."

C. Administration

Competent administration contributes significantly to a successful CRP. It is recommended that an administrator be assigned to provide a focal point for all CRP activities. In a smaller project, this person might very likely be the overall project manager or an MIS person. In larger projects, this would typically be an all-consuming activity for months.

Working to the project plan for task assignment, scheduling, control, follow-up and reporting helps keep the program on schedule, on budget and on track.