Discover practical insights on structuring business processes effectively, exploring the balance between functional and end-to-end hierarchies, and the complexities of process ownership from experienced professionals.
A new blog post of Caspar Jans was published on Feb 28, 2025 with the original title:
Process Hierarchy and Politics
Overview:
The latest insights focus on the importance of establishing a process hierarchy within organizations to effectively manage, govern, and design business processes, incorporating both functional and end-to-end structures. Proper ownership assignments for these processes are also discussed.
Core content:
- Consecutive client meetings highlighted the significance of process hierarchy in business management, emphasizing its relevance and complexity.
- Organizations should maintain two connected hierarchies: a fully decomposed functional hierarchy and an end-to-end process hierarchy.
- End-to-end processes cross functional borders, necessitating careful consideration in assigning ownership to prevent organizational friction.
- Discussions emphasize the challenges in addressing process variations across different countries or product lines and the need for tailored solutions.
Learnings:
- Understanding process hierarchy aids in effective governance and management of business processes, facilitating better organization-wide alignment.
- The functional hierarchy helps delineate ownership and responsibilities, crucial for operational success and accountability.
- End-to-end processes require strategic thinking regarding ownership, often prioritizing the most impactful processes for organizational efficiency.
- Customization of processes to suit different locales or product lines enhances operational flexibility and addresses unique challenges.
The original content was published in English.
