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Lean Office Innovation

Two Types of Processes

There are two types of processes that deliver customer value within any office environment: 1) operational and 2) innovative. Both operational and innovation processes deliver direct customer value.

However when attempting to increase organizational performance, one of the two process types is often overlooked, depending on the culture of the organization.

Operational processes are systematic and repeatable, typically involving the flow of paper or an electronic equivalent of structured data. Examples of operational processes are found in Finance, Production, and Customer Service.

Innovation processes are ad-hoc and creative, typically involving the flow of unstructured ideas. Examples of Innovation processes are found in Sales, Marketing, and IT.

Optimizing Innovation Processes

Operationally excellent organizations tend to ignore that process improvement techniques work just as well with innovation. This is especially true when attempting to reduce overall cycle times. Instead of treating the creative side as off-limits, engage them to optimize the flow of ideas as well as information through the organization.

Product innovative organizations tend to ignore that innovation techniques work just as well with operational processes. Cross-functional teams that have ownership of their work products is an effective value creation tool for both innovation and operational environments.

Every operational or innovation process, regardless of an organization's culture or strategy, can be leveraged for value-creative growth. If an organization has been myopic to one side, then the other most likely has nuggets for the taking.

AGILEAN Corporation shows organizations how to use Agile Program Management and Lean Office Implementation to produce greater customer value in less time with fewer errors. For additional information, please contact us or visit www.agilean.com.

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