Steps that Skip its Processing at the Deadline

Explanations of 'Business Process Management' are hard to understand...
They should rather say 'Platform for routine work'...

Some people in the position of general employee would say so. Aside the word choice on explanations, it is very thankful that you will be able to know what you should do by taking a glance at "My Tasks" (To do list) on the Cloud. The keywords of 'Anywhere' and 'Anytime' are also important in the aspect of remote working.

However, at that time, you will be discouraged if you find plenty of 'Tasks that has exceeded its deadline' have been left over.

The following is a routine (Business Process) that is designed to prevent the occurrence of such a situation. A Task of "Reply to Survey" will vanish at "Reply-deadline" by itself.

[Progress Report process-w/Deadline]

Script Steps, Carefully Plan Them!

Requesting an answer (0-100) about the "Project progress" to four people at the most.

For staffs of the Internal Audit department who conduct investigation all over every week, they would think 'I wish at least the calculations for "the average value of progress" to be automated'.

In the following Workflow, a mechanism (Script Step) of auto-calculation of 'the average' upon the completion of answering by the Rapporteurs (1-4 people), is devised. (Moreover, it is equipped with an automatic sending of email addressed to the concerning officers when the progression average was more than 90%.)

The "Automation of In-house situation awareness" like this would also contribute to the strengthening of the quality control system, not only to the operational efficiency. (for the Contracting business, the Construction business, etc.)

[Progress Report Process Auto-calculation]

The True Progress, No Choice but Asking to Someone who is Concerning in the Project!

The accounting of the "Percentage-of-completion method" is always haunted by shadows of "fraud".

Anyhow, the company must continue understanding the "True progress" because sales and cost will be recorded in accordance with the "progress". Of course, it is fine with the "Construction progress calculated from the incurred costs" which is figured out from the "Incurred costs" and the "Initial estimate", if it had been progressing as expected as in the Initial estimate. You cannot have all of the project go as you expected, whoever you are, a General contractor or System Integrator...

In fact, it would inevitably occur a "bogged-down project" that shows no sign of the completion of the construction work until 100% or 150% or even 200% of its progress. After the quagmire revealed, the real progress wouldn't be unchanged even how hard the Board of Directors discussed.

The following Business Process is a very simple "Progress Report process".

The most notable point is to let more than one person to report the "Construction progress in subjective". At the maximum of four people who are concerned in the project will make "Report" in this example of Business Process. However, as the flow of the business, it starts with the nomination of rapporteurs by the Accounting (or the Audit) department. Therefore, it can be said "Progress SURVEY process".

If many of the concerned people consider that 'Remaining schedule is a half, yet the progress is about 10%', you will make modifications on the accounting at an early stage. That's what it's all about.

[Progress Report process]

Not Directly Modify Expense Paid Data!

"Rewriting the data that has been entered in the upstream Step, in the downstream Steps."

It is a familiar case though, it makes me restless somehow. In particular, I feel nervous for "overwriting" in a Business flow to carry out "settlement of cash", such as "Expense Reimbursement claim". However, the operation cannot be expedited if each and every small mistake was sent back to the upstream Step... Particularly, such as the mistakes in selecting "Expense item" occur routinely.

The following Workflow, although it is very similar to the one which was published in the previous article, has been arranged a [Script Step] for duplicating items in the middle of the flow.

It separately manages

• A) Data that the applicant have entered
• B) Data that modified by an Accounting personnel

[Expense Reimbursement claim flow-original preserving]

Output Necessary Items out of Expense Paid Data in Table Type into CSV

There would never be a Workflow that is suitable for [Table type data] other than "Expense reimbursement claim flow".

• There would be an "Input format" in each company,
• "Number of applications" would differ according to the department and personnel.

[Table type data] which allows you to design columns as much as you want, and is capable of accepting data entry in any number of lines, is a strong ally for a Business Process designer. In short, you can design "variable-length data" easily.

However, on the other hand, it might be a trouble for the people who aggregate the business data. That is, 'The format is not so for the aggregation!'

In the following Workflow, data shaping will be carried out automatically before the end of it. That is from the idea of creating data which is more accessible in the 'next operation' separately. Though, in formatting case like this, [Script Step] is inevitable. (Programming knowledge helps yourself)

[Expense Reimbursement Claim flow-CSV Generation]

Cooperation of Invoicing Flow and Accounting System

It is no exaggeration to say that all business activities are carried out for the sake of "billing". However, the difficulty of its business process designing is high.

Speaking about "Quotation" (Previous article), it roughly would be 1) approval by supervisor, 2) submission to the client, 3) deal confirmation. In its designing,

• "Expertise" such as tax and accounting
• "Systems knowledge" such as data processing or collaboration with other systems
• Devising of mutual supervision (internal control) such as separation of accounting bookkeeping from Receipts and expenditure

are not needed. ("Quotation Issuance flow" is Peaceful than I have imagined.)

Whereas, 'Billing' has its Downstream Steps such as "Bookkeeping of accounts receivable", "confirmation of payment", "storing as evidence". In fact, it varies according to the industry and the business formats of the company, or the accounting policies, or the deployed systems. Even for the starting point and the end point of the business process, state of "To-Be" is different depending on the companies.

The following Workflow is a Business Process that is focused on "After issuing the bill". Although it is the business process that is closed to the Accounting section, it is devised to "reduce the labor of inputting to the Accounting software / Cloud-accounting".

[Bill Issuance - Bookkeeping]

Centrally Management for the Quotation Data

"I need to sell it, even discounting it!"

As a matter of course it depends on the industry, 'a quotation that is required to be approved' is often needed in the business scene. Sometimes numbers of Quotations which are different in 'Delivery deadline' or 'estimated price' are needed.

However, for the supervisor, he / she cannot approve on so many quotations that look alike so soon.

• Is the 'Delivery Deadline' right?
• Is the 'discounted price' fair?
• Is the 'expiration of quotes' proper?

The job for approver is to make judgements comparing with others. (It is not a job to find a transcription error or typographical error.)

The following Quotation Approval flow is to generate Quotation PDF automatically after the quotation data have been approved. On the Step of approval judgement, the approver can concentrate on the job. For example, it is also easy to make a judgment by comparing with the past quotations that had been approved or rejected.

As a matter of course, quotation data will be accumulated beautifully, if the Quotation approval operation is processed along this Workflow. Along with, approved quotation PDF will also be accumulated. The knowledge of predecessor will be taken over. Isn't it wonderful?

[Quotation Approval flow]