Nichole,
All work is process and some processes you can safely ignore/eliminate from your system (starting with work that adds or enables no value for customers).
Key processes are important enough to the system to be analyzed and documented to the extent necessary for effective planning, operation and control.
You organization has key processes that add value for customers (from the core process) and key processes that sustain and improve the core process.
Here you will find two tests for a process to see if it is key to your system. For example, the process "Monitoring and Measuring Processes" may or may not need to be classified "key" depending on the outcome of these two tests.
You can determine your system's key processes by analyzing your system starting with the core process(es). The core process for each type of product runs from customer needs to cash in the bank.
For example, key processes from the core process may include:
- Strategic planning
- Innovating (R&D)
- Marketing and Selling
- Planning and designing
- Purchasing
- Fulfilling service specifications (includes learning from service failures)
- Invoicing and controlling credit
- Managing risks (beneficial and adverse)
- Recruiting and training
- Controlling documents
- Filing and archiving
- Analzying data for preventing problems
- Solving problems
- Investing in continual improvement
- Maintaining facilities and equpment
- Maintaining the computer network
- Auditing for future effectivenesss
You can determine your system's support key processes from your student of the system standard and by the work of your cross-functional system development team.
Obviously, you can prioritize the inclusion of these processes in your system depending on its objectives and scope.
Each of the key processes should be owned by a subject matter expert who can determine its objectives, supporting documents and how it really works before, during and after your process analysis sessions with each of them.
I hope this helps you in your work,
John
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