Design Processes That Actually Work
Collaborative redesign transforms improvement opportunities into operational reality your team can execute and sustain
Return HomeWhat Process Redesign Achieves
You'll have processes designed specifically for your operational context that address the inefficiencies or challenges you've identified. These aren't theoretical improvements but practical designs your team helped create and understands how to implement.
The redesign delivers clear documentation showing how work should flow, who's responsible for what, and what outcomes to expect. Your team gains ownership of the new design through their participation in creating it, which makes implementation smoother and more likely to succeed.
Perhaps most valuable, you'll move from knowing improvement is needed to having a concrete plan for making it happen. This removes the uncertainty that often keeps organizations from acting on improvement opportunities.
The Challenge of Process Change
Knowing where improvements are needed is different from knowing how to implement them. The gap between identifying an opportunity and designing a better process can feel significant, especially when you're unsure how to proceed or concerned about disrupting current operations.
Process changes often fail because the new design doesn't account for operational realities, or because the people who need to execute the change weren't involved in creating it. Top-down redesigns can meet resistance even when they're technically sound, because they don't reflect the practical knowledge of those doing the work.
You need an approach that combines proven methodology with your team's operational knowledge. This ensures the new design is both effective from a process perspective and executable within your specific operational context.
Our Redesign Methodology
We begin by thoroughly documenting your current process state, even if you already have documentation. This ensures everyone starts from the same understanding of how things work now. We capture not just the formal process but the workarounds and informal adaptations that have developed over time.
The redesign work happens through structured workshops with your team. We facilitate these sessions using proven process design methods, but the substance comes from your team's knowledge of what works and what doesn't in your operational environment. This collaborative approach generates designs that are both methodologically sound and practically executable.
We develop the future state design iteratively, testing ideas against operational constraints and refining based on team input. The design addresses not just the immediate process improvement but also considers how the change affects upstream and downstream processes.
The engagement concludes with detailed implementation planning. You'll have clear documentation of the new process, a gap analysis showing what needs to change, and a phased plan for rolling out the redesign. This removes ambiguity about next steps and helps you move forward with confidence.
The Redesign Journey
Process redesign typically unfolds over six to eight weeks, with the most intensive team involvement in the middle weeks. Here's what to expect:
Current State Documentation
We spend the first one to two weeks mapping your current process in detail. This includes process observation, documentation review, and interviews with team members involved in executing the work. You'll review and validate this documentation to ensure accuracy.
Collaborative Design Workshops
Over three to four weeks, we facilitate design workshops with your team. These sessions typically occur weekly and last a half day each. Between workshops, we develop the design concepts generated in the sessions and prepare material for the next session. Your team commitment is primarily these workshop sessions.
Design Refinement
As the future state design emerges, we work through details and test the design against various operational scenarios. This ensures the new process handles not just normal situations but also the variations and exceptions that occur in real operations.
Implementation Planning
The final week focuses on transition planning. We develop detailed implementation documentation, identify change management requirements, and create a phased rollout plan. You'll finish with clear direction on moving from design to execution.
Investment and What's Included
per process
This investment covers complete redesign of a specific operational process. The improved process typically delivers ongoing benefits through increased efficiency, improved quality, reduced costs, or enhanced flexibility. These benefits often return the investment within the first year of operation.
Comprehensive current state documentation with process mapping
Facilitated design workshops with your operational team
Future state process design using proven methodologies
Gap analysis identifying specific changes required
Detailed process documentation for the new design
Implementation plan with phased rollout approach
Change management considerations and recommendations
Training materials for team members who will execute the new process
Payment terms are structured to align with project milestones. We typically invoice one third at engagement start, one third at design completion, and the final third upon delivery of implementation documentation.
Why Collaborative Redesign Works
The collaborative approach to process redesign has proven effective across diverse operational contexts over our fifteen years of consulting work. The key insight is that successful process change requires both methodological rigor and practical operational knowledge.
When your team participates in designing the new process, they understand the logic behind design decisions and feel ownership of the solution. This dramatically increases the likelihood of successful implementation because those who need to execute the change were involved in creating it.
The workshop-based approach also surfaces constraints and considerations that might not be visible to external consultants. Your team knows the informal workarounds, the seasonal variations, and the exception cases that the new process needs to handle. This knowledge gets incorporated into the design, making it more robust and practical.
Most redesigned processes show measurable improvement within three to six months of implementation. The timeline varies based on process complexity and organizational readiness, but the collaborative approach consistently produces designs that can be executed effectively.
Our Commitment to Your Success
We're confident this redesign approach will produce a practical, executable process design. If you're not satisfied with the design we develop together, we'll continue working with you until you have a solution that meets your needs.
Before beginning the engagement, we offer a no-obligation discussion to review your improvement objectives and ensure process redesign is the right approach. Sometimes other interventions make more sense, and we'll be honest about what we think will serve you well.
Our goal is your operational improvement. The redesign engagement is one pathway toward that goal, and we want to ensure it's appropriate for your specific situation before you invest time and resources.
Getting Started
Beginning a process redesign starts with understanding which process you want to improve and what outcomes you're seeking. An initial conversation helps us both determine whether this engagement makes sense.
During this discussion, we'll explore the process scope, your improvement objectives, current challenges, and the team members who should participate in the redesign. We'll also discuss timing and what preparation would be helpful before starting.
If we decide to proceed, we'll develop a detailed project plan showing the workshop schedule, deliverables, and timeline. You'll know what to expect throughout the engagement and what participation is required from your team.
Most redesign engagements can begin within three to four weeks of the initial conversation, depending on workshop scheduling and participant availability. The full engagement from start to delivery of implementation documentation typically takes six to eight weeks.
Ready to Transform Your Process?
Let's discuss how collaborative redesign could help you achieve the operational improvements you're seeking.
Schedule Your ConsultationExplore Our Other Services
Operations Diagnostic
Before redesigning a process, it helps to understand your full operational picture. This diagnostic identifies improvement opportunities across your operations and helps you prioritize where to focus.
Performance Management Systems
After redesigning a process, measurement systems help you track whether the improvement is delivering expected results and sustain the gains over time.