Introduction to Business Process Optimization

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Business Process Optimization (BPO) involves the integration of proven business improvement methodologies such as Lean, Six Sigma, ISO and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award with emerging leading practice such as Business Process Management and Business Agility to drive organizational performance through optimization of business processes. In contrast to many improvement models in use today, BPO provides a framework for process optimization that is allows an organization to build upon what it already has while continuing to evolve and adopt new improvement models in alignment with its mission and vision.

This course will provide participants with an understanding of the components of the BPO framework and an awareness of the methodologies, tools and models that can serve as its core elements. Participants will be introduced to business process architectures, process maturity models, business improvement standards such as ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 and business improvement methodologies such as lean and six sigma. Students will also be introduced to the key steps involved in identifying and then building a BPO framework that satisfies the needs of their organization.

Who Should Attend

  • Business leaders, analysts, influencers, and consultants involved in the design and deployment of organizational systems and strategies.
  • Business improvement practitioners interested in advancing their skills to include the latest process improvement concepts and techniques.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Describe the basic elements of a business process optimization framework
  • Discuss how a BPO framework could be applied to enhance the performance of their organization in line with its mission, vision and strategy
  • Describe the basic steps involved in assessing, planning and deploying an organizational BPO framework
  • Describe core elements of the framework in general terms, including:
    • Business process architectures
    • Business process maturity models
    • Business improvement methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma
    • Business improvement standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 18001
    • Business improvement tools such as Value Stream Mapping, Strategy Maps, Balanced Scorecards and Performance Dashboards
  • Use a Capability Maturity Model to assess their organizational needs and readiness to deploy a full BPO framework
  • Assess their current organization’s business process improvement maturity
  • Develop a strategic plan for optimizing their current organization’s business processes that reflects current enterprise maturity, business improvement systems and tools, and mission, vision and strategic objectives.

Course Materials and Required Software

All required course materials, exercises, discussions and the final exam are available in the online course shell.

Credential

2.5 CEUs
In addition to a certificate of completion, participants will be issued a digital badge identifying the skills and competencies gained through successful program completion.