In the course of digitalization, more and more authorities are turning to process management - but what does that actually mean? Process management refers to the planning, implementation, controlling and continuous optimization of interconnected tasks, i.e. who does what, when and how? And once you know that, how can you improve it? In this context, the process sequences and work steps are mapped graphically in a software program called PICTURE. This so-called process platform can be used to store a wide range of information on the individual processes, e.g. which processes are carried out by which organizational units, which software is used and how often these processes actually occur.
The City of Bonn has already been able to gain initial experience with process management for several years. As part of the implementation of the Online Access Act, processes were graphically documented, analyzed and digitalized. We can now incorporate this experience into another extensive project - the introduction of process management for the entire city administration and the transition to continuous process management.
Four goals are to be achieved with process management:
Knowledge management
With the help of process management, knowledge should be systematically documented, further developed and made available to all those involved. This will also make it easier to train new employees in the future.
Standardization and legal certainty
Continuous process management ensures that processes are regularly reviewed and adapted where necessary. This ensures uniform and legally compliant processing.
Optimization
By optimizing processes, workflows are to be streamlined so that the workload on processing is reduced and the ability to act can be ensured.
Digitization
Process management offers great support in the implementation of digitization projects - for example, media discontinuities can be uncovered (e.g. if data from a paper document has to be manually transferred to software), and when programming new software, it is also important to know how the process actually runs or should run later.
What is the procedure for introducing process management?
The City of Bonn is supported by the company PICTURE from Münster, which has already gained a lot of experience with the introduction of process management in the municipal sector.
Step 1: Setting up a process register
In the first step, we wanted to get an overview of which processes are actually carried out in a city administration. In what is known as "process screening", process lists were drawn up together with employees from all administrative areas. The identified processes were also enriched with information, which was then mapped in the form of a process profile. Process information includes, for example, the organizational units involved or the annual number of cases for a process. This step was completed by the end of 2023.
Step 2: Modeling selected processes
The information from the process register is used to identify processes whose modeling (graphical representation of the workflow) contributes to achieving the objectives described above.
The process descriptions are recorded in the form of interviews with the technical experts. The processes are discussed and visualized step by step. The models created are then used to pass on knowledge. If necessary, the process models are analyzed with a view to improvement. For example, unnecessary duplication of work can be uncovered and media discontinuities identified.
We are currently in this phase.
Step 3: Transition to continuous process management
The introduction of city-wide process management is deliberately designed as a project that ends with the transition to continuous process management (CPM).
The entire project is designed to enable the city administration of Bonn to evaluate, visualize, analyze and further develop its own business processes in the medium and long term without external help. To this end, organizational development representatives will closely accompany the individual project steps from the start of the project.
In addition, roles for sustainable and long-term process management will be developed, established and firmly anchored in the organizational structure of the entire administration and employees will be trained. In the long term, this will enable the departments themselves to manage their processes independently.