Do your applications enable efficient business processes?

Although HrOUG is more of a technology conference, it must not be forgotten that the solutions we create serve the execution of business processes and the achievement of business goals. Process changes, as well as the uncontrolled development and acquisition of new applications, can cause the applications becoming a burden to employees, instead of helping them accomplish tasks. Is this the case with your organization? Do you base your answer on intuition or facts?The paper deals with methods of determining proposals for better use of business applications in order to increase work efficiency. It will be accompanied by examples from practice.Business caseThe application was developed several years ago. In the meantime, other applications have been implemented. The applications partially overlapped, without integrating, leading to double data entry. Reports began to differ, and the organization spent more and more time reconciling the data.Over time, the data became unreliable, so, some users in parallel began to keep their records in Excel, from which they make reports. The boss started getting contradictory data from different departments, so he concluded that the existing app was not good, and procured a new app. The new application did not have all the necessary functionalities, so the 'old' one continued to be used along with it.What to do?It's time to take a ‘snapshot’ and analysis of business processes. The snapshot should show the causes of inefficiency: duplicate entries, deviations of application functionality from business processes, inadequate use of applications, the need to digitize another process step, etc.It is desirable to realize it quickly, but to get enough information to make decisions.• Through conversations with key users you should:o List the processes and for each process record which application is used.o Ask them to demonstrate the reporting process, in order to identify manual processing and possible parallel records. The goal is to identify improvements that can make reporting more efficient.o Check what they are printing, and for what purpose. Analyze whether printing can be eliminated (eg by integrating with another application or digitizing another activity).o Find out problems and suggestions for improvement. Confirm the priorities for realization, taking into account the business benefit.• Draw a model of the process, so that the user role and the application in which the process is performed are visible. The goal is to spot duplicate entries and analyze application integration options.• Check that all departments doing the same job use the app in the same way (an electronic form can be used).• Form a list of problems and suggestions for improvement. Group them (eg integration, change of business processes, education, change of internal regulations, application improvements). Estimate costs, benefits, and duration for high priority requirements. Present to management.The way the organization's information system development is managed, as well as the roles and responsibilities assigned, also affect the efficiency of the system. The paper gives some permanent activities that are a prerequisite for an integrated, non-redundant and efficient business system.