METHODOLOGIES

useful information

Our work combines best practice and experience with
key methodologies – to make life easier,
there are brief summaries below

BPM – Business Process Management
BSC – Balanced Score Card
CMM/CMMI – Capability Maturity Model/Integration
DRP - Disaster Recovery Planning
ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning 
ITIL - Information Technology Infrastructure Library
Kaizen – rapid change
Prince2 – project management
Six Sigma – process improvement

BPM – Business Process Management


Business Process Management (BPM) is a field of knowledge at the intersection
between management and information technology, encompassing methods,
techniques and tools to design, enact, control, and analyze operational business
processes involving humans, organizations, applications, documents and other
sources of information. The term 'operational business processes' refers to
repetitive business processes performed by organizations in the context of their
day-to-day operations, as opposed to strategic decision-making processes which
are performed by the top-level management of an organization. BPM differs from
business process reengineering, a management approach popular in the 1990s,
in that it does not aim at one-off revolutionary changes to business processes,
but at their continuous evolution. In addition, BPM usually combines
management methods with information technology.

BSC – Balanced Score Card

"Since Robert Kaplan and David Norton first introduced the ‘Balanced Scorecard’
in 1992 it has come to be widely used in western corporations.  It was initially
conceived primarily as an improved organisational performance measurement
tool, one that sought to overcome many of the perceived limitations of traditional,

historically-focused, accounting-based metrics.  However, the ‘Balanced Scorecard’
has since evolved - particularly in those organisations where it has been most
successful - to be an integral part of an enhanced strategic planning and
management system. Some of the components involved include: linking mission,
vision, and values statements and tying these to organisational strategies;
developing objectives and performance measures related to the four perspectives
of the ‘Balanced Scorecard’: financial, customer, internal process, and employee
learning and growth; using the ‘Scorecard’ to articulate and test cause-and-effect
linkages; and setting priorities in the pursuit of strategic initiatives."
"Glossary of Terms as used in Planning, Quality and Review at USQ."

CMM/CMMI – Capability Maturity Model/Integration

The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is a method for evaluating and measuring
the maturity of the software development process of organizations on a scale of
1 to 5. The CMM was developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at
Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. It has been used extensively for avionics
software and for government projects since it was created in the mid-1980s.

DRP - Disaster Recovery Planning

The document that defines the resources, actions, tasks and data required to
manage the business recovery process in the event of a business interruption.
The plan is designed to assist in restoring the business process within the
stated disaster recovery goals.

 

ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning 

An industry term for the broad set of activities supported by multi-module
application software that help a manufacturer or other business manage the
important parts of its business, including product planning, parts purchasing,
maintaining inventories, interacting with suppliers, providing customer service,
and tracking orders. As ERP methodology has become more popular, software
applications have emerged to help business managers implement ERP.
Well known ERP software providers include BAAN, Oracle, PeopleSoft and SAP,
collectively known to industry insiders as the "BOPS".

 

ITIL - Information Technology Infrastructure Library

The Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) is a customisable
framework of best practices that promote quality computing services in the
information technology (IT) sector.

Kaizen – rapid change

The Japanese term for improvement; continuing improvement involving everyone:
managers and workers. In manufacturing, kaizen relates to finding and eliminating
waste in machinery, labour, or production methods. The process includes the
use of problem-solving and analysis techniques that may include the use of
fishbone diagrams, control charts, affinity diagrams and other tools. It centres
on continuous process improvement and  originated in applications of the work
of American experts such as Frederick Winslow Taylor and Frank Bunker Gilbreth
by post WW II Japanese manufacturers.

In the U.S. kaizen is often synonymous with "Kaizen Blitz" or "Kaizen Event."
Such events rapidly implement workcells, improve setups or streamline processes.
However, a better Japanese word for this activity is kaikaku.

 

PRINCE2

PRINCE2, or Projects in a Controlled Environment, is a project management
method. It covers the managing, controlling and organizing of a project. It is
the standard UK government method for project management.

 

Six Sigma

A process improvement methodology created by Mikel Harry and
Richard Schroeder at Motorola in the early 1980's. The approach employs
a rigorous project methodology, which utilizes statistical analysis to identify
root causes. As a process measure, it means 3.4 defects per million opportunities.