Implement adaptable business procedures

DNHN - Adaptability and flexibility can be a critical advantage in today's turbulent climate for many firms. However, how can business processes become more agile when their primary purpose is to establish a solid structure and pattern?

The “new normal” amid the COVID-19 pandemic makes the business environment rife with elements of risk and uncertainty. Many argue that businesses need flexible business processes to be able to continuously respond to change and quickly recover from the pandemic. 

According to Lecturer of the Faculty of Business and Administration at RMIT University - Dr Hoang Ai Phuong, unlike fixed processes, flexible business processes allow businesses to choose from many different ways of operating to meet different situations. different business. 

Dr Phuong gave an example during the COVID-19 pandemic, the exchange-return process can be done in many ways: online or in-person, signed by the customer or digitally, by an employee. check orders on the spot or check out after a certain period, etc. 

Dr Phuong stated: "When building a flexible business model, businesses will operate more flexibly to deal with situations within the company and deal with inadequacies in the current context".

The question is how can business processes become more resilient when they are designed to provide stable structure and patentability? Furthermore, how can businesses resolve conflicts that arise between the flows for and against the agile process within the organization? 

These concerns prompted researchers from RMIT University (Vietnam) and the University of Lisbon (Portugal) to conduct interviews with business process management experts representing a variety of industries in Vietnam. 

The research team including Dr Nguyen Hoang Thuan, Dr Hoang Ai Phuong, Professor Mathews Nkhoma (RMIT University) and Associate Professor Pedro Antunes (University of Lisbon) published the research results in the scientific article "History of Using Process Stories to Increase Process Flexibility: An Expert Perspective” published in the A-listed Australasian Journal of Information Systems. 

The research team proposes to use "process stories" to resolve conflicts that arise, and at the same time combine with visual modelling language BPMN (short for Business Process Modeling Notation) ) to increase process flexibility.

Process stories use storytelling to describe business processes visually, through text and images. Each story describes the process from a unique perspective, be it from the person in charge of the process, the participant, the business process management expert, etc.

Through stories about how employees handle each process, businesses will understand different situations. From there, the enterprise will review the current operating processes in the apparatus, find out which processes are complicated and no longer effective. Next is implementing reforms and adding flexibility so that the company's processes operate most effectively in all circumstances. 

Dr Phuong added: “The process story is seen as a tool to increase the operational efficiency of the business. In other words, businesses can apply process storytelling to support existing business processes in the organization for more optimal results”.

According to the expert, combining BPMN and process stories results in the following benefits: 

Processes used in the manufacture or provision of products and services will become more adaptable to deal with conditions and hazards posed by external actors, as well as generate response scenarios more quickly. 

The capacity to pivot frequently is critical for firms to adapt to changing situations.

This model can also be seen as a tool for business leaders to understand business processes more effectively. Thereby, building new business processes (which may not have existed before).

Dr Phuong underlined that recent COVID-19 outbreaks in Vietnam, as well as continued global uncertainty, serve as a reminder to enterprises to always prioritize innovation in their equipment.

RMIT experts commented:”Businesses require adaptable tactics to keep up with ever-changing changes. Additionally, this is a lever to assist businesses in developing more sustainably. As a result, it is an excellent time for organizations to include process storytelling into their business strategies”.

Phuong Vu