Business Process Improvement Forum
The Business Process Improvement Forum (BPIF) is housed within the Division of Business and Finance. This group’s charge is to:
- Improve critical processes that support effective operations
- Leverage technology applications
- Improve communication
- Align human, information and organizational capital in support of strategic goals
BPIF membership includes Division departmental representatives and managers from the Division of Technology Services. Group members have technology expertise, project management skills, expertise in performance capacity related to human capital, leadership, and have a university-wide perspective.
The group meets bimonthly to globally view the Division’s performance potential; focusing attention on business processes, human performance and technology structures/applications that are necessary to deliver services.
The University of Denver’s decentralized environment fosters a dynamic setting for quick change and innovative solutions. However, it can also lead to gaps in expertise, risks that go unidentified, and unnecessary competition for resources. To avoid such pitfalls, the Division of Business and Financial Affairs has identified a solution that will mitigate risk and overcome these obstacles, and at the same time, provide opportunities to boost capacity and greatly increase performance.
Since 1997, the Division has incorporated the Balanced Scorecard† in all of its functional areas. Measures are aligned with Division strategy, and results are communicated in quarterly reports and an annual quality report to senior staff.
In their February 2004 article in the Harvard Business Review‡, Balanced Scorecard authors Kaplan and Norton identify the importance of aligning intangible assets (human, organizational and IT) to enhance operational processes and ensure quality service to customers.
The group’s collaborative synergy has produced some immediate successes. A technology/process implementation guideline has been implement to ensure that unit managers conduct financial, regulatory and institutional compliance reviews before implementing technology applications.
The group assists in researching feasibility, and conducts due diligence to support decisions on various technology applications, including a University-wide executive management dashboard, document imaging applications, facilities work-order management, bookstore POS/Inventory, applicant tracking, online parking permit acquisition and self-service fine management, and tuition payments without using credit cards. The group will also plan for future processes and technologies to ensure leadership in performance capacity and effectiveness.
New technology application proposal process
Implementation process for new applications
References
† Kaplan, Robert S. and Norton, David P., Harvard Business Review, “The Balanced Scorecard – Measures that Drive Performance”, January-February 1992.
‡ Kaplan and Norton, Harvard Business Review, “Measuring the Strategic Readiness of Intangible Assets”, February 2004.