ABSTRACT
This chapter details the sixth organization design variable, i.e., processes. It explains the meaning of the term “processes”, as well as the purpose of looking at them during the concept design phase: to clarify, detail, validate and possibly modify the earlier architectural design choices. The chapter describes three increasingly detailed ways to do so. The processes should be designed such that the actors involved (a specific person, department or governance body) have clearly defined responsibilities: who executes, who provides input, who signs off, who controls and who is kept informed of the outcome. There is no need in the concept design phase to define these responsibilities in detail for all processes. One should do so only for the hot spots in the organization design, i.e., areas where the proposed design is very different from the current design, or where intensive interactions take place laterally across verticals or hierarchically across layers, or where the proposed design changes are likely to be controversial or require a major change of mindset and behavior. A systematic assignment of responsibilities for all processes can be done during the detail design phase or even after Day 1, as part of a continuous improvement program.
