From IPAPI

What is a Process? Perhaps the best place to start is with a standard definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

Process - “a series of actions or operations conducing to an end”

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

Retrieved August 28, 2008, from [1]

That seems simple enough. Yet there remains a wide divergence in how people choose to define the term “process” based on their interests and agendas.

IPAPI Definition

Process - A process is the set of real activities performed by people and machines that produce an outcome.

Overview

As a starting point, practically everything is a process. Everything we do every day fits within the broad definition of “process.” But for improving work we need a contextually bound definition, one that helps us be more successful in the work that we do. That definition must also be simple and easy to use.

So let’s look at the basic elements of a process. All processes have three common traits or characteristics. They have a trigger, an intended outcome, and one or more activities. Processes are intended to do something (the intended outcome) - otherwise they would not exist. There has to be something that “triggers” the process before an activity takes place and there has to be some kind of activity that occurs to produce the “intended outcome.”

For example, most organizations have a payroll process. This is the “process” used to pay the employees of the organization. Using the description provided above the payroll process has a trigger – probably a predetermined payment schedule – then a series of activities (they could be automated, manual or a combination of both) that results in an outcome (employees’ receive their pay).

Process Types

There are two main process types: People Process and Automated Process. People process obviously involves people in performing the activities of the process. Automated process relies on systems and/or machines to perform the activities of the process.

These two process types require different skills and approaches to successfully produce organizational value. Even more challenging is the blended process type where certain aspects of a process are people activities and other aspects are automated activities. Blended processes require the use of both approaches and are the largest contributors to the perceived Gap between Business and Technology (see – Bridging the Gap).