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A Guide to Evidencingthe Benefits of Business Process Improvement inHigher EducationHeather Lawrence and Dr Nicola J Cairns

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A Guide to Evidencing the Benefits of Business Process Improvement in Higher Education

COPYRIGHT © University of Strathclyde 2015

Published by: University of Strathclyde PublishingBusiness Improvement TeamMcCance Building16 Richmond StreetGlasgow G1 1XQUnited Kingdom

The material in this guide was developed with funding from the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education under the Innovation and Transformation Fund. The contents do not reflect the policies or the views of the Leadership Foundation.

Any part of this guide may be freely reproduced with the appropriate acknowledgement.

Images may not be reproduced separately.

Permission to translate all or any part of this handbook should be obtained through the:

Business Improvement TeamUniversity of StrathclydeMcCance Building16 Richmond StreetGlasgow G1 1XQUnited Kingdom

Authors: Heather Lawrence and Dr Nicola J Cairns

Cite as: Lawrence, H.; Cairns, N.J. (2015). Best Practice Guide: Evidencing the Benefits of Business Process Improvement in Higher Education. UK: University of Strathclyde.

ISBN: 978-1-909522-11-4

www.strath.ac.uk http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/evidencingbenefits




FOREWORD

Universities and specialist colleges have constantly striven to make improvements in the way they operate, the offer made to students, and the

outcomes from public investment in research. The recently published report on progress against the Diamond Review sets out the case for how the higher education sector should be seen as both efficient and effective.

However, those of us who have a deep interest in business process improvements and efficiencies in the sector are aware that the evidential base for the changes which are happening on a project by project basis in each institution is often fragmentary and incomplete. Most often the narrative of the qualitative improvements offered by change is considered sufficient for a business case to be approved. The best one can hope for is a passing reference to other efficiencies but without any meaningful analysis or data.

The reality is that there should be a balance between both qualitative and quantitative reasons for change. And time and resource should be invested in baselining performance and costs, together with mapping the changed position and understanding the gap between the two – the benefit. This analysis should contribute to the decision to invest in and implement any proposed change.

In a world where questions on efficiency and effectiveness are increasingly being asked, it is important that the higher education sector demonstrates that it can step up to the plate as much as the NHS and other sectors are doing. This guide, together with the associated resources, will help those interested in business process improvement understand how BPI should be managed and how the evidencing of efficiencies, both qualitative and quantitative, can improve outcomes.

Stephen ButcherHead of Procurement and Shared Services

Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE)


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The research, collaboration and consultation for this project involved the input from many colleagues across the higher education sector and the authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all who helped to bring this guide to life.

We would like to thank The Leadership Foundation, the Higher Education Funding Council for England, and the Innovation and Transformation Fund selection panel for providing the University of Strathclyde with the funding and the opportunity to create this guide for the wider sector.

A special thanks to Stephen Butcher whose guidance, enthusiasm and commitment to the project motivated the authors to make the guide the best it could be. His knowledge of, and dedication to, driving efficiencies across the sector and evidencing these efficiencies provided real inspiration throughout.

We would also like to thank our Project Mentor John Lakin, Associate of the Leadership Foundation, for his valuable feedback on an early draft of the guide. John also shared essential knowledge of a range of experts across the sector.

We extend a special appreciation to several Universities who took the time to review the content and provided constructive feedback in ensuring the guide was fit for purpose and transferable across the sector:

• Rachel McAssey, Process Improvement Coordinator, The University of Sheffield

• Pat Browne, Head of Business Improvement, The University of Aberdeen

• David Melkevik, Lean University Facilitator, Cardiff University

• Bruce Levitan, Head of Business Improvement, Manchester Metropolitan University

Thank you to a number of colleagues across the sector for sharing their experiences and providing valuable case studies for the guide:

• Stuart Morris, Continuous Improvement Facilitator, University of Lincoln

• Rachel McAssey, Process Improvement Coordinator, The University of Sheffield

• Michael Broderick, Change Facilitator, University of Leicester

• Bruce Levitan, Head of Business Improvement, Manchester Metropolitan University

We would also like to thank all those who took the time to respond to our sector survey throughout February and March 2015. The feedback was essential in shaping our content and for ensuring the guide is user-friendly and transferable across all institutions.

We would like to give a special thanks to our Business Improvement Steering Group who have provided valuable insight and vision in ensuring the guide is applicable across the sector.

Thank you to Rosie Niven, Content Editor for the Efficiency Exchange for Universities UK, for supporting the online dissemination of the project throughout its development and generating wider interest in the project across the sector.

The support of The Business Improvement Team at University of Strathclyde (John Hogg, Graham Ross, Susan Ali, Kimberley Blackwood and Susan Hillis) has been outstanding and their commitment has been central to ensuring the successful completion of this guide. In particular, a special thank you to Senior Business Improvement Manager John Hogg for his guidance and endless dedication to promoting the guide to the wider sector.




CONTENTS

SECTION SETTING THE CONTEXT FOR EVIDENCING BENEFITS IN HIGHER EDUCATION ............. 7

1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 7 2. How well are we currently evidencing benefits? ....................................................................... 7 3. Purpose of the Guide ............................................................................................................... 8 4. Limitations and assumptions .................................................................................................. 9 5. What we mean by a ‘benefit’.................................................................................................... 9 6. Why measure benefits? ......................................................................................................... 10 7. Cultural challenges across the HE sector ............................................................................... 11 8. How to use the Guide ............................................................................................................ 12

SECTION BEST PRACTICE GUIDE FOR IDENTIFYING AND EVIDENCING BENEFITS ................... 13 THROUGH A PROJECT LIFE-CYCLE

1. Institutional Preparation ....................................................................................................... 13 1a. Key Activities ........................................................................................................................ 14 i. Establish governance and management structures ........................................................... 14 ii. Agree priorities and drivers for BPI activity ....................................................................... 14 iii. Establish benefits data management approach ................................................................ 15 iv. Establish institutional benefits reporting approach .......................................................... 17

2. Project Initiation ................................................................................................................... 18 2a. Key Activities ........................................................................................................................ 18 i. Completion of Project Initiation Proposal ......................................................................... 19 ii. Agree projects to be fully scoped ..................................................................................... 19 2b. Supporting Guidance ............................................................................................................ 19 i. Insist on the completion of a Project Initiation Proposal ................................................... 19 ii. Don’t be afraid to say “No” .............................................................................................. 19

3. Project Scoping and Start-up Phase ...................................................................................... 20 3a. Key Activities ........................................................................................................................ 20 i. Completion of project proposal document to include benefits .......................................... 21 ii. Benefits Scoping Workshop ............................................................................................. 21 iii. Go and see the process in action ..................................................................................... 22 iv. Introduce data capturing tools ......................................................................................... 22 v. Agree projects to proceed ................................................................................................ 22 3b. Supporting Guidance ............................................................................................................ 22 i. Overcoming the challenges to capture data ...................................................................... 22 ii. Focus on the ‘right’ benefits ............................................................................................. 23 iii. Capture Voice of the Customer information ...................................................................... 23

4. Diagnostic Phase .................................................................................................................. 24 4a. Key Activities ........................................................................................................................ 24 i. Establish a ‘Data Wall’ for data visualisation .................................................................... 25 ii. Review Measurable Benefits Data Plan with project team ................................................. 25 iii. Include benefits and data in project reports ..................................................................... 25 iv. Communicate the findings from the data at the end of the Diagnostic Phase .................... 25


A

B

Heather Lawrence and Dr Nicola J Cairns


CONTENTS

4b. Supporting Guidance ............................................................................................................ 25 i. Use Impact versus Effort Charts to anticipate benefits ...................................................... 25

5. Design, Test and Implementation Phase ................................................................................ 26 5a. Key Activities ........................................................................................................................ 26 i. Create Improvement Action Plan ...................................................................................... 27 ii. Development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) ................................................... 27 iii. Utilise Measurable Benefits Data Plan and gather trial data.............................................. 27 iv. Compare trial data with baseline data .............................................................................. 27 5b. Supporting Guidance ............................................................................................................ 28 i. The importance of trial data ............................................................................................. 28 ii. Transfer the ownership for evidencing benefits ................................................................ 28 iii. Continue Voice of the Customer activity ............................................................................ 28

6. End of Project Review Phase .................................................................................................. 29 6a. Key Activities ........................................................................................................................ 29 i. Continue data gathering after wider implementation ........................................................ 30 ii. Include benefits in end of project reports ......................................................................... 30 iii. Share and promote the benefits ....................................................................................... 31 6b. Supporting Guidance ............................................................................................................ 31 i. Who reports the benefits? ................................................................................................ 31

7. Sustainment Phase ............................................................................................................... 32 7a. Key Activities ........................................................................................................................ 33 i. Agree where further benefits could be evidenced ............................................................. 33 ii. Establish performance measures to continue to capture benefit data ............................... 33 iii. Celebrate and communicate the benefits across the institution ........................................ 33

SECTION SUPPORTING TOOLS AND INFORMATION ............................................................. 34

1. Overview of potential measurable benefits with key tools ..................................................... 34 2. Visualising and communicating your benefits........................................................................ 38 3. Tips for driving behaviours and engagement when evidencing benefits ................................. 41 4. Sector Case Studies .............................................................................................................. 42 4a. Postgraduate Taught (PGT) admissions at the University of Strathclyde................................. 42 4b. Postgraduate Research (PGR) Suspension of Studies pilot at the University of Leicester ........ 42 4c. Patent fee recovery at the University of Strathclyde ............................................................... 43 4d. Student Wellbeing Centre’s Counselling Service at the University of Lincoln .......................... 43 4e. Student registration at the University of Strathclyde ............................................................. 44 4f. Maternity Leave Notification process at the University of Sheffield ........................................ 44 4g. EQAL Programme at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) ........................................... 45 5. Glossary and key terms ......................................................................................................... 46 6. Tools and templates .............................................................................................................. 48 7. Further information and resources ......................................................................................... 49


C



Setting the context for evidencing benefits in Higher Education

Section A

1. Introduction

“Delivering efficiency and value for money is an absolute operational priority. All stakeholders rightly expect

efficient use of resources and in the current financially austere times investment to maintain excellence in

both education and research will often come through such efficiencies. Thus, to meet the demands of

competitiveness in the 21st century, universities must work in ever smarter and more innovative ways.” 1

Sir Ian Diamond, 2015

Many Higher Education Institutions are applying Business Process Improvement (BPI) techniques across processes that underpin the delivery of teaching and research. These initiatives are helping institutions to work more effectively and efficiently, and are helping to increase operational capacity.

This Guide offers a practical approach to quantifying benefits that result from BPI activities, and to assist with the calculation of efficiency savings to support the Diamond Agenda2, through delivering value for money using the key tools and techniques that are already present in many institutions. It aims to provide institutions with guidance, and adoptable tools to effectively communicate and demonstrate the value of improvements and efficiencies.

The integration of BPI techniques in our working practices can contribute to creating a competitive advantage, whilst allowing institutions to respond to the increasing demands from the UK Government, funding bodies, and the market to deliver more.

2. How well are we currently evidencing benefits?

As part of our research for developing this Guide, we distributed a survey to the Higher Education sector to uncover how BPI practitioners are identifying and measuring benefits throughout their projects. Respondents were asked what priorities they consider in order to proceed with a project; how they currently demonstrate BPI project success; what they consider to be a project benefit and how many of these have been successfully measured; and at what stage in a project are benefits identified and then measured.

It showed that 88% of respondents3 reported that they currently identify benefits from their BPI activities. They were provided with seven possible priorities to proceed with a BPI project, which included reasons such as cost only savings and resource availability within the team, and asked to rank them in order of importance. Overall potential benefits and impact was ranked the second most important priority (Figure 1). Yet only 47% of practitioners stated that they use the benefits identified to demonstrate a project’s success and only 54% use an established methodology to help them measure those benefits.

Figure 1 - The importance ranking allocated to BPI project priorities. Overall project benefits was ranked the second most important priority by respondents.

1 Sir Ian Diamond (2015) cited by Universities UK (2015), Efficiency, effectiveness and value for money, http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2015/EfficiencyEffectivenessValueForMoney.pdf. Date accessed: 3/7/152 Efficiency Exchange (2015), About efficiency and effectiveness in higher education, http://www.efficiencyexchange.ac.uk/workstreams/efficiency-in-higher-education/. Date accessed: 3/7/153 42 BPI professionals in HE sector completed the survey to date


http://www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/highereducation/Documents/2015/EfficiencyEffectivenessValueForMoney.pdf

http://www.efficiencyexchange.ac.uk/workstreams/efficiency-in-higher-education/

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Setting the context for evidencing benefitsin Higher EducationSection A

< BACK TO CONTENTS >

If the overall benefits are a high priority for proceeding with a project and are actively identified by the majority of practitioners, then we must ask ourselves why they are not consistently used to demonstrate a project’s success?

The survey also uncovered that few practitioners have successfully measured the full range of benefits they have identified (Figure 2). This indicates there are challenges to evidencing some benefits or sourcing the appropriate data to demonstrate them. Furthermore, while practitioners identify benefits in the scoping and start up project phases, significantly less baseline data is captured in these early stages compared to the design and trial phases. In fact, most data gathering and measurement activity occurs post-project implementation. This suggests that efficiency savings or other improvement metrics cannot be accurately evidenced due to limited data gathering activities up front and baseline information being captured too late. The lack of data provided ahead of the project starting or within the diagnostic phase also highlights the risk of missing opportunities for improvement.

Figure 2 - A comparison of the benefits BPI practitioners have considered with the benefits they have been able to successfully measure.

These findings indicate that the sector needs to improve the way benefits are evidenced. This Guide aims to inform project planning and decision making through the early identification of potential benefits and implementation of a clear, measurable data gathering plan to ensure quantifiable benefits are fully realised and used to demonstrate project success.

3. Purpose of the Guide

This Guide describes a range of activities that institutions can utilise in order to maximise their opportunities for evidencing benefits of BPI. It outlines how to quantify benefits throughout a typical project life-cycle for process redesign/process modelling activities and demonstrates how to gather, record, and communicate the information to allow for more accurate reporting of the success and impact of projects. It will also help to provide insight into where institutional action is required, particularly for initiatives where expected benefits are not being realised.

It is intended that by working consistently using the tools provided in the Guide, we will achieve greater engagement from the sector to carry out BPI activities as a result of increased measurement and evidencing of demonstrable benefits, and drive cultural change in the identification and recording of efficiency savings and income generation.

The Guide demonstrates how to maximise the identification of benefits and efficiencies through early planning activities and by implementing a structure to evidencing benefits throughout the project life-cycle and across the institution. This will maximise your resources by avoiding additional work post-project and will enable reporting on clear, quantifiable project outcomes.

This Guide outlines a good practice approach to evidencing benefits at the time of publication, therefore, it is intended to be a dynamic document and it is envisaged that the sector will work collaboratively in the future to share learning in order to further enhance the content.

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4. Limitations and assumptions

This Guide is aimed at BPI practitioners within Higher Education who have a basic knowledge of Lean methodologies and BPI practices. This includes individuals or teams who have worked alongside BPI practitioners on business improvement initiatives within their institutions and want to continue to identify further opportunities for improvement in their own business areas.

This Guide does not detail how to carry out BPI activities, or how to manage a project as it is assumed that each institution will have its own project management methodology. It is also recognised that institutions will have varying resources for carrying out business improvement initiatives.

The Guide does not replace existing data capturing, reporting or benefits realisation methodologies that institutions may currently use (see Further Information and Resources). Rather it provides a practical and easily adaptable method to positively drive the behaviours of an institution, embed benefits identification in a project, gather the data that is essential to demonstrate those benefits, and trigger activities throughout the project to ensure that benefits become fully realised.

5. What we mean by a ‘benefit’

There are many definitions of a ‘benefit’ with the most common outlining that a benefit is

“An outcome of change which is perceived as positiveby a stakeholder” 4

Whilst this is a useful high-level way to think about benefits, it doesn’t consider how to evidence a positive outcome. A benefit should establish a clear direction of improvement, recognised by all stakeholders, through the use of data to demonstrate the positive change between two time points.

It is important to not lose sight of the intended change or improvement from carrying out a BPI initiative and this can be evidenced by exploring the measurable benefits. For the purposes of this Guide, we have focused on benefits that can be measured. (See Section C for an ‘Overview of potential measurable benefits’)

4 Bradley, Gerard (2006), Benefits Realisation Management: A practical guide to achieving benefits through change. Gower Publishing

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6. Why measure benefits?

Some of the reasons for evidencing the success of BPI initiatives are outlined below:

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6. Why Measure Benefits?Some of the reasons for evidencing the success of BPI initiatives are outlined below:

Drive Cultural Change • Drive behaviours to measure data and ensure improvement efforts are focused on the agreed

priorities

• Encourage proactive behaviours in the identification and measuring of baseline data which uncover

further opportunities for improvement, or positively changes the focus of the project

• Provide evidence or justification to explore improvement opportunities in similar processes within an

institution or in the wider sector

• Create a transparent culture of improvement by communicating success and sharing best practice

• Recognise, celebrate and reward success at an individual or team level

Improvement Planning and Prioritisation

• Support the business case for

improvements and project

selection by evaluating the

clearly anticipated measurable

benefits

• Enable institutions to learn

lessons from improvement

initiatives that have been

successful, and those that

have not delivered as

expected

Demonstrating Efficiencies and Success

• Indicate the likely success of any planned changes and demonstrate what has been achieved through ongoing measurement

• Assist with the evidencing of efficiency savings and value for money across the sector that feed into returns such as: HEFCE, Scottish Funding Council, Efficient Government Return, Universities Scotland Efficiencies Taskforce, and Universities UK

• Identify direct and indirect increase to revenue

Sustainment of Improvements

• Provide a basis to develop

ongoing performance

measures to ensure

sustainability of the new way

of working

• Provide a new performance

baseline from which further

improvements can be

measured.

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5 Sir Ian Diamond (2015), The Conversation: Universities need to get better at telling the public how we are saving money, http://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-get-better-at-telling-the-public-how-we-are-saving-money-38510. Date accessed: 3/7/15

7. Cultural challenges across the HE sector

It is recognised that there are challenges in gathering and sharing data within institutions, particularly when the data uncovers inefficient or ineffective ways of working and is therefore perceived to be negative. Nevertheless, there are bold ambitions for the sector in generating greater efficiencies and doing more with less. As a result, being open and transparent around the gathering of data and identification of benefits is absolutely essential:

“What we need to do is to jointly sign up to looking for areas of best practice, where there are opportunities to make efficiencies. And we need to be prepared to communicate them in a way where one can identify the sum of those savings

and to demonstrate where other savings are being made.”

Sir Ian Diamond, 20155

The identification of benefits and their ongoing measurement must always be viewed as shared tasks that will enhance the ability to measure the impact of the project, and allow all those involved to feel a greater sense of achievement when demonstrating the improvements. We all play a key part, regardless of role, in changing the culture around data transparency. Many of the activities provided in this Guide are targeted at alleviating concerns and anxiety around evidencing business improvement, by making benefits part of the language up front, gaining agreement from the project team and key stakeholders on the importance of data gathering, and clearly identifying what can be achieved by evidencing the successes. In this way, a positive perception of benefits and data gathering is established.

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8. How to use the Guide

This Guide can be used continuously throughout a project or alternatively as an occasional reference tool. The key activities are organised by project phase to help you locate the information you need quickly:

Within each project phase you will find further detail on the following:

• The key activities to be carried out at this stage• Guidance on how to overcome potential challenges faced at this stage• Supporting tools and templates for maximising data collection and management

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8. How to use the Guide

This Guide can be used continuously throughout a project or alternatively as an occasional

reference tool. The key activities are organised by project phase to help you locate the

information you need quickly:

Within each project phase you will find further detail on the following:

• The key activities to be carried out at this stage

• Guidance on how to overcome potential challenges faced at this stage

Preparatory work required to agree priorities for undertaking BPI activities and ensure consistency of approach when measuring benefits

Institutional Preparation

Introduction of key activities to gather high level baseline data to inform decision making ahead of project selection and scoping activity

Project Initiation

Detailed project scoping activities to gather and capture the necessary baseline data against which future improvements can be measured. This informs whether projects should proceed.

Project Scoping and Start-up

Key activities once a project is underway to maximise data collation and the buy-in of key stakeholders

Diagnostic

Essential activities that enhance the measurement ofpost-improvement data and ongoing buy-in for evidencing the successof the project

Design, Trial and Implementation

Focused on the sign-off of benefits captured so far, those that have not been realised and the ongoing responsibilities for further benefits realisation

End of Project

Ongoing benefits realisation and the identification of further opportunities for improvement

Sustainment

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Written by Heather Lawrence and Dr Nicola Cairns


1. Institutional Preparation

Figure 3 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to be incorporated within the Institutional Preparation phase. The activities included in this section will enable you to establish the BPI priorities and drivers for the institution, as well as a robust data management approach to evidence and report benefits from a project level through to an institutional level.

A Guide for Identifying and Evidencing Benefits througha Project Life-cycle

Section B

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• Supporting tools and templates for maximising data collection and management

Section B. Best Practice Guide for Identifying and Evidencing Benefits through a Project Life-cycle


Figure 3 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to be

incorporated within the Institutional Preparation phase. The activities included in this section

will enable you to establish the BPI priorities and drivers for the institution, as well as a

robust data management approach to evidence and report benefits from a project level

through to an institutional level.

Activity: Establish governance and management structures

Institutional Preparation

Tools:-‐ Central Electronic Storage

-‐ Central Costing Reference Tool-‐ Manual Data Capturing Templates-‐ Benefits Calculation Spreadsheet-‐ Benefits Realisation Spreadsheet

-‐ Benefits Reporting

Activity: Agree priorities and drivers for BPI activity

Activity: Establish benefits data management approach

Figure 3 - Key Activities and Tools for Institutional Preparation


2. Project Initiation

3. Project Scoping and Start-‐up

4. Diagnostic 5. Design, Test &

Implement 6. End of

Project 7. Sustainment

Figure 3 - Key Activities and Tools for Institutional Preparation

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A Guide for Identifying and Evidencing Benefits through a Project Life-cycle Section B



1a. Key Activities

i. Establish governance and management structures

Prioritising BPI projects requires an appropriate level of governance and management oversight so that the resources available are focused on the ‘right’ initiatives. A BPI Project Board should be established with a remit to regularly review initial project proposals and to assess if active projects are still on track to deliver the intended benefits. There needs to be a process in place to make informed decisions about whether to proceed with a BPI project, and to iteratively assess and help secure the ongoing investment of resources in active projects. These decisions must be informed with clear data that demonstrate the baseline or the improvements.

There may be competing interests and the board must have the ability and decision making framework within which to say ‘No’ to a project if the potential benefits are minimal, do not deliver a return on investment, or are unlikely to be realised.

The establishment of a project board with regular review meetings creates a clear and transparent approach that can lead to the creation of an informed prioritisation list of initiatives that can be focused on when resources become available.

If your institution already has a clear project governance structure in place, then consider how the selection and decision making processes for BPI projects can be incorporated.

ii. Agree priorities and drivers for BPI activity

It is recommended that the priorities for selecting BPI projects are agreed and understood, at a team or institutional level, and as part of annual or business planning discussions. This will allow you to manage the expectations of management, make more informed decisions at the project selection stage, and more appropriately allocate your resources across projects.

For example, you may prioritise projects where the benefits to the student experience and reputation of the institution greatly outweigh the efficiency savings that are likely to be realised. Alternatively, you may prioritise projects that are likely to generate significant efficiencies, or have the potential to increase revenues.

These priorities will be different for each institution, but some common priorities that could help inform your discussions are:

• Improved student / staff experience• Creating capacity for growth / efficiency savings• Direct impact to the strategic objectives of the

institution• Potential to improve institutional rankings• Potential to raise profile of BPI across the institution• Direct cost savings• Increased institutional income• Increased business continuity• Reduce likeliness of risk to the institution

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iii. Establish benefits data management approach

Figure 4 - Benefits Data Management Approach

• Create central location for storage of data

It is good data management to establish a central depository where all appropriate practitioners can access and store benefit data throughout a project’s lifetime and to evidence the project’s findings over a longer term. The depository should be located on your institution’s secure server which will be automatically backed up. This can be scaled down to a project level if you are working within one department or business area. The data management tools outlined in Figure 4 should be saved in the central location.

• Create Central Costing Reference Tool

To ensure the consistency of benefits calculations across your projects, standard salary and costing information should be used. You may need to liaise with central Finance and Procurement Services to collate these costings. This information should be provided within the Central Costing Reference Tool for ease of calculating savings and reviewed regularly to include any changes to salaries and costs. Typical information should include:

• Current salary grades (including overheads) that provide both daily and hourly rates

• Printing Costs: — Average cost per copy for black and white printing — Average cost per copy for colour printing — Cost per page of paper — Printer/rental/maintenance costs

• Average shredding/removal costs per page• Average storage costs per square foot• Postage costs

We recommend that you work out the savings or increase for your projects to an annual sum as it will support the annual efficiencies return for your institution. It is also useful if the Costing Reference Tool contains example costing calculations to ensure that everyone is calculating the benefits in the same way. i.e.:

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• Reduce likeliness of risk to the institution

iii. Establish Benefits Data Management Approach

Central Electronic Data Storage

Central Costing Reference Tool

Manual Data Capturing Templates

Combine and Analyse Data Captured on Benefits Calculation

Spreadsheet

Record and track benefits on Benefits

Realisation Spreadsheet

Benefits Reporting

Repeat cycle for future data

measurement to demonstrate improvement

Benefits Data Management Approach


• Create central location for storage of data

It is good data management to establish a central depository where all appropriate

practitioners can access and store benefit data throughout a project’s lifetime and to

evidence the project’s findings over a longer term. The depository should be located on

your institution’s secure server which will be automatically backed up. This can be scaled

down to a project level if you are working within one department or business area. The

data management tools outlined in Figure 4 should be saved in the central location.

• Create Central Costing Reference Tool

To ensure the consistency of benefits calculations across your projects, standard salary

and costing information should be used. You may need to liaise with central Finance and

Procurement Services to collate these costings. This information should be provided

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Often, staff capacity or staff efficiency savings are not direct cash savings, therefore, consider how the realisation of these types of benefits can result in wider benefits

to the business area.

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within the Central Costing Reference Tool for ease of calculating savings and reviewed

regularly to include any changes to salaries and costs. Typical information should

include:

• Current salary grades (including overheads) that provide both daily and hourly

rates

• Printing Costs:

o Average cost per copy for black and white printing

o Average cost per copy for colour printing

o Cost per page of paper

o Printer/rental/maintenance costs

• Average shredding/removal costs per page

• Average storage costs per square foot

• Postage costs

We recommend that you work out the savings for your projects to an annual sum as it

will support the annual efficiencies return for your institution. It is also useful if the

document contains example costing calculations to ensure that everyone is calculating

the benefits in the same way. i.e.:

EXAMPLE: Reduced printing of 50,000 pages per year

• Printing Costs: £0.0060 per black and white copy x 50,000 pages

= £300 saved per year

• Cost of Paper: £0.004 cost of paper per page x 50,000 pages

= £200 saved per year

• Removal Costs: 1 sack = 4000 pages therefore: 50,000 pages / 4000 per sack = 12.5 sacks x £2.50 per sack

= £31.25 saved per year

Total Saving = £531.25 EXAMPLE: Staff capacity savings of 500 hours per year

• A saving of 500 hours per year for a Grade 5 employee x £11 per hour

= £5,500 saved per year

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• Create manual data management templates for capturing data

As part of a data management approach, the raw data collection used to calculate the benefits needs to be recorded and centrally stored. Manual data capturing templates are available in Section C to capture process times, lead times and quality issues. Manual data should be scanned to create an electronic file.

• Create data management template for combining and analysing data gathered

To enable analysis of the data captured to calculate the baseline, the raw data should be collated within a Benefits Calculation Spreadsheet. This is particularly useful when calculating average processing and lead times for an activity. An example has been provided of how to condense the raw data and present the calculations in order to validate the benefits in the future and ensure that the same approach to data measurement is implemented when repeating the data capture post-improvements. By analysing the baseline and post-improvement data in the Benefits Calculation Spreadsheet, efficiency savings can be evidenced.

• Create data management tool to store and track benefits

To have a complete overview of your measurable benefits at any time, it is essential to develop a data management tool to enable your team to record and track the information.

The purpose of the data management tool is to record the important benefit data that has been captured during a project, demonstrate the efficiency calculations and analysis, validate the project findings, and enable large-scale reporting or auditing of BPI activities. It can be as straightforward as a spreadsheet or involve more detailed data management plans and custom designed databases.

As a starting point we have provided a simple Benefits Realisation Spreadsheet that suggests the basic - but essential - information required to evidence benefits. The Central Costing Reference Tool, Manual Data Capturing Templates, and the Benefits Calculation Spreadsheet inform the Benefits Realisation spreadsheet. An alternative data management tool is also available from Jisc (see Section C. Supporting Tools and Information).

iv. Establish institutional benefits reporting approach

Benefits reporting information will be essential for the BPI Project Board to assess whether projects are on track to deliver the intended benefits, and to have an oversight of all expected and realised benefits across the institution. It will also ensure the consistency and accuracy of reporting for tracking progress of BPI initiatives throughout the project life-cycle and beyond.

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Figure 5 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to be incorporated within the Project Initiation phase. This stage of the project assumes that a colleague or a key stakeholder has raised an idea of a potential BPI project. The activities included in this section will enable you to evaluate proposed projects and make informed decisions to proceed based on the high level benefits identified and in line with BPI Project Board priorities.

2.a Key Activities

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incorporated within the Project Initiation phase. This stage of the project assumes that a

colleague or a key stakeholder has raised an idea of a potential BPI project. The activities

included in this section will enable you to evaluate proposed projects and make informed

decisions to proceed based on the high level benefits identified and in line with BPI project

board priorities.

2a. Key Activities

Activity: Completion of Project Initiation Proposal

Project Initiation

Tool: Project Initiation Proposal

Activity: Agreeing projects to proceed and selecting Project Lead and Project Sponsor

Figure 5 - Key Activities and Tools for Project Initiation





Implement 6. End of


Figure 5 - Key Activities and Tools for Project Initiation

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i. Completion of Project Initiation Proposal

When a colleague or stakeholder identifies a possible BPI project, this should trigger the request to develop a Project Initiation Proposal. The proposal should include enough detail for the BPI Project Board to evaluate the project based on the proposed benefits and it’s alignment with institutional strategic BPI priorities. Therefore, the ‘Provision of High Level Baseline Data’ should be included as a mandatory section.

The Project Initiator should know enough about the process in question and the intended change to gather high level baseline data that demonstrates the scale of the process and that justifies the need for improvement. At this stage, remaining focused on the aspect of the process that requires attention is important in order to limit the baseline data. Some examples of high level baseline data include:

• Student experience survey results• Quantity of activity• Current conversion activity i.e. number of applications

against number of enrolments• Process and lead times• Audit results• Research income in a subject area

The Project Initiator should consider the benefits to be gained from the project. The Measurable Benefits guide in Section C can help to support this activity.

The Project Initiation Proposal template should be stored in an accessible location on the institution’s shared server so that ideas can be put forward by anyone across the institution.

ii. Agree projects to be fully scoped

Once the BPI Project Board has met to review the Project Initiation Proposals and has agreed that a proposal should be scoped in more depth, it is then important for the Board to agree the most suitable colleagues for leading on the project within the institution to ensure maximum impact.

The Project Manager is essential for ensuring that benefits identification and realisation is at the heart of the BPI initiative, therefore the expectations of this role must be clearly understood by whoever takes on the responsibility for the project.

The Project Sponsor is crucial for generating engagement and support from key stakeholders who are essential to the success of the project. As such, when agreeing a Project Sponsor, it is necessary to establish the importance of this role in supporting the identification of benefits and encouraging data gathering activities.

2b. Supporting Guidance

i. Insist on the completion of a Project Initiation Proposal

It is the responsibility of the Project Initiator to present his or her case and provide the information. In order not to waste valuable resources, it is important to wait until the Initiator has made their case and the BPI Project Board agrees that it is a worthwhile undertaking. Avoid getting involved in the detail until there is an initial agreement to scope the project further. This approach ensures process owners and stakeholders understand the importance of assessing their process and collating data at the first point of contact.

ii. Don’t be afraid to say “No”

All too often, projects are carried out that have little in the way of measurable improvements or impacts. The BPI Project Board, or appropriate decision makers, must not be afraid to reject a project that is unlikely to achieve measurable results that are essential to the ongoing success of the institution.

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3. Project Scoping and Start-up Phase

The Project Scoping and Start-up phase assumes that a project has been selected based on the potential benefits that could be achieved. This is one of the most important stages of the project and allows you to more fully understand the breadth of improvements and the potential benefits through greater baseline data gathering activities.

Figure 6 - Key Activities and Tools for Project Scoping and Start-up

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3. Project Scoping and Start-up Phase

The Project Scoping and Start-up phase assumes that a project has been selected based on

the potential benefits that could be achieved. This is one of the most important stages of the

project and allows you to more fully understand the breadth of improvements and the

potential benefits through greater baseline data gathering activities.

3a. Key Activities


incorporated within the Project Scoping and Start-up phase. These activities will enable you

to follow up on the high level benefits identification completed in the Project Initiation phase,

through fuller benefits scoping and planning, observation of the process in more detail, and

increased capture of baseline data.

Activity: Benefits Scoping Workshop

Project Scoping and Start-‐Up

Tool: Benefits Exploration Map

Activity: Go and see the process in action

Activity: Completion of Project Proposal to include benefits

Tools:-‐ Manual Data Capturing Templates

Tools: -‐ Measurable Benefits Data Plan

-‐ Project Plan to include benefits activity

Activity: Introduce Data Capturing Tools

Figure 6 - Key Activities and Tools for Project Scoping and Start-Up





Implement 6. End of


3a. Key Activities

Figure 6 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to be incorporated within the Project Scoping and Start-up phase. These activities will enable you to follow up on the high level benefits identification completed in the Project Initiation phase, through fuller benefits scoping and planning, observation of the process in more detail, and increased capture of baseline data.

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i. Completion of project proposal document to include benefits

The project proposal is a key document for ensuring that all key stakeholders are aware of the purpose of the project, for outlining key roles and responsibilities and for gaining commitment to measure benefits. It is recognised there are a range of project proposal templates to complement different project management approaches, however, the following additional sections are important to document the agreement to measure benefits and the time commitment required to do so:

• Measurable Benefits Data Plan

This will allow you to understand who has the data, how the data will be gathered and when the data will be provided. This is an extremely useful document that can be utilised throughout the project life-cycle to share the responsibility to collate information and drive the project team’s behaviours on evidencing benefits. A template for the Measurable Benefits Data Plan is provided in Section C. It should also outline key information that should be provided prior to full project approval.

• Build benefits time into your project plan

It is important to build sufficient time into your overall project plan so that the identified benefits are fully realised. A weekly review of the Measurable Benefits Data Plan with the project team will focus attention on where there are gaps in the necessary information and drive behaviours to gather the outstanding data.

ii. Benefits Scoping Workshop

It is important not to be isolated in your thinking when considering benefits, but to be open and transparent with all key stakeholders. It is essential for project participants to understand the advantages of identifying and measuring benefits in order to gain their support in gathering the necessary data. At this stage a short benefits scoping workshop should be arranged with the key stakeholders and project team to explore all the possible benefits that could result from undertaking the project. The Project Initiation Proposal should be used to initially stimulate the discussions, using the Benefits Exploration Map as a key tool. A template for the Benefits Exploration Map is provided in Section C. The Measureable Benefits Guide in Section C can also be used in the benefits scoping workshop.

The benefits scoping workshop introduces the language of benefits to the wider stakeholder groups and project team as early as possible in the project life-cycle. It might be useful to use an impartial facilitator who can freely ask questions and encourage participants to think more broadly.

A useful approach for keeping the workshop within the allocated time is to use a ‘silent’ post-it exercise to allow all participants to contribute. The benefits identified in the workshop should be used to create a bespoke Benefits Exploration Map which is circulated to all stakeholders who contributed and should ideally be displayed on the project room wall for the duration of the project. The measurable benefits from the Benefits Exploration Map should also be used to inform your Measurable Benefits Data Plan.

There may be many benefits identified at this stage, therefore it might be necessary to prioritise the benefits that are to be measured.

Throughout the project life-cycle, the identified benefits will allow you to assess if you have achieved what you set out do, and to inform future projects under consideration.

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iii. Go and see the process in action

It is extremely valuable for the Project Manager to spend at least one day observing the process prior to obtaining full agreement to proceed with the project; however this will be dependent on the size and scale of the project.

This activity is an important part of the project management preparation. Spending time with the staff that carry out key tasks in the process will allow you to gain a better understanding of the process and inform your own thinking on the potential project benefits. You can then use this experience to facilitate the Benefits Scoping Workshop and organise targeted baseline data gathering to capture any quality issues, errors or rework that you observed. It is an important approach that is actively encouraged throughout the project to ensure that the required information is being provided and errors in gathering data are avoided.

iv. Introduce data capturing tools

The gathering of baseline data at this stage greatly enhances the activities within the Diagnostic phase and can save a significant amount of time later in the project if this information is captured as early as possible. The Benefits Exploration Map and the benefits scoping workshop are the ideal activities to generate enthusiasm from the project team to gather the necessary baseline data. There are a variety of tools that are useful for capturing manual data. (See Section C for an ‘Overview of potential measurable benefits’)

v. Agree projects to proceed

Once the Project Proposal has been completed and the scoping activities are complete, the BPI Project Board should review the Project Proposals and evaluate whether a project should proceed, based on the likeliness to deliver the anticipated benefits. It is crucial that the data gathered and the benefits are used to inform these decisions to ensure that projects are selected based on the BPI priorities of the institution.

The BPI Project Board will then have an ongoing role to review reports to assess if projects are still on track to deliver the intended benefits, and to continually assess the ongoing investment of resources in active projects.


i. Overcoming the challenges to capture data

It is recognised that there are challenges in gathering and sharing data within institutions, whether that is resistance to collaborating, difficulty locating who has the data, or having to gather the information manually. Yet in order to clearly demonstrate project success, the data to evidence benefits must be provided. For this reason, being transparent about the gathering of data and communicating the importance of identifying benefits is essential to generate positive perceptions of this work, and motivate stakeholders to provide what is needed.

The benefits scoping workshop, Benefits Exploration Map and the Measurable Benefits Data Plan, utilised from this early stage in the project, are the tools required to achieve this stakeholder engagement and provide the information to evidence successes.

When it is not possible to obtain accurate data or reports from the systems available, these limitations should become evident at the benefits scoping workshop. The Measurable Benefits Data Plan should then be used to indicate where manually measured data can be captured and where estimated data may have to be used. Encourage the monitoring of a small sample of data, again using the tools described above, as typically, measured data provides a greater understanding of the process than relying on estimates. Section C provides a variety of useful tools to gather manual data.

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ii. Focus on the ‘right’ benefits

It can be tempting to start measuring everything in an effort to identify improvements and efficiencies. Focus on what matters through regular reviews of the Measurable Benefits Data Plan and reference to the Benefits Exploration Map which has been agreed by all stakeholders. Consider the following questions before embarking on data gathering:

• Has this information been identified in the Measurable Benefits Data Plan?

• Will measuring this identify efficiency or cost savings?• Will measuring this allow the impact of the

improvements to be demonstrated?• Will measuring this capture whether the end

beneficiaries, such as students or staff, are more satisfied with the process?

• Will measuring this demonstrate where there are potential/further areas for improvement?

iii. Capture Voice of the Customer information

Voice of the Customer activities provide extremely valuable baseline data on satisfaction levels and areas of the process that are particularly troublesome. Although survey design and response analysis require dedicated development time, the quality and quantity of information gained from a few well designed questions can benefit the project enormously. Surveys can rapidly engage many more stakeholders than would be possible using face-to-face methods, arguably providing a more representative sample of customer feedback and a strong justification to advance with particular improvements. The findings can better focus the project activities throughout the Diagnostic phase and can be compared to future Voice of the Customer activity to evidence the positive impact of the improvements made. Where possible, utilise existing institutional surveys to avoid duplicating any effort, or consider adding additional questions to pre-existing surveys.

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4. Diagnostic Phase

The Diagnostic phase allows you to more fully explore the wastes within the current process by utilising the data captured throughout the Scoping and Start-up phase. It also provides further opportunities for benefit identification and data gathering.

29

4. Diagnostic Phase

The Diagnostic phase allows you to more fully explore the wastes within the current

process by utilising the data captured throughout the Scoping and Start-Up phase. It

also provides further opportunities for benefit identification and data gathering.

4a. Key Activities

Figure 7 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to

be incorporated within the Diagnostic phase. These activities will enhance the

evidencing of benefits through regular reviews of the benefits data, further process

observation and data capture, and reporting on benefits:

Activity: Establish Data Wall

Diagnostic

Activity: Include benefits and data within Project Reports

Tool: Measurable Benefits Data PlanActivity: Review Measurable Benefits Data Plan with

Project Team

Tool: Project Reports

Tools: Data Wall and Project ReportsActivity: Communicate findings with key stakeholders

Figure 7 - Key Activities and Tools for Diagnostic Phase





Implement 6. End of


4a. Key Activities

Figure 7 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to be incorporated within the Diagnostic phase. These activities will enhance the evidencing of benefits through regular reviews of the benefits data, further process observation and data capture, and reporting on benefits:

Figure 7 - Key Activities and Tools for Diagnostic Phase

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i. Establish a ‘Data Wall’ for data visualisation

Displaying your data and key information in a transparent and visual way has greater impact than if only stored and shared electronically. If you have a dedicated Project Room, establish a ‘Data Wall’ where your key information will be displayed. Display the Measurable Benefits Data Plan on the ‘Data Wall’ from the start of the project to encourage regular benefit discussions. If you do not have a Project Room, establish a Data Wall within the business process area.

When data has been successfully captured and can be used to reveal the current state of the process, add visual representations to the ‘Data Wall’. Such visuals are extremely effective when communicating with the project team and other stakeholders throughout the project. The Data Wall should be used to convey the key findings from the Diagnostic phase, demonstrating to stakeholders what can be gained from implementing improvements and motivating them to evidence the project benefits. See Section C for ideas on how to visualise your data. If a physical Data Wall is not possible, consider the use of a virtual data space which offers accessibility to relevant stakeholders.

ii. Review Measurable Benefits Data Plan with project team

Incorporate review time throughout the project to discuss the data gathering progress and update the plan as required. This will identify where there are gaps in the data and reinforce the necessary behaviours to collect the valuable information. If you do not have a dedicated project room to display the Measurable Benefits Data Plan, produce a hard copy to refer to during workshops and stakeholder meetings.

iii. Include benefits and data in project reports

Include a section on benefits tracking within your project documentation. This ensures that progress is communicated regularly to key stakeholders, who may not be involved as often throughout the project. A visual representation is most effective and should include:

• Realised Benefits• Future Anticipated Benefits

iv. Communicate the findings from the data at theend of the Diagnostic Phase

Hold review meetings at the end of the Diagnostic phase with the project team and key stakeholders to report the findings that have been uncovered through data gathering and which are presented on the ‘Data Wall’. This activity is extremely powerful in demonstrating the purpose of gathering data and highlighting the benefits to be achieved by making improvements. The review gains continued engagement from all stakeholders to implement the improvements and pursue future data gathering to fully realise the benefits. Further to the reviews, the key findings should be summarised, as visually as possible, in a written report to document the essential project information.


i. Use Impact versus Effort Charts to anticipatebenefits

The Impact and Effort Chart is a useful tool for considering the viability of all improvement ideas. The chart can be enhanced by incorporating the original Benefits Exploration Map to help establish a project specific scale of impact. This better supports the identification of the most appropriate solutions to improve the process. The approach also ensures that both the softer benefits as well as the measurable benefits are discussed.

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5. Design, Test andImplementation Phase

The Design, Test and Implementation phase provides an opportunity to measure against the baseline data captured in the earlier project phases, allowing you to evidence the impact of the improvements that have been made and work towards fully realising the benefits.

5a. Key Activities

Figure 8 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to be incorporated within the Design, Test and Implementation phase. These activities will enhance the improvements through establishing a clear link to the project benefits and evidence the impact that has been made by capturing post-improvement data:

32

5. Design, Test and Implementation Phase

The Design, Test and Implementation phase provides an opportunity to measure against

the baseline data captured in the earlier project phases, allowing you to evidence the

impact of the improvements that have been made and work towards fully realising the

benefits.

5a) Key Activities


incorporated within the Design, Test and Implementation phase. These activities will

enhance the improvements through establishing a clear link to the project benefits and

evidence the impact that has been made by capturing post-improvement data:

Activity: Gather trial timings

Design, Test and Implementation

Activity: Create Improvement Action Plan

Tools: -‐ Improvement Action Plan

-‐ Measurable Benefits Data Plan

Activity: Development of Standard Operating Procedures

Tool: Improvement Action Plan

Activity: Compare new data with baseline data

Tools: -‐ Manual Data Capturing Templates-‐ Benefits Calculation Spreadsheet

-‐ Costing Reference Tool-‐ Benefits Realisation Spreadsheet

Tool: Manual Data Capturing Templates

Figure 8 - Key Activities and Tools for the Design, Test and Implementation Phase





Implement 6. End of


Figure 8 - Key Activities and Tools for the Design, Test and Implementation Phase

27




i. Create Improvement Action Plan

An Improvement Action Plan should be created to convert the agreed improvements into an achievable work plan. Incorporate the relevant benefits into this plan to keep the project team focused on the purpose of the improvements and the impact they will have. It will also identify where further opportunities for data measurement could be possible within the improved way of working.

ii. Development of Standard OperatingProcedures (SOPs)

SOPs should be developed for the improved way of working in order to define the best current known way of performing the process. The SOPs can be used to inform the steps within the process timing sheets to enable data capture post-improvement and can be used to evidence the benefits. Importantly, the use of SOPs also establishes process consistency and therefore, ensures that the improvements made and the benefits gained are sustained.

iii. Utilise Measurable Benefits Data Plan and gather trial data

When the Improvement Action Plan has been completed, the improved process should be trialled prior to wider implementation. This is a critical time to continue to gather data. It is important to avoid the situation where improvements are fully implemented without understanding their impact, therefore, clear communication is essential to ensure all stakeholders understand their role and are aware of any data they are required to capture. The Measurable Benefits Data Plan should be updated at this stage to include the capturing of trial data, to continue to share the responsibility of capturing data, and to drive the project team’s behaviours on evidencing benefits.

Trial data gathering is straightforward to implement by using the same approach as used earlier in the project. The trial data should also be used to identify if further adjustments are required prior to wider implementation, as well as to understand if the anticipated benefits are likely to be realised.

iv. Compare trial data with baseline data

This is the first point in the project life-cycle where you will have captured post-improvement data for the process and can now compare it with the baseline data. This represents the full cycle of the benefits data management approach (Figure 9). Analysis of post-improvement data within the Design, Trial and Implementation phase will allow you to assess if there are measurable improvements and/or where further adjustments are necessary. It is important that further data gathering and analysis are approached as an iterative process so that maximum benefits are realised.


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analysis are approached as an iterative process so that maximum benefits are

realised.





Spreadsheet



Benefits Reporting





5b) Supporting Guidance

i. The Importance of Trial Data

It is essential that management and the project team understand that capturing trial

data to determine the impact of the improvements is just as important as

implementing the improvements themselves, and are aware of time required to

continue to gather data to demonstrate the benefits. The use of the Measurable

Benefits Data Plan and the Data Wall from the early scoping phase through to

implementation will embed the behaviours to evidence benefits and achieve the

engagement at this stage to successfully gather the trial data.

28





i. The importance of trial data

It is essential that management and the project team understand that capturing trial data to determine the impact of the improvements is just as important as implementing the improvements themselves, and are aware of time required to continue to gather data to demonstrate the benefits. The use of the Measurable Benefits Data Plan and the Data Wall from the early scoping phase through to implementation will embed the behaviours to evidence benefits and achieve the engagement at this stage to successfully gather the trial data.

ii. Transfer the ownership for evidencing benefits

In order to fully realise some benefits, data measurement may be required over a time period longer than the project life-cycle (e.g. can only be measured once a year). Again, this can be achieved through effective use of the Measurable Benefits Data Plan by transferring its ownership to the project team or a key stakeholder to complete any outstanding data capture.

Regardless of the length of data measurement required, it is good practice to hand over the Measurable Benefits Data Plan to a key stakeholder in all projects as this is the tool that should be used to plan the ongoing data capture, and evidence the benefits of any further improvements. This will support the project in continuing to evidence benefits beyond the original project activity.

iii. Continue Voice of the Customer activity

Voice of the Customer surveys at this stage provide valuable data to compare with the baseline feedback and evidence the positive impact of the improvements made. This activity is not onerous as the questions used should be the same as the baseline survey. The information gathered provides customer insight that otherwise would not be collected on a large scale, ensuring that the improvements made are valued by the end users.

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6. End of Project Review Phase

The End of Project Review phase provides an opportunity to fully compare the baseline data captured in the earlier project phases with data captured post-improvements, allowing you to measure and fully evidence the benefits of the project.

6a. Key Activities

Figure 10 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to be incorporated within the End of Project Review phase. These activities will demonstrate the project successes to all stakeholders, utilise the lessons learnt to inform future projects, and encourage the evidencing of benefits beyond the project life-cycle:

Figure 10 - Key Activities and Tools for End of Project Phase

36

6. End of Project Review Phase

The End of Project Review phase provides an opportunity to fully compare the baseline data

captured in the earlier project phases with data captured post-improvements, allowing you to

measure and fully evidence the benefits of the project.

6a. Key Activities

Figure 10 provides an overview of the key activities and associated tools that need to

be incorporated within the End of Project Review phase. These activities will

demonstrate the project successes to all stakeholders, utilise the lessons learnt to

inform future projects, and encourage the evidencing of benefits beyond the project

life-cycle:

Activity: Continue data gathering for new baseline

End of Project Phase

Activity: Include benefits within project reports Tools: -‐ End of Project Report with Benefits

-‐ Benefits Exploration Map-‐ Measurable Benefits Data PlanActivity: Share and promote the benefits

Tools: -‐ Measurable Benefits Data Plan-‐ Benefits Realisation Spreadsheet-‐ Manual Data Capturing Tools

Figure 10 - Key Activities and Tools for End of Project Phase





Implement 6. End of


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i. Continue data gathering after wider implementation

Post-improvement data for the fully implemented process should be captured at this stage in order to demonstrate the realised benefits for the project. It is important that the data is captured in the same way as the baseline so that the data can be compared consistently. This activity can be supported by revisiting the Measurable Benefits Data Plan.

The Benefits Exploration Map created within the Project Scoping phase can also be used to evaluate the additional benefits identified during the scoping phase such as the strategic and behavioural benefits.


Once you have completed the data capture and analysis in order to evidence the benefits of a project, the post-improvement data and the demonstrable benefit should be added to the Benefits Realisation Spreadsheet (as recommended in Figure 11).

ii. Include benefits in end of project reports

It is important to use the End of Project Report to demonstrate what the project has delivered and if this is different to what was intended. To achieve this, a benefits review section should be included within your project documentation to communicate the following:

• Benefits that have been measured to date• Benefits that are anticipated in the future, with

timescales where possible• Benefits identified previously that will not be realised

The benefits review section enables you to manage stakeholder expectations regarding the impacts of the project by making a strong connection to the benefits identified and agreed in the Scoping and Start-up phase. Furthermore, it should be used to share the lessons learnt and inform other projects, in particular with regard to benefits that have not been realised, and the expected benefits for similar projects in the future.

In order to fully realise some benefits, data measurement may be required over a time period longer than the project life-cycle (e.g. can only be measured once a year). This can be achieved through adding the Measurable Benefits Data Plan to the End of Project Report, transferring ownership for any outstanding data capture to the project team.

37

i. Continue Data Gathering after Wider Implementation

Post-improvement data for the fully implemented process should be captured at this

stage in order to demonstrate the realised benefits for the project. It is important that

the data is captured in the same way as the baseline so that the data can be

compared consistently. This activity can be supported by revisiting the Measurable

Benefits Data Plan.

The Benefits Exploration Map created within the Project Scoping phase can also be

used to evaluate the additional benefits identified during the scoping phase such as

the strategic and behavioural benefits.





Spreadsheet



Benefits Reporting





Once you have completed the data capture and analysis in order to evidence the

benefits of a project, the post-improvement data and the demonstrable benefit should

be added to the Benefits Realisation Spreadsheet (as recommended in Figure 11).

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i. Who reports the benefits?

As a part of your End of Project Review, it is useful to gain agreement and sign-off from key stakeholders/process owners as to the benefits realised. There may be some tensions as to who ‘claims’ the benefit for the institution, therefore it is important that this is discussed to ensure responsibility for communicating the final benefits is understood and that ‘double-counting’ does not take place for future efficiency returns. Any success achieved from the project should be shared by all colleagues who have been integral in delivering the project.

iii. Share and promote the benefits

Use the Benefits Exploration Map and End of Project Report benefits review to widely communicate the project successes and the anticipated future benefits to all stakeholders. This ensures that stakeholders are aware of how their contribution has resulted in project benefits and that their efforts are appreciated. It also reinforces the importance of data gathering to a wider audience than the project team and drives behaviours to evidence the impact of our work.

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7. Sustainment Phase

The Sustainment phase provides an opportunity to pursue further improvements by establishing a culture of continuous improvement, and a greater sense of accountability and ownership in the process area through the implementation of performance measures.

40

7. Sustainment Phase

The Sustainment phase provides an opportunity to pursue further improvements by

establishing a culture of continuous improvement, and a greater sense of accountability

and ownership in the process area through the implementation of performance

measures.

Activity: Celebrate and communicate benefits to wider community

Sustainment

Activity: Agreeing where further benefits could be evidenced

Activity: Establish performance measures to capture further improvements

Tools: -‐ Data Wall

-‐ End of Project Report

Tools: Sustainment Plan

Figure 12 - Key Activities and Tools for Sustainment Phase

7a Key Activities

i. Agreeing Where Further Benefits Could Be Evidenced

Once a project has been completed, the capturing of data and benefits generally

comes to an end. As a part of ongoing sustainment planning, it is useful to agree

where there are potential benefits that have not yet come into fruition, or if further

improvements are likely to be realised.

This does raise the question of “where do we stop?”, therefore try to only focus on

what matters by considering:

• Will measuring this demonstrate where there are potential/further areas for

improvement?



3. Project Scoping and Start-‐up 4. Diagnostic

5. Design, Test &

Implement 6. End of Project

7. Sustainment

Figure 12 - Key Activities and Tools for Sustainment Phase

33




7a. Key Activities

i. Agree where further benefits could be evidenced

Once a project has been completed, the capturing of data and benefits generally comes to an end. As a part of ongoing sustainment planning, it is vital to agree where there are potential benefits that have not yet come to fruition, or if further improvements are likely to be realised.

This does raise the question of “where do we stop?”, therefore try to only focus on what matters by considering:

• Will measuring this demonstrate where there are potential/further areas for improvement?

• Will measuring this allow the impact of the improvements to be demonstrated?

• Will measuring this capture whether the end beneficiaries, such as students or staff, are more satisfied with the process?

• Will measuring this identify efficiency or cost savings?• Will this information actually be used?

The establishment of six monthly reviews are useful for reviewing sustainment progress and recognising cumulative benefits following the end of a project.

ii. Establish performance measures to continue tocapture benefit data

Performance measures are an essential tool to establish a culture of continuous improvement and enable long term data capture to demonstrate the impact of further improvements. They should be implemented in the Sustainment phase to motivate colleagues to maintain the new way of working and encourage staff to generate and implement further improvements. The performance measures data can be used to evidence the benefits beyond the project life-cycle.

iii. Celebrate and communicate the benefits acrossthe institution

The Data Wall and the End of Project Report are useful tools for sharing the outputs of BPI projects with the wider institution community beyond the key project stakeholders. These tools should be used to showcase how to evidence project benefits, promote BPI, and encourage colleagues to complete a Project Initiation Proposal to improve a process in their own business area.


1. Overview of potential measurable benefits with key tools

This is not an exhaustive list but will allow you to consider the range of benefits that could be measured. It is important that the baseline measurement is captured prior to the implementation of any improvements. Once the improvement(s) have been implemented, determine a suitable ongoing timescale to capture the post-improvement data using the same process as before. This process can be repeated as often as possible when evidencing improvements over months or years.

The data captured can be analysed within the Benefits Calculation Spreadsheet and recorded and tracked on the Benefits Realisation Spreadsheet.

Category Measurable BenefitKey Tool

Measurement ToolAnalysis Tool

Suggested Measurement

Financial

Staff Capacity Savings • Process Timing Sheet • Processing time post-improvement compared to baseline processing time (% reduction)

• Time Saved (hours)• Cost saved (£)

Office Space Saved • Estates/Financial Reports/Charges

• Space saved (m3)• Cost charged for space (£)

Reduced Costs/Expenditure • Budgets/Accounts Reports

• Financial Reports

• Baseline inventory costs compared to inventory costs post-improvement (£ or % reduction)

• Baseline temporary staff expenditure compared to post-improvement (£ or % reduction)

• Saving on IT/Furniture/Reused items (£)

Increased Revenue to the Institution

• Financial Statements • Budget Reports

• Total revenue for most recent financial year compared to total revenue at end of last financial year (£ or %)

Reduced Printing Costs • Manual Data Template• Budgets/Accounts

Reports

• Number of pages saved• Baseline Inventory costs

compared to inventory costs post-improvement (£ or % reduction)

• Baseline shredding/removal/storage costs compared to costs post-improvement (£ or % reduction)

Supporting Tools and Information

Section C


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Supporting Tools and InformationSection C






Quality

Increased Quality • Visual Management• Performance Measures• Process Timing Sheets• Lead Timing Sheets• Pareto Charts

• Baseline number of process steps complete and accurate compared to number post-improvement (% increase)

• Baseline number of errors received compared to number post-improvement (% reduction)

Removal of bottleneck • Visual Management• Performance Measures• Process Timing Sheets• Lead Timing Sheets• Pareto Charts • Value Stream Map

• Baseline number of process steps in bottleneck compared to number post-improvement (% reduction)

• Baseline staff expenditure for temporary staff to deal with bottleneck compared to expenditure post-improvement (£)

Reduced/Removed Backlog • Visual Management• Performance Measures• Process Timing Sheets• Lead Timing Sheets• Pareto Charts • Value Stream Map

• Baseline number of process steps in backlog compared to number post-improvement (% reduction)

• Baseline staff expenditure for temporary staff to deal with backlogs compared to expenditure post-improvement (£)

Reduction in waste/rework/errors

• Visual Management• Performance Measures• Process Timing Sheets• Lead Timing Sheets• Pareto Charts

• Baseline number of errors received compared to number post-improvement (% reduction)

• Baseline number of process steps complete and accurate compared to number post-improvement (% increase)

Increased Conversion Rate • System Reports• Manual Data Capturing

• Customers opting for the preferred action or outcome. Examples:

• Number of students registered compared to the number of offers released (%)

• Number of interview no shows compared to the number of applicants invited to interview (%)

Improved Student/Staff/Customer Experience

• Survey/Voice of the Customer

• Complaints

• Establish baseline satisfaction levels with existing service; repeat Voice of the Customer after implementing improved way of working and compare results (% reduction)

• Baseline number of complaints received compared to number of complaints post-improvement (% reduction)

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Quality

Improved Health & Safety LevelsImproved compliance with external bodies

• Audit Reports• Health and Safety

Reporting

• Comparison of baseline audit results with audits post-improvements

• Number of Health and Safety incidents (% reduction compared to baseline number)

• Elapsed time since last incident

Reduced Emails • System Reports• Manual Data Capturing

• Baseline number of emails sent/received compared to number of emails post-improvement (% reduction)

Reduced Telephone calls • System Reports• Manual Data Capturing

• Baseline number of calls received compared to number of calls post-improvement (% reduction)

Improved Communications • Survey• Manual Data Capturing • System Reports (Email

or Telephone)

• Establish baseline satisfaction levels with existing communication approach; repeat survey after implementing improved way of working and compare results

• Baseline number of communications sent compared to number of communications post-improvement (% reduction)

Impact on environment/society

• Research Findings/Results

• Survey

• Establish baseline satisfaction levels of indirect stakeholders who may be affected by the improvement; repeat survey after implementing improved way of working and compare results

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Operational Delivery

Greater Productivity • Financial reports• System Reports• Manual Data Capture• Benchmarking• Sector reports• KPIs/Performance

Reports

• Total staff hours available compared to total hours of work to be completed (%)

• Baseline quantity of work completed per year/hour compared to quantity of work completed per year/hour post-improvement (%)

• Staff costs as percentage of Institutional income (%)

Overall length of end to end process

• System Reports• Lead Timing Sheet• Value Stream Map

• Improved Lead Time (%)• No of steps in the process (%)

Staff Engagement

Development of local champions/Upskilling of staff

• Training/Workshop Reporting

• Survey

• Number of staff engaged with project/workshops

• Delivery of training and development events

• Transfer of knowledge and skills to staff

Improved morale of team • Survey• Human Resources Data

(anonymous)

• Establish baseline morale levels with existing process; repeat survey after implementing improved way of working and compare results

• Baseline annual sickness absence compared to absence post-improvement (% reduction)

Increased awareness of BPI • Training/Workshop Reporting

• Staff who have engaged with project (%)

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2. Visualising and communicating your benefits

Whether presenting data in reports or on a ‘Data Wall’, visualisation is an extremely powerful method to communicate the benefits and achieve maximum impact. Data visualisation can be used at any phase in the project life-cycle, or when establishing visual performance measures.

The basic bar and pie chart are useful ways to display your information. Many of the applications that you have access to - such as Excel, Smart Art in PowerPoint and Word, Visio and Mind Genius - are ideal for creating simple visuals. Some examples of effective data visualisation are given below:

Figure 13 - Basic column chart to demonstrate initial baseline data before any improvements are made

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Figure 14 - Simple bar chart to compare customer satisfaction baseline data before and after improvement

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Figure 14 - Spider Diagram to compare baseline data at 3, 6 and 12 months post-improvement (Figure based on

original chart from Lincoln University's Continuous Improvement Team)

Figure 15 - More detailed bar chart used to demonstrate the baseline data for students at various stages of a programme

Figure 15 - More detailed column chart used to demonstrate the baseline data for students at various stages of a programme

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Figure 16 - Funnels used for demonstrating baseline conversion data and post-improvement

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Figure 16 - Funnels used for demonstrating baseline conversion data and post-improvement

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3. Tips for driving behaviours and engagement when evidencing benefits

7. Following implementation of the improved way of working, continue to capture post-improvement data and compare with the baseline data to fully realise and evidence the benefits achieved

8. Transfer ownership and accountability for evidencing benefits to the project team by handing over the Measurable Benefits Data Plan

9. Include a review of the project benefits in the End of Project Report to demonstrate what the project has delivered, and if this is different to what was intended

10. Communicate and celebrate the project successes to encourage stakeholders to pursue further opportunities for improvement and promote BPI to the wider institution

11. Establish performance measures to maintain the new way of working, the benefits gained, and to encourage a culture of continuous improvement and long term data capturing

1. Establish a BPI Project Board to ensure that project selection focuses on the potential benefits gained that are aligned with institutional priorities, with resources allocated to agreed priority areas

2. Introduce a consistent data management approach to measure baselines and post-improvement data in order to evidence where improvements have been made and validate the project successes

3. Establish behaviours to evidence project benefits from the very beginning of a BPI project by requesting a Project Initiation Proposal which includes high level benefits scoping and baseline data

4. Develop and actively use a Measurable Benefits Data Plan from the Project Scoping and Start-up phase to reinforce the behaviours towards evidencing benefits and keep the project team on track with the data gathering

5. Encourage the regular review of benefits identified and realised throughout a project through continued use of the Measurable Benefits Data Plan

6. Communicate the project findings using effective visual tools to demonstrate the impact of the data gathered and encourage an understanding of the benefits that can be achieved from making improvements

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4. Sector Case Studies

4a. Postgraduate Taught (PGT)admissions at the University ofStrathclyde

The objective was to review and improve the end to end PGT Admissions process across all academic departments and professional services. The key measurable baseline data used to demonstrate the need for improvement at the Project Initiation phase was that PGT international students had reduced in number by 5% over a 3 year period resulting in a deficit in this budget.

The University systems were limited in providing reporting data, therefore, the data management approach involved a large amount of manual data capture. The following activities gathered baseline data throughout the Project Scoping and Diagnostic phases:

• Quality: — Quality templates within Central Student

Admissions uncovered that 80% of all student offers released from departments required rework before they could be released to students. Additional quality templates were used to understand the type of rework

— System reports identified that 30% of applications were started but not submitted

• Staff Efficiencies - Process timing sheets were used to identify the time taken to assess application forms within academic departments, to review and release the offer from Central Student Admissions, and to deal with rework

• Lead Times – Lead timing sheets were implemented across Central Student Admissions to capture the length of time an application was held within the department, and the length of time for an offer to be released from Central Student Admissions

• Baseline Revenue – Central financial reports were used to determine the baseline international student income prior to improvements

The same data management approach was repeated to capture the post-improvement data following the rollout of the redesigned process to all departments and data was analysed to demonstrate the following project benefits:

• 10% increase in the application completion rate• 9% reduction in overall process time (converted into

efficiency savings)• 33% reduction in lead time• 11% indirect increase in international student income

4b. Postgraduate Research (PGR)Suspension of Studies pilot at theUniversity of Leicester

The Institution-wide PGR Suspension of Studies process was redesigned to address a number of inconsistencies and inefficiencies that were causing more work for administrators across the university and a reduction in service to PGR students.

Throughout the Diagnostic phase, it was necessary to collect a vast amount of process information relatively quickly due to the time constraints of the project. This included email quantities, process and lead times, information regarding the number of suspensions, and the number of handoffs between departments.

The Project Team devised a data collection plan that gave responsibility for each deliverable to a member of the pilot team. This meant that the Project Team could divide the data gathering workload and accomplish the key deliverables faster. It also helped to engage everyone involved in the process by helping them to understand the importance of identifying baselines of the current performance, before the implementation of improvements.

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4c. Patent fee recovery at theUniversity of Strathclyde

The process for recovering patent fees from eligible licensees was redesigned with a view to contributing to our Institutional KPI to increase licensing income through a more proactive patent invoicing approach.

The key measurable baseline data used to demonstrate the need for improvement at the Project Initiation phase was taken from central financial reports which identified that the level of licensing income received was less than expected.

Once the project had been agreed, the following data management approach was taken at the Scoping and Diagnostic phases of the project and repeated at the End of Project phase to measure the baseline and the post-improvement data to evidence the benefits of the project:

• Lead timing sheets used to capture the time taken to invoice licensees (analysis demonstrated the lead time had reduced by 52%)

• Process timing sheets, supported by Standard Operating Procedures, used to capture the times of the improved activity and maintain the measured improvement (analysis demonstrated the processing time had reduced by 8%)

• Central financial reports used to measure the level of licensing income received at end of the financial year (licensing income increased by 53% post-improvement)

4d. Student Wellbeing Centre’s Counselling Service at the University of Lincoln

The Student Wellbeing Centre’s Counselling Service places clients deemed ‘at risk’ on a priority system waiting list which at peak times can be too long (initial baseline data demonstrated a waiting time of 8 to 10 weeks between initial consultation and counselling). As a result, this process was selected for a four day rapid improvement event.

As part of the evidencing data approach, a questionnaire was sent to all members of the Counselling Service to identify the ‘soft’ baseline metrics of the staff experience. Each question was scored from 1 to 5 (Poor to Excellent) with an average applied against all responses given to each question.

These metrics will be re-collected at 3, 6 and 12 months post–project implementation to evidence if there is any improvement in the staff experience. The use of the questionnaire prior to the improvement workshops enabled anonymous feedback to be given so that staff could speak freely ahead of the workshops.

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4d. Student Wellbeing Centre’s Counselling Service at the University of Lincoln

The Student Wellbeing Centre’s Counselling Service place clients deemed ‘at risk’ on a

priority system waiting list which at peak times can be too long (initial baseline data

demonstrated a waiting time of 8 to 10 weeks between initial consultation and counselling).

As a result, this process was selected for a four day rapid improvement event.

As part of the evidencing data approach, a questionnaire was sent to all members of the

Counselling Service to identify the ‘soft’ baseline metrics of the staff experience. Each

question was scored from 1 to 5 (Poor to Excellent) with an average applied against all

responses given to each question.

These metrics will be re-collected at 3, 6 and 12 months post–project implementation to

evidence if there is any improvement in the staff experience. The use of the questionnaire

prior to the improvement workshops enabled anonymous feedback to be given so that staff

could speak freely ahead of the workshops.

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4e. Student registration at theUniversity of Strathclyde

The objective was to reduce the registration process waiting time for international students. The key measurable data used to demonstrate the need for improvement at the Project Initiation phase identified that it took a maximum of 4 hours for students to register using the current process.

The data management approach involved a large amount of manual data capture carried out during the Scoping and Diagnostic phase of the project which took place throughout the live registration week, and repeated at the End of Project phase which was registration week the following year. This measured the baseline and the post-improvement data to evidence the benefits of the project:

• Lead Time - Lead timing sheets used to capture the time taken for a student to join the queue and to progress through each station in the registration process (analysis demonstrated the average waiting time for international students was reduced by 83%)

• Quality - Templates used to record problems and capture instances of rework/disruption to flow focused improvement efforts

• Costs - Analysis of registration layout resulted in an annual saving of £5000 per year post-improvement on furniture hire

4f. Maternity Leave Notificationprocess at the University ofSheffield

The institution-wide maternity leave notification process at The University of Sheffield was redesigned to standardise and improve the overall end-to-end lead time.

Prior to running the improvement workshops, baseline data was collected using a large sample of maternity leave notification forms (system data was not available). The forms were retrospectively analysed to capture the process dates, cycle times and use of the comments box to understand types of rework.

The data management approach to measure the baseline and post-improvement data resulted in the following benefits:

• Lead time – Post-improvement the lead time agreed for processing all forms was reduced to a maximum of one month (previously there had been vast variation in lead time from one week to eight months).

• Staff capacity savings - Staff time savings were calculated using the reduction in process steps and the time taken to carry these out. These were calculated to be a reduction from 74 steps to 32 steps.

• Staff satisfaction – Staff who reported that they were satisfied with the process (captured through focus groups) increased from 50% to 92%.

• Quality - A full waste analysis of the process was carried out calculating that 79% of the process had non-value added steps. A number of these steps were removed resulting in reduced error rates from 84% to 23%. The impact of this was also seen in the perceived number of reduced enquiries received although, no baseline data was collected for this.

• Mitigation of risk - The improved standardised process across the University means that a risk assessment is now undertaken for all pregnant women.

Further opportunities for improvement were identified in similar processes and the improved way of working has also been applied to the paternity, adoption, and surrogacy processes, allowing further benefits and efficiencies to be realised.

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4g. EQAL Programme at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU)

Statistical analysis of the data demonstrated that EQAL had a positive impact on student satisfaction. A comparison between baseline and post-EQAL data demonstrated a reduction in assessment load for all undergraduate courses.

However, the staff Voice of the Customer data indicated a negative perception from academic staff towards EQAL: generally staff had resisted the strategic direction taken by EQAL and were thus somewhat antipathetic to its outcomes.

This case study demonstrates that clear benefits can be measured throughout a major organisational change. One of the key lessons learnt is that stakeholder engagement is essential in the early project stages to communicate the findings of data gathering and ensure they understand the need for change and the benefits to be gained by doing so.

6 Bradley, Gerard (2006), Benefits Realisation Management: A practical guide to achieving benefits through change. Gower Publishing, England

EQAL (Enhancing Quality in Assessment and Learning) was the biggest transformation programme that MMU has undertaken, spanning four years (2010-2014) and including major curriculum review and change as well as changes in supporting systems and processes.

At the outset of the programme a detailed benefits identification process was carried out using the Benefits Realisation Management methodology6. Over 100 benefits were identified, and because these were considered too many to measure, the programme board selected 20 priority benefits to focus on.

The benefits included directly quantifiable ones such as a reduction in assessment load for all undergraduate students and quantifiable but less direct benefits such as increased student satisfaction (less direct because other interventions may also have a bearing on this). Some proxy benefits were also identified for intangibles such as better quality assurance for programme and unit creation and review; the proxy was a redesigned process with fewer steps.

In the data management approach three types of data gathering were used: automated systems reports to provide the student records data and annual internal student satisfaction survey, manual data gathering through focus groups and structured interviews, and online data gathering via staff surveys.

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5. Glossary and key terms

Baseline Data – Initial data that captures the current condition of the process before any improvements have been made

Benefit - A benefit should establish a clear direction of improvement, recognised by all stakeholders, through the use of data to demonstrate the positive change between two time points.

Benefits Realisation –The measured improvement delivered from a previously identified benefit

Business Process Improvement (BPI) – a systematic method for analysing and redesigning operational processes to maximise effectiveness, efficiencies, and customer experience

BPI Project Board - A group of high level stakeholders who provide overall governance and decision making for BPI initiatives based on the proposed benefits and their alignment with the institution’s strategic priorities

Conversion Rate - The percentage of customers opting for the preferred action or outcome

Cycle Time – The length of time for people to complete an activity, process step, or whole process

Data Wall – A dedicated space within a project room or relevant business area to display and communicate data in a transparent and visual way

Design, Test and Implementation - A phase within the project life-cycle where the process in question is redesigned and implemented to all key stakeholders, following the information uncovered during the Diagnostic phase

Diagnostic – A phase within the project life-cycle where the process in question is mapped out with evidence gathered to understand the current condition of the process and identify where improvement efforts should be focused

Efficiencies – Improvements in productivity across institutional activities that offer value for money with minimal waste and expense

End of Project - A phase within the project life-cycle where the process in question has been redesigned and fully rolled out to all stakeholders. An assessment of the project to date will be carried out

Handoff – the transfer of activity or data from one person/department to another

Institution Preparation – A key stage which enables an institution to establish the BPI governance structures, priorities and drivers for the institution, as well as a robust data management approach to evidence and report benefits from a project level through to an institutional level

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) – Particular activities within the organisation, the identification and quantification of which enhances management knowledge

Lead Time – The length of time from beginning to end of a process step or whole operational process

Lean – A mode of operation that creates greater value for customers in a more efficient and effective way

Manual Data Capture – a means of collecting information manually when automated data capture is not available

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Performance Measures - A proactive and visual approach to help understand, manage and focus efforts on realising the organisational objectives

Process Timing Sheet – A tool for capturing the length of time for people to carry out and complete an activity, process step, or whole process

Project Initiation – A phase within the project life-cycle where proposed BPI projects can be evaluated based on the high level benefits identified

Project Initiation Proposal - A document that identifies a possible business process improvement project, which includes enough detail for the BPI Project Board to evaluate the project based on the proposed benefits and it’s alignment with Institution’s strategic BPI priorities.

Project Initiator – A key stakeholder who knows enough about the process in question and the intended change to gather high level baseline data that demonstrates the scale of the process, and justifies the need for improvement

Project Scoping and Start-up - A phase within the project life-cycle where the process in question has been approved and the project is being thoroughly planned and scoped

Project Sponsor – An appointed project champion who is crucial for generating engagement and support from key stakeholders that are essential to the success of the project. This person plays a key role in supporting the identification of benefits and encouraging data gathering activities across key stakeholders

Rework – the unnecessary effort required to revise, fix or re-write an activity or process step

Standard Operating Procedures – A document that clearly sets out how to perform the complete sequence of a process, one action at a time, from start to finish to ensure consistency of approach

Silent Post-it Note Activity – An approach used in improvement workshops to allow all participants to input into the session. Each individual is allocated with post-its and given a period of time to provide his/her feedback without any talking initially

Sustainment - A phase within the project life-cycle where the improved process in question has been implemented and maintained for a period of time

Value Stream Map – A visual tool to depict the flow of information, materials and systems through a process that also includes metrics on processing, lead and waiting times

Visual Management – A visual tool to communicate the current status of a process in a clear and transparent way to help motivate others through the sharing of information

Voice of the Customer – A method for capturing the customer’s expectations, experiences and preferences with respect to the process

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6. Tools and templates

The following basic tools and templates are available online to enhance your data capturing and evidencing benefits activities:

1. Manual Data Capturing – Process Timing Sheet

2. Manual Data Capturing – Lead Timing Sheet

3. Manual Data Capturing – Quality Template

4. Benefits Calculation Spreadsheet

5. Central Costing Reference Tool

6. Benefits Realisation Spreadsheet

7. Measurable Benefits Data Plan

8. Benefits Exploration Map (A1 and A4)

9. Improvement Action Plan

Please visit:

http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/evidencingbenefits

http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/evidencingbenefits

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7. Further information and resources

We have developed an online tool that contains all the information in this Guide along with the additional tools and templates. We are keen to hear your feedback and gather your case studies of good practice to share further learning across the sector.

Please visit: http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/evidencingbenefits

Further information on available benefits realisation approaches and improvement methodologies:

• Benefits Realisation Management: Bradley, Gerard (2006), Benefits Realisation Management: A practical guide to achieving benefits through change. Gower Publishing, England

• Project Benefits Management: Melton, Trish; Iles-Smith, Peter; Yates, Jim (2007), Project Benefits Management: linking your project to the business. Published by Elsevier, USA

• Lean Enterprise Institute (2015), Home page, http://www.lean.org/ (Date accessed: 3/7/15)

• Lean Six Sigma: George, Michael. L; Rowlands, David; Price, Mark; Maxey, John (2005), The Lead Six Sigma Pocket Toolbook. Published by McGraw-Hill, USA

• Vanguard (2015), The Vanguard Method, http://www.systemsthinking.co.uk/home.asp, (Date accessed: 3/7/15)

Additional support in calculating and tracking your benefits, please see the tool developed by Jisc:

• Jisc (2011), Improve your effectiveness with the Jisc infoNet Impact Calculator, http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/improve-your-effectiveness-with-the-jisc-infonet-impact-calculator-04-feb-2011, (Date accessed: 26/6/15)

Inspiration on how to visualisation your data:

• Visualising Data (2015), Home page, http://www.visualisingdata.com/, (Date accessed: 26/6/15)

Information and support for developing Voice of the Customer surveys:

• Harvard (2007), Program on Survey Research: Tip Sheet on Question Wording: http://psr.iq.harvard.edu/book/questionnaire-design-tip-sheet, (Date accessed: 26/6/15)

• Wiggins and Bowers (2015), Designing Survey Questions, http://faculty.washington.edu/janegf/DsgnSrvyQues.pdf, (Date accessed: 26/6/15)

• Office of Quality Improvement at Wisconsin-Madison University (2010), Survey fundamentals a guide to designing and implementing surveys, http://oqi.wisc.edu/resourcelibrary/uploads/resources/Survey_Guide.pdf, (Date accessed: 26/6/15)

Further information on the work across the sector to increase efficiencies:

• Efficiency Exchange (2015), Working for a smarter, stronger university sector: http://www.efficiencyexchange.ac.uk/, (Date accessed: 09/07/2015)

http://www.lean.org/

http://www.systemsthinking.co.uk/home.asp

http://www.jisc.ac.uk/news/improve-your-effectiveness-with-the-jisc-infonet-impact-calculator-04-feb-2011



http://psr.iq.harvard.edu/book/questionnaire-design-tip-sheet

http://psr.iq.harvard.edu/book/questionnaire-design-tip-sheet

http://faculty.washington.edu/janegf/DsgnSrvyQues.pdf

http://faculty.washington.edu/janegf/DsgnSrvyQues.pdf

http://oqi.wisc.edu/resourcelibrary/uploads/resources/Survey_Guide.pdf

http://oqi.wisc.edu/resourcelibrary/uploads/resources/Survey_Guide.pdf

http://www.efficiencyexchange.ac.uk/

Business Improvement TeamUniversity of StrathclydeMcCance Building16 Richmond StreetGlasgow G1 1XQUnited Kingdom

Email: [email protected]: 0141 548 4017Website: www.strath.ac.uk/hr/businessimprovementteam/Twitter: https://twitter.com/unistrathlean Online Guide to Evidencing Benefits: http://ewds.strath.ac.uk/evidencingbenefits

Business Improvement at the University of Strathclyde works with a philosophy of continuous improvement that encourages employee engagement and provides the building blocks essential to embodying the Organisational Values, helping staff to apply them each day in the way we approach our work. This helps staff to focus on strategic objectives and empowers all staff to make a positive contribution towards achieving those objectives.

This approach is underpinned by a variety of business improvement tools and techniques that are applied flexibly to reflect the particular requirements of the business area.

A Guide to Evidencingthe Benefits of BusinessProcess Improvement inHigher EducationHeather Lawrence and Dr Nicola J Cairns