There is a concept in project management called the ‘Iron Triangle’ which describes the competing tensions of bringing a project to completion. The idea is that you can only ever have two of the three greatest demands for any project – cheap, fast and good.
In process management we have our own iron triangle that often challenges the best process excellence initiatives: the tension between reducing costs, accelerating production and maintaining compliance.
All too often the price is paid in compliance, as businesses focus on cutting costs or streamlining processes without considering the governance required to do so effectively. The explosion of automation tools in the market in recent years has facilitated some excellent approaches to process management, but there needs to be a careful consideration of all three sides of the iron triangle. I don’t believe it’s impossible to balance those tensions, but it does need to be done carefully and intentionally.
The key is using a comprehensive process management tool that addresses your organization’s process holistically. The right process platform addresses more than just risk, waste or cost. It considers all the factors together and allows your teams to improve their processes in a balanced and effective way, building processes that are lean, efficient and compliant.
Map well
The starting place is complete and comprehensive process maps that accurately capture your business processes and practices. For this you need buy-in from your frontline teams, the subject matter experts who can give a clear account of the as-is position. Without an effective picture of the way your processes function, you can’t confidently address issues of cost or efficiency without risking missing vital factors. Working with process experts, your staff can provide insights into the procedures while being guided in best practices for processes.
More importantly, you can’t have a comprehensive grasp of the compliance ramifications of every step if you haven’t got visibility over them. Effective process capturing identifies not just where the risk and compliance demands lie, but the potential flow-on effects that changes will have in the rest of your operations.
A good process management tool will integrate risk factors like this into the process maps and documentation, ensuring there is full visibility for good governance as well as process improvement. Risk owners and RACI matrices should be built into the fabric of the process where risks are present to keep compliance front-of-mind.
Automate effectively
With effective process documentation in place, the iron triangle suddenly becomes a lot more flexible. Process maps and analysis will quickly identify breakdown points and repetition that is easily improved through the use of process automation tools like workflows or robotic process automation (RPA). Using an effective process management platform ensures that compliance checkpoints and audit trails can be integrated into those improvements too, building a layer of compliance certainty alongside the efficiency.
That means that rather than increasing risks by making changes to processes without visibility over the full implications, governance steps can be built into the improvements. Good automation includes approval systems and verifications, utilizing data checks to validate process content and reduce errors while routing sign-offs efficiently to the right people every time. These kinds of improvements accelerate process execution cycles and eliminate manual activity, contributing to two of the sides of the iron triangle without compromising effective oversight.
The iron triangle problem is a very real challenge in project management and process improvement. The different facets can easily compete or conflict, but a comprehensive approach to process excellence can dismantle the tension to a large degree. The secret is a holistic approach to processes that doesn’t sacrifice compliance for productivity but builds both together through well-crafted processes supported by effective tools.
At GBTEC, our process excellence platform leverages leading artificial intelligence (AI) and automation capabilities to make this kind of process improvement possible, dissolving the silos of compliance, cost and productivity to enhance overall process excellence. In a world of growing complexity and shrinking margins for error, an effective and comprehensive tool like BIC Platform is no longer a background function but a strategic necessity that will contribute to your business’ competitive advantage.
Register for Workshop: From Continuous Improvement to Process Innovation on 14 August 2025!