Process renovation: The best approach to process excellence

When process changes are introduced gradually, they make realignment significantly easier

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Bree Barsanti
Bree Barsanti
01/27/2025

business renovation concept

Too many businesses treat process excellence like building a new house instead of renovating an old one. The mindset is subtly different.

A new home is built to a plan and carefully constructed, piece by piece. When it’s complete, the family moves in and begins living in the space. Oftentimes, it’s only at that point that they discover elements of the design that don’t work as they’d hoped or that looked fine on paper but don’t suit everyday life. While everything is new and fits the plan, it’s only at delivery that those plans get experienced and explored by those most affected by it, and by then it’s already set in stone (literally).

By contrast, renovations are messier, but they’re experienced in real-time. Areas like kitchens and bathrooms can’t be decommissioned for weeks until the finished project is delivered, so improvements are added incrementally. As they are, the people living with them get to see the changes and make adjustments as they go along, ensuring a good fit. The plan is very important, but it isn’t the only driver for the change. While the outcome may differ in some ways from the original vision, the results are generally a better fit. This is a much better model for process excellence.

Continuous improvement makes changes easier to maintain

When any project focuses exclusively on the final delivery, it runs a number of significant risks. There is always going to be friction with change, but a large-scale change must deal with much more organizational inertia. It’s going to be harder to implement such a big shift and probably requires another change management project just to launch it. Applying an entirely new process over existing practices will be stressful and potentially disruptive to business until the new procedures become familiar. When process changes are introduced gradually, they make realignment significantly easier. Continuous improvement allows teams to adjust their ways of working by degrees, and those changes are easier to maintain.

Along the path between planning and delivery, a lot can change too. Technology is always advancing and industries are evolving at a rapid rate. Markets shift, and regulations are updated at every level. What seemed like an ideal approach at the beginning may be inadequate by the time it’s ready to deliver or possibly need completely reworking the moment it’s ready to deploy. That can be a significant cost in time and resources. A continuous improvement approach can account for these changes as they happen, adjusting the target outcomes to align with changing contexts. Processes can pivot to account for new compliance requirements or improved technologies. By recognizing the immediate needs as well as the strategic goals, the plan can be adjusted effectively, reducing or eliminating the need for costly reworking.

A big part of that can be feedback. Someone renovating a kitchen may decide that the countertop design they’d planned isn’t going to be as usable as they’d thought and so adjust the layout to make it something that will work. Great process management tools invite users to provide suggestions about how to improve their work and create avenues for conversation about ongoing changes. Getting input from end users before delivering a complete solution ensures that you get both subject matter experts on board and outcomes that will be effective.

True process excellence is a path, not a goal

This is why a renovation mindset is the best approach to process management. Process excellence isn’t about dropping something new and perfect into the business in three months, it’s about making changes that lift performance now, tomorrow and at every step. It’s continuous improvement.

The ultimate difference is one of focus. Both a new home and a renovation aim to create a useful and enjoyable environment. However, one is oriented towards delivering that goal in its entirety somewhere in the future, while the other is looking at the current situation and considering what can be made better immediately, on the path to that ultimate goal.

True process excellence isn’t a goal but a path. Just ask anyone who has done renovations and they will tell you that a project is rarely ever finished. There are always new ideas that spring to mind. It’s because every change brings greater satisfaction, increased efficiency or reduced costs. As those improvements deliver benefits, more improvements become apparent. It’s a cycle of identifying pain points, inefficiencies and waste and, as they are eliminated, seeing the next bottleneck, breakdown or unnecessary cost. Continuous improvement keeps strategic goals in mind but doesn’t neglect everyday operations, delivering benefits from incremental changes along the way.


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