How to achieve process integration using the Design Structure Matrix (DSM)

Process integration is a key component of successful process excellence. Process integration involves streamlining and formalizing the input-output connections between business processes to ensure smooth information flow, efficient delivery of work products and added value for end users.

The Design Structure Matrix (DSM) is a visual tool used to model and analyze complex systems by mapping the relationships between elements. Tyson Browning, professor of operations management, Neeley School of Business, Texas Christian University, has authored research on using DSM to support process integration and enhance process excellence.

PEX Network sat down with Browning to learn more about the convergence of process integration with the DSM and what is means for process excellence in modern businesses.

PEX Network: What is process integration?

Tyson Browning: Process integration is the action of formalizing the input-output connections among business processes, so that the information, deliverables and work products they produce flow smoothly and add value to their recipients.

General integration requires confirming each input-output relationship and reaching agreement about its name, value attributes and key performance indicators (KPIs). Specific integration requires further agreement about specific instances of deliverables, such as required levels of KPIs, deadlines and costs/prices. Process integration is a prerequisite for synchronization of flow and the establishment of accountability across organizational silos.

Process integration is especially critical at the enterprise level, where processes cross functional and organizational boundaries, yet sound integration seems to elude many organizations. Some reasons for this include poor understanding of the motivations and methods for successful integration.

PEX Network: What is the Design Structure Matrix?

TB: It’s a square matrix that represents the elements in a network or system and their relationships with each other. The elements populate the diagonal of the matrix (even though their names often appear to the left of the rows and/or above the columns), and the off-diagonal cells in a row show the input(s) to the element in that row, differentiated by source depending on the column.

For example, in the below DSM, element B receives inputs from elements A, C, D, F, H and I. Since each mark in the DSM is both an input and an output (depending on one’s point of view), the off-diagonal cells in a column show the output(s) from the element in that column, differentiate by destination depending on the row. For example, element B provides outputs to elements C, D, F and H.

This picture is a simple, binary DSM – with each off-diagonal cell being empty or having a mark of some kind – but DSMs are often extended and customized with colors, shading, numbers and other symbols that convey the number, type, strength or other properties of interfaces, connections or relationships. Advanced DSM applications may also expand or hide submatrices (e.g. subprocesses – replacing a single row and column with several or collapsing several rows and columns into one) to provide a lower- or higher-level view of a system.

The process DSM can also add a time dimension, where upstream processes appear towards the upper-left of the matrix and downstream ones to the lower-right. Then, sub-diagonal marks imply a (desirable) feed-forward of information, deliverables and work products, while super-diagonal marks note actual or potential feedback loops – the prime causes of rework, cost and schedule risk. For further information about DSM methods and applications, see this book.

An example Design Structure Matrix (DSM)

PEX Network: How can businesses implement process integration with the Design Structure Matrix

TB: In my work with several large organizations, they approached process integration by making it entirely the job of a centralized group. This didn’t go well, because they didn’t fully understand the various processes they were supposed to integrate, the details of their interactions and because they became overwhelmed with the amount of information to manage. Moreover, the various process owners and participants didn’t buy into the integration that the central group sought to impose.

A more effective approach uses the central group as an orchestrator, commissioning each process area to integrate with others via direct discussions. With each area representing their own process with a DSM – and furthermore noting their external inputs and outputs – these DSM “puzzle pieces” can then be put together into a “DSM of DSMs.” Often, initially, there are a large number of off-diagonal cells where one process proposes an input to be received from another process, but that other process does not propose the identical item as an output, or vice versa. These disconnects are highlighted with red background shading in the cells. As process owners resolve these disconnects, the red cells turn green and processes become integrated. See these two papers (1 and 2) for more information.

Join us at All Access: BPM Business Process Management 2025 and learn how to identify and improve key processes!

PEX Network: What are the benefits of process integration with the Design Structure Matrix?

TB: Beyond making it easy to pass process audits and assessments, process integration enables process synchronization and smooth flow of information, deliverable, and work products throughout the enterprise.

Moreover, general integration greatly accelerates specific integration. When the general parameters of each relationship are mutually clear, negotiating the inevitable adjustments is much faster and easier. This is the essence of execution, commitment-based management and accountability. It empowers complex organizations to move faster through the OODA loop (observing, orienting, deciding, acting).

PEX Network: What are the biggest challenges of process integration with the Design Structure Matrix?

TB: The DSM is merely a representation scheme that simplifies the picture of a complex network or system. As such, it provides a helpful graphical user interface (GUI) for process-integration information. However, those using a DSM for this purpose have found that it prompts them to ask new questions and seek new data about process relationships – and often these questions can be tough to answer, because they require getting two or more parties together who might not otherwise communicate well.

However, “forcing” this to happen is also one of the biggest benefits of process integration. Without question, process integration is challenging. It requires organizational willpower and leadership from the very top, because it cuts across the typical lines of jurisdiction and authority in organizations. As it’s so tough, having a tool like DSM to make it somewhat easier is a big plus. Effective process integration opens the door to big improvements in enterprise effectiveness and productivity, with everyone on the same page and fewer dropped balls and fumbled handoffs.

All Access: Change Management or Business Transformation 2025

All Access: Change Management or Business Transformation 2025 from PEX Network will help professionals get an understanding of the latest developments in change management, including how to overcome resistance to change, how to create a culture of change, and how to measure the success of change initiatives.

Register Now