Why Process Development is Important

JulieAnne Gniadek

April 30, 2022

We’ve seen it all too many times…

There are numerous factors that play a role in ensuring team and project success: software adoption, on-time project delivery, team morale, among others.

Through our years of professional experience and analysis, we find one key thing missing—every time. And that is PROCESS…

Process development involves a lot more than simply creating steps to complete a series of tasks. Before you implement a process, you need to have a solid understanding of your business’ or organization’s goals and roadmap, and your team’s weak points.

Think of process development like rotating the tires on your car. We all know we should do it, but we often forget about it… or not consider it a priority.

However, the consequences of not rotating your tires can mean that at least two of your tires wear out faster than the others. The end result? You spend more money on tires over the course of time.

Process is like that. Ignore or disregard it, and you sacrifice time, money, and efficiency. In this article, we will explain what process development is and why it’s important.

What is Process Development?

Regardless of the industry, field, organization type, or department, process development is essential for achieving goals. Those goals could be project-related or organizational goals.

Processes should be repeatable and reliable and ensure that the final results and outcomes are always consistent.

For example, process development involves incorporating a series of checkpoints along the way to keep everything in line and accurate. Whether it’s adding an additional layer of QA or developing a “preflight” checklist before publishing an asset or sending a deliverable to a client for review, these additional steps need to be included in a well-developed process.

Why is Process Development Important?

It might seem obvious, but from what we’ve seen with clients, it isn’t. Unfortunately, all too many clients—and their teams—often treat process as a suggestion rather than a requirement. Team members often think, “Yeah, that’s the process, but I prefer to do things my way.”

In order for process to be effective and drive desired outcomes, it requires complete adoption. And by complete we mean 100% adoption. Not 93.5% or 99.5%—100%.

In short, here are some top reasons why process development is important:

Increases efficiency
Increases productivity
Improves communication
Improves team morale
Reduces errors and risks
Reduces waste

How to Build Processes—the Right Way

What’s the easiest way to remember process development? A good process is made up of these key elements:

Proven – A well-developed process delivers proven, measurable results—with the caveat that it can take several cycles to see hard quantitative, and even qualitative data.
Repeatable – A well-developed process is repeatable. This goes for everything your firm or agency does, from client onboarding to project delivery, and even supporting the ad-hoc tasks in between.
Ownership – Accountability is one of the core rules of execution. This means that every process needs an “owner” to oversee and monitor the process but to also ensure that each player is doing his or her part in the process and at the right time.
Compatible – Processes must be compatible with the organization’s culture and higher-level organizational goals.
Executable – Each step within the process must be realistic and executable.
Sustainable – It can be easy to overcomplicate processes. However, by overcomplicating your processes, you are decreasing your chances of team adoption. Overly complex or complicated processes only frustrate or confuse team members and clients. Processes should be sustainable and scalable.
Successful – If a process reduces the time spent on back-and-forth communication, streamlines work efforts, reduces errors, keeps all stakeholders on the same page, and is measurable, then you can call your process a real success.

Here are some questions to ask when developing the right process to best support projects:

What is the timeline for deliverables?
What format is required for each deliverable?
When do they need to be approved by the client?
Who are the approvers?
Who are our resources, and who is doing what?
What do we need to do to test the campaign before launch?

Where to Find Process Development Specialists

Although we have provided you with the core steps that you need to develop and optimize your own processes, if the thought of process development is still overwhelming to you, or you just don’t have the time to think about it, we can help.

At Jaguar Business Solutions, we specialize in business process management, process development, and workflow design, helping many businesses, organizations, and agencies just like you to increase efficiency, increase team morale, and operate like the well-oiled machine you should be.