Do you still remember when we wrote about spaghetti, processes, and how to eat without staining your shirt? Regardless of the answer, here you can recall it.

In the meantime, today we would like to start with the question of what a process is. And before you think it's a joke and exchange glances, wondering if we're serious, we are indeed serious.

Broadly defined, processes are examined and described in many different ways. Does this mean that there are no misunderstandings in this area during the implementation of a project with a client? Of course, there are. They occupy a significant part of our daily work. But can we move on to a conversation about process optimization, automation, work methodologies, and other details if there is a risk that we won't fully understand each other? Sure, we can. However, we still value effective communication and understand its crucial role on the road to success.

Processes, Closer Than We Think

So, before we talk about how we see processes, what challenges we face, and how we support our partners, let's go back to spaghetti for a moment.

Let's imagine a situation where we want to eat carbonara. And at this stage, the first questions arise:

• Will we prepare it ourselves, or will we go to a restaurant?
• What's our budget for enjoying this pleasure?
• Is our goal to achieve the highest quality of taste, or will satisfying hunger be sufficient?

Let's say we choose the option of testing our skills and preparing the dish ourselves, but we have no idea how to cook it. And here, additional questions come to mind:

• Do we know someone who could help us?
• Are we looking for a recipe on the Internet?
• What products will we need?

The number of questions increases, and with each subsequent answer or decision, more arise. Is good preparation necessary before starting the process of cooking carbonara? Oh! Our favorite word "process" has appeared, hasn't it? Yes, because that is the process. We have a goal, we need to start from something, perform a sequence of actions, preferably in the right order, and all of this happens within a finite time, leading us to a certain outcome.

Will we be satisfied after completing all the actions? Will we achieve success or failure? It depends on many factors. However, if we have prepared well and defined the goal, such as treating ourselves to the highest quality taste, we can measure this success by looking at the plate after eating and checking our level of satisfaction. Simple, isn't it?

Even in the case of cooking carbonara, not necessarily.

Do we see processes, or is it still tasks?

So why are we telling you about food? Because it's easy to get tangled up in details and lose sight of the goal. Has it happened to you? Our experiences show that precisely defining needs and focusing on what we want to achieve is one of the most significant challenges in any project.

With partners from e-commerce, banking, logistics, or insurance sectors, we talk about processes, but in the context of slightly different tasks. These are activities handled by the system but also by individuals specializing in various business areas.

Now, let's imagine the after-sales process. Our goal may be customer satisfaction with the quality of order fulfillment.

• Do we monitor the product's transportation to the customer?
• How will we find out if the package has been lost by the courier?
• Have we taken care of sending email communication to the customer that will reduce, for example, incoming calls with questions like "when will I receive my order"?

Let's move on to complaint processes. Despite our efforts, the customer is not satisfied with the purchase. Here, our goal may be to shorten the customer's dissatisfaction time.

• Do we know what to do when a customer wants and has the right to return or exchange a product?
• Does the same employee have the competence to handle a customer returning and exchanging a purchase?
• At what point is it safest to refund the funds to the customer's account?

I think in every business where employees are employed, there are also processes related to processing leave requests. The goal may be, for example, to minimize paper usage and handle everything electronically.

• Will the leave request go directly to the appropriate person?
• How will the employee find out about our approval or refusal?
• Do we need to arrange a replacement during the employee's absence?

When will technologies meet processes?

The number of tasks needed to achieve the goals of a given business increases with the size of the organization. Too many orders? Legal regulations changing too quickly that you need to comply with? Too many tasks? Not enough time? How quickly can we react to changes?

Meeting these needs are technologies that help manage tasks, priorities, and automation that assigns tasks to employees with the right competencies based on specific needs. With the use of IT technologies, we can also assist in document generation, facilitate correspondence within the scope of tasks. An infinite range of possibilities.

• Do you, while facing business challenges, view them as part of the process?
• Do you model processes in your organizations?
• If so, do you create analytical models or also executable ones?
• Do you use Business Process Analysis (BPA) tools?
• Have you ever considered the business benefits resulting from implementing low-code applications? Or do you think it's a totally overhyped matter?

Summary

If you have never asked yourself such questions before, we suggest starting with defining processes in your organization, considering multiple perspectives. It's important to remember that an analyst sees them differently, a programmer has a different view, and an employee tasked with verification and document generation for a client sees them in yet another way. If you're curious about how it all connects, find something useful for yourself; we invite you to delve deeper. How do you see processes?