Business Process & Gap Analysis Tools

• Gap analysis allows management to study the difference between the desired performance and actual performance of the work force. Christine Balderas/Photodisc/Getty Images

  Business process and gap analysis help an organization identify priorities. The analysis allows the organization to specify performance issues and allocate proper resources. The performance analysis can be conducted using a variety of tools, such as reviews of focus groups, organizational information and interviews. Observations from performers, suppliers, customers and subject-matter experts can be used, as well. Such an analysis can reveal a gap between actual work-force capability and that which is needed.

Focus Groups

• Key people in the organization are identified to form focus groups. Information on the current and preferred performance and skill levels of workers can be obtained. Issues affecting performance and solutions can be identified. The focus groups allow the researcher to form a hypothesis that can be tested though surveys or other methods. Nonverbal behaviors can be noted in the group. Focus groups require time and resources. Members can influence other members. It may be necessary to have more than one facilitator for a focus group. Skilled facilitation is required so all members are heard.

Surveys and Questionnaires

• Surveys vary greatly in the time and money required. The researcher should choose the best instrument to gather the desired data. There may be a need to do more than one type of survey and compare the data that were gathered. Surveys are relatively inexpensive, and tallying results usually is simple. It is easy to determine how many people responded. Qualitative and quantitative data can be obtained. Wording must be precise to get the desired data. A large enough sample of people is necessary to make data reliable.

Monitoring

• Competitor actions, markets and performance of parts of the organization can be monitored to indicate that actions are within desired limits. Statistical process control rules can be used for special cause variations. The gap analysis makes it possible to know when action is required. The gap analysis should be ongoing in order to avoid any problems in the later stages.

Benchmarking

• The cycle time of every process should be noted. This can serve as a benchmark to measure other organizations with similar processes. These benchmarks can determine if corrective actions in programs such as Six Sigma have had any effect. Patterns should be considered in this analysis. Seasonal and cyclical patterns should be considered. An average over the period can be compared with an average over a similar period. Relationships between parts of the organization should be considered. An improvement in one part of the organization that results in a decline in another is not a net improvement.