Explain like I'm five · Systems

What is BPR (Business Process Reengineering)?

BPR, told as a story about redrawing a broken, overcomplicated repair process from scratch instead of tweaking it piece by piece.

intakewaitre-diagnosere-writefixing one car takes too many steps, each one stallingtweaking the old way bit by bit only goes so far

Fixing one car takes too many steps, each one stalling.Tweaking the old way bit by bit only goes so far.

intake form, diagnosis sheet, quote, work order, pickup slip — five separate papersspeed up one step, and rewriting the paperwork slows it right back downsometimes the whole process needs redrawing from scratch

Speed up one step, and rewriting the paperwork still keeps the whole process slow.Sometimes the whole process needs redrawing from scratch.

intake + diagnosis, mergedwork + pickupBPR redesigns the process from scratch, not just tweaking old stepsfive papers became a single digital slip

BPR redesigns the process from scratch.Five papers became a single digital slip.

Rethink fundamentallyasks why the step exists at all
Merge stepscombines several steps into one
Cut the paperworkturns paper forms into a digital slip
A leap, not a stepa big change, not a small tweak
incremental tweaks (kaizen)keep existing steps as-isspeed up one step at a timethe gains are smallBPR — redesign from zerorebuild the steps themselvesmerge or eliminate whole stepsbig gains, but bigger risk too

Kaizen tweaks existing steps a little; BPR rebuilds the steps themselves.BPR offers bigger gains, but carries bigger risk too.

the process diagram is redrawn, cleanbut the new diagram is no use if mechanics don't know itredesigning the process needs people, training, and systems to change together

A redesign is useless if people can't keep up with it.Redesigning the process needs people, training, and systems to change together.

In one breath

BPR redesigns a process from scratch — instead of tweaking the old one bit by bit — to dramatically improve cost, quality, and speed.

BPR (Business Process Reengineering) fundamentally rethinks and radically redesigns existing business processes to achieve dramatic performance improvements. Unlike incremental improvement (kaizen), it asks 'why does this step exist at all,' merging or eliminating steps and restructuring the process itself using information technology. Without accompanying change management for people and the organization, it tends to fail.

When grown-ups say it

Business Process Reengineering
Redrawing the process from scratch. Fundamental, radical redesign is the core idea.
Kaizen (Incremental Improvement)
Speeding up existing steps a little at a time. Unlike BPR, the overall structure stays the same.
Process Innovation
A close relative of BPR, often used alongside it. Often paired with the use of information technology.
Step Consolidation
Merging several steps into one. Merging intake and diagnosis is one example.
Change Management
Helping people adapt to the new way. Without change management, the redesign tends to fail.
IT as a Lever
Using technology, like a digital slip, to cut steps. A key enabler of BPR.
Reengineering Risk
Big change carries big failure risk too. Often criticized for a low success rate.
BPM (Business Process Management)
Ongoing management of the process after redesign. BPR is a one-time redesign; BPM is continuous management.
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