Process Management: No more loose ends in your business

Process Management is one of the central pillars of the Quality Management System (QMS), that is, it is one of the cornerstones of the ABNT NBR ISO 9001 (2015) standard applied to products and services. In the latest revision of this standard, there was a strong movement to reinforce the concept of process integrated into management. The central objective of this movement was to streamline and improve the understanding of the parts that make up the whole. In other words, bringing the process approach to Quality Management means analyzing the entire production chain, from what enters (input) to what leaves (output) the chain, whether products or services. 

Concept of Process and Process Management

It is within this line of thinking that we can conceive the concept of process management. Firstly, we must understand that processes involve a set of interrelated activities that transform inputs into outputs and add value to products and services. Based on this, we understand that Process Management is the comprehensive monitoring of the entire chain of transformation of inputs into outputs.

The stages of the processes form a system, where each part has added value and the result is articulated with the sum of these values. An example of interaction can be seen when the Marketing team generates a demand for the project. Sequentially, the sales team formalizes the contract, the operations team produces the product or service, and the finance department invoices the cost of the product or service. Thus, all these parts must be integrated and flow into the same system so that the final product or service is delivered according to the specifics of the request, meeting external and internal requirements regarding quality.

Thus, Process Management is based on ensuring that transformation activities are carried out in a standardized, controlled, and monitored manner. Furthermore, it is through the lens of Process Management that continuous improvement is structured, because through the permanent monitoring of processes and the results obtained through them, it is possible to establish ways to improve processes and add value to products or services generated by them.

Process Approach in ISO 9001

According to ISO 9001, businesses that are certified or intend to be certified based on the requirements of this standard must identify, manage, and improve their processes in an integrated manner. Thus, Process Management seeks to integrate each part of the mechanism that drives the machine that generates the product or service. To this end, it is necessary to identify the organization's processes, from the acquisition of inputs or services for the business to operate to the delivery of the products or services generated by the business.

From this perspective, it is fundamental that businesses understand the interaction between each part of the process. All stages must be connected, to generate a view of the whole and how the interaction between the parts adds value to the process and, consequently, to the product or service.

Conversely, it is necessary to establish control criteria for each of the parts, because, understanding that each of them adds value to the whole, they must be controlled to prevent failures in the parts from harming the whole, that is, the result of the process. To this end, these control criteria are associated with the results generated by each of the stages of the process and must be clear so that the stage of the process does not deviate from the plan. This also allows the identification of failures, enabling their correction before finalizing the entire process.

This follow-up approach safeguards the monitoring of process performance. Control criteria can be indicators that enable understanding of the process stage. These can be quantitative or qualitative depending on the type of product or process. Through them, performance monitoring becomes more practical in terms of recording and information. From this perspective, the monitoring and control of processes and, consequently, of quality, are based on evidence that attests to the alignment of products or processes with the requirements established by the companies and their clients.

It is worth highlighting that the ISO 9000 series of standards follow customer-focused guidelines; therefore, the delivery (output) must be integrated into the process, including aspects that safeguard the customer experience with the product or service. This also includes factors such as handling customer-related problems and customer service (SAC), understood within the standard as "non-conformity".

Thus, Process Management integrated with Quality is one of the mechanisms that enables the integration of the parts and the integrated monitoring of the entire value generation scheme. Furthermore, these control and monitoring mechanisms are instruments that guide the continuous improvement of projects, since both positive and negative results are indicators that allow for the review, rearrangement, and restructuring of processes to meet internal and external requirements of the projects.

Structure of a Process

Given this perspective on Process Management linked to Quality, it is understood that there are fundamental elements that structure processes, namely: inputs, activities, outputs, responsible parties, indicators, and resources.

When we talk about inputs, we must understand that they refer to the resources needed to start the process. They can be information, materials, or customer requirements; therefore, they are the basis for the creation of products or processes. It is worth highlighting that, regarding inputs within a Quality Management System, the Standard even establishes requirements for evaluating inputs (resources or services) in processes, through an analysis or evaluation mechanism of external suppliers or providers.

When referring to activities, we understand them to mean the actions taken to transform inputs into products or services. It's important to note that these activities are parts of the process, each step taken that adds value to the product or service. They are crucial and must be constantly monitored and controlled to ensure that requirements are fully met and that the established quality is delivered according to the requirements of the project and its clients.

On the other hand, outputs are the results generated by the process, that is, the finished product or service delivered to the customer. Here, quality inspection is a fundamental tool to ensure that all requirements have been met throughout the process and that the product or service conforms to the expected result after the process is completed.

At this point, we emphasize the importance of performance indicators as instruments to attest to and demonstrate the alignment of what has been achieved with what is expected for each of the process outputs. It is through them that quality assurance becomes achievable, that is, meeting all the established requirements for products or services. They will demonstrate that all stages of the process have been completed in accordance with the process planning, following the operational guidelines of the undertaking to demonstrate the quality of the product or service.

Furthermore, those responsible are the team members of the projects who execute or manage the processes. These individuals will ensure that the process steps are carried out in accordance with the requirements established by the project and the clients for the products or services. They will also monitor the metrics associated with the performance indicators, recording non-conformities (non-compliance with requirements or deviations from the processes) and will take the necessary corrective actions (including recording them, in the case of a QMS).

Finally, in both Process Management and Quality Management, resources are understood broadly. In other words, resources can refer both to people, such as those responsible for carrying out the processes, and to infrastructure, technology, and information, which enable the performance of activities associated with products or services. Therefore, resources are all the artifacts linked to the concept of activities and must be considered in their entirety by Senior Management for the performance of any and all activities within an undertaking guided by the Quality Management System.

Integration between Processes

The Quality Management System (QMS) and, obviously, the ISO 9001 standard brought the Process Management approach with greater emphasis in the 2015 revision, understanding that it is necessary to understand the processes of the enterprise as an interdependent system. If one of the steps fails or deviates from the established standard, the result will not be aligned with what is expected for the process.

This was conceived with the understanding that problems in processes rarely arise in isolation; they typically show signs over time and are not corrected efficiently, becoming larger as time goes on. Additionally, the understanding is that an error at a given stage can (and likely will) affect subsequent stages, ultimately generating a larger deviation in the product or service.

In this sense, the systemic integration of Process Management and its monitoring and follow-up were addressed within the QMS to mitigate, reduce, prevent, and avoid deviations that can affect the quality of products or services generated by the enterprise, reducing their added value and leading to non-compliance with associated internal and external requirements. Another important aspect is integration as a means of mapping the relationships between the activities performed to create the products or services. Process mapping allows for the fragmentation of steps for comprehensive process monitoring, as discussed previously, which enables faster and more effective handling in cases of deviations.

In addition, process mapping allows for the analysis of control anchor points to monitor process efficiency and the results generated at each stage. Furthermore, the schematic allows, concurrently with the control points, the establishment of quality indicators, which optimizes the evaluation of compliance with process and QMS requirements.

From this perspective, Process Management within the QMS emerges as an integrated mechanism for designing the PDCA Cycle, optimizing the activities of: Planning (P – Plan), Execution (D – Do), Checking (C – Check), and Acting/Correcting (A – Act). The core of this cycle, as well as of Process Management and Quality Management, is continuous improvement, that is, the improvement of processes to enhance products or services generated, adding greater value to the result and ensuring compliance with internal and external requirements associated with the products or services generated.

Therefore, Process Management, as a tool for the QMS (Quality Management System), can provide operational standardization within enterprises, reducing rework and improving control and monitoring to ensure the quality of products or services. Furthermore, because it is a document-based system, Process Management sheds light on the responsibilities of each party involved in the enterprise's processes, which linearly allows for clarity regarding the role of each team member in building product or service quality.

Additionally, tracking and controlling through indicators allows for real-time analysis of the process, improving the efficiency of the entire production or service generation system, as well as the routines for quality assurance. This set of attributes integrates what ISO 9001 establishes as customer satisfaction, that is, meeting internal and external requirements so that the product or service is conceived in accordance with expectations; this is Process Management linked to Quality Management.