Business Systems & Workflow Automation
Software Development · From £2,200
Business Systems & Workflow Automation
Technology Consultancy · Service 10
Digital Transformation & Process Consultancy
Finding where the working day is actually being spent, then redesigning the process before deciding what to build.
£1,900
Indicative starting point. Final pricing follows an agreed scope.
What this service is
Transformation that begins with a product selection tends to fail. It should begin with an honest measurement of the current process.
This engagement starts with the work itself rather than with technology. We observe and measure how a process genuinely runs — including the workarounds, the double handling and the waiting — and identify where time and money are actually going.
Only then does it become sensible to talk about systems. Frequently the largest gains come from removing steps rather than automating them, and the right technology decision is smaller and cheaper than the one the organisation was preparing to make.
What we can deliver
Deliverables for this service
Not every engagement includes every item. Your quotation lists exactly what is in scope and what is not.
- 01Process map of the current state
The process as it genuinely operates, including exceptions, workarounds and the informal steps that never appear in official documentation.
- 02Time and volume analysis
How long each step takes, how often it occurs, how much waiting sits between steps, and what that costs in a period.
- 03Bottleneck and constraint analysis
Where the process is genuinely limited, distinguishing real constraints from steps that merely feel burdensome.
- 04Redesigned target process
A simplified process designed with the people who operate it, with the reasoning behind each change stated.
- 05Digitalisation opportunities
Which steps warrant software, which warrant configuration of existing tools, and which simply need removing.
- 06Costed implementation plan
Sequenced changes with indicative cost, expected benefit, dependencies and the effort required from your team.
- 07Benefit measurement framework
The measures, baseline and review points that will demonstrate whether the change worked.
- 08Change and adoption plan
Training, communication and transition arrangements, since a redesigned process only delivers if people actually adopt it.
Business problems we solve
The situations that bring people to this service
If more than two of these describe your organisation, the conversation is usually worth having.
A sense that things take too long, with no data to explain whyMeasured process timings showing where the time is genuinely lost
Steps that exist because of a constraint removed years agoA redesigned process with the redundant steps taken out
Staff maintaining private spreadsheets to fill system gapsShadow processes identified and either supported properly or removed
A large system purchase proposed with no process analysis behind itA specification grounded in measured need rather than assumption
Each department optimising locally at the expense of the wholeAn end-to-end view of the process across department boundaries
Previous change programmes that did not survive contact with staffRedesign carried out with the people who do the work, so it holds
Visual model
How the work is structured
Drawn for this page in SVG. Nothing here is stock imagery.
Our approach
How we work on this specifically
The parts of the method that matter most on this kind of engagement.
- 01Observe rather than survey
We watch the work happen and talk to the people doing it. Documented processes and actual processes are almost never the same, and the difference is where the value sits.
- 02Measure before recommending
Volumes, timings and error rates first. Recommendations without a baseline cannot be evaluated afterwards.
- 03Remove before automating
The cheapest step is the one that no longer exists. We look for steps to delete before considering steps to automate.
- 04Design with the people doing the work
Processes redesigned in a meeting room without the operators tend to be quietly abandoned within months.
- 05Sequence for early proof
Deliver a visible improvement early. Programmes that show nothing for six months lose the support they need to finish.
Common use cases
Where this work typically applies
Practical examples rather than industry categories — the pattern matters more than the sector.
- 01Order to cash review
End-to-end analysis from enquiry through delivery to payment, across the department boundaries where delay usually accumulates.
- 02Back-office efficiency
Administrative processes consuming disproportionate staff time relative to their value.
- 03Pre-purchase process analysis
Understanding the process properly before committing to a significant system purchase or replacement.
- 04Growth without proportional headcount
Establishing what has to change for the organisation to handle materially more volume with a similar team.
- 05Post-merger process alignment
Reconciling two ways of doing the same thing into one that works for both sides.
- 06Service delivery redesign
Improving the experience and cost of a customer-facing service through process change rather than more staff.
Project stages
The sequence from enquiry to delivery
Each stage has a defined output and a review point. You always know where the work stands.
01
Observe
Time spent with the process as it actually runs, across the whole path rather than one department.
02
Measure
Volumes, durations, waiting time, rework and cost established as a baseline.
03
Analyse
Constraints identified and separated from irritations; opportunities sized.
04
Redesign
Target process designed collaboratively with the people who operate it.
05
Plan
Sequenced, costed implementation plan with benefit measures agreed.
06
Review
Post-implementation comparison against the baseline.
Strategic capabilities
What we bring to this work
Capability relevant to this service. We do not list technology we would not actually recommend.
Analysis
- Process mapping and observation
- Time, volume and cost analysis
- Bottleneck and constraint identification
- Shadow process discovery
- Data quality assessment
- Cross-department flow analysis
Redesign
- Target process design
- Step elimination and simplification
- Handoff and approval redesign
- Role and responsibility clarification
- Exception handling design
- Service and customer journey design
Delivery planning
- Digitalisation opportunity assessment
- Costed and sequenced implementation plan
- Benefit measurement framework
- Change and training planning
- System requirements definition
- Post-implementation review
Who this service is for
Typical clients for this work
We work with B2B companies, organisations and private clients. The requirement matters more than the size of the buyer.
Businesses
- Companies where administration has grown faster than revenue
- Businesses planning significant growth
- Organisations about to commit to a large system purchase
- Firms integrating operations after an acquisition
Organisations
- Charities under pressure to reduce administrative cost
- Providers redesigning a service for users
- Bodies with processes shaped by long-standing constraints
Private clients
- Sole traders spending too much time on administration
- Professionals redesigning how their service is delivered
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Service FAQ
Questions we are asked about this service
Mapping is the first step, not the deliverable. The value is in the measurement, the analysis of where the constraints genuinely are, the redesign, and a costed plan for getting there. A map on its own rarely changes anything.
No, and in a fair number of engagements the recommendation involves less technology than the client expected. Removing steps, changing a handoff or configuring an existing system properly frequently delivers more than a new purchase.
Less than most people fear. Typically a few hours of observation per process area, short interviews with key people, and a redesign workshop of half a day. We work around operational commitments rather than pausing the business.
Openly. We explain what we are doing and why, and we make clear that the target is the process, not the people. In practice the most useful information comes from staff, and they are usually well aware of which steps are wasteful.
Because the measures and the baseline are agreed before anything changes. The benefit framework is a deliverable in its own right, and the post-implementation review compares like with like rather than relying on impression.
Have a project in mind?
Tell us what you are trying to achieve and we will come back with a clear view of the scope, the approach and the cost.