Process Analysis (AS-IS): SWOT, Ishikawa and how to find bottlenecks

Modeling a process shows how it is. Analyzing it shows where it fails. Process Analysis is the first stage of Phase 2 of the BPM lifecycle: understanding the current state (AS-IS) on the basis of facts and finding where the value leaks — bottlenecks, handoffs, waste and variation. In this guide, based on the BPM CBOK, you will see the key questions, SWOT, benchmarking and the Ishikawa diagram.

1. What is Process Analysis?

Process Analysis creates an understanding of the current state (AS-IS): it identifies and examines the activities, measures their execution and assesses how effective the process is at meeting its objectives. It is a process of discovery — the conclusions come from data, not from rumours.

The golden rule of this phase: analyzing is not redesigning. Understand first; the future state (TO-BE) comes in the next lesson.

2. Prioritizing and sizing the analysis

You do not analyze everything with the same magnifying glass. Prioritize processes by impact on the Customer, cost, risk or pain (one technique is multi-criteria decision analysis). And size the depth: define the reach (“from the order to the delivery”) and the level of detail before you start — the more areas involved, the longer the analysis takes.

3. The key discovery questions

The CBOK organizes discovery into topics: enterprise and cultural context, performance measurement, customer interaction, handoffs, business rules, capacity, bottlenecks, variation, cost, human involvement and process control. The four that pay off most at the start:

• Handoffs — the points where the baton passes between people or areas, where work waits and disappears.
• Bottlenecks — the point that limits the throughput of the whole process.
• Variation — the same process done in different ways (a sign there is no standard).
• Cost — how much each activity consumes.

4. How to gather the information

The raw material is facts. Three methods: interviews (with the people who run it and the people affected by it), direct observation (watching the work happen, reading logs) and research (the existing documentation). In BPM Together, once you have collected, the AI helps structure the handoffs, bottlenecks and non-value activities — and you confirm them with the people who live the process.

5. Analyzing the environment: SWOT

SWOT works out how the process interacts with its environment: Strengths and Weaknesses (internal), Opportunities and Threats (external). In the Expense reimbursement example — Strength: a clear expense policy; Weakness: receipts checked by hand; Opportunity: a form that validates the receipt on entry; Threat: a tax disallowance over an irregular receipt.

6. Benchmarking

Benchmarking is comparing your methods with best practices. Types: reverse engineering, competitive (the competition), process (the best at that specific process) and global (world leaders, outside your market).

7. Root cause and the Ishikawa diagram (6M)

To find the origin of problems (rather than fire-fighting), use Root Cause Analysis. The most common tool is the Ishikawa diagram (fishbone), which organizes causes into 6 categories (the 6Ms): Manpower, Method, Material, Machine, Measurement and Milieu (Environment). The 6 steps: define the problem, assemble the team, draw the main arrow, list the 6Ms, raise the causes and define corrective actions.

In the Expense reimbursement example, with the problem “reimbursement paid late” — Method: manual checking of receipts; Material: a missing or illegible receipt; Manpower: the manager absent to approve. Each cause earns its own corrective action. Also useful is cost analysis (ABC) — the cost per activity, which shows where the money goes.

8. Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between AS-IS and TO-BE?

AS-IS is the process as it is today (the focus of the analysis); TO-BE is how it ought to be after the redesign (Lesson 4).

Why can’t I start fixing things during the analysis?

Because “designing the solution during the analysis” is the CBOK’s mistake no. 1: you fix the symptom without understanding the cause. Note the idea down and finish understanding first.

What are the Ishikawa “6Ms”?

The six cause categories: Manpower, Method, Material, Machine, Measurement and Milieu (Environment).

Do I need a lot of data to start?

No. Chasing perfect data creates “analysis paralysis”. With around 80% of the facts you can already decide.

Conclusion and next steps

Now you know how to analyze: discover with facts, map handoffs and bottlenecks, and use SWOT, benchmarking and Ishikawa to reach the root cause. The next step is to design the future state — the subject of Lesson 4. Answer the quiz below; it counts towards your BPM Together Certificate.

References

ABPMP. BPM CBOK — Guide to the Business Process Management Common Body of Knowledge, version 4.0.

Content based on the BPM CBOK 4.0 (ABPMP) and on the practical experience of Escritório de Projetos. This is an independent practitioner’s guide: it is not an official ABPMP publication and has not been endorsed by the association.