CC BY
15PETAL REENGINEERING METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION ENTERPRISES PROCESSES
Puziichuk A.
Kyiv National University of Construction and Architecture, PhD Student
ABSTRACT
The scientific task of developing models and methods of the project of reengineering of construction enterprises are set. Emphasis was placed on the need to use a value-oriented approach in the reengineering project. Literature sources on project management, value-oriented management and reengineering are analyzed. The following system was taken as a basis for classification of processes of the construction enterprise: the basic processes, processes of logistics, financial processes, processes of interaction, management processes, auxiliary processes, IT processes. The life cycle phases of a construction company reengineering project are described. The method of petal reengineering for use in reengineering projects of construction companies are proposed. SWOT-analysis of the proposed method are performed. The conclusions of the study are made. Prospects for further research in the chosen direction are highlighted.
Keywords: management, project management, construction company, process reengineering, value-oriented management, petal reengineering method.
Formulation of the problem.
Construction plays an important role in the structure of each country's economy. The growth of the construction industry lays the foundation for the growth of related industries and the economy in general. In the work of construction companies can be divided into several types of activities related to the typical projects. First of all, it is an activity that directly relates to the profile of the enterprise - construction, overhaul, restoration, reconstruction, etc. In addition, the scope of the project approach can be confidently attributed to activities to improve the functioning of construction companies. It is expedient to manage both types of projects taking into account scientific and practical developments of the scientific direction in management concerning management of projects, programs and portfolios of projects.
The efficiency of construction companies directly depends on the models, methods, tools and means of managing such companies, their processes and structure. Throughout the history of each enterprise, whatever it may be, typical and atypical problems in the management of systemic and stochastic nature accumulate. The main (but not the only) of such problems are - the use of outdated technologies (both subject area and management), duplication of functions, gaps in the performance of functions (lack of modern management functionality of enterprises). The organizational mechanism for overcoming such problems is the implementation of a process reengineering project. Given the relevance of such projects and the feasibility of the project and the overall innovation of project management, the development of new models and methods of project management reengineering of construction companies to improve the efficiency of these projects is an urgent scientific and practical task.
Analysis of recent research and publications.
The project approach, within which reengineering will be implemented, is sufficiently developed in modern research. In particular, project management models and methods are presented in recognized international standards. These include the PMBOK Project Management Guide. The previous version of this standard PMBOK6 [1] considered ten areas of knowledge in
project management. Among them are those that will be most involved in the project of reengineering the construction company - project content management, project quality management, project time management, project stakeholder management. Other areas of knowledge that will also be used in the project under study will be of less importance to it - these are communications management, integration management, resource management, cost management, procurement management, risk management. The lesser importance of cost management in a reengineering project should be explained separately. This is determined by the fact that in many cases the project is implemented by the company itself, with the involvement of staff. Such employees work within wages, so the project budget will not be significant in this case. The current version of the PMBOK standard (seventh), released in late July 2021, is somewhat revolutionary and proposes to move from management by knowledge areas to management by principles [2]. In the case of the project under consideration, it is possible to determine the need to apply all these principles to the project of reengineering the construction company. Other classic project management standards [3-6] will also be useful in terms of using some of their tools, in particular the PRINCE2 business case model [6] and so on.
The standards of Agile's flexible project management methodology [7-9], which emerged in 2001 and has been developing rapidly since then, should be considered separately. A significant trend in the development of this methodology is that in the beginning it was recommended exclusively for IT projects. Whereas now this methodology is increasingly used in complex technological projects of other industries. A clear example of this fact is that in 2017, together with the sixth edition of PMBOK, a separate edition on the use of Agile was published [10]. Whereas in 2021, Agile approaches are already directly integrated into the PMBOK standard itself, which, in particular, declares a hybrid approach to project management. Such elements should be used in the study project, as will be shown below.
Reengineering literature sources also cover the subject quite deeply. In particular, publications [11-13]
provide the theory and practice of reengineering, proposed for use models, methods and tools that have been tested by experience.
Another approach that will be appropriate to use in the project of reengineering of construction companies - is value-oriented management. This approach will enrich the management tools of the researched project, make it deeper and more effective, as covered in the international standard Program and Project Management for enterprise innovation (P2M) [14, 15] of the Japanese Project Management Association PMAJ (Project Management Association of Japan) and in the researches in this direction [16].
Separation of previously unresolved parts of a common problem.
It is worth noting that there is a gap in research related to the project of value-oriented reengineering of construction companies. In particular, research on project management does not sufficiently consider the features of both the value approach and the subject area of construction and the specifics of reengineering projects. As for value-based research, they are mostly general in nature and do not reflect the specifics of any type of project. Instead, reengineering projects do not always reveal the features of construction companies with their complex technological and managerial component. Thus, the study on the development of models and methods for project management of reengineering of construction companies [17, 18] is relevant.
The purpose of the article.
The purpose of this article is to analyze the existing processes of construction companies and to propose a method of petal reengineering of construction companies using process value models.
Statement of the main material.
The reengineering project should be aimed at improving the processes of the construction company. Therefore, the process system must be pre-identified and described. Moreover, the identification must relate to the entire system of processes, while the reengineering project may relate to part of it.
The process system must be built according to some classification system. In particular, one of the developed systems of classification of processes of construction enterprises [17] includes the following groups of processes:
- Main processes (land allotment, construction, overhaul, current repairs, reconstruction, restoration, commissioning);
- Logistics processes (logistics of construction site supply; logistics of storage of construction materials, products and structures; transport logistics);
- Financial processes (financing processes; budgeting processes; financial reporting processes);
- Processes of interaction (processes of document circulation; processes of interaction with contractors; processes of interaction with clients);
- Management processes (construction project management processes; construction company management processes; personnel management processes);
- Ancillary processes (procurement processes; tender participation processes, tender organization processes; sales processes; marketing/promotion processes of the company);
- IT processes (IT infrastructure support processes; software support and development processes; cybersecurity processes).
As part of the initialization of the reengineering project, based on such (or other) classification system, the construction company must solve the following tasks:
1) to further decompose the system of processes to the level of simple processes - for example, the processes of supply of the construction site can be decomposed into processes of supply of materials, processes of supply of equipment, processes of supply of construction equipment, etc.;
2) select from the full list of processes of the construction company those that will be subject to reengineering within the project (because the reengineering of the full list of processes is quite large, long and expensive project, so it is rarely used).
The approach to solving the second problem will be considered later in the proposed method of petal reengineering of construction processes.
In order to describe the content of the reengineering project, lets consider the life cycle of such projects. Based on the preliminary analysis of possible models of the life cycle (waterfall, agile, incremental, iterative, other, combined), for the studied project it is advisable to use the model of the combined life cycle. Moreover, to build such a life cycle on the basis of a waterfall model (which is suitable for technically complex long-term projects) using individual elements of the Agile model (in the project implementation phase).
Based on the results of the analysis of the content of the reengineering project of construction companies, we offer the following characteristics of each phase of the project according to the waterfall life cycle model with the indication of Agile elements (Table 1).
Table 1.
Phases of the life cycle of a construction enterprise reengineering project
№ Phase name Phase scope
1 Initialization phase Justification of project feasibility. Defining the purpose of the project. Identification of a complete list of construction company processes. Defining requirements for the project result and the standard of presentation of target models.
2 Conceptual design phase Defining a target list of processes. Defining the essential parameters of each process Defining the target values of each parameter for each process. Definition of modeling tools. Defining requirements for project executors.
3 Planning phase Creating regulation for reengineering a separate process. Organization of involvement of executors (competition, if the concept defines outsourcing, or selection of specialists, if the concept defines the implementation of the project on their own). Construction of the project plan, appointment of executors, definition of the budget. Approval of the project plan.
4 Implementation phase It is possible to use a flexible life cycle (Agile) within this phase - splitting the overall plan into separate parts (sprints) and implementation on an incremental basis, with reporting to the internal customer after a certain period of time (two weeks). At the end of each sprint, a list of tasks will be selected for implementation in the next sprint.
5 Closure phase Drawing up a map of processes, process regulations, coordination of regulations. Implementation of final calculations for the project. Forming a database of project lessons.
6 The period of pilot implementation of the new process model Defining the framework of pilot implementation, requirements for the result of pilot implementation. Definition of responsible. Implementation of the pilot. Adjustment of process models and regulations based on the results of the pilot. Transition to the implementation of the adjusted optimized process model.
For use in reengineering projects of construction companies, we offer the method of petal reengineering according to the following steps.
Step 1. Defining the target optimization criterion for the system of enterprise processes.
The criteria base of business processes can include dozens (and sometimes hundreds) of criteria. However, the most commonly used criteria are the following - the time of the process, the cost of the process, the work resources of the process, the profitability of the process. There are also many derivative criteria. In this step, it is necessary to formulate a general target optimization criterion, which will be used as a basis for the target optimization criteria of each process to be reengi-neered. The input information flow for this step is a list of construction company processes that will be subject to reengineering. It is important that these can be not only management processes, but also others (see classification in [17]), including technological processes.
Step 2. Determining the number of stages (iterations, petals), for which the project of reengineering the construction company will be implemented.
Depending on the number of processes identified in the input list and the requirements for the duration of the project, the number of petals - stages (iterations) of the reengineering project is determined. There may be two, three or more such petals. However, the number of petals greater than three significantly increases the duration of the project and jeopardizes the relevance of its results.
Step 3. Estimation of value of groups ofprocesses of the building enterprise.
In accordance with the approved procedure (usually an expert evaluation procedure) and in accordance with the established limit parameters of values, the val-
ues of the groups of processes of the construction company are evaluated. In the case of the mentioned classification [17], the value of seven groups of processes is estimated. The assessment of each expert from the expert group is included in the overall assessment of the group of processes with the weight of each expert. Thus, a balanced assessment of all groups of processes is obtained. It will be needed in the fifth step of this method.
Step 4. Estimation of value of each process within groups ofprocesses of the building enterprise.
In accordance with the approved procedure and in accordance with the established limit parameters of values, the values of each process to be reengineered are evaluated. The evaluation of each expert from the expert group is included in the overall evaluation of the process with the weight of each expert. Thus, a balanced assessment of each process is obtained. It will be needed in the next (fifth) step of this method.
Step 5. Determining the scope of the next petal.
This step determines the list of process groups and (within such groups) the list of processes that will be subject to reengineering within the implementation of the first stage (petal) of reengineering. Carried out according to the ratings of values. Value ratings, in turn, are necessary for this step of the method, and therefore are the input information flow for it.
Step 6. Description of the state of the processes "As Is".
According to the classic process description procedure, the process owner and process participants are interviewed. The procedure is performed for all processes of the current petal. "As Is" process models are being built. Models are built in a consistent format. It is proposed to use the BPMN business process description notation for this purpose.
Step 7. Clarifying the optimization criteria for each of the selected petal processes.
Based on the target optimization criterion for the system of enterprise processes (defined in the first step of this method) for each process from the current petal develops its own optimization criterion.
Step 8. Development of "To Be"process models.
According to the classical procedure of describing the processes "To Be", the analysis and synthesis of the desired sequence of steps of each process of the current petal are providing. Models of "To Be" process models are being built. Models are built in a consistent format. It is proposed to use the BPMN business process description notation for this purpose.
Step 9. Verification of "To Be " processes
The "To Be" process models of the current petal are tested for relationships with the current processes of the construction company. This configures the interfaces between processes within the process system. If necessary, the constructed models of "To Be" processes are adjusted.
Step 10. Implementing the next petal (return to step 4).
The development of business process petals takes place until the development of the last of the planned petals is completed. In this case, the next step of the method will be the next - the tenth step, during which the work is finalized according to the method.
Step 11. Verification of the process system.
At this step, the entire system of processes is debugged - all the petals that were developed in the project. Interfaces between processes will checked and adjusted. An album of business processes of a construction company is being developed. The lessons of the reengineering project are formulated and formalized.
Lets conduct a SWOT analysis of the proposed method, highlight its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities associated with its use, as well as the threats that may arise.
Among the strengths are:
- The use of new approaches and methodologies in the implementation of the method;
- Graduality of the method, its incremental nature, which allows you to systematically and deeply explore each process;
- The presence of process verification, during which the interfaces of the current process and other processes of the construction company are checked;
- The use of value models in processes, in particular in the ranking of processes, which allows for reengineering by priorities.
Among the weaknesses are the following:
- The complexity of the method;
- Low readiness of management of construction companies to implement innovative approaches;
- The duration of the method;
- The need to pre-determine the value system of processes.
Among the possibilities you should pay attention to the following:
- Through the use of a value approach and the determination of process ratings, a map of the values of the construction company can be developed;
- The petal principle allows you to either stop the project after the implementation of the next petal, or vice versa - to increase the number of petals, expanding the content of the project. Thus, the Agile methodology approach is implemented;
- The experience of successful implementation of the method will allow you to adjust it to a specific company for future use, in subsequent reengineering projects at this company;
- Periodic (for example, once every two years) implementation of the method of petal reengineering will provide a foundation for a construction company for sustainable development, which will constantly maintain its competitiveness.
Among the threats are the following:
- Insufficient qualification of the participants of the value-oriented reengineering project can damage the image of development projects, as a result of which the development of the enterprise may slow down;
- Too much attention to numerical indicators when calculating the ratings of values can change the focus of the project and lead to failure to achieve its goals;
- Too long implementation of the project may lead to the fact that the optimal criteria of processes will become outdated and irrelevant;
- Changing the value system of the construction company, which may occur during the implementation of the reengineering project, can cause a revision of the project content and significantly increase the time of implementation of the method of petal reengineering.
In general, the SWOT analysis shows that, despite the weaknesses and threats associated with the petal reengineering method, it is generally innovative, progressive, usable in construction, and practically valuable. An important consequence of the implementation of the method of petal reengineering (adapted to the construction company) is to maintain a consistently high competitiveness of the construction company.
Conclusions and offers.
The efficiency of construction companies largely affects the efficiency of the economy as a whole. Therefore, the activity to increase the efficiency of such enterprises is practically valuable, and scientific developments in this direction are relevant. Reengineering the processes of construction companies can ensure their competitiveness, innovation, flexibility. Reengineering should be carried out through the relevant project, and therefore should use the methodological basis of the scientific direction of project and program management. This article describes the phases of the life cycle of a construction company reengineering project and proposes a method of petal reengineering for this project. Further research in the chosen direction may relate to the development of models of process values, models for determining the target optimization criterion for each process, each type of process and the system of processes of the construction company as a whole. One
of the promising areas of research is also the practical implementation of the developed method at a construction company (construction companies).
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