Review of Business Process Improvement Methodologies in public services

Dr Zoe Radnor, Associate Professor (Reader) at WBS is the author of a just-published and extended literature review of business process improvement methodologies and their application in the public sector and/or service environment.

The review's aims were to:

• Consider the successes and shortcomings of applying business process improvement methodologies within these environments;
• Determine which business process improvement methodologies are suitable for which environments;
• Define the practicalities for measuring improvement;
• Suggest metrics for measuring improvement;
• Define the sustainability of improvements achieved over the long term.

Over 165 sources of information were identified, of which 50% focused on Lean production, while 35% were based on health services.

The review makes several conclusions, including that Lean has made a significant impact but should be adapted not adopted for public services, that strong leadership and visible support from management is a key success factor, and that 'organisational readiness' factors need to be considered before commencing business process improvement methodologies.