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Layer 02 of 6 — Operating Model Design

Process & Ways of Working.
End-to-end. Following the work, not the org chart.

Process design is where operating model theory meets operational reality. Most organisations have processes that were designed around the org chart that existed when they were created — not around the work that needs to be done. CN redesigns processes from the outcome backwards, eliminating the handoffs, duplications and delays that accumulate over time.

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01 People 02 Process 03 Technology 04 Service Delivery 05 Performance 06 Governance
What CN does in this layer

The work inside the layer

  • —End-to-end process mapping — following the work from trigger to outcome across all functions
  • —As-is process documentation and analysis — understanding what actually happens, not what the manual says
  • —Handoff identification and challenge — every transfer of responsibility examined and justified
  • —Lean analysis — applying lean methodology to identify and eliminate waste
  • —Process redesign — to-be processes designed around outcomes, not org chart boundaries
  • —Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) — written for the people who will use them
  • —Exception handling design — what happens when the standard process does not apply
  • —Cross-functional workflow design — processes that span multiple teams or departments
  • —Process governance — who owns each process, how changes are approved and communicated
  • —Automation opportunity identification — where technology can reduce manual steps without losing control
How we do it

The CN approach

01
Map what actually happens, not what should happen
Process mapping begins in the real organisation — walking the process with the people who do it, observing where workarounds have developed and understanding why. The official process map is a starting point, not a reliable picture of reality.
02
Challenge every handoff
Every transfer of responsibility between people, teams or systems is a potential failure point. CN examines each handoff and asks: is this necessary? Who created it and why? What fails when it breaks? The goal is not to eliminate all handoffs — it is to ensure every one that remains is designed rather than inherited.
03
Apply lean where it adds value
Lean methodology — value stream mapping, waste identification, flow analysis — is applied to understand where the process is absorbing cost and time without adding value. CN applies lean tools with judgment, not as a formula.
04
Design with the people who do the work
SOPs and redesigned processes written in isolation and handed to the workforce are rarely followed. CN involves the frontline in the design — they know the exceptions, the workarounds, the reasons the current process developed the way it did.
05
Connect to the technology layer
Process redesign and technology change must happen together. The new process has to be designed for the systems that will support it — and the system configuration has to reflect the designed process. Misalignment here is one of the most common causes of ERP and CRM implementation failure.
What good looks like
  • ✓Processes designed around outcomes, not org chart boundaries
  • ✓Every handoff justified and owned
  • ✓SOPs written by the people who do the work
  • ✓Exceptions handled by design, not improvisation
  • ✓Process ownership clear — someone accountable for each process
Warning signs
  • ✗Processes mapped on a slide but not in reality
  • ✗Redesign done by consultants, handed to workforce to follow
  • ✗Technology implemented before process is redesigned
  • ✗No process ownership — everyone assumes someone else manages it
  • ✗Exceptions handled by workaround rather than design
Connects to
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People & Organisation
Process redesign creates new role requirements. The people layer has to change alongside the process layer or the new process will not be followed.
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Technology & Systems
Technology supports process. The system configuration must reflect the designed process — not the legacy process it replaced.
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Service Delivery
End-to-end processes determine how services reach the user. Service delivery design starts with the process design.
Part of the full model
This layer is one of six. Changing it without the others creates integration failures.
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Working on this layer?
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