business strategy formulation final report

Oregon Department of Forestry

Forestry Business Improvement Initiative – FBII

Business Process Modeling Project – Phase 2

Business Strategy Formulation Final Report

February 6th, 2009

Prepared by:

Sanborn Map Company

610 SW Broadway

Suite 310

Oregon Department of Forestry – FBII Business Process Modeling Project

Table of Contents

1. Introduction.............................................................................................................1

1.1 Project Background.........................................................................................1Project Objectives..................................................................................................................... 3Project Phases......................................................................................................................... 4

1.2 Purpose of the Report.....................................................................................4

2. Core Values, Vision, Goals, and Business Strategies.......................................5

2.1 Overview of Phase 2 Approach.......................................................................5

2.2 Results - Core Values......................................................................................6

2.3 Results - Vision................................................................................................7

2.4 Results - Goals................................................................................................7

2.5 Results - Strategies to Achieve the Goals.....................................................10

List of Tables & FiguresFigure 1. The ODF FBII Process.........................................................................................................2

Figure 1: Business Planning Strategy Components..............................................................................5

Table 1: ODF goals for the improvement of ODF business processes and the evaluation of FBII projects.......................................................................................................................................... 8

Table 2: Example scoring of a proposed project using ODF goals under the FBII umbrella.................9

ODF FBII Business Process Modeling Project – Phase 2: Final Report i


Revision History

The revision history of this document is described in the following table:

Date Revised By: Description of Revision

02/06/2009 Steve Fairweather

Final draft copy including revisions from ODF feedback.

02/23/2009 David Buckley Janet Hoyt

Quality Control review for incorporating into final project report

03/09/2009 Janet Hoyt Formatted for printing and consistency between volumes

ODF FBII Business Process Modeling Project – Phase 2: Final Report ii


1. Introduction

This document presents the results of Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) FBII Business Process Modeling project Phase 2 (Business Strategy Formulation). This report presents findings on the values, vision, goals and business strategies defined during this project phase.

1.1 Project Background

As with many large forestry organizations that have developed business processes over many years, ODF’s current business processes are steeped in manual and traditional methods that are sometimes inefficient and redundant when considering current operational requirements and priorities. As a result of a lack of funding over time, many business solutions have been developed from a programmatic, rather than global, perspective, thus creating duplication of effort and often an inability to leverage institutional knowledge, corporate data, and changes in technology and IT infrastructure. As a result of this situation there is duplication of information that in addition to being inefficient can restrict information required to support decision making.

The development and implementation of Information Technologies over the last 30 years has created a series of databases and software that often is not integrated and cannot share data. This results in additional effort by ODF staff and the creation of barriers to performing the types of analyses required by a modern land management agency such as ODF. This situation costs ODF in two ways: first, the labor cost of working around these procedural and technical issues, and secondly, in terms of its reputation in its ability to rapidly respond to requests for information from its client base and provide high quality decision making information to its staff. Over time this situation has impacted the organization’s effectiveness in meeting its forest management mission.

Aware of these issues, ODF has recently completed Phase 1 of Forest Business Improvement Initiative (FBII), which was an Agency-wide planning effort to identify areas of business improvement. This effort has resulted in the identification of outstanding business needs and requirements which in turn has led to funding for the FBII Business Process Modeling project (this project), and other projects that will follow. The following figure presents the ODF FBII approach.

The FBII approach leverages a formal planning and assessment process where business improvement and implementation is based on a robust modeling of current operations and issues. The activity shown in yellow represents the current business process modeling project.

ODF FBII - Phase 2: Business Strategies Final Report Page 1 of 11


Figure 1. The ODF FBII Process



Project Objectives

The FBII will result in the implementation of enhanced business processes that will utilize business systems, (existing, revised, and new), to satisfy the following critical requirements:

Enterprise Data

common data elements (no more siloed databases) eliminate data duplication and duplication of effort secure and protected data seamless, integrated business solutions ability to manage and share data

Document & Records Management

centralized automated repository for documents and records secure and protected documents of record ability to effectively and efficiently address public document requests basis for decision support and accomplishments reporting mitigation of potential liability compliance with State Archivist, public records and regulatory requirements

Decision Support

improved intranet and internal content management as a foundation for a new decision support system

portfolio management system for prioritizing, monitoring and managing BOF and ODF activities

comprehensive library and knowledge based system

These requirements provide the key criteria for implementing business systems on a common enterprise wide information management framework that will facilitate the exchange and sharing of data without duplication of effort or data. These business systems must re-enforce business processes. The FBII will do the following:

Identify the Agency’s critical business needs and requirements.

Identify areas for potential business process improvement across the Agency, utilizing key elements such as industry best practices, effective business process integration, and key business enablers such as new technologies.

Provide a framework for consolidating the business needs in a way that leverages efficiencies.

Identify technical and process solutions to meet the consolidated business needs.

Identify a series of projects (technical or other) to implement the desired solutions and prioritize them.

Implement projects and then measure the effectiveness of the change.

Establish and implement a process for continuous improvement over time.



Project Phases

The purpose of the current FBII Business Process Modeling project is to document current business processes used in ODF Program Areas and District Offices (Phase 1, High Level Business Process Modeling). Once documented, the flow of data and information can be analyzed to identify inefficiencies and opportunities for improvement (Phase 1, Gap Analysis). The results of this project will be used during future FBII implementation activities to prioritize the re-engineering of those processes that are inefficient (Phase 1, Recommendations).

The project involves two initial phases: 1) Enterprise Business Process Assessment, and 2) Business Strategy Formulation. Phase 1 involved on-site interviews to obtain information about current business processes and linkages between program areas. Program area business processes were documented with high level process flows and descriptive narratives. This was followed by an analysis of gaps in the linkages including data and information requirements and flows. Recommendations and priorities have been developed to guide ODF in the next steps of the FBII process.

Based on the results of Phase 1, a business strategy has been formulated to define ODF’s revised vision, strategic plan, and future organizational and operational requirements. This identifies core values important to the Agency, as well as culture, leadership, stakeholders and other key elements. Phase 2 ensures that future FBII implementation activities are synchronized with a strategic plan for future business operations. This report is the primary deliverable for Phase 2.

1.2 Purpose of the Report

The purpose of this report is to identify the core values, business vision, goals and business strategies for ODF to guide future activities in the FBII project. These items have been identified through workshops working with ODF’s Executive and Senior Management.



2. Core Values, Vision, Goals, and Business Strategies

2.1 Overview of Phase 2 Approach

This report summarizes the findings of Phase 2 which resulted from a series of meetings with key management personnel at the Oregon Department of Forestry (ODF) to develop the core values, vision, goals, and strategies for ODF business processes. The meetings were designed with the intention of building consensus around the guidelines that will govern the development and improvement of business processes at the agency, and as such featured small group brain-storming sessions and large group discussions, as well as reviews and revisions of draft ideas developed prior to each meeting. The meetings were facilitated by Dr. Steve Fairweather of Mason, Bruce and Girard, Inc. (Portland, OR), and Janet Hoyt of the Sanborn Map Company (Portland, OR). Dr. Fairweather is the primary author of this report.

The meetings followed the general approach proposed by MB&G in the project workplan. While specific tasks were modified on request from ODF to tailor the meetings to better address requirements, the general approach shown in Figure 1 was used.

Figure 1: Business Planning Strategy Components



A total of four meetings were held in Salem on the ODF campus.

December 1, 2008

This was a large meeting that included ODF staff from the leadership team. Suggestions were taken for the core values and the vision for ODF business processes. The meeting results were summarized in a report by Fairweather on December 8, 2008, titled “Vision and Core Values for the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Business Processes”.

December 10, 2008

A small meeting was held to review and refine the recommendations made in the 12/8/08 report, and to begin to list goals in support of attaining the vision. It was explained that the goals would eventually be used to help decide which projects to take on under the broad FBII umbrella, and as a result, the goals would have to be prioritized or ranked in importance. ODF that staff in attendance were Clark Seely, Sandy Jefferson, Mark Hubbard, and Barbara Benda.

January 12, 2009

This meeting was similar in size to the December 1st meeting, and included staff from the ODF leadership team. Attention was focused on coming to agreement on the values and vision for the agency’s business processes, and on listing and prioritizing goals for attaining the vision. The meeting results were summarized in a report by Fairweather on January 19, 2009 titled “Core Values, Vision, and Goals for the Oregon Department of Forestry’s Business Processes”. The report included a suggested list of goals by priority, and strategies for achieving those goals.

January 23, 2009

This was the final project meeting to review and refine the values, vision, goals, and strategies with key staff at the ODF1. Attention was focused on the suggestions made in the January 19th report. The current report reflects input received at this meeting.

2.2 Results - Core Values

As a result of the meeting the following core values were developed and agreed to. The ODF will subscribe to the following list of core values in the conduct of its business practices and development of business systems and protocols:

Transparency – business processes, procedures, and protocols will be well-documented and open to inspection.

Quality – business processes will allow effective and efficient decision-making based on information that is consistent, reliable, and correct.

Employee Effectiveness – business processes will enhance employee effectiveness by providing tools that facilitate innovation and efficiency, and by providing information that is trusted and understood.

1 In attendance: Benda, Bell, Seely, Medema, Paul, Hirsch, Hubbard, Cafferata, Schuft, and Arabas (DAS).



Customer Satisfaction - business processes will have the trust of both internal and external customers.

Accountability – roles and responsibilities related to the administration, implementation, and improvement of business processes will be understood, monitored, and subscribed to.

Continuous Improvement – business processes, procedures, and protocols will be constantly evaluated and changed as necessary to enable the agency to better fulfill its mission.

2.3 Results - Vision

The following business vision was defined and agreed to. The ODF will subscribe to the following vision as it evaluates, refines, improves, and develops business systems and protocols to accomplish the agency’s mission:

ODF Vision Statement

The Oregon Department of Forestry conducts business in a manner that supports effective decision making, provides service beyond expectations, promotes strategic thinking at all levels, and enhances agency integrity.

This vision statement satisfies several desirable criteria:

First, the vision “aims high”, but is reachable.

Next, the statement is bold, and positive, and the language in the statement is generic enough to pertain to any business process at the ODF.

In addition, the statement is short enough to be communicated easily and consistently, and fits within the framework already provided by the agency’s overarching vision, mission, and core values.

Finally, by putting “supports effective decision making” first, the emphasis on quality information and information management is clear.

2.4 Results - Goals

The January 19th report listed eight goals that were developed as a result of the large group meeting on January 12th. Subsequent review and discussion at the January 23rd meeting led to the addition of two more goals – one to reduce the risk to the ODF, and one to make sure that the ODF is “looking ahead” or “looking to the future” when it adopts or modifies a business process. The resulting 10 goals and their suggested weighting factors are as follows:



Table 1: ODF goals for the improvement of ODF business processes and the evaluation of FBII projects.

Goal Description Key QuestionsWeighting Factor2

1. Support critical information requirements

How critical is this information in the day to day operations of the ODF?

What is the cost to the ODF of not having this information readily available?

5

2. Reduce risk and exposure to the ODF

How will adoption or adjustment of this business process reduce or minimize the risk and exposure of the ODF?

How will it eliminate or mitigate the loss of critical information to the agency?

5

3. Accommodate customer needs

How will this information (or process) lead to increased customer satisfaction? Consider both internal (ODF) and external customers.

How will this process streamline customer interaction?

How will usefulness and usability of data or information be improved?

4

4. Supply information effectively

How well will this information (or process) satisfy the decision-making need?

How will this process lead to information that is accurate, timely, consistent, and trusted?

4

5. Support field operations How will this process improve the efficiency and effectiveness of ODF operations in the field? 3

6. Improve efficiency How will this process reduce costs or time currently needed to supply the information?

Or, how will this process improve the benefit/cost ratio for satisfying the information requirement?

How will it add value? How will redundancy in data entry be

eliminated? How will employee effectiveness be improved?

3

7. Support multiple functional areas

How will this process support multiple functional areas and help to integrate information management between program areas?

How will adoption of this system reduce the incidence of “data silos”?

3

8. Provide information that is standardized, well-defined, and accessible

What is the plan for documenting this process? How will the documentation facilitate usability,

accessibility, confidence in the information, and modification to meet future information needs?

3

2 The weighting factor scale is from 1 (least important) to 5 (most important).



Goal Description Key QuestionsWeighting Factor

9. Guarantee accountability Who (what position(s)) will be responsible for data collection, data management, quality control, documentation, user feedback, and process improvements over time?

3

10. Consider future information needs and reporting requirements

How will this process lend itself to continuous improvement over time? Is the process or system robust enough to handle future information needs?

How is the process or system “looking ahead”?

2

The goals and weighting factors in the previous table could be used in a scoring system for evaluating multiple projects under FBII and deciding which projects to implement. For example, in the following table a panel of three judges has scored how well a project proposal meets the goals. The judges’ scores are then averaged for each goal, the average scores are multiplied by the appropriate weighting factor, and the project receives an overall score.

Table 2: Example scoring of a proposed project using ODF goals under the FBII umbrella.

GoalJudge

1Judge

2Judge

3Avg.

ScoreWeight

Avg. Score x Weight

1.Support critical requirements

9 7 9 8.3 5 41.5

2.Reduce risk 5 5 5 5.0 5 25.0

3.Accommodate customer needs

7 6 9 7.3 4 29.2

4.Supply information effectively

3 5 5 4.3 4 17.2

5.Support field operations 2 2 3 2.3 3 6.9

6.Improve efficiency 6 8 9 7.7 3 23.1

7.Support multiple functions 5 6 5 5.3 3 15.9

8.Provide information that is standardized, well-defined, and accessible

4 7 5 5.3 3 15.9

9.Guarantee accountability 5 3 4 4.0 3 12.0

10.Consider future requirements

9 4 5 6.0 2 12.0

Project Overall Score: 198.7



Note that the weighting factors for the goals in the previous two tables are simply the author’s personal opinion. It was agreed at the January 23rd meeting that these priorities would be reconsidered by ODF at some time in the future.

2.5 Results - Strategies to Achieve the Goals

There are several strategies to use in accomplishing the goals. These include, at least, the following:

Make use of centralized, integrated databases and standardized protocols – to avoid data redundancy, minimize the creation of information silos, provide a consistent user interface, and guarantee accuracy;

Establish system documentation standards – to facilitate fixes, improvements, and accountability; this strategy is applicable to processes and protocols, as well as to software systems;

Focus on requirements – in the selection of solutions, keep information needs, costs, usability, and all other goals in mind;

Use commercial off the shelf (COTS) software – if feasible, to avoid the expense of custom-built software, and to benefit from belonging to a “user community” that has already proven the value of the software and identified and fixed shortcomings;

Train – to develop new skills if needed, and to help ensure data integrity, proper documentation, and standardization of processes; to help “align philosophies” when different approaches to management or decision making threaten the ability to design and implement a solution;

Consider the “total cost of ownership” – before adopting a system or solution; consider the cost of long-term support and maintenance, training, hardware requirements, changes in staffing, lost productivity due to conversion time and “climbing the learning curve” for the new system;

Use “spatially enabled” applications – where appropriate, use GIS/GPS technology and a centralized spatial database to link activities to a location on the ground and track those activities over time; look for opportunities to take spatial data to the field;

Conduct customer surveys – to know what the customer needs in terms of information, precision, timeliness, and delivery format; and to make sure the customer is satisfied with systems that have been developed;

Assess information needs – this is a critical and necessary step to making sure that development time and energy are spent wisely;

Use web-based services – where applicable, to facilitate fast, easy, and consistent access to information;

Employ data editing in the field – where applicable, to facilitate real-time information updates;

Employ varying levels of permission (for security) - in centralized databases, to help ensure data integrity, reduce the possibility of improper data editing or



inadvertent incorrect changes to the data, and maintain the confidence of users of the information;

Establish a system of governance of information systems – to help facilitate meeting the needs of multiple programs, ensure compliance with standards, and meet the requirements of other state agencies.

These are fairly generic strategies, which is by design, because most of these would be applicable to improving business processes in any of the ODF functional areas.


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