Business Process Improvement Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Operations Managers, Process Owners and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-OM-030

Before you join: Participants should have at least one year of experience working with recurring operational, service, administrative or transactional processes.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Business processes often accumulate duplicate approvals, unclear handoffs, manual rework and reporting that nobody uses. The result is longer customer waiting times, higher operating cost, inconsistent service and staff workarounds. Improvement efforts can also fail when teams map a process without measuring demand, variation, delays or root causes, then implement changes without ownership or controls.

This course teaches participants to simplify work processes and procedures using a disciplined improvement method. Participants define process scope and customer requirements, map the current state, measure performance, identify waste and constraints, analyse root causes, redesign workflows and set controls for sustained results. The course uses SIPOC, BPMN 2.0, value stream mapping, Lean waste analysis, Pareto charts, cause-and-effect analysis, 5 Whys, standard work and PDCA. Attention is given to practical issues such as approval design, exception handling, role clarity, digital workflow requirements and implementation risk.

Instruction combines short practitioner briefings with process cases drawn from banking operations, public services, procurement, customer support and shared-service teams. Participants work with realistic process data, maps and scenarios to practise selecting measures, testing improvement ideas and presenting recommendations to process owners. Each participant develops an improvement pack for a process relevant to their role, including a current-state map, problem statement, root-cause analysis, future-state design, action plan and performance measures.

The course is suited to professionals who manage, supervise, analyse or support recurring operational processes. It is particularly useful where service quality, turnaround time, compliance, cost control or employee workload depends on reliable end-to-end procedures.

What you will be able to do

  • Define process boundaries, customers, suppliers, inputs and outputs using SIPOC
  • Map current-state workflows using BPMN 2.0 symbols, roles, decisions and exceptions
  • Measure process performance using cycle time, lead time, backlog, first-pass yield and demand data
  • Identify waste, bottlenecks, handoff failures and non-value-adding activities using Lean analysis
  • Analyse process problems using Pareto charts, fishbone diagrams and 5 Whys
  • Design simplified future-state processes with clear controls, roles and standard work
  • Prepare a phased process-improvement implementation plan with risks, owners and measures
  • Present an evidence-based improvement case using quantified benefits and process measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Document workflows clearly for managers, colleagues, auditors and technology teams
  • Diagnose recurring delays using evidence rather than assumptions or individual opinions
  • Lead structured improvement discussions across functions with a shared process view
  • Build credible business cases for removing unnecessary steps and controls
  • Create practical implementation plans that sustain process changes after launch

For your organisation

  • Reduced turnaround times through removal of waiting, rework and duplicate approvals
  • More consistent service through documented procedures, roles and exception routes
  • Lower operating effort by eliminating non-value-adding tasks and unnecessary handoffs
  • Better control evidence through visible process ownership, measures and review routines
  • Stronger improvement delivery through common methods, terminology and decision criteria

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can frame a process problem, define improvement scope and align stakeholders around measurable objectives.

  • Process performance links customer experience, cost, risk and employee workload
  • End-to-end process boundaries distinguish triggers, outcomes and adjacent workflows
  • SIPOC identifies suppliers, inputs, process steps, outputs and customers
  • Voice of Customer translated into critical-to-quality process requirements
  • Problem statements separate observed symptoms from measurable process performance gaps
  • Improvement charters define scope, sponsors, stakeholders, measures and constraints

Participants can select and interpret measures that reveal process capacity, delay, quality and demand patterns.

  • Demand analysis separates predictable volumes from failure demand and seasonal peaks
  • Lead time, cycle time and waiting time measure different delays
  • First-pass yield exposes rework, returns and incomplete transaction outcomes
  • Backlog ageing identifies queues requiring escalation, triage or capacity action
  • Operational definitions make measures consistent across teams and reporting periods
  • Baseline data establishes current performance before process changes begin

Participants can produce a current-state map showing activities, decisions, handoffs, controls and exceptions.

  • BPMN 2.0 events, tasks and gateways document workflow logic
  • Swimlanes reveal accountability, handoffs and cross-functional waiting points
  • Decision rules expose inconsistent routing and avoidable approval loops
  • Exception paths distinguish standard processing from genuinely unusual cases
  • Walkthrough interviews validate documented procedures against actual staff practice
  • Process observation records touch time, queue time and rework points

Participants can identify where work, time and information are lost within an operational process.

  • Lean waste categories identify defects, waiting, motion and overprocessing
  • Value stream mapping distinguishes value-adding work from necessary control activity
  • Bottleneck analysis locates capacity constraints limiting total process throughput
  • Handoff analysis identifies missing information, duplication and ownership gaps
  • Failure demand captures contacts caused by previous process failures
  • Spaghetti diagrams reveal unnecessary movement in physical service workflows

Participants can test plausible causes of process problems and distinguish causes from symptoms.

  • Pareto charts prioritise defect categories by frequency, effort or cost
  • Fishbone diagrams organise potential causes across people, process and technology
  • 5 Whys traces recurring failures beyond immediate staff actions
  • Stratification compares performance by channel, product, team and transaction type
  • Check sheets collect consistent evidence at the point of failure
  • Cause validation tests assumptions against process data and observed workflow

Participants can redesign a process to remove unnecessary work while preserving required controls.

  • ECRS questions eliminate, combine, rearrange and simplify process activities
  • Approval matrices match decision authority to risk, value and exception type
  • Standard work defines sequence, timing, quality criteria and escalation routes
  • Decision trees convert complex rules into repeatable frontline choices
  • Forms rationalisation removes duplicate fields and clarifies essential information
  • Control redesign separates mandatory assurance from habitual checking activity

Participants can create a practical future-state design with roles, controls, measures and exception handling.

  • Future-state BPMN maps show redesigned flow, roles and automated decisions
  • Service standards define expected response times, quality thresholds and ownership
  • RACI matrices clarify accountable, responsible, consulted and informed roles
  • Poka-yoke prevents predictable errors through prompts, validation and constraints
  • Queue design sets triage rules, priority criteria and escalation thresholds
  • Exception management specifies evidence, authority and return-to-standard procedures

Participants can assess improvement options for benefits, feasibility, risk and implementation effort.

  • Impact-effort matrices rank improvement ideas using explicit selection criteria
  • Pilot plans define scope, hypotheses, measures, duration and decision rules
  • Failure mode and effects analysis anticipates redesign risks and controls
  • Benefit estimates quantify time saved, errors avoided and capacity released
  • Stakeholder analysis identifies supporters, affected groups and likely objections
  • Change readiness assessments expose training, communication and system dependencies

Participants can plan implementation activities that transfer redesigned procedures into daily operations.

  • Implementation roadmaps sequence quick wins, pilots, system changes and rollout
  • Action registers assign owners, deadlines, dependencies and escalation routes
  • Standard operating procedures document roles, steps, controls and exceptions
  • Training needs analysis identifies knowledge, practice and job-aid requirements
  • Communication plans explain changes, reasons, timings and affected responsibilities
  • Transition controls protect service continuity during phased process implementation

Participants can establish review routines and present a defensible case for sustained process improvement.

  • PDCA review cycles compare actual results with target process performance
  • Process dashboards track lead time, quality, backlog and compliance measures
  • Control plans assign monitoring frequency, thresholds, owners and response actions
  • Visual management makes workflow status, exceptions and priorities immediately visible
  • Before-and-after analysis demonstrates realised benefits and unresolved performance gaps
  • Ninety-day action plans convert improvement findings into accountable next steps

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. SIPOC process-scoping template
  2. Current-state BPMN mapping template
  3. Process performance baseline worksheet
  4. Root-cause analysis pack
  5. Future-state process design template
  6. Ninety-day improvement action plan

Who should attend

  • Operations Managers — responsible for service performance, cost and workflow reliability
  • Process Owners — accountable for end-to-end procedures and improvement priorities
  • Business Analysts — required to document, analyse and redesign operational workflows
  • Continuous Improvement Specialists — supporting structured Lean and process-improvement initiatives
  • Team Leaders and Supervisors — resolving daily delays, rework and handoff problems
  • Project Managers — delivering operational change that depends on revised processes

Skills and tools covered

Process mappingWaste identificationRoot-cause analysisWorkflow simplificationPerformance measurementImprovement implementation

Tools and standards

SIPOC, BPMN 2.0, Value Stream Mapping, PDCA

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by guided analysis of realistic operational cases. Participants interpret process maps, demand data, delay patterns and quality measures; compare improvement options; and test decisions through group exercises and service-process simulations. Facilitated discussions focus on approval flows, exceptions, controls and stakeholder concerns. Participants apply each stage of the method to a selected workplace process, building an improvement pack progressively. The final sessions use peer review and action planning to strengthen implementation choices.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have at least one year of experience working with recurring operational, service, administrative or transactional processes. They should be familiar with their own team’s procedures, common delays and key stakeholders, and able to interpret basic tables or operational reports. Experience of process mapping, Lean, Six Sigma or business analysis is helpful but not required. No statistical software, formal quality qualification, coding knowledge or prior BPMN training is required. Participants will gain most value by bringing a real process problem they can describe during the course.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You need familiarity with a recurring process, service workflow or administrative procedure. Prior Lean, Six Sigma, BPMN or business analysis training is not required.

Bring details of one process that creates delays, errors, rework, customer complaints or excessive approvals. Useful material includes existing procedures, service measures, reports or process maps, although none is mandatory.

It suits operations managers, process owners, business analysts, supervisors, project managers and improvement specialists. Participants should have an interest in improving recurring work rather than managing a one-off project only.

This course concentrates on simplifying operational processes and procedures using accessible analysis tools. It does not seek to provide a formal Lean Six Sigma qualification, nor does it focus on project scheduling, procurement or portfolio governance.

You can use the templates to map a process, establish a baseline, identify causes of delay and propose a future-state workflow. The improvement pack provides a structured basis for discussion with process owners, staff, risk teams and technology colleagues.

The five days run from 08:30 to 16:30 and provide about 6.5 contact hours each day. Time is divided across ten connected modules covering diagnosis, mapping, measurement, redesign, implementation and sustainment.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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