Enterprise IT Projects vs. Process Projects
Organisations launch two types of projects: enterprise IT projects and process projects. Enterprise IT projects improve technology systems. Process projects enhance workflow efficiency. While these projects focus on different aspects of operations, they are both essential for organisational progress.
Enterprise IT projects use technology to transform organisational functions. They involve:
- Installing, enhancing, or fixing infrastructure and applications.
- Automating tasks.
- Improving data handling and decisions based on data.
Process projects refine business operations. They split into process engineering and process improvement. Process engineering builds or redesigns processes. Process improvement adjusts existing ones. These projects cover:
- Designing, implementing, and refining processes.
- Fixing workflow inefficiencies, such as bottlenecks, delays, or redundant steps.
- Cutting costs while boosting the efficiency and sustainability of business operations.
Table 2 shows how enterprise IT and process projects differ in purpose, methods, impact, and role in organisational improvement plans.
| Attributes | Enterprise IT Projects | Process Reengineering Projects | Process Improvement Projects |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Achieve strategic objectives (e.g., innovation, regulatory compliance). | Achieve strategic objectives (e.g., increased efficiency, cost reduction) through fundamental process redesign. | Increase efficiency within a specific business area or workflow (e.g., small-scale optimisations, often without technology). |
| Sponsor | Business | Business | Business |
| Governance | PMO | PMO | PMO for larger improvements; Business for workflow-specific improvements |
| Scope | Installation of comprehensive IT services, including technology, information, processes, and organisational change management. | Update or redesign business processes, with potential technology integration and significant organisational change. | Enhancements of specific workflows within a department or business area. |
| Size | Large | Large | Small to medium |
| Complexity | High: multiple internal and external stakeholders, new system installations, major upgrades, numerous integrations. | High: cross-functional coordination, business model shifts, substantial stakeholder engagement. | Moderate: less cross-functional dependency, generally contained within a department or area. |
| Impact | Transformative, organisation-wide impact. | Transformative, organisation-wide or department-wide impact. | Efficiency in a department or business area. |
| Delivery Model | Waterfall, Agile, or Hybrid | Six Sigma, Lean Six Sigma | PMO-led: Lean Six Sigma, PDCA, Kaizen; Business-led: Ad-hoc |
| Standards | Project management and discipline standards (e.g., PRINCE2, ITIL) | Industry standards (e.g., Lean Six Sigma) and best practices | PMO-led: Lean, Kaizen standards; Business-led: Self-devised practices |
| Resource Competency | Specialists: technology-agnostic, knowledgeable in various business domains. | Specialists: cross-functional expertise, technology-agnostic, strong grasp of enterprise and business domains. | PMO-led: Process improvement specialists; Business-led: Team members with area-specific knowledge. |
IT architecture and business processes shape project outcomes differently. Their interaction drives an organisation to choose between enterprise IT projects and process-focused initiatives. This is demonstrated in the Metropolis Facility Management case, where technology and workflow solutions tackle the same customer service goal in distinct ways.
Enhancing Customer Services at Metropolis Facility Management
Project Overview
Metropolis Facility Management aims to improve customer service. This can be approached in two ways: as an IT project or as a process project. This case study compares these approaches, demonstrating how outcomes differ depending on whether the focus is on introducing new technology or optimising existing processes
Comparison Table
| Attribute | Enterprise IT Projects | Process Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Objective | Implement CustomerConnect to automate service requests, cutting response times and increasing transparency. | Redesign customer service workflows to cut inefficiencies and speed up responsiveness without new tech. |
| Sponsor | Business | Business |
| Governance | PMO | PMO |
| Focus | Integrate CustomerConnect with CRM and work order systems for smooth data sharing and real-time updates. | Re-engineer customer-facing processes to remove bottlenecks and reduce task handoffs. |
| Scope | Configure 10 service types, train 50 users, and link with customer databases and work order tracking. | Map 15 current workflows, spot inefficiencies, and streamline communication for faster resolution. |
| Size | Large | Large |
| Complexity | High: multiple stakeholders (IT, service teams), system integration, and staff training. | High: cross-team coordination (service, ops), process redesign, and stakeholder input. |
| Approach | Use Agile for phased rollout and user testing to ensure features like automatic request routing work. | Use Lean to cut waste and Six Sigma to reduce errors, refining request handling and escalation. |
| Impact | Transformative, organisation-wide: affects all 5 branches and 200 staff. | Transformative, department-wide: improves service team of 50 staff across 5 branches. |
| Delivery Model | Agile | Lean Six Sigma |
| Standards | Project management standards (e.g., PRINCE2) | Industry standards (e.g., Lean Six Sigma) |
| Resource Competency | Specialists: tech experts for integration, trainers for rollout. | Specialists: process experts for redesign, team leads for input. |
| Outcome | Automate requests with real-time tracking and reports, linking service and operations teams. | Cut response times by 30% (20 to 14 minutes), reduce handoffs from 5 to 3, and limit delays. |
How IT Architecture and Business Processes Guide Project Approaches
Effective IT architecture must be guided by business architecture. Business architecture defines the organisation’s operational structure, including its goals, functions, and capabilities. Business processes flow from this structure, detailing the workflows that deliver those functions. These processes then serve as the foundation for selecting technologies and applications for implementation. This approach ensures that organisational requirements take precedence, preventing technology from constraining business operations. For example, in Metropolis’s IT project, the business architecture prioritised seamless customer service, leading to processes that required system integration.
Enterprise IT Projects
When organisations identify technologies closely aligned with their enterprise architecture, enterprise IT projects are launched to implement these infrastructures. If functionality gaps arise—where system capabilities fail to support critical business processes or workflows—additional process steps are designed. This results in an integrated solution combining technology and processes to sustain business operations effectively.
Process Projects
By contrast, process projects concentrate on refining existing processes and workflows. Although they may propose IT solutions to automate specific tasks, their core aim is to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of business functions within the current technological framework.
Role of Process Specialists
Process Specialists in Enterprise IT Projects
In enterprise IT projects, process specialists evaluate business requirements to support technological implementations. Their responsibilities include:
- Mapping current state processes to determine the impact of new technology on existing workflows.
- Drafting future state processes to define operational functions after implementation, pinpointing gaps in system functionality.
- Finalising future state processes, integrating interim solutions or workarounds for undeliverable features or defects identified during implementation.
Their deliverables align business needs with technological capabilities:
- Updated process diagrams depict how new technology integrates with existing workflows.
- Standard operating procedures (SOPs) deliver precise instructions for managing workflow changes with the new systems.
Incorporating process analysis is essential in enterprise IT projects. Technology alone cannot address all operational inefficiencies.
Process Specialists in Process Projects
In process projects, specialists target the refinement of processes and workflows. Their responsibilities include:
- Performing detailed analyses of existing processes using techniques like process simulation and cycle time measurement to uncover inefficiencies and improvement opportunities.
- Applying revised business architectures to strategically redesign organisational structures, aligning them with efficiency targets and broader strategic objectives.
- Developing comprehensive business process models to document and evaluate workflows, identifying bottlenecks and redundancies in operational sequences.
- Generating clear process diagrams to represent operational flows visually, aiding stakeholder recognition of inefficiencies.
- Producing SOP documents to convert conceptual improvements into practical, organisation-wide steps for implementing revised processes.
Their deliverables enhance operational performance:
- Updated process models and diagrams offer a full perspective of workflows, marking areas for improvement.
- SOPs provide detailed, step-by-step guidance to ensure stakeholders can execute changes effectively.
Structured techniques, such as value stream mapping and root cause analysis, allow organisations to refine workflows and improve efficiency. These methods ensure improvements are both theoretical and practical.
