Enterprise IT Projects vs. Process Projects
Organisations initiate two types of projects: enterprise IT projects, which enhance technological infrastructure, and process projects, which improve workflow efficiency. While the focus is on different aspects of business operations, both are essential for organisational development.
Enterprise IT projects are dedicated to using technology to transform organisational functions. They are characterised by:
- Deploying, upgrading, or improving computer systems and software.
- Enabling task automation.
- Enhancing data management and data-driven decision-making.
Process projects include process engineering (creates or overhauls processes) and process improvement (refines existing processes) to enhance business operations. These projects involve:
- Designing, implementing, and refining business processes to maximise efficiency.
- Addressing inefficiencies in various business operations.
- Aiming for cost-effective, efficient, and sustainable operations for long-term resilience.
The comparison in Table 2 clarifies enterprise IT and process projects' distinct purposes, methodologies, impacts, and integration within the broader strategic framework of organisational improvement.
| Attribute | Enterprise IT Project | Process Reengineering Project | Process Improvement Project |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Achieves strategic objectives, such as innovation or regulatory compliance. | Achieves strategic objectives such as increased efficiency or cost reduction through fundamental process redesign. | Increases efficiency within a specific business area or workflow. May also undertake small-scale optimisations without technology. |
| Who sponsors? | Business | Business | Business |
| Who governs? | PMO | PMO | PMO for larger improvements Business or workflow-specific improvements |
| Scope | Installation of comprehensive IT services, including technology, information, processes, and organisational change management. | Updates or redesigns of 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, involving multiple internal and external stakeholders, installation of new systems, major upgrades, and numerous system integrations. | High, with cross-functional coordination, business model shifts, and substantial stakeholder engagement. | Moderate, with less cross-functional dependency; generally contained within a department or business area. |
| Impact | Transformative with organisation-wide impact | Transformative with organisation-wide or department-wide | Department-wide 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 | Industry standards like Lean Six Sigma, best practices | PMO-led: Lean, Kaizen standards Business-led: Self-devised practices |
| Resource Competency | Enterprise IT project professionals and discipline specialists who are both technology-agnostic and generally knowledgeable in various business domains. | Process reengineering specialists with cross-functional expertise, technology-agnostic, with a strong grasp of enterprise and business domains. | PMO-led: Process improvement specialists Business-led: Business domain experts |
Building on the foundational understanding of enterprise IT and process projects, the following analysis offers a practical example that illustrates the differences between these approaches.
Enhancing Customer Services at Metropolis Facility Management
Table 3 contrasts the same business objective —enhancing customer services at Metropolis Facility Management—through two distinct project approaches: IT-driven and process-driven. This comparison highlights how the delivered outcomes can vary depending on whether the focus is on implementing new technology or refining existing processes.
| Attribute | Enterprise IT Project | Process Project |
|---|---|---|
 |  | |
| Objective | Implement the CustomerConnect system to automate service request logging, tracking, and escalation management, improving response times and transparency. | Redesign customer service workflows, such as request intake, escalation protocols, and response prioritisation, to reduce inefficiencies and enhance responsiveness without new technology. |
| Focus | Focus on integrating CustomerConnect with existing Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and work order management systems to enable seamless data sharing and ensure that service requests, customer profiles, and work orders are synchronised across all platforms. | Focus on re-engineering customer-facing processes, such as service request submission and resolution timelines, to remove bottlenecks and reduce task handoffs between departments. |
| Scope | The scope includes system configuration for service types, user training for CustomerConnect, integration with current customer databases, and work order tracking based on customer feedback and operational requirements. | The scope involves process mapping of current service request workflows, identifying inefficiencies in request handling, and revising steps for quicker resolution, including streamlining communication between customer service teams and maintenance staff. |
| Approach | Utilises IT project management methodologies, including Agile, for iterative system rollout and user acceptance testing (UAT) to ensure CustomerConnect meets functionality requirements, such as automatic service request routing. | Employs process improvement methodologies, such as Lean for waste reduction and Six Sigma for error minimisation, focusing on optimising service request handling and escalation, reducing delays, and clarifying decision points. |
| Outcome | Outcomes include an automated service request management system that provides real-time tracking and reporting capabilities and enhanced communication between departments to continuously improve service. | Outcomes result in faster response times, fewer task handoffs, improved customer satisfaction, and more streamlined internal communication, improving service efficiency without additional IT investment. |
Understanding how IT architecture and business processes shape project outcomes determines an organisation's approach, whether through enterprise IT projects or process-focused initiatives.
The Interplay of IT Architecture and Business Processes
Effective IT architecture must be driven by business architecture, ensuring that business processes are the blueprint for selecting technologies and applications for implementation. This approach prioritises the organisation's needs rather than allowing technology to restrict how the business should operate.
When organisations identify technologies that align closely with their enterprise architecture, IT projects are initiated to implement these IT infrastructures. If gaps exist—meaning certain functionalities do not support essential business processes or workflows—complementary process steps must be developed. This creates a holistic technology and process solution that effectively supports business operations.
In contrast, a process project focuses on refining existing processes and workflows. While this may involve recommendations for IT implementations to automate processes, the primary objective remains improving business function efficiency and effectiveness within the established technologies.
This distinction highlights the different approaches: enterprise IT projects are centred around integrating technology, while process projects are dedicated to enhancing operational workflows, which may include technological solutions.
Role of Process Specialists
Process specialists play vital roles in enterprise IT and process projects, each with distinct responsibilities.
Process Specialists in Enterprise IT Projects
Process specialists analyse business requirements in enterprise IT projects to complement technological solutions. Their key responsibilities include:
- Mapping current state processes to assess how existing workflows are impacted by new technology.
- Drafting future state processes to outline operational functions post-implementation, particularly identifying system functionality gaps.
- Finalising future state processes, incorporating interim solutions or workarounds for aspects of the technology that may be undeliverable or identified as defects at implementation.
The outputs from process specialists bridge business requirements with technological capabilities:
- Updated process diagrams illustrate the integration of new technology within existing workflows.
- Standard operating procedures provide clear, actionable instructions for navigating workflow and operational changes utilising the new technology
Integrating process analysis into enterprise IT projects is crucial, as technological implementation alone cannot resolve all organisational inefficiencies.
Process Specialists in Process Projects
In process projects, specialists focus on refining processes and workflows. Their key responsibilities include:
- Conducting thorough analyses of existing processes to identify inefficiencies and areas for improvement, using techniques such as process simulation and turnaround time measurement.
- Referring to revised business architectures that strategically redesign organisational structures to align with efficiency goals and overall strategic objectives.
- Creating detailed business process models that document and analyse workflows, highlighting potential bottlenecks and redundancies within operational flows.
- Producing clear process diagrams visually representing operational flows, making inefficiencies easily identifiable and facilitating better stakeholder understanding.
- Compiling SOP documents to ensure that conceptual improvements are translated into actionable steps across the organisation, providing clear guidance for implementing new or revised processes.
The outputs from process specialists serve as essential tools for driving operational excellence:
- Updated process models and diagrams provide a comprehensive view of existing workflows, highlighting areas for enhancement.
- Standard operating procedures break down complex processes into clear, step-by-step instructions, ensuring stakeholders can effectively implement changes.
Using structured process analysis techniques, such as value stream and root cause analysis, enables organisations to refine workflows and enhance overall efficiency, ensuring that improvements are conceptual, practical, and actionable.
