Process Efficiency
Actions

It's a forgone conclusion that Actions performed in a Process/Task directly affect efficiency.

The most important requirement of Process/Task actions is that the complete set of actions required to complete the Process/Task must be clearly defined and readily referable by those who execute the Process/Task.  Most people who cook use a recipe for anything with a fair amount of complexity. The recipe allows the results to be produced exactly as intended. It also provides a medium to store any modifications that resulted in an improvement. Recipes can be shared and assures that if the original author gets hit by a bus, the desired dish can go on being produced.  So why do we rarely see any Task or Process definitions?

Another reason why some form of action definition is important has to do with the variability of many business Processes discussed earlier. The ideal set of Processes and Tasks is the minimal amount that effectively fulfills the functional needs of the business. This means that most Tasks have to anticipate a minor amount of variation in their inputs and be able to accommodate them without losing efficiency. This adds to the complexity of the Task making it all the more important for the Task actions to be well defined. There is a point where variation in the Task actions becomes too complex and cumbersome. At that point, it becomes beneficial to define a new set of Tasks.

This area represents one of the largest potential increases in operational efficiency and you would be amazed at how many complex Tasks we perform in and out of the business environment without a clear "plan of attack" thereby making them much more difficult and cumbersome than necessary. Going through the process of defining HOW to do things illuminates many opportunities to organize and order actions in a manner that produces the best results with the least effort. Defining Task actions also has a significant impact on the Human Factor of performing Tasks that will be discussed later.