Process Design Matrix and Summary

Process Design Matrix and Summary

Luis M. Montes

University of Phoenix

OPS/571

December 3, 2014

Prof. Sandra Fonseca – Lind

Process Design Matrix and Summary

Introduction

A Process Design Matrix is a tool used to help identify the tasks needed to complete a project and determine if they are matched with the correct processes.  Robert Hayes and Steven Wheelwright introduced the Process Design Matrix in 1979 in the Harvard Business Review. This instrument can help organizations identify the type of production approach they should use based on the volumes of products and the amount of customization it needs. Even when the Process Design Matrix was created with the manufacturing environment in mind, nowadays is used in many enterprises to make task and projects run more efficiently (Mind Tools, 2014). In this paper the author will write an executive summary identifying appropriate design approaches for a selected product and service.

Service Process Design – Retail Banking

As in all service processes, the design should be focused on the customer and his or hers satisfaction. All decisions made in a service organization must be built on that premise. In a retail bank there are two kinds of operations, transactions and financial services. Transactions occur in the cashier area, and financial services, which happen in the service desk and banking officers’ areas. Facilities must be ample and well lit in order to accommodate the customers comfortably and assure privacy during specific transactions. The service design strategy to be implemented is personal attention.

In a retail bank environment barriers are very low since the customer can visit the facilities as much at needed, so the design must be innovative and cost effective. Convenience is a major factor for a customer. Banking branches must be located near urban areas but with the population expansion, it must also serve suburban customers. Location is very important in the service design process. Even with technology and Internet banking, customers in Puerto Rico likes to visits their banking locations.

Another mayor component of the service design is the employees. Customers expect their money to be safe in a bank, it’s an assumption. But they also expect to be treated professionally by their “bankers”, form the cashier in the service area to the manager and the executives. The customer expects to receive fast service but also proper service. They expect to be treated with respect and with some sort of privacy. Officer’s schedules should be determined based on the statistics of customer behavior during different times of the day, the week and the month.