System Analysis at University of Oxford

As part of a property management system implementation project at University of Oxford, CI Projects undertook ‘as is’ process analysis to understand requirements & opportunities for improvement.

Our client was struggling with gaps in system requirements due to lack of documented processes, a highly manual process including several work-arounds due to system limitations, a heavy reliance on spreadsheets for managing workflow. This presented an overall risk of the project failing if requirements were not clearly defined. Earlier phases of the project had resulted in solutions that did not meet the user requirements, impacting team morale and progress of the project. Anecdotal feedback suggested processes were manual and inefficient but this was not supported by any data or documentation, making it difficult to make informed decisions.

Mid-way through the project, CI Projects were asked to develop ‘as is’ processes so that there was an understanding of how teams currently work within the existing systems. These process would in turn, support with defining the user requirements.

Our business analysts documented over 50 process maps that detailed how teams used the existing system, including high level end-to-end process maps across 3 different teams. We facilitated a number of sessions with subject matter experts to make sure all steps were correct and reflected day-to-day reality. We used TIMWOODS Lean methodology to analyse the processes and identify where there was waste, and used this data insight to develop a waste analysis report highlighting clear themes, prioritising requirements and recommended solutions.

Following our analysis, University of Oxford has improved visibility of end-to-end processes, a more informed and structured set of system requirements and a robust set of documents for software developers to ensure a fit-for-purpose system. The waste analysis also provided key areas to focus on and opportunities for improvement.