CPP Business Process Reengineering 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which phase of a BPR project involves identifying which processes are most critical and should be reengineered first?
- Process diagnosis
- Process visioning
- Process prioritization (Correct answer)
- Process redesign
Correct answer: Process prioritization
Process prioritization evaluates which processes offer the highest impact and strategic value for reengineering efforts.
Question 2: What role does an 'as-is' process map play in BPR?
- It serves as the blueprint for the reengineered future-state process
- It documents the current process to identify inefficiencies and improvement opportunities (Correct answer)
- It is used to train employees on new workflows after redesign
- It replaces the need for stakeholder interviews
Correct answer: It documents the current process to identify inefficiencies and improvement opportunities
The as-is map captures the current state, helping teams identify waste, bottlenecks, and areas ripe for reengineering.
Question 3: In BPR, the 'to-be' process model represents:
- The current state of business operations
- The future redesigned process after reengineering (Correct answer)
- A benchmark from a competitor organization
- A temporary workaround pending system implementation
Correct answer: The future redesigned process after reengineering
The to-be model describes the redesigned process that the organization aims to implement.
Question 4: Which of the following best describes 'process fragmentation' that BPR seeks to eliminate?
- Processes that use too many software tools
- Work divided among multiple people and departments creating handoff delays and errors (Correct answer)
- Processes that lack written documentation
- Customer-facing processes that are not standardized
Correct answer: Work divided among multiple people and departments creating handoff delays and errors
Fragmented processes create handoffs, delays, and errors; BPR consolidates fragmented steps to streamline work.
Question 5: What is the significance of executive sponsorship in a BPR project?
- It ensures that only senior managers are involved in process redesign
- It provides the authority, resources, and organizational commitment needed to overcome resistance (Correct answer)
- It eliminates the need for employee buy-in during implementation
- It restricts the scope of reengineering to avoid operational disruption
Correct answer: It provides the authority, resources, and organizational commitment needed to overcome resistance
Without strong executive sponsorship, BPR initiatives lack the authority to mandate cross-functional changes and often fail.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of 'work compression' in BPR?
- Outsourcing non-core activities to third parties
- Combining sequential tasks so they can be performed in parallel or by one person (Correct answer)
- Reducing the number of employees to cut costs
- Automating manual data entry through OCR technology
Correct answer: Combining sequential tasks so they can be performed in parallel or by one person
Work compression reduces cycle time by parallelizing or integrating tasks that were previously performed in sequence.
Question 7: Which of the following best describes the role of IT in enabling BPR according to Davenport?
- IT is used primarily to automate existing manual processes
- IT acts as a disruptive force that enables entirely new ways of performing work (Correct answer)
- IT should be implemented only after process redesign is complete
- IT replaces the need for human involvement in reengineered processes
Correct answer: IT acts as a disruptive force that enables entirely new ways of performing work
Davenport viewed IT as an enabler of new process possibilities, not merely an automation tool for old ones.
CPP Business Process Reengineering 3
Which phase of a BPR project involves identifying which processes are most critical and should be reengineered first?