A process is a “set of interrelated or interacting activities which transforms inputs to outputs”. ISO9001
A process “may define policies, standards, guidelines, activities or work instructions if they are needed”. ITIL (Service Strategy).
There are particular characteristics you would expect to find in an efficient and effective process such as:
– Defined actions.
– Measurable in terms of cost or quality. Duration or productivity.
– Deliver specific identifiable and countable results.
– Have customers/stakeholders who have expectations of the results of the process.
– React to events in terms of a trigger.
Why use Process Auditing?
Audits use sampling due to time and practical restraints.
Process auditing usually makes the best use of the time available, as a process is often confined to a small area in the business, for example the HR process is in one office and the Accounts process is in another. This way each process can be assess against all relevant parts of the audit without having to visit areas several times during the audit.
We can also get a good idea about how the processes connect, by planning the audit to move from one to the next.
Why have an Audit?
The main reasons you may wish to audit are:
– To verify a process is operating as intended.
– To identify improvements to a process.
– To achieve ISO certification.
Contact us for more information on auditing: 020 3432 2854.
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