Successful Process Documentation of Your Academy

The successful digitalization of the seminar business starts with a thorough analysis and documentation of existing processes. This guide walks you through identifying key workflows, uncovering inefficiencies, and revealing areas for improvement. By doing so, you lay the foundation for a software solution that boosts your efficiency and significantly reduces administrative work.

Learn how to drive automation and process optimization through clearly defined software requirements.

Why is process analysis the first step?
The software is meant to improve existing workflows, not complicate them. A comprehensive analysis reveals which processes truly need improvement and which already work well. It also helps eliminate unnecessary steps.
 

How do you identify relevant processes in the seminar business?
Training providers should focus on the key processes that occur regularly and consume a lot of time. These include:
 

• Course Planning: How are seminars scheduled and rooms or online platforms assigned?
• Participant Management: How are registrations, confirmations, and participant tracking handled?
• Certification: What processes are necessary to issue certificates or confirmations to participants after course completion?
   

Example: A mid-sized training center analyzes its registration process and discovers that many participants sign up for the wrong courses or create duplicate entries. This results in high administrative effort, which could be automated with software.

• What steps are needed to systematically document processes?
  The documentation should be as detailed as possible, describing every step of the individual processes. It’s important to record who is responsible for which tasks, what dependencies exist, and what tools are currently used.
   
• Tools and techniques for effective process documentation:
  Companies can use simple tools like flowcharts (e.g., in Microsoft Visio or Lucidchart) to visually represent processes. It’s crucial that all stakeholders are involved and provide feedback to ensure no important details are overlooked.
   
• Benefits of thorough process documentation:
  Complete documentation not only helps formulate software requirements but also facilitates onboarding new employees and identifying sources of error.

Example: Detailed Documentation of the Certification Process

Process Name: Certificate Issuance After Seminar Completion

Process Goal: Issuing and sending participation certificates to all eligible participants after successful seminar completion.

Involved Roles:

• Seminar Leader: Verifies attendance and provides the attendance list.
• Administration: Prepares certificates and sends them via email or postal mail to participants.

• Software (future): Automates certificate creation and distribution based on participant data.

Example: Process Steps:

1. Create Attendance List:
   The seminar leader marks participants who fully attended the course.
    
2. Submit Attendance List to Administration:
   The attendance list is sent to the administration department.
    
3. Create Certificates:
   The administration manually fills a standard template with participant details.
    
4. Send Certificates to Participants:
   Certificates are sent via email.
    
5. Archive Certificates:
   All certificates are archived for future access.

How to derive specific software requirements from documented processes:
Once the processes are documented, weaknesses and optimization potentials can be identified. These directly lead to software requirements. For example, if the participant registration process takes too much time manually, the software should fully automate this process.

• Example: Requirements for Participant Management:
  A key requirement could be that the software automatically manages waiting lists and notifies participants when spots become available. It could also provide real-time payment information, giving the administration an overview of payment statuses at any time.
   

Example: A seminar provider wants to improve communication with participants. Currently, reminders for upcoming seminars must be sent manually. The software should take over this task by automatically sending reminder emails when a course is approaching.

Process optimization through software implementation:
Many manual steps, such as managing registrations, tracking payments, or issuing certificates, can be automated by software. This saves time and reduces the potential for errors.

• Example: Automating Registration Processes:
  A training provider finds that errors often occur when assigning participants to courses. The software takes over this task automatically, sending participants personalized course information.

Example: An IT training provider can reduce the administrative workload for certification by 40% through a software solution, as the system automatically sends certificates after passing exams and records the results in participant profiles.

• Change Management:
  It’s important to involve employees early in the change process. This can be achieved through regular meetings, training sessions, and feedback loops. Employees should understand how the new software will make their work easier and what benefits it brings.
   
• Implementation Strategy:
  A good approach is to start with a pilot phase where the software is tested in a limited area. This allows potential problems to be identified and resolved early. Only after a successful pilot phase is the software rolled out across the entire organization.

Example: A provider of leadership training tests the new software in one course first. After a successful pilot phase, the software is rolled out across all training modules, giving employees ample time to adjust to the new workflows.

• Success Factors:
  Key factors include thorough preparation, clear communication with all stakeholders, and structured employee training.

• Best Practices:
  Companies should use proven methods such as phased software implementation, regular evaluations, and involving key users who act as points of contact for questions and problems.

Example: An internationally active training provider was able to not only increase revenue through the implementation of a digital management solution but also optimize internal processes to conduct more seminars without increasing staff.

1. Preparation

   • Are all relevant departments and employees informed and involved?
   • Have workshops or interviews with key personnel been planned?
   • Are the goals of the process analysis clearly defined?
      

2. Identification of Key Processes

   • Have all core processes been identified (e.g., course planning, participant management, certification)?
   • Are secondary processes, such as invoicing or resource management, considered?
   • Have recurring bottlenecks and problems in the workflow been identified?
      

3. Process Analysis

   • Are the main tasks and responsibilities for each process captured?
   • Are all steps in the process chain clearly documented (including dependencies)?
   • Has the time required for each step been recorded?
   • Have bottlenecks, redundant tasks, or error sources been identified?
      

4. Process Documentation

   • Are all processes visualized in clear flowcharts or tables?
   • Have responsibilities and accountabilities been clearly documented?
   • Are deviations from standard processes noted?
   • Has the documentation been reviewed and approved by all involved parties?
      

5. Deriving Software Requirements

   • Based on the process documentation, have clear software requirements been formulated?
   • Are "Must-Have," "Should-Have," and "Nice-to-Have" features differentiated?
   • Are automation potentials clearly defined (e.g., automated certificate issuance, participant management)?
   • Are there requirements for integrations with existing systems?
      

6. Checking for Improvement Potential

   • Have improvement opportunities in the existing processes been identified?
   • Are initial steps for process improvements already initiated?
   • Are training plans for employees regarding software implementation in place?
      

7. Planning the Pilot Phase and Rollout

   • Is a pilot project for the software planned?
   • Has a phased rollout been planned (e.g., starting with one department)?
   • Is a feedback and optimization process after implementation planned?

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