Improved Decision Making through Better Integration of Human Resource and Business Process Factors in a Hospital Situation

:Business process models are designed in isolation but must be applied in real organizational and business situations. A key management concern is how to identify the nonprocess factors that allow a business process to achieve maximum performance. In this paper, we demonstrate the application of the KNOVA (KNOwledge Value-Added) technique to the problem of making visible the hitherto intangible people, culture, and knowledge factors that can easily influence the success or failure of a business process. We illustrate its application to the processes of a diagnostic team within a department of a large hospital. Two benefits ensue: (1) the articulation of a common understanding of the factors that affect team performance and, (2) the pinpointing of resource investment to maintain performance and reduce risk or cost.