Successful business systems engineering. Part 2: The time compression paradigm and how simulation supports good BSE

Part 1 of this article (see ibid., February 1997) argued that business systems engineering (BSE) is no more, and no less, than achieving a high standard of `engineering the business process', linking customer need to customer satisfaction by careful total process analysis, design and implementation to enable a win-win scenario. In this second part, the importance of the time compression paradigm as a leveraging tool within BSE is highlighted. The role of simulation as a means whereby both tactical and `big picture' BSE proposals may be evaluated prior to implementation is described. The article concludes with some typical industrial results and a checklist to help ensure that BSE ideas are properly implemented.