Our team has noticed that our product development and operational processes are not as efficient as they have the potential to be. We want to simplify these processes to make them more “lean” in order to make them less costly and more adaptable to customer feedback at a fast pace. In this project, students will focus on evaluating our operations and identifying internal issues that are causing processes to be too timely or costly.

• Mapping out operational processes using Business Process Model Notation and notation (BPMN), and evaluating each step and the resources it consumes.
• Identifying bottlenecks in our operational processes.
• Researching solutions to each unique problem identified in the mapping process.
• Creating a proposal with recommendations for improvements and an implementation plan for how we would incorporate the solutions.
• Creating a second BPMN model of operational processes with the proposed solution(s).

By the end of the project, students should complete the following list of activities (this is basically a retelling of the steps above):

• Mapped our operational processes using BPMN and evaluated the resources spent on each step.
• Identified bottlenecks in our operational processes.
• Researched sustainable solutions to each bottleneck .
• Created a proposal with sustainable recommendations for improvement to each bottleneck and an implementation plan for rollout.

Bonus steps would include:

• Included an updated BPMN model with solutions implemented.

Final deliverables should include

• A proposal for sustainable strategies we can use to make our company more lean.
• A 30-minute presentation describing the research, reasoning, and suggested implementation for each strategy.

Students will connect directly with the employer for mentorship and supervision throughout the Students will connect directly with us for mentorship throughout the project. We will be able to provide answers to questions such as:

• Are there any bottlenecks we are currently aware of?
• Which aspects of our operational processes work well for us? Which do we want to change?
• Input on choices, problems or anything else the students might encounter..