Assessment tells you where the waste is. The Improve phase is where you do something about it. This is where solutions get designed, decisions get made, and changes get implemented.
Why Improvement Matters
Documenting and assessing a process without improving it is just analysis. The Improve phase is where the work pays off. It is where waste gets eliminated, steps get simplified, and the process starts working the way it should.
The goal is not change for its own sake. Every improvement should make the process faster, more reliable, or less costly for the people who depend on it. If it doesn't do at least one of those things, it's not an improvement.
How to Approach Improvement
Not every problem has the same solution, and not every solution is worth pursuing. The BPMO uses a four-step decision model to guide improvement decisions in the right order.
STEP 1: Eliminate
Start by eliminating waste. Remove non-value-adding steps that serve no purpose for the customer or the organization. Work that can be eliminated entirely is the highest-return improvement you can make.
STEP 2: Simplify
If you can't eliminate it, simplify it. Reduce handoffs, consolidate steps, and remove unnecessary complexity.
STEP 3: Stabilize
Make sure the process runs reliably before introducing technology. Inconsistent processes produce inconsistent results, and automation applied to an unstable process will just make the problems harder to fix.
STEP 4: Automation and AI
Once the process is clean and stable, technology solutions become viable. Start with automation for repetitive, rules-based work. AI is appropriate where pattern recognition, prediction, or judgment at scale is needed. Neither works well on a broken process.
Prioritizing Improvements
You will rarely have the capacity to fix everything at once. Prioritize improvements based on their connection to strategic objectives, impact on the customer, and realistic feasibility. Quick wins matter: they build momentum and demonstrate value while larger improvements are in progress.
The BPMO Prioritization Matrix can help you evaluate and rank competing opportunities. Download it at...
Measuring Impact
Before implementing any change, confirm your baseline metrics from the Assess phase. After implementation, measure the same things. Cycle time, number of steps, handoffs, error rate. That before-and-after comparison is how you tell the story of impact.
Tools and Templates
BPMO Improvement Decision Model: A one-page reference for working through the four-step sequence. Download at bpmo.berkeley.edu/templates.
Prioritization Matrix: Use this to evaluate and rank competing improvement opportunities by impact and effort. Download at...
UC Berkeley Process Optimization Guide: Section 3 covers the full Improve methodology including the Value Realization Framework and detailed guidance on automation and AI readiness. Download the guide at...
Ready for the next step?
Once improvements are in place, move to Manage to sustain them.
Back to Assess — Back to Process Management Lifecycle — Go to Manage