Transforming processes in systems engineering: 3 examples

All companies, even one-person companies, need processes. Where systems engineering is practiced, these are generally highly mature. Actually, we should think that IT makes processes more efficient. Unfortunately, the opposite is often the case: processes are inefficient and problem areas are difficult to find.

A number of companies are in the process of changing this and are following new, unorthodox paths. I will present three of them below. The first company has become the most valuable start-up in Germany with a valuation of 11 billion dollars.

Celonis - Process Mining

I am talking about Celonisthe Munich-based company founded in 2011. Process mining is a method for scanning the log data of process tools. In the past, companies called in consultants and organized workshops to find out where they were really inefficient. In this respect, large companies in particular quickly become their own worst enemy.

However, solving these problems with workshops and consultants is costly and time-consuming. It can take years for the company to identify and resolve problems. Even then, it is not always clear how effective the measures were. Celonis promises to identify bottlenecks and prove the effectiveness of measures within weeks.

Without Celonis, a significant number of consultants and quants would be required to examine the processes in our facilities and make changes. The speed at which the problem could be addressed could take several years, whereas with Celonis we are able to deal with it in a matter of weeks or a month at most.

Shyam Kambeyanda, CEO at ESAB

Process automation with UiPath

UiPath focuses on another aspect of processes, automation. The company is already listed on the stock exchange and was valued at 35 billion dollars last year. The thesis is that many employees perform non-creative tasks for which they are actually completely overqualified. Incidentally, this is also the idea behind my start-up Semiantonly for product development.

Process support and automation are increasingly being incorporated into tools. But if the release process can be automated in the RE tool, then this is only an incomplete reflection of reality. As a rule, the engineer has to carry out further process steps outside the tool.

Tasktop - Optimization of value flows

Tasktop is better known as an integration platform. However, the company has been realigning itself for a few years now. It is guided by the ideas of CEO Mik Kersten, who wrote the book Project to Product has written a book on the subject. The idea behind it is that value is created in a company via "flows" (value flows) that need to be optimized.

Tasktop helps to track the increase in value of the product step by step. Of course, these steps are also process steps. In this way, Tasktop helps to find, optimize and improve inefficient processes that add little value. Last year, Tasktop launched a Investment of 100 million dollars to realize this vision.

Conclusion: Processes are ripe for a revolution

You can't do without processes, and not just in systems engineering. Even if we know that there are enormous inefficiencies there, it is difficult to get a grip on them. This is changing drastically at the moment. Large companies in particular should by no means remain inactive. After all, efficient processes can make the difference in competition. And most modern solutions in this segment virtually pay for themselves.

Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash