Combine small activities into composite activities
A technique for combining smaller tasks into larger ones to reduce setup times and improve the quality of work.
Reijers, H., & Liman Mansar, S. (2005). Best practices in business process redesign: an overview and qualitative evaluation of successful redesign heuristics. Omega, 33(4)
Task Combination is a process optimization technique that involves combining smaller tasks into larger ones. This technique reduces setup times, which are the time that resources need to become familiar with the specifics of a case, and can improve the quality of work. However, it is important to strike a balance between the size of the tasks and their workability. Tasks that are too large can result in smaller run-time flexibility and lower quality. Smaller tasks, on the other hand, can result in longer setup times.
By finding the optimal balance, organizations can achieve the best of both worlds: shorter setup times, higher quality, and greater flexibility.
Foundational free Patterns
Combine small activities into composite activities
Establish a case-based mindset
Remove batch-processing and periodic activities from your business process
Design business processes for typical cases and isolate exceptional cases from the normal flow
Order knock-outs by least effort and highest termination probability first.
Collect similar work items and work in batches
Let customers interact with the company wherever they want to
Offer customers the possibility to choose among privacy settings
Constraint-based task assignment
Allocate tasks considering business process execution constraints
Allocate task based on collaborative experience: handover time, interactions, diversity
Consider the division of a general activity into two or more alternative activities
Collect similar work items and work in batches