Edgewater Consulting presented the Guiding Principles for Process Improvement at the Acord Loma Life Insurers Council (LIC) bi-annual Operations Committee meeting

1. Business
Transformation-
Empower Your
Business Evolution
April 2014

2. The Importance of Understanding
Current State
• Low-hanging fruit and future opportunities
for improvement
• Baseline for change – what are the gaps
between current and future? What’s
changing, by audience?
• Risk and readiness assessments
But, beware:
• While current state understanding is
essential, it is not alone enough to
implement a good, workable future state
• Avoid current state process due to
system limitations
• Easy to fall into analysis paralysis
• Not all processes are created equal –
“how much process is enough?”

3. What’s Hiding in the Current State?
• Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
• People/roles
• Data – creation and maintenance
• Technology
• Small tools – Excel and others (siloed or shared locally)
• Major systems (shared)
• Reports and external information
• Links to other processes/organizations
• Variances and exceptions to the norm
• Business criticality and key differentiators

4. Ensure the Future is Clear
• For process definition attributed to a new
system installation ensure SMEs
understand the new world prior to definition
• Newer systems present different process
options
• Trust the new system to not have the old
flaws
Newer system game changers:
• Simplified access to data (report and
screen)
• Automated integration and sync
• Robust User roles, definition and
permissions
• Data integrity
• Enhanced web presence

5. Guiding Principles for Process
Improvement
Involve the people doing the process, accountable for it, and that are
impacted by it - assumptions are the mother of all foul ups
Define boundaries and constraints as well as goals
Understand and document enough, but not more than that
Controls should be introduced where needed, not just where possible
Constantly challenge options against priorities and timing

6. Guiding Principles for Process
Improvement
Eliminate or reduce waste and inefficiency, but look also at ways to
increase comprehension, connections, and cohesion
Don’t underestimate downstream or unanticipated consequences
Non-value added handoffs are the root of all evil
Process changes should be socialized, supported, and measured

7. Leveraging IP - Process
• Robust process and workshop methodology
• Insurance Industry standards gained from
experience

8. Process Transformation
• Interview key business SME to gather goals, constraints, roles and flow
• Develop and refine master transaction list for design
• Develop future business process and transaction flow documents:
• Business process flow diagram
• Related business requirements
• Key inputs/outputs
• Key roles and authorization
• Related process / transactions
• Issues
• Deliverables
• Business process documents
• Master transaction list
Create and review process documents for design

9. Contact Information
• Laurie Johnson
• Director, Business Development-South
• Phone:501-352-4002
• Email: Ljohnson@edgewater.com
• Derek Sharron
• Business Development Manager-North
• Phone: 978-407-7160
• Email: dsharron@edgewater.com
• Nathan Wakefield
• Principal Consultant
• Phone: 501-940-0631
• E-mail: nwakefield@edgewater.com
• Stacey Cheese
• Insurance Practice Director
• Phone: 813-464-4601
• Email: scheese@edgewater.com

10. Appendix

11. Edgewater Corporate Overview
► Founded in 1992
► Focus on upper-middle and global
2000 markets
► 430+ employees
► 800+ clients
► 3,200+ projects completed to date
► Large North American footprint
– New UK presence
► Publicly traded (NASDAQ: EDGW)
– Public in 1996 (STAF)
– Reverse IPO in 2000 (EDGW)
► Co-founders still with the Company

12. Insurance Client Sample

13. Edgewater Competencies