Increase efficiency by tracking and enforcing your normal business processes!

Ever wonder if there isn't a better alternative to:

> using 'tribal knowledge' to get things done in your enterprise?

> wishing you had the time to track all active issues in your organization (or on your own plate!) so that issues wouldn't 'drop through the cracks'?

> looking for the person who just 'handed off' a project to you because you need more information from them to complete your part?

> walking the halls checking on 'project status', and spending most of your time just looking for people?

> spending hours or days to gather the data for a 'post mortem' analysis?

> wasting time 'waiting to get the word', when the word was given days earlier?

Well, relief is here at last! TeamTrack® by Serena Software is the solution you've been looking for!

TeamTrack is a WorkFlow system. To truly wring maximum efficiency from any process, we first map the process. The map is simply today's version of how the process works. Then, we apply the principles of Lean to identify all the waste, and then eliminate or minimize as much waste as possible. Finally, we use TeamTrack® to track and enforce the new, lean process.

TeamTrack inherently cures one of the 7 Wastes of processes: the waste of waiting. It also assists reducing the Waste of Transportation and the Waste of the Process Itself (2 more of the 7 Wastes).

Here's a sample process, represented in a typical FlowChart method. This sort of process can occur many times during the course of a day, even in a small business.

Simply: An issue occurs. A manager decides whether to assign it or defer it. Once assigned the person working it (in this case an engineer) decides if they have enough information to work on it. If not, the enginner goes back upstream to get more information (Waste of the Process Itself). When the engineer has enough information, he/she creates the fix. Then the engineer sends it on to the tester to verify the fix works. If the fix doesn't work, it goes back to the engineer to re-work the fix. Once the fix is proven, the issue is closed.

This process is somewhat generic. The issue can be a technical problem with a product, or if the "owners" were changed, it could be a customer service rep handling a customer service issue.

Here's the flowchart for this generic, sample process:

Here is the exact same process above, only in a TeamTrack® WorkFlow representation. You notice that this diagram has no decision boxes. The decisions are implicit when the task owner selects the correct button to push on their home page to send this task on it's way (to the next process owner).

TeamTrack® is a Web-Based tool. Each user has a home page. Users can customize the look and feel of their home page. This page is set for Folders, Item List and Item Details frames. You can design your favorite report, and make that your home page if you like.

Stay tuned for more information about this incredibly powerful and flexible process tracking and enforcement tool!

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