SCM 7325

Process Analysis and Design

Manufacturing and Service Performance

Course Overview

SCM 7325 provides a comprehensive exploration of how organizations design, analyze, and improve business processes to achieve operational excellence and strategic alignment. The course emphasizes both manufacturing and service systems, ensuring students gain a balanced and practical understanding of process design across diverse industries. Students will learn to evaluate performance, identify inefficiencies, and implement sustainable improvements that enhance competitiveness in global markets.

Course Purpose

This course equips students with the tools and frameworks needed to assess and improve business processes from both a strategic and operational perspective. Emphasis is placed on quality management, performance analytics, and change management as drivers of continuous improvement and innovation.

Students will explore how organizations create value through process design that aligns with competitive priorities, and how to adapt those processes in response to emerging challenges, customer expectations, and global pressures. The course also introduces antifragile strategies — approaches that enable systems to thrive under volatility and disruption.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Understand and differentiate between manufacturing and service processes, and design them to support strategic goals.
  • Design manufacturing systems that align with product characteristics, volume requirements, and cost-efficiency goals to create antifragile and resilient operations.
  • Develop service process strategies that align with customer expectations, variability in demand, and responsiveness, ensuring high service quality and operational agility.
  • Map and document business processes using flowcharts and other visualization tools.
  • Identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, and propose data-driven solutions for improvement.
  • Apply analytical tools to evaluate process performance, including throughput, capacity, and variability.
  • Assess process capability and apply statistical process control techniques.
  • Integrate quality management systems, including Six Sigma principles, into process improvement initiatives.
  • Analyze the financial and operational impact of process design decisions to meet business financial KPIs.
  • Apply global problem-solving frameworks to process challenges in international and cross-cultural contexts.
  • Recognize the role of process design in enabling change management and long-term performance management.

Topics Covered

  • Process Fundamentals and Strategy to meet customer expectations
  • Manufacturing vs. Service Systems
  • Process Mapping, Flowcharting, and Documentation
  • Bottleneck Analysis and Throughput Optimization
  • Learning Curves and Efficiency Metrics
  • Product/Process Matrix and Assembly Line Design
  • Financial Impact of Process Design (Breakeven, ROI)
  • Waiting Line Theory and Service Design
  • Lean Systems and Just-In-Time (JIT) Principles
  • Quality Management Systems and Six Sigma
  • Process Capability and Statistical Process Control
  • Process Improvement and Change Management
  • Global Process Design and Cross-Border Operations

Experiential Learning & Course Pedagogy

Students engage with real-world applications through case studies, simulations, and business application videos that illustrate how process design supports business strategy and interfaces with finance, marketing, and operations. Special attention is given to global content, including international case studies and examples of process innovation in diverse cultural and regulatory environments.

Hands-on assignments and in-class activities challenge students to apply analytical tools to real process data, identify improvement opportunities, and present actionable solutions. Students also explore how process design contributes to long-term performance management and organizational agility.

Course Format & Assessment

The course is delivered in a traditional in-person format with supplemental digital resources. Assessment includes:

  • Individual and team-based assignments focused on applied process analysis.
  • Three progressively weighted exams assessing conceptual understanding and analytical application.
  • In-class participation and problem-solving exercises.
  • Case-based discussions and presentations.