The author, as the coordinator for process improvement in the Office of Computer and Information Systems , participates in the development of the training materials and facilitates the application of these skills in departments, and develops mechanisms for sharing these breakthrough improvements throughout the Penn State community. Penn State has promoted technology as the enabler for greater efficiency and effectiveness in the office environment. A common theme throughout this training was the application of technological tools as well as the process improvement opportunities they offer.
Homework assignments enable the students to apply the lessons to their office situations.
The training culminates with the integration of general process improvement concepts and the technology tools to develop individualized strategies to implement changes in departmental business processes. As a result of this project, administrative offices have been able to reduce labor-intensive reporting processes significantly. Academic departments have developed flexible reports that enable research faculty to make better financial decisions about their research projects. There has been a steady increase in cross-departmental sharing of ideas and business process solutions. This project has built a momentum within the administrative staff community that will allow Penn State to aggressively seek ways to use technology to improve administrative processes.