If you’re considering a business process improvement project, the practical questions usually come before the methodology:
- How much will it cost?
- How long will it take?
- How much time will my team need to contribute?
- What will the consultant actually deliver?
- Who implements the recommendations?
- Do I need to buy new software?
- Can we start with one process?
- How do we know whether the project was worth it?
The answers depend on the size and complexity of the problem. A review of one workflow is very different from redesigning processes across several teams and systems.
Here’s what to clarify before engaging a business process improvement consultant.
How much does a business process improvement project cost?
There is no useful single price for a BPI project because the scope can vary significantly.
The cost is generally influenced by:
| Factor | Why it affects cost |
|---|---|
| Number of processes | Reviewing one workflow is different from reviewing an end-to-end operation |
| Process complexity | More steps, exceptions and dependencies require more analysis |
| Number of teams involved | Cross-functional processes require more stakeholder involvement |
| Systems involved | Multiple applications and integrations add complexity |
| Data availability | Poor or fragmented data can increase discovery work |
| Implementation scope | Recommendations alone cost less than building and deploying the solution |
| Ongoing support | Post-implementation optimisation adds to the engagement |
A proposal should therefore make clear what is included in the price, rather than giving you a broad BPI fee without defining the work.
At minimum, ask:
- What processes are included?
- How many workshops or interviews are required?
- What are the expected deliverables?
- Does implementation form part of the fee?
- Are software licences or third-party costs excluded?
- What happens if the scope changes?
How long does a business process improvement project take?
Again, there is no meaningful standard timeline.
A focused review of one process can be relatively short. A project involving several departments, legacy systems, integrations and implementation can take considerably longer.
A useful way to think about the difference is:
| Project scope | Typical characteristics |
|---|---|
| Focused assessment | One process, limited stakeholders, recommendations only |
| Process redesign | More detailed analysis, future-state design and implementation planning |
| End-to-end improvement | Multiple processes, teams or systems, with implementation |
| Larger transformation | Significant technology, integration, organisational or operational change |
The important thing is not whether a consultant promises a particular number of weeks. It is whether the proposed timeline explains what will happen during that period and what you will receive at each stage.
Ask for:
- Project start and expected completion
- Key milestones
- Client workshops and review points
- Dependencies
- Implementation timeline
- Any assumptions that could change the schedule
How much time will my team need to contribute?
External support does not mean your team can completely hand over the problem.
Your employees understand the exceptions, workarounds and operational realities that may not appear in documentation.
Depending on the project, your team may need to participate in:
- Initial interviews or workshops
- Reviewing current processes
- Providing system and process information
- Validating findings
- Reviewing proposed changes
- User acceptance testing
- Implementation and handover
The consultant should make these expectations clear before the project starts.
What will a business process improvement consultant actually deliver?
This depends on what you’ve commissioned.
A consultant engaged to assess a process is not delivering the same thing as a team engaged to redesign and implement it.
| Engagement | What you might receive |
|---|---|
| Assessment | Findings, documented issues, improvement opportunities and recommendations |
| Redesign | Future-state process, recommended changes and implementation roadmap |
| Implementation | Configured, developed or automated solution, testing and handover |
| End-to-end project | Assessment, redesign, implementation and measurement |
Before signing, make sure the proposal specifies the actual deliverables rather than relying on broad terms such as “process optimisation” or “business transformation.”
Who implements the recommendations?
This is one of the most important questions to ask.
A business process improvement consultant may:
1. Advise only
The consultant identifies problems and recommends changes. Your internal team or another provider implements them.
2. Design and support implementation
The consultant develops the future-state process and helps your team put the changes into practice.
3. Implement the solution
The same provider handles the process changes and the technical work required to implement them.
The third option can be particularly useful when the improvement involves automation, integrations, application development or system modernisation.
Will we need new software?
Not necessarily.
A process problem does not automatically require a new platform.
Sometimes the best solution is:
- Removing unnecessary steps
- Changing responsibilities
- Simplifying approvals
- Better configuring an existing system
- Connecting systems that already exist
- Automating repetitive work
- Replacing an outdated component
A good engagement should assess the existing environment before recommending additional technology.
This is particularly important if you already have significant investment in platforms such as Microsoft 365, SharePoint, Power Platform, Dynamics 365 or other business systems.
Can we start with just one process?
Yes, and in many cases, starting small is more practical.
A focused project can help establish:
- Whether the problem is worth solving
- What improvement is realistically achievable
- How much implementation effort is required
- Whether the approach should be extended to other processes
However, don’t isolate a process so narrowly that you miss dependencies elsewhere.
For example, improving a sales handover process may require looking at what happens before and after the handover if information is being re-entered by another team.
The right scope is therefore large enough to understand the problem, but narrow enough to produce a useful outcome.
How should we measure whether the project was worth it?
Agree on this before implementation, not after.
Depending on the project, useful measures could include:
| Outcome | Example measure |
|---|---|
| Time saved | Hours of manual work eliminated |
| Faster processing | Reduction in turnaround time |
| Fewer errors | Reduction in rework or corrections |
| Greater capacity | Additional work handled without additional headcount |
| Lower cost | Reduction in processing or operating costs |
| Better service | Improved response times or SLA performance |
The measurement should relate directly to the original business problem.
If the reason for the project was that employees were spending 20 hours a week manually processing information, the project should be able to show what happened to those 20 hours.
Questions to ask before signing a BPI project
Before engaging a business process improvement consultant, make sure you can answer:
- What exactly is in scope?
- How long is the project expected to take?
- What will it cost, and what isn’t included?
- How much time will our staff need to contribute?
- What are the specific deliverables?
- Who implements the recommendations?
- Are technology and software costs included?
- What happens if the scope changes?
- How will success be measured?
- What happens after implementation?
For a detailed guide, read how to choose a process management consultant in Melbourne
Choosing a BPI partner that can implement the change
For some businesses, the right engagement ends with an assessment and recommendations. For others, the value comes from having one partner take the work through improvement, implementation and measurement.
Maytech works across business process improvement, automation, integration and software engineering, allowing process changes to be implemented where the solution requires more than a recommendation.
Learn more about Maytech’s Business Process Improvement services →