Business Process vs. Technical Process (+ Examples)

This is about business process vs. technical process.

You’ll learn:

• What a business process is
• What a technical process is
• The differences between a business process and a technical process
• Lots more

So if you want to learn this essential part of business processes, then this article is for you.

So without further ado, let’s do this!

What Is the Difference Between a Business Process and a Technical Process?

A lot of businesses need to use one or more technical processes to run efficiently. 

Both business and technical processes help businesses grow and get more customers, but they work in different ways.

A business process is more general than a technical process, and it can cover more things.

Meanwhile, a technical process is specific to the development of a product, and service businesses can use it, too.

A technical process follows more specific steps and requirements so that it can help the overall business.

What Is a Business Process?

It sounds simple, but when it comes to answering the question “what’s a business process,” you have to dive deep.

In fact, a business process is a series of steps, not a single action. The process leads to a specific goal within the business.

So, a business process might involve multiple steps and numerous team members to reach the desired outcome.

Learn exactly what a business process is in this definitive guide to business process.

Business Process vs. Technical Process Purpose

When comparing a business process vs. technical process, you should know the purpose of each.

A business process has a more general goal of running the company and making sales.

The end goal of a business process is to provide a product or service to your customer.

As you set up a business process, you should consider what you offer in your business and how you can attract people to you.

But a technical process goes more into depth, and its end goal is to manufacture a product.

If you have a product-based business, you may need to use a technical process to create what you offer, especially if you don’t have a third-party manufacturer.

You may not need such a process for operating a service-based business, but it can help.

If you need to set up any products for use in your company, you can use a technical process to determine how to do that.

Technical Process Uses

One way that a technical process differs from a business process is how you use each type of process.

You can use a business process to determine how to run your company, but a technical process will better explain how to produce your product.

Even if you offer a service, you may be able to implement a technical process to ensure that everyone on your team performs the service accurately.

One common use for technical processes is to design, develop and analyze a system and its elements.

The analysis should help you create the system requirements to test and integrate the new technical process.

When setting up technical processes, consider a few common categories where they might be better than a standard business process.

Administrative Tasks

Some of your company’s administrative tasks may require a general business process.

However, certain tasks, such as managing inventory, would benefit from a technical process because it will be more specific.

Any activity that works with inventory can use a technical process. It doesn’t matter if you’re taking in a shipment or preparing to send an order to a customer.

If the inventory is changing, you should implement a technical process.

The process will help you and your employees stay organized, and it can help avoid errors.

For example, if you accept a shipment from your manufacturer without inspecting it, it may not contain what you expect.

In that case, you can have a technical process that verifies packages with the shipping list.

Then, you can have categories for where you store the inventory. If you sell clothes, you can decide to store all of one size together or all of one style.

Create Products

You can have a technical process that dictates how you and your employees will create the products you offer.

If you offer a product, you may work with a manufacturer to create the goods you sell.

Depending on the manufacturer, you may be able to provide specifics for their process.

If you want to sell cruelty-free makeup, you can request that your manufacturer not test the products on animals.

You may be in another industry, such as food service, where you and your employees have more control over the production process.

In that case, you can create a technical process that tells everyone how to make the food or take orders.

Odds are, you probably will have a recipe that your kitchen staff can use to make the food identical.

Your technical process can include what ingredients to prepare and when. The process may detail what plates to use for specific dishes.

Develop a Craft

If you have a small business and sell art or other creative items, you can use an artist technical process.

The process will help you standardize how you perform your craft and create your products.

Your technical process may involve cultural or historical knowledge to replicate the goods of a region or time period.

One example of this would be the creation of Baroque-style instruments.

Instruments like violins and flutes have come a long way in terms of development from the 17th century.

However, many musicians have an interest in the accurately performing music of that era.

In the modern era, a Baroque instrument maker would follow the steps to produce instruments similar to those of a few hundred years ago.

The design and production would fall under that instrument maker’s technical process.

Technical Process Requirements

Another significant factor in comparing a business process vs. technical process is the requirements of each.

A technical process should follow a framework that combines breaking down a problem, analyzing it and finding a solution.

Business processes should focus on a problem, but they don’t always go into as much detail. Consider as much as you can when setting up a technical process.

As you set up a technical process, you should consider all of its requirements.

That way, you can make sure it meets the goals and desires of you and any investors.

Decomposition

The first set of steps in a technical process involve decomposition, which is when you break down the problem you have.

Perhaps you aren’t getting enough revenue to cover your business’s costs.

You can start with your stakeholder requirements because you should keep them happy.

Consider how much you pay your investors for each product or service you sell.

Next, think about what your customers need or want from your business.

Maybe you sell clothing, and you don’t have enough of a given size, so people shop elsewhere. You can use that knowledge to change the sizes that you have in stock.

You can offer a survey to your customers to see how you can better serve them.

Then, you can collect that information and combine it with the needs of your investors. That way, you can devise a solution that helps everyone.

Realization

A business process may find the problem and switch to a solution immediately.

But with a technical process, you have more steps to help turn that solution into a reality.

First, you need to implement the proposed solution so that you can test how it works. After that, you can integrate the new solution with other elements within your business.

The next stage involves verification, which is where you can see if the new operation works better.

You may track this in terms of sales or revenue numbers. You also have to validate that the solution achieves all objectives, including those of customers and investors.

Finally, the transition step is where you make sure everything works together.

You get to combine the new solution with the other elements of your business and technical processes.

But make sure that you can adjust if you find that you need yet another solution.

Easy to Follow

One similarity between a business process and technical process is that both should be easy to follow.

When laying out a technical process, you should include as many steps and directions as possible.

Even if your managers and employees have a lot of skills, assume that they don’t.

For one, you probably can’t go through a new technical process with everyone in your company.

You may be able to review it with some people who then pass on the information.

Another reason why your technical process should be easy to follow is in case you hire someone new.

Odds are, new hires won’t be used to doing things your way. By listing the steps in detail, a new employee can follow them more easily.

You may also want to make your technical process readily available on a poster that you can hang in an office or location.

That way, your employees can easily find it whenever they have questions.

Able to Replicate

Having a technical process that’s easy to follow should make it easy to replicate.

Being able to replicate your process will ensure consistency across your company.

For example, if you run a chain of restaurants, all of your kitchen staff should prepare food the same way.

Cashiers should use similar language when taking orders, and your staff should all maintain high cleaning standards.

If your technical process is hard for people to replicate, you won’t be able to give your customers the consistency they expect.

When one customer decides to go to a different location, they should have as similar of an experience as possible.

Detailing your business and technical processes will help you and your employees offer the best customer service.

And by offering that, you can encourage your customers to keep coming back.

Business Process vs. X

There are many activities in business that are similar but yet different to a business process.

Below you find a list of the most important distinctions between different business activities and a business process:

• Business process vs. business function
• Business process vs. business logic
• Business process vs. business model
• Business process vs. business procedure
• Business process vs. business rule
• Business process vs. business service
• Business process vs. business workflow
• Business process vs. operational process
• Business process vs. use case
• Business process vs. SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)
• Business process vs. system process