Purpose: This paper reports on a research project, using Intervention Research (IR), which aims to identify how a Higher Education Institution (HEI) could develop Process Improvement (PI) capability. Design/methodology/approach: The paper adopts a practice perspectives of routines, and classifies and catalogues the potential routines that could form process improvement (PI) capability. The development of these routines are investigated using the Constructive Research Approach (CRA), a form of Intervention Research (IR), in the Action Research mode. Within this approach the methodology of Mediated Discourse Analysis (MDA) was employed to trace the empirical trajectory of the routine development, in a student management office within the context of an improvement project by the institutions process improvement unit. Findings The study shows a smaller set of ‘initialising’ practices; those which are present, or desired, and instrumental to the beginning of a process improvement activity. The analysis reveals the mechanisms of why ‘process mapping’ is significant in the development of process improvement routines and the potential recursive power of the interrelatedness of these. Practical implications Of relative significance is the implication that there is a small group of initialising process improvement practices which are accessible to practitioners, in contrast to a large set of critical success factors. Secondly, these process improvement practices transcend particular methodologies, meaning their development can be incorporated into customised, contextualised methodologies, by individual organisations. Originality/value The study contributes to the appreciation of process improvement in higher education as a capability, and outlines the potential array of routines that could constitute that capability. It provides a theoretical view on how key process improvement routines are developed in an organisational field, and a more nuanced and richer view of ‘process mapping’ and its effect on other process improvement practices.

中文翻译：

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流程改进能力：对实践发展的研究

目的：本文使用干预研究（IR）报告了一个研究项目，该项目旨在确定高等教育机构（HEI）如何开发过程改进（PI）能力。设计/方法/方法：本文采用例程的实践观点，并对可能形成流程改进（PI）能力的潜在例程进行分类和分类。在行动研究模式下，使用干预研究（IR）形式的建构研究方法（CRA）对这些例程的开发进行了研究。在这种方法中，中介过程分析（MDA）的方法被用于追踪学生发展办公室日常改进的经验轨迹，该过程由机构过程改进部门在改进项目的背景下进行。调查结果显示了较少的“初始化”实践；在过程改进活动开始时存在的或期望的那些。分析揭示了为什么“过程映射”在过程改进例程的开发中起重要作用的机制，以及这些相互关联的潜在递归能力。实际意义相对重要的含义是，与一大批关键的成功因素相比，实践者可以使用一小部分初始化过程改进实践。其次，这些流程改进实践超越了特定的方法论，这意味着各个组织可以将它们的开发纳入定制的，情境化的方法论中。原创性/价值该研究有助于提高高等教育过程中作为一项能力的评价，并概述了可能构成该能力的一系列常规活动。它提供了有关在组织领域如何开发关键流程改进例程的理论视图，以及“流程映射”及其对其他流程改进实践的影响的更细化和更丰富的视图。