What is Process Innovation?

Process Innovation is the intentional redesign of how work gets done in order to unlock new forms of value—speed, quality, experience, or cost efficiency. While traditional continuous improvement often focuses on optimizing existing workflows, Process Innovation challenges the assumptions beneath those workflows. It’s about reimagining the purpose of a process, not just its performance. By blending design thinking, systems thinking, and modern tools like automation and AI, Process Innovation helps organizations go beyond incremental gains to transformative breakthroughs.

How is it Different from Lean Six Sigma?

Lean Six Sigma (LSS) has long been the gold standard for driving process excellence through disciplined, data-driven problem-solving. But LSS tends to work best when the problem is well-defined, the process is stable, and the goal is optimization. Process Innovation, on the other hand, shines when the problem itself is ambiguous, the process is outdated or misaligned with strategic goals, or when customer needs have outpaced the process design. It emphasizes creative exploration, rapid prototyping, and cross-functional collaboration to design processes that are fit for the future—not just more efficient versions of the past.

Why CI Professionals Should Pay Attention

For seasoned CI professionals, Process Innovation is not a replacement for LSS—it’s an essential complement. In today’s landscape of disruptive change, simply optimizing what already exists isn’t enough. Customer expectations are evolving rapidly. Digital technologies are changing the art of the possible. Organizations need leaders who can both improve and innovate processes. CI professionals who master Process Innovation are better positioned to lead strategic transformation initiatives, facilitate executive alignment, and deliver impact that’s both measurable and meaningful.

The Role of Design Thinking and Emerging Tools

At the heart of Process Innovation is a mindset shift—from root cause analysis to opportunity finding. Design thinking provides the human-centered methods to deeply understand user needs and generate creative process alternatives. Combined with automation, digital workflows, low-code platforms, and data science, these methods allow practitioners to go from “how do we fix this process?” to “what’s the better way to deliver this outcome altogether?” This integration is what enables Process Innovation to drive operational and strategic value.

Where to Learn More

If you’re a CI leader, operational excellence expert, or business transformation practitioner, exploring Process Innovation can elevate your toolkit. My company, The Process Innovation Lab, was founded to teach these methods and support professionals ready to lead this shift. We offer workshops, online courses, and consulting support to help you integrate innovation practices into your improvement strategy.

Ready to begin? Sign up for our newsletter The Process Innovator today.