{"id":610,"date":"2017-08-02T21:15:15","date_gmt":"2017-08-02T21:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=610"},"modified":"2019-10-25T00:31:32","modified_gmt":"2019-10-25T00:31:32","slug":"process-analysis","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/chapter\/process-analysis\/","title":{"raw":"Process Analysis","rendered":"Process Analysis"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify different types of analytic processes<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Apply different types of analytic processes<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nProcess analysis is one of the most common types of analysis writing that you will encounter in business and in technical fields. Process analysis can directly result in changes to the process. If you were to analyze the process of order distribution at an underperforming fast-food restaurant, you could, for example, use the analysis to develop changes to improve the restaurant's performance.\r\n\r\nIn order to effectively analyze a process, you first have to understand how to write about processes more generally. Processes can be classified a few ways, but for our purposes, they can be broken down into <strong>processes by people<\/strong>, <strong>processes by machines<\/strong>, and <strong>processes by nature.<\/strong>\r\n\r\nLet\u2019s think of some examples for each category:\r\n<div>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>People<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td><strong>Machines<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td><strong>Nature<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explanation of how to change a tire<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how students collaboratively write a report<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how people embark and disembark from an airplane<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explanation of how a photocopier works<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how highway designs facilitate traffic flow<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how a car detects that fuel is low<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<td>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explanation of the changing of the seasons<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how a river changes its flow path<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe first step in analyzing a process is understanding what the process is. In fact, part of writing the analysis is usually describing the process itself. Process analysis relies heavily on exposition but, depending upon the purpose of your analysis, may be more or less comprehensive. Process analysis can be be classified as <strong>descriptive<\/strong> and <strong>prescriptive<\/strong>.\r\n<div>\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><strong>Descriptive<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td><strong>Prescriptive<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>Explain, speculate, or argue about \u201cHow is this done?\u201d\r\n\r\nAudiences: Students, researchers, curious people\r\n\r\nMedia: Essays, magazines, websites, video<\/td>\r\n<td>Explain \u201cHow should this be done?\u201d\r\n\r\nAudiences: technicians, users, decision makers\r\n\r\nMedia: User manuals, policy guides, tutorials<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\nWhat does this mean for you as a college student given an assignment to write a \u201cprocess analysis\u201d? Well, it means you should pay very close attention to the assignment description to find out what kind of analysis you should do. Let\u2019s look at the following sample assignment:\r\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\r\n<h3>Example assignment<\/h3>\r\nEngineers are generally great problem solvers. But first they need to thoroughly understand and analyze the problem before they can suggest a solution.\r\n\r\nYour assignment is to analyze a problem or issue that you routinely encounter here on campus or in Oxford. You will identify the problem or issue, investigate it to understand how or why it exists, then collect and analyze data through field observations, and finally present the results of your analysis in the form of a 3\u20134 page report. Your report will conclude with recommendations for resolving the issue.\r\n\r\n<strong>Purpose<\/strong>: To recommend a resolution to a problem or issue on the basis of an analysis you conduct using field observations.\r\n\r\n<strong>Audience<\/strong>: Members of the University or Oxford community who would be interested in the resolution of the issue.\r\n\r\n<strong>Format:<\/strong> 3\u20134-page report format with at least one graphic. Raw data should be collected on the Field Observation template and attached to the final report.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nAnswer the following questions to help you develop a plan for writing to this process analysis assignment.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>practice<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/5609\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify different types of analytic processes<\/li>\n<li>Apply different types of analytic processes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Process analysis is one of the most common types of analysis writing that you will encounter in business and in technical fields. Process analysis can directly result in changes to the process. If you were to analyze the process of order distribution at an underperforming fast-food restaurant, you could, for example, use the analysis to develop changes to improve the restaurant&#8217;s performance.<\/p>\n<p>In order to effectively analyze a process, you first have to understand how to write about processes more generally. Processes can be classified a few ways, but for our purposes, they can be broken down into <strong>processes by people<\/strong>, <strong>processes by machines<\/strong>, and <strong>processes by nature.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s think of some examples for each category:<\/p>\n<div>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>People<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Machines<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Nature<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explanation of how to change a tire<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how students collaboratively write a report<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how people embark and disembark from an airplane<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explanation of how a photocopier works<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how highway designs facilitate traffic flow<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how a car detects that fuel is low<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explanation of the changing of the seasons<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Description of how a river changes its flow path<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>The first step in analyzing a process is understanding what the process is. In fact, part of writing the analysis is usually describing the process itself. Process analysis relies heavily on exposition but, depending upon the purpose of your analysis, may be more or less comprehensive. Process analysis can be be classified as <strong>descriptive<\/strong> and <strong>prescriptive<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Descriptive<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Prescriptive<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Explain, speculate, or argue about \u201cHow is this done?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Audiences: Students, researchers, curious people<\/p>\n<p>Media: Essays, magazines, websites, video<\/td>\n<td>Explain \u201cHow should this be done?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Audiences: technicians, users, decision makers<\/p>\n<p>Media: User manuals, policy guides, tutorials<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p>What does this mean for you as a college student given an assignment to write a \u201cprocess analysis\u201d? Well, it means you should pay very close attention to the assignment description to find out what kind of analysis you should do. Let\u2019s look at the following sample assignment:<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox examples\">\n<h3>Example assignment<\/h3>\n<p>Engineers are generally great problem solvers. But first they need to thoroughly understand and analyze the problem before they can suggest a solution.<\/p>\n<p>Your assignment is to analyze a problem or issue that you routinely encounter here on campus or in Oxford. You will identify the problem or issue, investigate it to understand how or why it exists, then collect and analyze data through field observations, and finally present the results of your analysis in the form of a 3\u20134 page report. Your report will conclude with recommendations for resolving the issue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Purpose<\/strong>: To recommend a resolution to a problem or issue on the basis of an analysis you conduct using field observations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Audience<\/strong>: Members of the University or Oxford community who would be interested in the resolution of the issue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Format:<\/strong> 3\u20134-page report format with at least one graphic. Raw data should be collected on the Field Observation template and attached to the final report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Answer the following questions to help you develop a plan for writing to this process analysis assignment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>practice<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"lumen_assessment_5609\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assessments.lumenlearning.com\/assessments\/load?assessment_id=5609&#38;embed=1&#38;external_user_id=&#38;external_context_id=&#38;iframe_resize_id=lumen_assessment_5609\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:400px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-610\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Process Analysis. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Andrew Davis. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: University of Mississippi. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Technical Writing. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>:  Dr. Elizabeth Lohman. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Tidewater Community College. . <strong>Project<\/strong>: Z Degree Program. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":15005,"menu_order":12,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Process Analysis\",\"author\":\"Andrew Davis\",\"organization\":\"University of Mississippi\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Technical Writing\",\"author\":\" Dr. Elizabeth Lohman\",\"organization\":\"Tidewater Community College. \",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"Z Degree Program\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"a026c16e-ef0f-4d07-99bc-f67f6eabc51f, 9926c136-4097-40c0-a227-51cb92938607, d475b114-3675-446d-a27a-f1301520a885","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-610","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":589,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15005"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/610\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1004,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/610\/revisions\/1004"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/589"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/610\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=610"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=610"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/irsc-english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}