Process improvement is a set of tools, communications, and actions taken by the owners of as et of processes, called the Process Owner, to analyze, decompose, and improve existing processes and procedures within an organization.

There are many different methodologies for process improvement.  The larger methods include six sigma, business process re-engineering, business process improvement, performance improvement, process management, process improvement and management, total quality management, and many others!  As you can see there are a ton of approaches to doing process improvement.

At the heart of it, most of them focus on analyzing the current process.  This is sometimes called the 'present state'.  The current process is then broken down into the smallest pieces and thoroughly analyzed to find improvements, small and large, that can improve the overall process.  A new process, or set of processes, are then define and proposed as the 'future state'.  This future state is reviewed with stakeholders, vetted, and implemented. This process is then monitored to ensure effectiveness and reviewed to see if any other incremental changes can be implemented to further improve its efficiencies.

Process Improvement can help a company or organization in many different ways.  These include:

• Decreasing the time it takes to make or manufacture a deliverable
• Decrease the time to market for a new product
• Improve the sales pipeline so that customers convert faster
• Make a user interface more efficient to improve customer satisfaction
• Decrease the time in which it takes to turn a potential client into a paying customer
• Improve the manufacturing of large merchandise
• Decrease the errors in the production of commercial products
• and many more!  These are just a few ideas.

Many companies offer process improvement as part of their consulting package.  Most general 'analysts' and 'consultants' do some form of process improvement or another, whether they use a formal methodology or not.

IBM has many consultants that focus and specialize in this space.  They have their own internal best-practicies for decomposting a process and setting about to improve it.  The same can be said for Booz, Allen, Hamilton, Gartner, and many other consulting firms!