GFOA Definition

Government business processes have many potential customers. Customers might include direct recipients of a service, the community at large, regulators, lawmakers, and/or businesses. Further, in the case of regulatory services, the customers may not be entirely willing customers! After determining who the customers of a business process are, consider what the customers want from a process. This could include, but is not limited to: more readily available access to the service; shorter wait times from service request to completion; a higher quality product (fewer errors); and/or lower cost. However, when considering customer needs, remember what Henry Ford cautioned: “Customers that say they want faster horses really don’t care at all about horses; they simply want a way to get from point A to point B in the fastest and safest way possible. In other words, be sure to distinguish the ends or result the customer really wants from the particular means, tools, or techniques they may reference when articulating their want.