Achieving operational excellence with AI

As AI reshapes how work gets done, organizations with strong process frameworks are best positioned to lead and maintain operational rigor at scale. Frameworks like Lean Six Sigma and business process management (BPM) first gained traction because they promised clarity in the chaos--a structured way to bring order to messy, sprawling operations. Lean Six Sigma emphasized statistical rigor and quality control; BPM created end-to-end maps of how work should flow across departments. Both offered a repeatable way to embed habits of measurement, analysis, and accountability into day-to-day company culture. But today, those time-tested playbooks are evolving as companies seek to embed AI into established process excellence methodologies. By some estimates, the market for AI-powered process optimization is projected to exceed $113 billion within the next decade.