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PurposeThe paper aims to present a case of integration between process engineering and the thinking process of the theory of constraints (TP‐TOC) through the analysis of an organization's processes, pointing out the complementary aspects between the two theories and their benefits for the organization.Design/methodology/approachThe paper has used an Institution of Higher Education as its case study. The research has started by identifying the processes of the institution and choosing one to model according to the process engineering approach. The process was then analyzed through the elaboration of the current reality tree technique. After the analysis, the evaporating clouds technique was applied in order to breach the assumptions that were avoiding the problems to be solved. Finally, the process has been redesigned based on the results of the previous steps.FindingsThe analysis of this case contributes towards understanding and identifying the causes of the current problems in the studied processes, providing a systemic and systematic view through the proposed approach.Originality/valueThe paper proposes an approach that enables a systematic and systemic analysis of organizations' processes through the use of process engineering and the TP‐TOC.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to present a case of integration between the processes modeling by using the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) and the Thinking Process of the Theory of Constraints (TP-TOC) through the analysis of productive processes of an organization, indicating the complementary aspects between them and their benefits to the organization.Design/methodology/approach– The paper uses a company of the Brazilian automotive industry as the administering site. The research began by identifying the organization's processes and choice of a family of products to model according to the VSM approach. The integrated view between the losses in the process (VSM) and the unwanted effects of the adding value process were analyzed by using the Current Reality Tree. After the analysis, different improvement procedures are proposed based on the lean principles. Finally, a work plan is presented based on the previous steps aiming to achieve the proposed future state.Findings– The analysis of this case helps to understand and identify the causes of the current problems in the processes studied, providing an integrated view between the losses in the process and the prioritization of steps for the elimination of such losses. The approach in its initial administration was robust and the solution steps were promising. By integrating these approaches, it was possible to verify improvement opportunities by identifying the losses and the basic causes that sustain the unwanted effects in the processes at the same time.Originality/value– The study proposes an approach that enables a systematic and systemic analysis of the processes at organizations through the combined use of process modeling through the VSM and TP-TOC. Simultaneously, the losses in the processes and the unwanted effects are identified. Thus, through the construction of an effect-cause-effect robust logic, both losses in particular and the unwanted effects in general can be prioritized in order to maximize the improvement efforts in the processes.