Tweet

Preparing for Successful Process Improvement

Written by: Ben Graham

Article Overview: An integral and often overlooked step in improvement work is the preparation work: defining the project and gathering the facts that are essential to gaining a good understanding of the existing process. Too often this initial phase of a project is given cursory attention or ignored altogether. This is the first in a series of papers dealing with the up-front work in process improvement projects.

Preparing for Successful Process Improvement

An integral and often overlooked step in improvement work is the preparation work: defining the project and gathering the facts that are essential to gaining a good understanding of the existing process. Too often this initial phase of a project is given cursory attention or ignored altogether. This is the first in a series of papers dealing with the up-front work in process improvement projects.

Setting up the project
Select a process to study. A process is a series of steps that are completed to accomplish a particular result. The result is what our business is interested in (hopefully); the process is what we do to get it. Sometimes a process begs for review…When it takes too long to achieve the result, when there are complaints about the result, when there are errors in the result…these are all things that point us in the direction of a particular process to study. However, problems aren’t a prerequisite. Any process can be studied and improved.

Identify your objectives. Sometimes the objectives are obvious. If there are too may errors, we want to reduce the number of errors. If the process takes too long, we want to get through it faster. Whatever the objectives, it seems that reducing cycle time is always included. Sometimes the objective is simply to document the process -- so people can understand it better, to meet regulatory or certification requirements, to satisfy an audit…

Identify the process start point. What is it that triggers the process? Is it the receipt of an application, an email request, an order form, a phone call or are there several triggers?

Identify the process endpoint. How far will you follow this process? Until the application is approved, the product has shipped, the product has been received, a notification email has been sent?

Identify WHERE the work occurs. The best way of doing this is to let the process tell you. Walk the path of the process (perhaps make a couple of phone calls – keep in mind, this isn’t the time to gather details…you just want to know where the work is).

Identify WHO does the work. When you know where the work is, the area supervisors can tell you WHO the most experienced employees are …the folks they just can’t spare for “another project”. These are the people that you need to work with. (It is more important that they are available for analysis, but getting them involved up front and familiar with the process maps early on will only help.) It is far better to spend a little time with someone who really knows the work than a lot of time with someone who doesn’t.

Get the support of the executive whose area of control spans the process. With a well-defined project that includes the items we just worked through, this should not be an issue. This executive’s role in the fact gathering phase of the project is limited but essential and, in fact, determines whether to proceed or not. They need to demonstrate buy-in to the project, signing off on a Project Agreement / Description / Charter and giving the project facilitator the okay to move forward. They demonstrate support and outline expectations in the form of a public announcement.

Copyright 2007. The Ben Graham Corporation. All rights reserved.

Related Articles
  Home Business Opportunity - The Importance of Ongoing Process Improvement
  Improvement Planning Pathways and Pitfalls (Part Two)
  Change Checkpoints and Improvement Milestones
  Presentations - Easy as 1 - 2 - 3
  PROCESS MANAGEMENT AND CONTINUOUS PROCESS IMPROVEMENT

Article Tags: cursory attention, cycle time, email request, good understanding, improvement projects, improvement work, initial phase, notification email, objective, phone call, prerequisite, process improvement, receipt



Related Forum Posts
Re: What's 1 word to describe what your business will be in 2012 - Successful.
Books for Women Entrepreneurs - There's a thread for good books in the Resources folder, but it doesn't target books for businesswomen particularly, so I figured I'd start such a thread here. It doesn't matter how successful you are in your business - it's always possible to learn something new. In subsequent posts I give Table of Contents and brief descriptions for various titles - most of them devoted to the businesswoman - and sometimes a review. If anyone else has read a review, or has read the book and found it useful, please comment! 1. The Old Girl's Network 2. Mother's Work 3. The 7 Greatest Truths About Successful Women 4. Pitch Like A Girl 5. Workplace Warrior 6. Treasure Hunt: Inside the Mind of the Modern Consumer 7. Contingency Planning & Disaster Recovery 8. She Wins, You Win 9. Napoleon On Project Management 10. Why Good Girls Dont' Get Ahead, But Gutsy Girls Do 11. Comeback Moms: How to Leave Work, Raise Children, and Restart your Career even If you Haven't Had a Job in Years 12. The One Minute Millionaire 13. Talking From 9 to 5 14. Soloing: Realizing Your Life's Ambitions 15. 101 Best Home Based Businesses for Women: Everything You Need to Know About Getting Started on the Road To Success 16. Work With Passion: How to Do What You Love for a Living. Revised and Expanded 17. Fail-Proof Your Business: Beat the Odds and be Successful 18. Confidence: How Winning Streaks and Losing Streaks Begin and End 19. Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide 20. Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen 21. Start Small, Finish Big: Fifteen Key Lessons to Start - and Run - Your Own Successful Business 22. Rewired, Rehired or Retired: A Global Guide for the Experienced Worker 23. The Martha Rules: 10 essentials for achieving success as you start, build or manage a business 24. The Essentials of Entrepreneurship: What it takes to create Successful Enterprises 25. Net Ready: Strategies for Success in the E-conomy 26. The Promotable Woman 27. Leave The Office Earlier: The Productivity Pro shows you how to do more in less time and feel great about it 28. The Work At Home Balancing Act: The professional resource guide for managing yourself, your work, and your family at home 29. Secrets of Six-Figure Women
Preparing for the worst - long - These forums exist to help entrepreneurs start and successfully maintain their businesses, but I thought I'd get in a thread about entrepreneurs protecting their families should the unexpected happen, and they pass on in a car crash, plane crash, natural or man-made catastrophe. No one expects to die - even old folks! - but especially not young, healthy, strong folk like most of us here. But, as is evident any time you read the news...stuff happens. So, what happens to [i:4atezzia]your [/i:4atezzia]family if you die? Or are seriously injured...or if your house is leveled by fire or flood? Do you have a will? Does your will state who in your family is to get what, so that there will be absolutely no argument come probate time? Better to get everything in writing so that there will be no bad feelings when the time comes. Do you have insurance, including long-term disability insurance? If you've got a family, this is something you need to have, even if you have to scrimp and save to pay the premiums. Same goes for funeral insurance. Funerals are very expensive, and your family shouldn't have to come up with that money on their own when they're busy trying to grieve. What will happen to your business if you die? Is there enough money to pay your creditors? Will your family be able to figure out who your creditors are? Where your stocks and bonds are? And so on. We're living in an increasingly uncertain world. Preparing for the future is imperative.
Re: Does Anyone have any New Ideas for a Business - An idea is only the beginning. The solution is the key here. I really like the term "turn key solution" and in fact use it as many times as I can in my life. Successful franchises and businesses know exactly what, who, how, where, when and why prior to ever dropping $1 in the bank account. This is what makes people millionaires. Harvest ideas into well oiled machines. A business needs to run itself and sustain itself. If you can show this on paper and show consistent growth in a real world scenario, you will always have a winner. Sounds easy, doesn't it? I'm still working on that myself. It's amazing how many difficult to answer questions come up. Persistence is then key.
Re: Are you an Opportunity Addict? - [quote="LoveInventions":1is64ff5]Successful inventors are the people who have one or two o.k. ideas in their life time but they execute them and make millions from them. Unsuccessful inventors are those that have 100 GREAT ideas daily but spend all their time coming up with ideas.[/quote:1is64ff5] Hi LoveInventions, So how do you or those successful inventors that you know decide on which "one or two o.k. ideas" to pursue?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Your Local Small Business Online Marketing Funnel

The Pure FUN of Learning & Using NLP

Four Reasons Why Entrepreneurs Should Blog

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.