Ben Graham Articles

Preparing for Successful Process Improvement - Click To Read Article
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.

Getting Everyone on Board for an Improvement Project - Click To Read Article
A previous paper outlined the elements involved in setting up a process improvement project. With a project well-defined and management support secured, it is time to spread the word. We want to ensure that everyone involved in the process to be studied is aware of what is going on. We do that with a public announcement.

Customer Focus in Process Improvement - Click To Read Article
A process is a series of steps completed to achieve a particular result. It is hard to imagine a process improvement effort that doesn’t start with a focus on that result with a question like “What is the purpose of this process?” - whether the customer is actually engaged or not. Sometimes we have a strong sense that our product or service is good. Sometimes we choose to “get our own house in order” before we step outside the organization. Sometimes we base the result on a prescription provided by the customer. However, sometimes, our focus may be misdirected to how we do the work without considering why it is done in the first place...particularly where slick new technologies are involved. But, without actually engaging the customer, we can’t really know how well the process is working to provide the customer what they need or want.

Collecting the Facts for Preparing Process Maps - Click To Read Article
In two previous papers, we outlined the elements involved in setting up a process improvement project and getting the word out with a public announcement. With everyone on board, it’s time to get into the trenches. Fact gathering is an integral part of understanding reality and preparing a good process map. Yet, it is often dismissed or given cursory attention as superficial process maps are created by an individual or group of people some distance away from the work…and thereby some distance away from reality. If you want your process maps to reflect reality, you must go to the work and see it happen.


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