Tag: process

  • Examples of Process Improvement

    Examples of Process Improvement are sometimes a little harder to find and measure than Product Improvement. As long as you have a standard to compare a product, any change can be determined and it is usually easier to determine if the quality of the product has improved or not. Also, we may not have to actually determine the measurement methodology prior to the product being produced. We can take an existing product, determine a standard and decide if it has met that standard. Future products can then be compared against that standard. A process, on the other hand, does not necessarily have an end product. It is part of what produces the end product and may not ‘exist in the literal sense’ after it is finished.

    There are two ways we can measure Process Improvement and then determine if the Process has improved.

    • Measure the created product. This becomes product measurement and that can be used as feedback to improve the process.
    • Measure the actual process.

    The first has already been covered so we will discuss the second.
    If we make a change to the process, the fundamental question is has the process improved.
    Examples:

    • The process continues to generate product after a change with no reduction in quality. Process Improvement.
    • The process generates the same product while using less materials. Process Improvement.
    • The process generates the same product with less waste. Process Improvement.
    • The process is halted or interrupted less often than before. Process Improvement.
    • Less resources are required for the same quality product. Process Improvement.
    • The process has reduced variation. Process Improvement.

    All of the above require a proper measurement process (another process) to be in place before the process is launched. It is very difficult to measure some of the above process improvements without having an existing measurement process in place. This may eventually remind you of The Siphonaptera!

    However, if you want to find out about your own processes, take a look at our Assessment process which identifies them.

  • Process Improvement

    Ongoing Process Improvement is the second critical aspect of process implementation. Last week we identified the components of a process. Once they are identified and it has been determined if they are applicable then the next step is Process Improvement.

    Many organizations identify the need for Process Improvement but they seem to say it as statement sliding the two words together as if it is something that will occur without effort and frequently without results. Philip Crosby’s book “Quality is Free” talks about this and in our last post we mentioned getting the process just right. Getting it just right is not a one step process. At a minimum it is a 4 step process and those steps contain a lot of subsidiary detail.

    Initially, as mentioned last week, we have to identify the processes that are in existence. Part of NVP’s Assessment process is to identify the existing processes. This can be done internally although that can be more difficult since people tend to live through the process and cannot see it ‘from the outside’.

    Once the processes are identified, then we need to see how they can be improved. This requires thinking ‘outside the box’ and coming with fresh insight to existing processes. A critical piece of this is to determine how the suggested processes can be measured. Without measurement it is impossible to know whether improvement has taken place. Peter Drucker – “you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” and extended to say “if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”

    The next step then falls into place. We take the recommended improved process and try it out while taking measurements. Once the process has had some time to be tested, the measurements are collated and it is determined if the process has improved.
    There are two possible outcomes:

    • Process Improvement has occurred. In which case then we look for further process improvement.
    • Process Improvement has not occurred. In which case we discard the suggested process and look for some other way to obtain process improvement.

    Next week we will provide some examples.

  • Quality Assurance Processes

    Quality Assurance Processes are key to a successful project. Before we get into the where and why, here is  a brief overview of processes as we see them.

    A Quality Assurance Process has several components which are often described via a workbench.
    The following are common to most of the workbenches we have used:

    • Inputs are items that are provided to the workbench. Frequently they are the output from another workbench and they should be subject to entrance criteria.
    • Some Do Process to which the Inputs are subject
    • Some Check Process after the Do Process has completed
    • Tools may be used to assist in the Do and Check Processes
    • If the product or process passes then it is delivered to the next workbench or to the final customer
    • If the product or process fails then rework is undertaken to correct the errors
    • Standards should be applied to all the other components of the workbench

    The key point is to determine where to apply the processes for the most impact and best ROI.

    Too Much Process

    There are companies (some of them no longer in business) who applied processes to absolutely every step and every thing they did. They ‘bogged down in process’ to the detriment of the actual work they were supposed to be doing. There were too many processes to remember and people actually devoted time to working out how to avoid the process.

    Too Little Process

    The opposite of the above are the companies that avoid process entirely. Everything is left to current thought of the day and it can be changed tomorrow. These companies are at Level 1 (or less) of CMMi and very little actually moves each day since everyone knows it can change before. People resort to doing as a little as possible while waiting on the final decision.

    Just Right Process

    The best way is the Just Right Processes. We will talk about that next week.