Process Improvement, Change Management

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Process

A process is a series or set of activities that interact to produce a result; it may occur once-only or be recurrent or periodic. - General definition. A process consists of the purposeful sequencing of tasks that combine resources to produce a desired output. - More technical definition.

Constraints are a part of any process( or organization) .

Thinking processes is a cause and effect tool that is designed to solve complex systems. With the different tools, we get to answer three vital questions – what has to change, what it should change to and necessary actions to cause that change.

By understanding the different theories offers effective ways to solve them.

Process Improvement

The job of examining the processes used in a company, department, project, etc. to see how they can be made more effective.

Deming's 14 Points

Tools Overview

Lean and Six Sigma are sets of techniques for process improvement.

In fact, lean management and Six Sigma share similar methodologies and tools, including the fact that both were influenced by Japanese business culture. However, lean management primarily focuses on eliminating waste through tools that target organizational efficiencies while integrating a performance improvement system, while Six Sigma focuses on eliminating defects and reducing variation. Both systems are driven by data, though Six Sigma is much more dependent on accurate data.

So lean and Six Sigma are combined to Lean Six Sigma is a method that relies on a collaborative team effort to improve performance by systematically removing waste and reducing variation. It is used to reduce process defects and waste, and to provide a framework for overall organizational culture change that focuses on growth and continuous improvement through process optimization.

"Think big, act small, fail fast; learn rapidly" – these slogans summarize the importance of understanding the field and the suitability of implementing lean principles along the whole software development process. Only when all of the principles are implemented together, combined with strong "common sense" with respect to the working environment, is there a basis for success in software development. \ According to Simon Powers, is that you must improve the process you are using as well as the product. This means agile and lean processes are dynamic in their nature. The Cynefin framework defines these processes as emergent. That is the process emerges as you learn more. You can’t emerge a process without solid understanding of process design and the underlying understanding of people as defined here. This is why you need people who have the agile mindset at all levels of the continuous process creation otherwise the decisions made to change the process will deviate from the optimum. This process is built into the various Agile frameworks, and is encapsulated in the empirical process, however, it is surprising how many product teams do not collect feedback on whether their output created the right outcome.

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Lean Principle

The concept of continuous and incremental improvements on product and process while eliminating redundant activities.

The value of adding activities are simply only those things the customer is willing to pay for, everything else is waste, and should be eliminated, simplified, reduced, or integrated.

Womack and Jones define Lean as "...a way to do more and more with less and less - less human effort, less equipment, less time, and less space - while coming closer and closer to providing customers exactly what they want" and then translate this into five key principles:

• Value - Specify the value desired by the customer. "Form a team for each product to stick with that product during its entire production cycle", "Enter into a dialogue with the customer" (e.g. Voice of the customer)
• The Value Stream - Identify the value stream for each product providing that value and challenge all of the wasted steps (generally nine out of ten) currently necessary to provide it
• Flow - Make the product flow continuously through the remaining value-added steps
• Pull - Introduce pull between all steps where continuous flow is possible
• Perfection - Manage toward perfection so that the number of steps and the amount of time and information needed to serve the customer continually falls

Tools: Kaizen (Continuous Improvement), Value Stream Mapping, 5S System, Kanban, Mistake proofing (Poka-yoke), Productive Maintenance, Set Up Time Reduction, Reduce Lot Sizes, Line Balancing, Schedule Leveling, Standardized work, and Visual Management

In order to eliminate waste, one should be able to recognize it. A value stream mapping technique is used to identify waste. The second step is to point out sources of waste and to eliminate them. Waste-removal should take place iteratively until even seemingly essential processes and procedures are liquidated.

💎 = Value ♥️ = Respect for people and culture 🏄‍♀️ = Flow 💡 = Innovation ⬆️ = Relentless Improvement 🚩= Leadership source

Resource

• [ ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_manufacturing
• [ ] http://theleanstartup.com

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Six Sigma

Six Sigma (6σ) is a set of techniques and tools for process improvement. Six Sigma strategies seek to improve manufacturing quality by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and business processes. It does this by using empirical and statistical quality management methods and by hiring people who serve as Six Sigma experts. Each Six Sigma project follows a defined methodology and has specific value targets, such as reducing pollution or increasing customer satisfaction.

Six Sigma asserts that: Continuous efforts to achieve stable and predictable process results (e.g., by reducing process variation) are of vital importance to business success. Manufacturing and business processes have characteristics that can be defined, measured, analyzed, improved, and controlled. Achieving sustained quality improvement requires commitment from the entire organization, particularly from top-level management.

Features that set Six Sigma apart from previous quality-improvement initiatives include: Focus on achieving measurable and quantifiable financial returns Emphasis on management leadership and support Commitment to making decisions on the basis of verifiable data and statistical methods rather than assumptions and guesswork.

Six Sigma projects follow two project methodologies:

• DMAIC is used for projects aimed at improving an existing business process

• DMADV is used for projects aimed at creating new product or process designs

In fact, lean management and Six Sigma share similar methodologies and tools, including the fact that both were influenced by Japanese business culture. However, lean management primarily focuses on eliminating waste through tools that target organizational efficiencies while integrating a performance improvement system, while Six Sigma focuses on eliminating defects and reducing variation. Both systems are driven by data, though Six Sigma is much more dependent on accurate data.

Resource:

• [ ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Sigma
• [ ] https://www.cio.com/article/3237692/six-sigma-quality-management-methodology.html
• [ ] https://www.edx.org/course/six-sigma-define-and-measure
• [ ] https://www.dummies.com/careers/project-management/six-sigma/how-to-launch-a-six-sigma-project
• [ ] https://www.carnegiefoundation.org/blog/quality-improvement-approaches-six-sigma
• [ ] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z4ei_ouzdk

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Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma is a method that relies on a collaborative team effort to improve performance by systematically removing waste and reducing variation. It combines lean manufacturing/lean enterprise and Six Sigma to eliminate the eight kinds of waste (muda): Defects, Over-Production, Waiting, Non-Utilized Talent, Transportation, Inventory, Motion, and Extra-Processing.

Lean Six Sigma is used to reduce process defects and waste, and to provide a framework for overall organizational culture change. Through the introduction of Lean Six Sigma, employers hope to change the mindset of employees and managers to one that focuses on growth and continuous improvement through process optimization. This change in culture and the mindset of an organization can potentially maximize efficiency and increase profitability.

Although Lean and Six Sigma are different processes, they are complementary and share many similarities that allow them to flow together seamlessly. First, both Lean and Six Sigma stress the fact that the customer defines the value of a product or service. This means that when processes are examined, the importance or necessity of steps in the process should be examined through the eyes of the customer. Also, Lean and Six Sigma utilize process flow maps in order to better understand the flow of production and identify any wastes. Furthermore, both rely on data to determine which areas of production need improvement in efficiency and to measure the success of improvements. Finally, as a result of implementing Lean and Six Sigma, efficiency typically improves and variation decreases. Efficiency and reduction in variation go hand-in-hand, with improvement in one resulting in an improvement in the other.

Lean and Six Sigma have many similarities but are different processes and were developed for different purposes. The first difference between the two methods is problem identification. While Lean focuses the problem of inefficiency around the eight wastes, Six Sigma focuses on identifying sources of variation to reduce inefficiency. In addition, Lean and Six Sigma use different tools. While Lean uses more data visualization tools, Six Sigma uses more numerical and analytical-focused tools.

Resource

• [ ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lean_software_development

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Deming's Theory and Toyota Way

Dr. Deming’s 14 Points for Management

1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.

2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.

3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.

4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.

5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.

6. Institute training on the job.

7. Institute leadership. The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul, as well as supervision of production workers.

8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.

9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.

10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.

11a. Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership.

11b. Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical goals. Substitute leadership.

12a. Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of his right to pride of workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality.

12b. Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to pride of workmanship. This means, inter alia, abolishment of the annual or merit rating and of management by objective.

13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.

14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.

Toyota Way

The Toyota Way is a set of principles and behaviors that underlie the Toyota Motor Corporation's managerial approach and production system. The Toyota Way has been designated "a framework intended to give the instruments to individuals to constantly improve their work".

It has 14 principles that can be grouped in 4 parts

• Long-term philosophy
• The right process will produce the right results
• Add value to the organization by developing your people
• Continuously solving root problems drives organizational learning

Resource

• [ ] https://deming.org/explore/fourteen-points
• [ ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Toyota_Way

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Theory of Constraints

In this theory, the argument is that every organization with a complex system has a constraint or bottleneck that prevents it from reaching its potential.

A constraint is considered the weakest link in the chain. Therefore, theory of constraints posits that working on the constraint stops it from being a limiting factor. The manufacturing industry refers to a constraint as a bottleneck. Because the system consists of linked processes, identifying the bottleneck and clearing it is the only way to improve. Theory of constraints provides tools that businesses in different sectors can use to enhance processes.

The Five Focusing Steps

The theory’s advantage is that it allows you to concentrate on the problem areas and find actionable solutions. It provides a 5-stage methodology to achieve that. These are;

Identify the Constraint

If you are to boost processes, whether in manufacturing or other sectors, you must know where to channel your energy. For that, you should know where the challenge lies. Look for anything that slows down efforts to accomplish a particular goal. Businesses can use various tools to check for constraints.

Exploit

Don’t look at a constraint as an obstacle, but as an opportunity instead. Rather than investing more resources to solve the inefficiencies, use what is already available. Squeeze the constraint for all it’s worth. In most cases, organizations fail to utilize constraints to their full potential. The reasons for this vary. Therefore, identify what they are in your case and find work-arounds.

Subordinate

In the subordination stage, you have other elements supporting the main one towards a common objective. So, evaluate all the other aspects, called non-constraints, and ensure that they align with the constraint. The point is to make certain that non-constraints don’t produce more than they should, which causes an imbalance.

Elevate

After exhausting all the resources and the constraint still remains, it’s time to elevate it by investing more of whatever is necessary. Some businesses make the mistake of jumping straight to this stage. Work on elevating the constraint until it is fixed.

Prevent Inertia

After resolving the current constraint, move to the next one. This process is continuous and that means not allowing inertia to set in.

Resouce

• [ ] https://checkify.com/blog/theory-of-constraint

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Pareto Principle

80% of results will come from just 20% of the action

Pareto, a philosopher, economist, and keen gardener, had an epiphany one day, while out picking peas. He noticed that roughly 20% of his pea plants seemed to generate around 80% of the peas.

The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes, roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes (the “vital few”). Other names for this principle are the 80/20 rule, the law of the vital few, or the principle of factor sparsity.

In any group of things that contribute to a common effect, a relatively few contributors account for the majority of the effect. A Pareto chart is a type of bar chart in which the various factors that contribute to an overall effect are arranged in order according to the magnitude of their effect. This ordering helps identify the "vital few" — the factors that warrant the most attention.

Using a Pareto chart helps a team concentrate its efforts on the factors that have the greatest impact. It also helps a team communicate the rationale for focusing on certain areas.

Mathematically, the 80/20 rule is roughly described by a power law distribution (also known as a Pareto distribution) for a particular set of parameters, and many natural phenomena have been shown to exhibit such a distribution. It is an adage of business management that "80% of sales come from 20% of clients".

In computer science the Pareto principle can be applied to optimization efforts. For example, Microsoft noted that by fixing the top 20% of the most-reported bugs, 80% of the related errors and crashes in a given system would be eliminated.

Lowell Arthur expressed that "20 percent of the code has 80 percent of the errors. Find them, fix them!".

It was also discovered that in general the 80% of a certain piece of software can be written in 20% of the total allocated time. Conversely, the hardest 20% of the code takes 80% of the time. This factor is usually a part of COCOMO estimating for software coding.

The constructive cost model was developed by Barry W. Boehm in the late 1970s as a model for estimating effort, cost, and schedule for software projects. It drew on a study of 63 projects at TRW Aerospace where Boehm was Director of Software Research and Technology. The study examined projects ranging in size from 2,000 to 100,000 lines of code, and programming languages ranging from assembly to PL/I. These projects were based on the waterfall model of software development which was the prevalent software development process in 1981.

WordPerfect and other software developers identify what customers want most of the time and how they want to do it: the 80/20 rule (people use 20 percent of a program’s functions 80 percent of the time). Software developers work to make high-use functions as simple and automatic and inevitable as possible

When is a Pareto chart used?

As you can tell, the Pareto chart has numerous uses in a business. But when is the right time to use one? It’s a continuous improvement tool, and so should be used as ongoingly, however there are specific times when the data gained from the Pareto chart can have big effects, and you may not have even thought of it.

Early on in your quality improvement process

Identifying where improvements can be made early on in the quality improvement process is a highly valuable move for a business, who can then dedicate resources to the areas that need it. Sometimes, data can bring surprises – ones that an organisation would not have thought of prior to the Pareto chart results.

For example, leadership may be inclined to believe that customer complaints are caused by product defect. When they do the research, they find there are more complaints with delays in shipping. The problem is that customers can sometimes shout louder about certain problems.

Later in your quality improvement process

After the improvement processes have been identified, and the team assembled, the Pareto chart can be used as a tool to select areas to focus on. Problems are often complex and multifaceted, it is therefore important to consider all possible causes, identify which one is having the highest effect, and then focus attention on those. This leaves out any room for interpretation and people following their ‘gut,’ which is not always the best direction for a business.

For instance, you would find out the various reasons for the shipping delay problems, and dedicate time to the problems that were in the top 20%.

To build consensus

A Pareto chart can also help to resolve conflicts between team members. Have you heard of the phrase – too many chefs can spoil a broth? Often, employees can have different ideas about what is right for a business, and having data clearly demonstrated for all to see, can be a great way to resolve this. This will ensure everyone is on the same page when looking to reach that same goal.

For example, the warehouse team may be blaming the manufacturing team for delays in production, and vice versa. However, if you do the research, you may find that neither groups are responsible, and actually the focus needs to be laid elsewhere.

Resource

• [ ] https://www.process.st/pareto-chart
• [ ] https://checkify.com/blog/pareto-chart

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Change Management Tools

• Lewin’s change management model
• The McKinsey 7-S model
• Kotter’s theory
• Nudge theory
• ADKAR
• Bridges’ transition model
• Kübler-Ross’ change curve
• The Satir change management model

Resource

• [ ] https://www.process.st/change-management-models

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PDCA vs PDSA

PDCA: How to Eliminate Error in Your Processes and Products

PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) is a four-step cycle for continuous improvement. The way it does this is through identifying errors, creating hypotheses to deal with them, testing the method, and acting on the results.

Some refer to it as the Deming Cycle, however, this ignores the fact that PDCA is an offshoot of Deming’s theory, and does not fulfill the same role.

Plan – isolate and define a problem, create a hypothesis on how to solve it, and decide which one you’re going to test
Do – test your hypothesis (solution) and track the results
Check – check to see if your measures reduced the level of error in your process/product
Act – either implement the successful hypothesis or repeat the process to find a more suitable solution

Resource

• [ ] https://www.process.st/pdca

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Business Process Modeling (BPM)

Business process modeling (BPM) in business process management and systems engineering is the activity of representing processes of an enterprise, so that the current process may be analyzed, improved, and automated. BPM is typically performed by business analysts, who provide expertise in the modeling discipline; by subject matter experts, who have specialized knowledge of the processes being modeled; or more commonly by a team comprising both. Alternatively, the process model can be derived directly from events' logs using process mining tools.

The business objective is often to increase process speed or reduce cycle time; to increase quality; or to reduce costs, such as labor, materials, scrap, or capital costs. In practice, a management decision to invest in business process modeling is often motivated by the need to document requirements for an information technology project.

Change management programs are typically involved to put any improved business processes into practice. With advances in software design, the vision of BPM models becoming fully executable (and capable of simulations and round-trip engineering) is coming closer to reality.

Resource

• [ ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_process_modeling
• [ ] https://www.omg.org/bpmn/
• [ ] https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/business-insights-ideas/resources/the-guide-to-using-bpmn-in-your-business
• [ ] https://www.visual-paradigm.com/guide/bpmn/what-is-bpmn
• [ ] https://www.smartsheet.com/beginners-guide-business-process-modeling-and-notation-bpmn
• [ ] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_Process_Model_and_Notation
• [ ] https://www.lucidchart.com/pages/bpmn

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Total Quality Management (TQM)?

A core definition of total quality management (TQM) describes a management approach to long-term success through customer satisfaction. In a TQM effort, all members of an organization participate in improving processes, products, services, and the culture in which they work.

TQM can be summarized as a management system for a customer-focused organization that involves all employees in continual improvement. It uses strategy, data, and effective communications to integrate the quality discipline into the culture and activities of the organization. Many of these concepts are present in modern quality management systems, the successor to TQM. Here are the 8 principles of total quality management:

Customer-focused: The customer ultimately determines the level of quality. No matter what an organization does to foster quality improvement—training employees, integrating quality into the design process, or upgrading computers or software—the customer determines whether the efforts were worthwhile.
Total employee involvement: All employees participate in working toward common goals. Total employee commitment can only be obtained after fear has been driven from the workplace, when [empowerment](https://asq.org/quality-resources/employee-empowerment) has occurred, and when management has provided the proper environment. High-performance work systems integrate [continuous improvement](https://asq.org/quality-resources/continuous-improvement) efforts with normal business operations. Self-managed work [teams](https://asq.org/quality-resources/teams) are one form of empowerment.
Process-centered: A fundamental part of TQM is a focus on process thinking. A process is a series of steps that take inputs from suppliers (internal or external) and transforms them into outputs that are delivered to customers (internal or external). The steps required to carry out the process are defined, and performance measures are continuously monitored in order to detect unexpected variation.
Integrated system: Although an organization may consist of many different functional specialties often organized into vertically structured departments, it is the horizontal processes interconnecting these functions that are the focus of TQM.
        Micro-processes add up to larger processes, and all processes aggregate into the business processes required for defining and implementing strategy. Everyone must understand the vision, mission, and guiding principles as well as the quality policies, objectives, and critical processes of the organization. Business performance must be monitored and communicated continuously.
        An integrated business system may be modeled after the [Baldrige Award](https://asq.org/quality-resources/malcolm-baldrige-national-quality-award) criteria and/or incorporate the [ISO 9000 standards](https://asq.org/quality-resources/iso-9000). Every organization has a unique work culture, and it is virtually impossible to achieve excellence in its products and services unless a good quality culture has been fostered. Thus, an integrated system connects business improvement elements in an attempt to continually improve and exceed the expectations of customers, employees, and other stakeholders.
Strategic and systematic approach: A critical part of the management of quality is the strategic and systematic approach to achieving an organization’s vision, mission, and goals. This process, called strategic planning or strategic management, includes the formulation of a strategic plan that integrates quality as a core component.
Continual improvement: A large aspect of TQM is [continual process improvement](https://asq.org/quality-resources/continuous-improvement). Continual improvement drives an organization to be both analytical and creative in finding ways to become more competitive and more effective at meeting [stakeholder](https://asq.org/quality-resources/stakeholders) expectations.
Fact-based decision making: In order to know how well an organization is performing, data on performance measures are necessary. TQM requires that an organization continually collect and analyze data in order to improve decision making accuracy, achieve consensus, and allow prediction based on past history.
Communications: During times of organizational change, as well as part of day-to-day operation, effective communications plays a large part in maintaining morale and in motivating employees at all levels. Communications involve strategies, method, and timeliness.

Resources

• [ ] https://asq.org/quality-resources/total-quality-management
• [ ] https://asq.org/quality-resources/quality-management-system

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Value Stream Mapping

• [ ] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOsnd4v85as
• [ ] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuYlGRnC7J8 Planning VS Strategy