Continuous Improvement

Quick reference

• 00:04 Hi, I'm Ray Sheen.
• 00:05 Let's look at a major theme in business and how it applies to project management,
• 00:10 continuous improvement.
• 00:13 Continuous improvement theory is based upon the Shewhart Cycle,
• 00:16 which is sometimes referred to as the Deming Wheel.
• 00:19 Shewhart and
• 00:20 Deming were early gurus of the continuous improvement business discipline.
• 00:24 In fact, Walter Shewhart was Deming's professor.
• 00:27 This cycle is the plan, do, check, act cycle.
• 00:31 Using the cycle, a team or individual will study and
• 00:34 plan an improvement, do the work to create that improvement.
• 00:38 Check to make sure it works in the intended fashion and
• 00:41 does not create a worse problem.
• 00:43 Then take the action to either make that change permanent or
• 00:46 to revise the approach and try again.
• 00:49 Either way the team or individual are off to work under the next problem.
• 00:54 One key aspect to the PDA cycle is that it seeks to achieve improvement but
• 00:58 it does not need to create perfection.
• 01:00 Just something better.
• 01:02 A problem when doing improvement projects is that regardless of the solution you can
• 01:06 always think of something that might be even a little bit better.
• 01:10 Rather than endless searching for perfection PDCA says,
• 01:14 let's make it better and then go onto the next biggest problem.
• 01:17 The PDCA cycle is simple way to organize any improvement activity.
• 01:22 Rather than arbitrarily trying new things and just hoping something is working.
• 01:26 It provides a simple logical way to constantly improve a product or process.
• 01:32 Another principle with PDCA is the reliance on data.
• 01:35 In fact, normally a team or individual will decide on a topic for
• 01:39 PDCA, based upon data identifying the problem.
• 01:43 And of course the purpose of step three in the cycle check is to create and
• 01:47 analyze data from the improvement,
• 01:49 to see if it is effective before spending the money for full implementation.
• 01:53 PDCA is the foundation for continuous improvement but
• 01:57 there are lots of initiatives that businesses have adopted.
• 02:01 Things like Six Sigma, Eight Discipline, Total Quality Management and
• 02:05 Kaizen are all continuous improvement methodologies.
• 02:08 These methodologies have four things in common and
• 02:11 each methodology may focus on one, but they all include all four.
• 02:17 These four are process, people, customer and data.
• 02:21 Let's look at each in a little more detail.
• 02:23 The process provides a standard approach that takes a team or
• 02:26 individual through the steps in sequence that are associated with identifying and
• 02:30 implementing an improvement.
• 02:32 The structure process guides the team.
• 02:34 A key for success when implementing improvements is to trust the process.
• 02:39 The eight discipline or eight D methodology emphasizes process.
• 02:43 The aspect of people is that the best improvement ideas and
• 02:46 success come about when all the right people are involved.
• 02:50 Improvements that are created by cross-functional teams that include
• 02:53 all effective organizations will experience less resistance to change.
• 02:57 Than an improvement forced upon a team, with no opportunity for input.
• 03:02 Second, the team will often include individuals with first-hand
• 03:05 experience in the problem.
• 03:07 This team will create the solution that will work and they're able to plan and
• 03:11 implement the solution since they are fully aware of the business and
• 03:15 processes involved.
• 03:17 An improvement approach that focuses on engaging a cross functional team and
• 03:21 often multilevel teams, is Kaizen.
• 03:24 The third aspect of continuous improvement approaches is the customer focus.
• 03:28 With this focus, we select a problem that has real impact
• 03:32 on the organization because it has impact to the customer.
• 03:35 That means that a change for better in this area will lead to more and
• 03:39 happier customers.
• 03:40 That usually translates into better financial performance.
• 03:43 One point of clarification, the customers could be an internal or
• 03:46 an external customer.
• 03:48 But the point is that it is the customer of the product or process being improved.
• 03:52 An improvement that only helps the process operators but has no effect on
• 03:56 the customer of the process has limited potential for a positive business impact.
• 04:01 So the viability of the solution is based upon the impact to the customer.
• 04:05 An example of a process that emphasizes this
• 04:08 is the total quality management initiative.
• 04:10 The final one to discuss is data.
• 04:13 All the methodologies rely on actual data, to define the problem and
• 04:17 to evaluate the solution.
• 04:19 The methodology will include data collection and analysis when creating and
• 04:22 selecting a solution.
• 04:24 And an improvement approach that relies heavily on data is Six Sigma.
• 04:29 Well, let's finish this discussion, by looking at continuous improvement and
• 04:32 project management.
• 04:34 Of course, projects are a temporary endeavor undertaken to achieve a unique
• 04:37 goal or objective.
• 04:39 As such, continuous improvement activities, as they apply to project
• 04:43 management, must focus on the process of project management, not on the outcome or
• 04:48 result of the project since that's always changing.
• 04:51 And because each project is already unique,
• 04:54 continuous improvement must be proactively implemented to have any lasting effect.
• 04:59 Continuous improvement within the life cycle of a given project
• 05:03 requires regular assessment and rapid implementation
• 05:06 of improvements if they are to take effect before the project completes.
• 05:10 This means conducting lessons learn reviews periodically
• 05:13 throughout the project.
• 05:15 I like to do these after each phase or major milestone.
• 05:18 And then following a rapid analysis a trial or
• 05:20 prototype of the improvement is used while working in the next phase of the project.
• 05:26 Continuous improvement between projects will require an organizational response to
• 05:30 the problem and solution.
• 05:31 Since one project manager normally cannot dictate to another project manager,
• 05:36 what they should do.
• 05:37 This is where a project management office is very helpful.
• 05:41 They can analyze problems that are common across multiple projects, create and
• 05:45 test solutions on one project and then implement it across other projects.
• 05:50 Even if there is no PMO, the use of a standard methodology that
• 05:54 is periodically reviewed and updated is needed.
• 05:57 To create an effective, continuous improvement approach across projects.
• 06:01 But with the speed of business today,
• 06:03 an effective continuous improvement approach is needed.
• 06:07 To ensure that the project management methodology is
• 06:11 contributing to project success and not inhibiting it.

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