Using the Tools in Your Performance Excellence Toolbox: Part 13 Improving Your Process – Tools

Using the Tools in Your Performance Excellence Toolbox: Part 13

Improving Your Process – Tools

 This is the thirtieth in a series of posts on using performance excellence tools.  You know better than to slap a Band-Aid on a problem.  You must permanently fix the root cause(s) of the problem.  Here are a few tools to use.

First our old friends the Histogram, Pareto Chart and Brainstorming can be used in this stage.  The first two help you measure results of ideas that you come up with as part of Brainstorming potential solutions.  You use them the same way as covered in the earlier posts.

You may want to use the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle to evaluate ideas that are generated.  This helps you systematically evaluate critique and determine the viability of a potential solution.  It allows you to accept as is, modify or reject a potential solution with the minimal amount of effort, e.g. time, money, staff.

Though you may have run into the issue of change management in earlier stages, it is in the Improve stage that you need to begin to seriously address the issue.  Change management is a complex issue requiring a serious of post of their own.   However, there are a few tools that come to hand in assessing the degree of difficulty or obstacles if you prefer, that you may encounter.  Forewarned is forearmed.

First you might have picked up from your VOC work inclinations of individuals towards the project.  Is there overt or covert negative reaction to the project?  Even initial positive reaction can be a potential change management issue, best summed up as too much, too soon or impatience of people wanting something before it is ready.  You can lose your support through delays or miscommunications.

Second is the Commitment Scale a simple looking tool that takes some practice and skill development to actually be used effectively.

You (royal YOU – team, sponsor, etc.) complete the Commitment Scale following the steps in  Figure 1.

Figure 1 – Commitment Scale

The need for skill comes in with the need to accurately determine the individuals’ or groups’ current level of commitment to the project and the level you need to move them to in order to be successful.

You then build the mitigation plan for moving them from their current position to the needed level.

The Commitment Scale can be used to assess the commitment of individuals or groups of people who are outside the team.  For example, there may be within the organization a person not on the team but who has the political capital to make you or break you and has direct or indirect interest in the project (stakeholder).  I have developed an Influence Level Scale that I feel does a better job when used in conjunction with (prior to) the Commitment Scale.

Identify who the stakeholders are that you will be dealing with.  They can be divided into five categories.

• Power broker – an individual who has the power to manipulate the information flow, budget, communication, etc. concerning the project under consideration.  They may or may not be obvious in the decision making process.
• Decision maker – an individual who has the decision making power.  This may be a single person with straight up Yes or No decision powers or one who has strong influence with other decision makers.  They may or may not be the process owner.
• Influencers – an individual who does not have decision making power but who can influence the decision makers.  Often these are subject matter experts.
• Advisor – an individual who may be asked for their advice and input.  They do not have any decision making power.
• Follower – an individual who follows the decisions being made.  They have no input into the decision making process.

Be certain that you are dealing with the right people.  If you do not have the ear of the power brokers and decision makers, you are not going to make any headway or at best waste an enormous about of effort in gaining headway.

Using the Influence Level Scale (Figure 2), determine the influence that each person has on the success of the project.

Figure 2 – Example of Influence Level Scale Developed by Process Improvement for Non-Profits

After you have identified and classified the stakeholders’ influence, determine what level of commitment to the project you will need them to be successful using the Commitment Scale.

Using the Tools in Your Performance Excellence Toolbox: Part 8 Brainstorming

Using the Tools in Your Performance Excellence Toolbox: Part 8 Brainstorming

 

This is the eighth in a series of posts on using performance excellence tools.  It covers the basics of brainstorming.

Brainstorming is a very effective tool when used properly and a disaster when used inappropriately or incorrectly.

Too often people say, “let’s brainstorm” this or that.  What they really do is convene a bull session, a gripe session or a bitch session.   They think that by venting their spleen they are being creative.

A true brainstorming session is none of the above and in fact if any of these creep into your brainstorming session, you have killed its effectiveness.   Appropriate uses of brainstorming include:

• Identifying a wide range of ideas and solutions to existing or new problems
• Creating group ownership of ideas
• Improving group cohesiveness

All you need to do proper brainstorming are:

• People
• A means to capture their thoughts
• The rules for brainstorming

The first thing is that it takes two or more to brainstorm.  Or does it?  You can sit down by yourself with a piece of paper and let a stream of consciousness flow.  Write down what ever flows into your head the second it occurs to you.  Don’t think about it, don’t analyze it, just write it down.

When used in a team environment, brainstorming provides your team with several options to gain the most out of their expertise while balancing team member contributions.

To capture the thoughts of a team a flip chart or whiteboard will do.  You need to be able to show all the participants what has been captured.  If you want there are software tools that can help.  I use Mindjet’s MindManager.    Figure 1 shows a screen shot of their brainstorming tool from version 8.

Figure 1 Mindjet MindManager Brainstorming Tool

The last item is what keeps you brainstorming and not kibitzing – the basic rules.

• Quantity, not quality is the goal so extreme ideas are welcome.  Think outside the box.  There are no bad ideas.
• No verbal or non-verbal criticism of ideas.
• No discussion of ideas.  An idea is offered and no one should be allowed to comment on it, either pro or con.
• Asking for clarification is OK, but should be focused and brief.  While there is no discussion of the idea, it is alright to ask for clarification of the idea.
• No belaboring ideas or telling of war stories (be succinct).
• Piggy backing on ideas is OK.  If someone’s comment triggers an idea related to it offer the idea.
• Everyone gets a chance to contribute.

When you are stuck trying to get thoughts generated, try brainstorming in the round.  You start by having a member offer an idea. Then proceed to the next person who offers an idea, continuing in order around the room until everyone has offered all their ideas.

• It is OK for you to say pass if you don’t have an idea when it is your turn.
• Please do not offer ideas out of turn.
• Don’t forget those in remote locations.  Connect to them remotely.  A neat trick that I learned to help remember remote people are out there is to treat the speakerphone as if it were actually that person is sitting at the table.  As you go around the room, and get to where the phone is call on that person for his input.