The Organizational Learning Center

Building: High Performance Organizations

In over 20 years of real-world experience, OLC has helped organizations develop specific "Organizational Capabilities" that enable the achievement of high performance, foster innovation and engagement, and help knowledge workers use their full potential.

OLC's "Bigger Pie" Initiative

Let's stop arguing about who gets the biggest piece of the pie, let's work together to make a bigger pie. Lack of knowledge... that is the problem -W. Edwards Deming
"How do you make a bigger pie?" The purpose of "The Bigger Pie Initiative" is to share OLC's answers to this this question with individuals and groups who seek ways to build a better world for all.

OLC Process Improvement Steps

Step 1:Select improvement area and approach, establish shared vision

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 1: Select improvement area and approach, establish shared vision	Prioritizing improvement areas within the company Selecting the improvement approach Developing a shared vision for the effort	To build a positive relationship with the leadership team members who are stakeholders of the project To provide the leadership with an understanding of the process involved and the potential benefits from undertaking a process improvement project, and of the roles they can play in supporting the project’s objectives To gain agreement between project stakeholders on the specific area on which process improvement will be focused and approach to be followed To provide clear documentation of a shared vision	Documentation of value drivers for the project, linked to organizational strategy Improvement approach to be used Shared vision among management team for the effort	1.1 Organizational Excellence Model 1.2 Establishing a Participative Learning Environment 1.3 Process Improvement: What Works and What Doesn’t 1.4 The Politics of Improvement 1.5 Process Improvement: Why Do It? 1.6 Process Improvement Options: Selecting the Process to be Improved and the Improvement Approach 1.7 Developing a Shared Vision 1.7.1 “The Power of Vision (Video Notes) 1.8 “The Business of Paradigms” Video 1.8.1 Paradigms of the Heart and Mind

Step 2:Establish project team and develop project plan

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 2: Establish project team and develop project plan	Establishing project team Developing teamwork among team members Developing a project plan (process of PI and the learning cycle)	To identify the specific people who will work on the project and clarify the roles they play To ensure that the project team has the knowledge and skills necessary to perform project tasks To develop basic level of teamwork among team members To provide the project team with a shared vision of the project purpose and approach To establish a foundation for preparing a project plan To prepare a project plan with sufficient detail so as to provide the foundation for initiating project activities	Continuing documentation of teamwork tools and areas for improvement A charter for the improvement project that includes: - Project purpose - Roles & responsibilities - Project plan	2.1 Establishing Improvement Teams 2.2 Teamwork Tools 2.2.1 Team Roles 2.2.2 Social Style Survey 2.2.3 Personal Style Inventory 2.2.4 Hill of Influence 2.2.5 Team Meeting Survey 2.2.6 Index of Learning Styles 2.3 Personal Style, Perceptions, and Communication 2.4 Developing a Project Plan 2.5 The Improvement Cycle 2.6 The Process of Process Improvement

Step 3:Create a Systems Diagram

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 3: Create a Systems Diagram	Understanding systems thinking Developing a systems diagram	To develop a basic understanding of the principles of systems thinking To provide a comprehensive understanding of the boundaries of the process To clarify suppliers/inputs and outputs/customers	A systems diagram that defines the boundaries of the process to be improved	3.1 Deming and Systems Thinking including The Red Bead Experiment (Demonstration) 3.2 Process Basics 3.3 Developing Systems Diagrams 3.3.1 Deming Video Segment

Step 4:Develop a flow chart and process description

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 4: Develop a flow chart and process description	Flow charting Developing process descriptions	To get agreement on the specific results the process is required to achieve, the activities involved, and the relationships among the activities	A flowchart of the process to be improved A description of the process to be improved, including specific tasks, outputs, internal customers	4.1 Developing Flow Charts 4.2 Process Descriptions

Step 5:Identify process problems and quick fixes

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 5: Identify process problems and quick fixes	Identifying improvement areas within the process Identifying quick fixes	To gain understanding of the process or sub-process area where the problems exist and the specific process problems to be improved To identify “quick fixes” – areas where “easy wins” are possible	A sub-process flow chart A list of improvement opportunities Prioritization of improvement opportunities Improvement opportunities linked to sub-process List of quick fixes	5.1 Process Improvement Basics 5.2 Identifying Process Problems and Quick Fixes

Step 6:Establish and collect process measures

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 6: Establish and collect process measures	Developing process measures Linking process to be improved to organizational performance Collecting performance measures	To develop a process measurement system, if needed To document the “as is” performance of the process to be improved To understand how the process links to the rest of the organization through a network of processes To document the organizational performance measures impacted by the selected process	Improved process measurement system Measures of the “as is” process Process network diagram Performance measures Documentation of link between performance measures and process measures	6.1 Establishing Process Measures and Collecting Data 6.2 Human Efficiency Equation 6.3 Process Networks 6.4 Establishing/Collecting Performance Measures and Linking to the Process

Step 7:Prioritize process problems and link to process

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 7: Prioritize process problems and link to process	Developing Pareto charts Prioritizing problems Linking problems to process steps	To identify high priority problem areas in which improvement efforts will be focused To identify the locations of these problems within the process	Pareto chart of problems List of priority improvement areas to be analyzed further Documentation of the link problems and the process steps where they occur	7.1 Prioritizing Problems and Linking to the Flow Chart 7.2 Using Pareto Charts to Prioritize Problems

Step 8:Analyze root causes of process problems

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 8: Analyze root causes of process problems	Analyzing root causes of issues influencing performance Identifying and understanding “people” roots	To identify the root causes of process problems To understand the difference between technical and “people” root causes	List of primary root causes influencing performance in the area being studied Categorization of technical and “people” roots Understanding of the people issues influencing performance	8.1 Finding Solutions to Problems and Creating Improvement Plans 8.2 Analyzing Root Causes of Process Problems 8.3 Categorizing Root Causes 8.4 Factors Influencing Performance

Step 9:Identify and prioritize possible improvements

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 9: Identify and prioritize possible improvements	Benchmarking Using the Quality Function Deployment (QFD) tool to categorize improvements Performing cost-benefit analysis	To prioritize the technical root causes of process problems	List of potential recommended improvements Benchmarking comparison of “as is” process compared to that of other organization(s) Cost-benefit information for potential improvements	9.1 Using the House of Quality to Analyze Root Causes 9.2 Benchmarking: A Process-Based Approach 9.3 Performing Cost-Benefit Analysis

Step 10:Plan for implementing improvements

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 10: Plan for implementing improvements	Developing improvement recommendations Planning improvements	To develop recommendations for improvement To establish improvement plans	Improvement recommendations supported by cost-benefit information	10.1 Developing Improvement Recommendations 10.2 Planning Improvements 10.3 Tracking Improvements 10.4 Process of Process Improvement Revisited

Step 11:Implement improvements

PI Step	Activities	Purpose	Outputs	OLC Resources
Step 11: Implement improvements	Implementing improvements Documenting results achieved Developing continuous improvement capability/focus Implementing SPC	To improve the process To develop continuous improvement plans	Improved process Understanding of continuous improvement activities SPC system in place, and SPC documentation ongoing	11.1 Implementing Improvements and Starting on Continuous Improvement 11.2 Overview of Statistical Process Control (SPC) 11.3 The Improvement Cycle and Dynamic Planning