The Importance and Value of Process Improvement

Rationale for Process Improvement Establishing an attitude and culture of quality improvement and continuous improvement enables and empowers the members of an organization to get “ever better.” Having and using a set of “Rules of Conduct” is helpful - some would say “essential.” Using a process improvement approach and “quality tools” is necessary to achieve “customer satisfaction.” Treat all others with whom you work as “customers.” – Internal customers – External customers

How Can We Best Support Each Other in Our Work Environment? Consider establishing a set of “Rules of Conduct,” for example: Respect for each person Share responsibility Criticize ideas, not people Keep an open mind Question and participate Arrive on time Keep interruptions to a minimum Manage by fact

Our Customer Satisfaction Approach We are in a long-term relationship with our customers. We want to help our customer identify and satisfy their real needs. We understand that “joint” effort is needed to emerge real requirements and that needs will change and evolve. We desire to maintain excellent communications and relationships with all internal and external customers.

What is a process improvement approach? Identify our high priority processes Design and document them, involving all “stakeholders.” Deploy defined processes and implement them. “Institutionalize” use of defined processes. Continually improve defined processes. Apply quantitative measures (Ps and Qs) and quantitative management if appropriate. – Level 4 Working Group L4WG) - Craig Hollenbach, lead.

How do we identify our “high- priority” processes? Identify the products and services we provide. Identify our customers. Identify the processes we perform/use to provide products and services. Identify those that are most important

Components of a Quality Improvement (QI) Approach – A set of processes for key work functions. A “process” = a flowchart and an accompanying narrative description or “Process Description” (PD) – Use a template [“QIDW”] to design processes: Name of the process Process customers Customer valid requirements (CVRs) Process Flowchart Departments/Organizations/Roles involved Steps of the process. – Quality Teams (to design and improve processes) – Supporting QI Principles that provide the foundation: Customer Satisfaction Continuous Improvement (Plan-Do-Check-Act or PDCA) Management by Fact Respect for People

Our QI System (continued) – The customer is the one/those who receives our product(s) or uses our services – “Customer Satisfaction” is evaluated on the basis of cost, schedule, quality, responsiveness, inter-personal relationships – Customer valid Requirements (CVR) - we can use the following criteria for a CVR:  Reasonable?  Understandable?  Measurable?  Believable?  Achievable? You or your organization can meet the requirement. Customers verify that you understand what they require. Objectively determine the degree or frequency. Employees will agree to strive for that level of achievement. We can meet the requirement. This R-U-M-B-A list contains the five criteria that will identify a true valid requirement.

Flow Charting A flowchart is a graphic representation of a process. It shows how process activities are sequenced to produce an output or outcome. Reasons to create a flowchart for processes are to: describe how activities are being done. Identify where modifications to an existing process might best be made. Investigate where problems might occur. Identify how, when, or where we should measure an existing process to achieve customer satisfaction. Aid in the design of a new process.

Flowcharting (continued) A circle shows the start or end of the process. A rectangle contains a statement beginning with a verb; it represents an activity. An arrow indicates the main direction of flow from one activity to the next in the sequence. Only one main path is allowed from an activity. A diamond signifies a decision. Usually, two paths emerge from a decision--signifying “Yes” and “No” responses to a question stated inside the diamond. A circle with a letter or number inside symbolizes continuation of flowchart. A circle with the letter Q or P represents the location of a quality or process indicator. A small circle with an arrow represents input from an outside source such as a supplier. A Q1P1

QI Tools and Techniques That We Use Frequently Tools Graphs/Piecharts/Barcharts Histograms Flowchart Control Charts Pareto Charts Fishbone Diagrams Root Cause Analysis Countermeasures Action Plans PDCA Checklists Problem Statement Target Techniques Brainstorming Multivoting Stratification Cause and Effect Analysis Cost Estimation Cost/Benefit Analysis Barriers and Aids Analysis Process Design and Development Statistical Process Control (SPC) QI Story/Problem-solving Process Tracking Decision Analysis and Resolution TEAMWORKS!

PDCA – To achieve continuous improvement, we must: – Plan for it – Do (implement) it – Check and Analyze the results – Act – Sometimes we use the term “PDCA” as a noun: “Let’s do PDCA!” – At the end of meetings. – After an improvement cycle. – When we want to evaluate progress or possible improvement actions.

Processes “Macro” or high level “Micro” or lower level or sub-processes Quality (Q) and Process (P) Indicators: Q - an indicator of the quality of a product. P - an indicator of the quality of the process being used to produce a product. All indicators should be: – Measurable (able to be expressed quantitatively) – Verifiable (observable and audible) – Cost-effective (selected with economy of time and cost in mind)

Rationale for Process Improvement Capability Costs Current processImproved process Current cost Current capability Reduced cost Reduced capability for lower cost Improved capability at lower cost Cost of process improvement Source: Merle Whatley, Texas Instruments, Inc.. Downsizing Process Improvement Options depending upon business goals CMMI is a tool for improving the ability to transition to an improved process effectively

Benefits of Process Improvement Over a five-year period, the Software Engineering Institute(SEI) has documented that by having processes and a focus on continuous improvement, these results can be achieved. Productivity Increases202% Cycle Time Reduction46% Defect Reduction90% Predictability Error Reduction76% Average time 5 years Data derived from an SEI Technical Report, “Benefits of CMM-Based Software Process Improvement,” CMU/SEI-94-TR-13, August 1994.

Summary The Importance and Value of Process Improvement (PI) – An attitude and culture of QI fosters a continuous improvement ethic. – A set of “Rules of Conduct” helps us treat others as we like to be treated and encourages active involvement in work efforts. – Using a PI approach fosters customer satisfaction. – Components of a QI approach include: A set of processes A method/template to design processes Quality Teams Supporting Quality Improvement Principles – We can evaluate our CVRs utilizing the RUMBA criteria. – We have a robust and useful set of QI tools and techniques. – “PDCA” has proven very effective in generating new ideas.