Process improvement

In a previous article on this blog I wrote about “lean thinking”, how this has become a sort of management philosophy that fosters a culture of continual improvement in organisations.  The “lean” paradigm has been extending beyond the manufacturing sector, to many other sectors and it also now well set to assist us in an age of turbulence and change. 

I believe that project management can be immensely facilitated in a “lean” organisation, where processes are clearly mapped, the staff is engaged in striving for simplification of practices and procedures and the management fosters a culture of continual performance improvement. The project team members and the support functions will be eased in their work, with more time allowed to focus on creative thinking and better prepared to address changes and seek opportunities in the assigned projects.

Adopting a “lean thinking” entails having clear in the mind the methodology for process improvement. In this new series of articles I would like to provide an insight into this methodology. This introductory article will be followed by five shorter pieces to illustrate the individual steps in the approach called ‘DMAIC‘, approach that underpins process improvement. Even a small-scale process improvement can be the spark for the change of culture in an organisation towards lean!

The methodology: DMAIC

The methodology underpinning a process improvement is called ‘DMAIC’ as Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve and Control. It is a structured, data-based and very operational problem-solving process. The phases are:

• DEFINE– define the process and improvement opportunity from the business and customer (if applicable) perspective;
• MEASURE – identify critical measures, baseline the process and operational performance to quantify the opportunity;
• ANALYSE– analyse process performance to understand pain-points and to determine (or validate) the root causes for inefficiencies;
• IMPROVE– develop improvement solutions to address issues/opportunities and implement (or verify) the solutions
• CONTROL– ensure gains last, embed the new process, transfer knowledge and set up a control plan for future performance monitoring.

DMAIC is organised in activities structured into a logic sequence, with a gathering of data at each step to assist clear and evidence-based decisions taken at each step.

How is the DMAIC applied?

A process improvement ‘champion’ should be appointed (see for example the SSDSI blog for a definition).

This person should be an enthusiastic member of staff (ideally with some experience with lean and with some executive responsibility) who will support the project from inception to completion. Depending on the scope of the project and the size of the organisation, a ‘process improvement team’ might be appointed, with representation from the contributing or interested departments. The assistance from an external experienced “lean” practitioner may be of help for coaching and training, advice on tools and techniques, to help in maintaining focus and an unbiased attitude and also assisting during the workshops, meetings, data surveys etc.

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For those interested in the practical terms, please see the next five articles that review the steps in more details, and see if this can be applicable in your organisation. Even a small-scale process improvement can put an organisation on the right course for a “lean thinking” culture. Why not trying?

[And those who intend to get more detailed and specialised information about Six Sigma and applied DMAIC can check this interesting blog for SSDSI.]

Marco Bottacini, Senior Portfolio Manager, GALVmed

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The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinion of GALVmed.