Jul 22 2012

The Red Bead Experiment – It’s a system thing…DOH!

The Red Bead Experiment to show total fault in the system was made famous by W Edwards Deming (Deming attributes the original demonstration to Mr. William (Bill) A. Boller of the Hewlett-Packard Company).

The purpose of the red bead experiment, and the reason I cite it here, is to prove scientifically that the majority of problems in business are actually attributable to the system and not the employees. Furthermore the people charged with acting on and improving the system are the managers and leaders and not the employees. The red bead experiment is myriad in its lessons and takes awhile to unpack and folks much wiser than me have taken the time to try and unpack it for you…I defer to their brilliant efforts in explaining what Dr. Deming loved to present.

For more information from the source please read Out of the Crisis by W Edwards Deming. See page 347 for a written account of a 1983 demonstration in Pretoria, Oregon.

For a summary of the red bead experiment please see James R. Martin’s site here: http://maaw.info/DemingsRedbeads.htm.

To watch a YouTUBE video of the red bead experiment please see the Fluor Hanford videos here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBW1_GhRKTA&list=PL8E522DD542C4CA69

Finally for a nifty red bead simulator please visit Symphony Tech’s site here: http://www.symphonytech.com/redbeads.htm

By • Quality (Systems Thinking) •

Jul 17 2012

Genchi Genbustu – Go and see for yourself

Genchi genbustu is a  Japanese term that means “go and see for yourself” and is an integral part of the Toyota Production System (TPS).

Genchi Genbutsu

It refers to the fact that any information about a process will be simplified and abstracted from its context when reported. This has often been one of the key reasons why solutions designed away from the process seem inappropriate.

Legend has it that Taiichi Ohno would draw a semi-circle in chalk beside the production line at Toyota and make engineers stand in the circle for an entire shift so that they would see for themselves what was really going on.The story has also been told that if an engineer wanted to make a change that they would have to stand in the semi-circle for one shift and if after that length of time they still thought their idea had merit then they would be allowed to implement it.

I’ve always coached people to “get boots on the ground” and see what is really happening. It’s necessary to bring front line staff together to document processes & workflows using documentation techniques such as flow charting, value stream mapping or patient journey mapping. However 100% of the picture will not be realized and that’s why it is not enough to end there. One needs to actually go into the field to verify what is really going on. If genchi genbutsu is neglected you can guarantee whatever is missed will show up on go-live day and the cost of that neglect can be very, very great indeed.

For further reading I highly recommend this article: http://lssacademy.com/2009/02/13/genchi-genbutsu-do-you-really-understand-it/ from LSS Academy.

Can you afford not to go and see for yourself?

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genchi_Genbutsu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Production_System
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiichi_Ohno

By • Maxims •

Jun 12 2012

Project Management – It’s about reducing risk

Project Management is the art/science of defining, planning, executing and completing an endeavour in a structured and organized way. The purpose of project management is to reduce the risk of that endeavour.

When to use it?
  • the endeavour has a finite beginning and end
  • the endeavour is high risk or highly strategic

Project management has existed in some form or another as long as humans have been around. Clearly the Romans had some level of project management or else their structures would not have stood the test of time! If you’ve ever engaged in planning for a family road trip by calculating distance, hotels, budget per meals etc. you have been doing some level of project management too.

In the 1950’s project management began to be applied in North America in industries such as engineering, military and aerospace where the risks of not using a structured project management approach could be fatal. For more information on the background of project management see the Wikipedia article here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management.

The Project Management Institute (PMI) began in 1969 and is the leading proponent organization in North America for project management. The PMI publishes the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBoK) which is a framework of principles and practices for project management. Please note that the PMBoK is not a methodology. It is a framework upon which a methodology can be based.

The PMI also has multiple certifications in project management the most well known being the PMP or Project Management Professional.

Links

IPMA – http://ipma.ch/
PMI – http://www.pmi.org/
PMAJ – http://www.pmaj.or.jp
Prince2 – http://www.prince-officialsite.com/
Project Smart – http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/

By • Project Management (Macro) •

Jun 11 2012

Value Stream Mapping (VSM)

Value Stream Mapping (VSM) originally came from the Toyota Production System (TPS) where it is known as “material and information flow mapping” and is the defacto current state mapping method for lean design (product and service based).

When to use it?

Use VSM for process mapping that is low variability AND high volume. In my experience it is the high volume that is the more important of the two. If you have low variability in a process but the volume is quite low the value from doing a VSM and Kaizen event is greatly diminished.

When NOT to use it?
  • In disjointed product development processes
  • Where there is no “product” to follow
  • Where there is high variety/low volume
Value Stream Mapping – Current State
    • Select a Product/Service Family
    • Form a Team
    • Understand Customer Demand
    • Map the Process Flow
    • Map the Material Flow
    • Map the Information Flow
    • Calculate Total Product Cycle Time
    • Detail Off-Line Activities
Sample VSM Data Box

By • Process Improvement (Micro), Tool Box •

Jun 10 2012

Sticky Sessions – Brainstorming on a mission

Sticky SessionsOnce you’re nearing the end of the initiation phase of a project, you’ve identified your sponsors, your scope and your subject matter experts now you are going to have to figure out how to deliver.

Project planning can be pretty daunting when you think of the enormity of it all. After all you are going to break any given project down into its most granular of parts so that you can plan out exactly how to deliver it. The question comes to mind: “Where to start?”. One technique that I have used many times, is the sticky session. Simply put it is structured brainstorming with brightly coloured 3M Post-it® notes and a big a** sheet of paper.

What you need:

  • High level list of deliverables which will help you identify which subject matter experts you will need
  • A group of subject matter experts (SMEs)
  • A sheet of paper 2.5 meters (8 feet) wide and 1.2 meters (4 feet) high
  • sticky notes that are 3×5 inches (other sizes can be used but are either too small to read at a distance or too large they waste space)
  • A room big enough to hold 10-20 people that can accommodate the paper on the wall (NOTE: it’s also nice to have a projector available so participants can refer to the meeting goals through out the session)
  • A brainstorming facilitator (typically the project manager but in some circumstances a third party can be used)

The goal of the sticky session is to facilitate the subject matter experts in brainstorming (to the required level of detail) what will be needed to complete the deliverables.

The stickies will give the project manager the embryonic pieces of the work breakdown structure (WBS) that will eventually give birth to the project schedule (once the activities have been identified and sequenced and the resources and budget have been identified).

By • Project Management (Macro), Tool Box • • Tags:

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