The Roadmap – Stage 6 Problem Identification – What is the problem Part 3?

Welcome to the TLS Continuum Change Maestro’s Roadmap newsletter. A new edition will be released every Tuesday on LinkedIn. It is by nature an interactive newsletter. What do I mean? My initial intention was the development of a dialogue pertaining to the concept of a change roadmap. I was looking for interaction between those of us here as to what each phase so far meant to you. It appears as though you would prefer to be passive readers, so be it. However, let me reiterate that as we progress through the roadmap if you have something you want to contribute, feel free to comment on any issue that perks your thoughts.

?In the past several weeks we have discussed the value proposition behind the problem identification process and looked at how to identify the problem and why it exists. Now we have two steps left in this process. The first of these is what do we work on to resolve the problem.

?Daniel Kahneman warns us that Jumping to conclusions is efficient if the conclusions are likely to be correct and the costs of an occasional mistake acceptable and if the jump saves much time and effort. Carefully determine what you need from a project before selecting one to engage the organization with. System Thinking tells us that all we ever have is assumptions not the truth.

The basic elements of determining the right project to undertake can be found in the 10 Commandments of Project Selection that I formatted about a year or so ago. ?Each of the commandments looks at a different aspect of the project selection criteria.

?Project Selection Criteria #1: Thou Shalt Become One with the Customer

Your customer is the most important part of the process. Before selecting a particular project, you must become one with the customer. You must think like your customer. You must act like your customer. You must understand their vision, goals, and strategies. You must also understand how they feel about your organization. You need to act like you are the customer.

Project Selection Criteria #2: Thou shalt align all projects with corporate values, missions, and goals.

Your process is not an island or a silo. Your process is about your organization not you or your function. Any planned improvements must reside within the framework of the customer’s values, missions, and goals.

Project Selection Criteria #3: Thou shalt seek total organizational alignment with project outcomes.

Alignment comes from total understanding of what is going on. Everyone needs to understand what is in it for them both as individuals and as an organization. The alignment case needs to present why the change is needed and what happens if we do nothing.

Project Selection Criteria #4: Thou shalt seek a positive return on investment on all projects.

Remember the final part of the project charter asks you for the financial impact of the project. We are in business to raise revenue and we do that when we increase the bottom line. We do not conduct projects to lose more money. If the project is going to cause more financial stress for the organization don’t do it. Be open to looking at different methods for calculating the financial impact (Cost accounting vs. Throughput Accounting)

Project Selection Criteria #5: Thou shalt ensure that all resources are in place.

Utilize the Goldratt Full Kit. Make a checklist to ensure that you have captured everything you need to complete the project. After building the list ensure the totality of the resources are in place and ready to go when your organization is ready to go. If all the resources are not in place do not start the project.

Project Selection Criteria #6: Thou shalt ensure that all projects are concentrated on true process causes.

Take the Gemba Walk. Gather the team in a meeting and have a dialogue not a discussion as to the causes of the problem. During the dialogue session you will surely arrive ar a long list of potential reasons for the problem existing. Make sure that all suggested causes are based on creditable evidence-based evidence gained from your metrics.

Project Selection Criteria #7: Thou shalt ensure that all projects are implemented.

Improvement projects are not for show. They are not to present false impressions. In the project charter you established a timeline in your project plan. If you are not ready to implement that timeline do not start the project. Continuous process improvement is based in the concept of time is of the essence. We don’t decide that we like an idea, but we can start it next year.

Project Selection Criteria #8: Thou shalt ensure that all projects are based in urgency.

In conjunction with criteria #7, your customer’s needs are now not later. They need to resolve the issue in real time. We understand that humans have the tendency to avoid the uncomfortable, but we need to handle the issue now.

Project Selection Criteria #9: Thou shalt strive to have all projects based on evidence-based metrics.

Metrics are a required part of continuous process improvement. However, to be useful all metrics must be creditable, verifiable, repeatable, and reliable. In other words, they must prove that our evidence is correct.

For our metrics to be considered repeatable, two projects must have the same objectives, tasks, scope, schedules, resources, and deliverables.

Project Selection Criteria #10: Thou shalt ensure that improvement efforts are aligned with corporate missions and strategy.

This commandment may seem to be like commandment #2 but it has a slightly different connotation. Here we are talking about the way we conduct the project. The project must always walk the walk and talk the talk.

Looking for the perfect model for improving your organizational processes? Pre-order your copy of the TLS Continuum Field Guide - How the Theory of Constraints, Lean and Six Sigma will transform your operations and Program flow to be released in February of 2024

About the author:?Daniel Bloom?knows HR and Change Management. He’s a speaker on transformational HR, a strategic HR consultant and trainer. Thank you for subscribing to this newsletter. The best strategy that I ever undertook was earning my SPHR and the Six Sigma Black Belt. You can take the same path with our Road to Organizational Excellence Seminar. For more information visit https://netorg5223078-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/dan_dbaiconsulting_com/ETY_Nur5SptJmboTeh04ijUBb39pq5bXzhFAIOJmSOK6Dg?e=EVVhmg or email us at [email protected]

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