Process Improvement Training

1. Process Improvement Training

2. The Plan…. • Brief Discussion about Methods • What is a Process? • Break (10 mins) • Identifying and Framing Process • Understanding the As-Is • Break (10 mins) • Assessing the Process • Designing the “To-be” • Wrap up

3. The Goals … • At the end of today you should understand how to: • Map processes • Make a case for change • Find areas for improvement • Gather ideas for improvement • Identify prioritization of improvement ideas • Find resources to help with your projects Practical knowledge to use on any project!

4. Methods and Key Points

5. Improvement is a Cycle…Not an End

6. Which Method Should I Use? • There are many approaches to Process Improvement • Lean: Value and Waste • Six Sigma: Reducing Variation • Functional Focus: Internal Efficiencies Use the method that fits the project

7. Key Point: Make it Visible • A lot of the time spent in “process improvement” is spent process mapping on paper with Post-its…. • Why? • Without good mapping, improvements may cause more problems • Work is often “hidden” • Makes identifying opportunities easier Always try to show your work

8. Key Point: It’s All About the Outcome • Stay focused on the outcome(s) of your processes • Try to take the viewpoint of the outcome consumer • Avoid, at first, talking about • Who – don’t personalize the process; speak of roles (when it is time), not individuals • How – this can come later The goal is to change outcomes not processes

9. What Do You Need to Get Started? • What you need is: • Some organizational commitment • Post-its : make sure they’re sticky • Pens: Sharpie-style • Flip charts: to put pen to paper • People with energy…lots of it! You don’t need fancy software to start!

10. Finding Processes

11. Goal : A True End-to-End Picture Functional area Functional area Functional area Functional area Functional area Business Process

12. But What is a Process? • A sequence of activities that include a trigger, and a quantifiable outcome – must be End to End Trigger time, event, etc. Outcome can be counted Business Process Finding the business process(es) can be trickier than you think

13. Concert Night Case Study • Case Study

14. Why Does it Matter? Concert Night • Concert night was a struggle….major issues: Restaurants losing money due to early entry to concerts Traffic heavy on roads around the venue Invalid tickets entering venue Long lines to get in VIP guests are upset How would you solve these if you were in charge of your functional area?

15. How It Was Solved Functionally • The solutions often worked against each other Concert venue remained closed as long as possible Allowed VIP guests to enter first – but not all. Tried different areas, routes, nothing worked to lessen lines Routed traffic in most direct route – across a cross walk. Extensive checking of tickets – and double-checking Lines actually got longer, complaints increased, costs increased and attendance dipped – why?

16. They Did Not See How Things Connected! Functional area Functional area Functional area Functional area Functional area Business Process

17. The How-to for Process Finding

18. Processes Often Hide… • Processes often hide themselves in vagueness or are disguised as to-do lists • “I know what the processes are and what we need help on!” • “Here’s my daily task list – that’s my process” • “Not sure what happens after I do that…that’s another process…” Keep an eye out for these types of statement…

19. Pick the Group – Be Thoughtful • This is perhaps the most important step in finding processes • Pick contributors who do the work as well as oversee the work • Try to get people who “consume” the end result of your process (client, end user, student, customer, etc.) • Involve all personalities in the work • Set ground rules – participation is key

20. Time-Saving Tip… • Being able to interview the core group ahead of time • What activities do you do? • What issues do you have? • What solutions have you considered? • Also good to review any documentation (forms, reports, etc.) relevant to the work at hand • The more prepared you can be, the better(and quicker) the work will go! A sample interview guide is included in your packet

21. Start by Mapping Some Milestones • Lay out the milestones (or major events) for the area you are looking at… Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Keep it to 5 +/- 2 Boxes

22. Exercise: 5 (+/- 2) Boxes for Concert Night • Think about your experiences with concerts – what are the major moments? Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone Milestone It works really well to ask what the end user goes through - you might find people have different points of view!

23. “Things”: Getting on the Same Page • It’s important to make sure you are all on the same page – sometimes the same word can mean different things to different people • Thing (concept): Singular noun • Singular noun • Multiple occurrences • Need to keep track of • Ex: person, thing, event, organization, concept • Refer to the “what”, not the “how” List them out and make sure everyone agrees on definitions!

24. Exercise: Grouping Things and Define • Use the milestones as your guide to gather all things, group them, and define them Thing = Definition Thing Thing Thing Thing = Definition Thing Thing Thing Thing = Definition Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing = Definition Thing Thing Thing Thing = Definition Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing = Definition Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing Thing

25. “Activities”: Building the Action • Now that you have agreement on the definition of things – let’s build some activities • Acts on a thing (you may find you missed some things while gathering activities) • Has a verb-noun structure (sometimes with a qualifier) • Contains specific verbs, rather than “mushy ones” • Manage, review, oversee are examples of mushy verbs • Test: Flip the verb and noun. Does it still make sense? Why do we care about mushy verbs??

26. Exercise: Brainstorming Activities • Get all the activities you can out on the “table” – use your milestones as a starter. • Challenge mushy verbs (manage, review, process, etc.) • Focus on the “happy path” Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity

27. Quick Tip: Brainstorming is Hard • Brainstorming is not easy for anyone. Here are some tips that might help: • Encourage the group to “go big to go small” • Make sure everyone speaks • Make sure ‘talkers’ have a chance to talk but don’t take all the time • Try different groupings, including individuals, small groups, and large groups – mix the groups up as well. • Stay positive…if something isn’t working, try something else! • Setting ground rules never hurts…

28. Exercise: Line ’emUp… • Have your group line up the activities they listed out in order • Some paths are linear and “easy”; others will happen in parallel or as outcomes of choices Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity

29. How to Locate a Process • Now that the activities are laid out, it can be a bit tricky to find the “processes” – here are some tips on how to do that…. • Look for triggers and outcomes • Look at the relationship of one activity to the next. Is it 1:1 or 1:many or many:1 – this will help you understand where one process might end and another begin • Follow the “token” through the processes

30. Let’s Try to Find the Processes • Remember to look for 1:1 or 1:many or many:1 1:many 1:1 1:1 Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Activity Remember to use what you know to validate that you found a process – challenge assumptions!

31. Collect the Processes in a Landscape • Once you have isolated the processes, take some time to name them and put them in a “process landscape” Process 1 Process 2 Process 3 Process 5 Process 4 This is a great tool for gaining a high level understanding of what is going on!

32. Making A Case for Change • Before continuing into more detail and improvements, you need ask yourself: is it worth it? • What will the outcome be? For actors? Clients? Owners? • What are the goals of further analysis? • Make it measurable and memorable (quantifiable and real) • Keep it simple and straightforward • List who contributed

33. Example Charter Draft Recommendations • Build triggered communication(s) to process owners once critical stages have been reached • Create standard electronic workflows for critical docs starting with the report of separationform. • Define key process indicators; create total process measurements; define SLA for process and cascade • One-stop digital check-in /check-out list (long term) to allow for simultaneous requests that can be handled when resources are available rather than in “open hours” • Define/assign clear process owners responsible for accurate and complete completion of overall processes within timelines established; • Consolidate delivery and collection point for University services and items as much as possible • Analyze and revise (if needed) communication points and messages throughout the process(es). • Joyce Lopes • Amber Blakeslee • Teal Sexton • Teri Bronder-Lewis • Jennifer Slye Moore • Jyll Jackson • Monika Newman • Kenna Kay Hyatt • Lorraine Dillon • Alma Zechman Goal(s) • Develop an end-to-end process for handling access and services for employees who are onboarding, transferring or exiting the University that reduces resource utilization, increases employee satisfaction, and decreases overall process completion time, error rate, and rework. Current Conditions • Lack of notice at critical points delaying dependent steps & requiring a “proactive” person to sustain process; reduced compliance • Heavy reliance on forms, walking, and phone calls results in lack of parallel processing and creates dependence on “open hours” to complete tasks • Confusion around steps to be taken coupled with multiple checklists, forms, and contacts creating frustration and lack of motivation to complete thoroughly. • No clear guidelines on process owners for onboarding; leading to variability in process performance, errors, and rework • Delivery of University services and items spread throughout campus causing travel and delays in delivery • Little to no measurement of overall process indicators; success variably determined at functional service levels with some SLAs defined and others not; but no overall measures Example • Contributors • Traci Ferdolage • Holly Martel • Kate Stroup • James Harding • Annette Troxel • Nathaniel Roy • Gina Pierce • Linda Rutenback • Mary Ann McCulloch • Sharon Seward • Ken Rocha • Jesse Clark • Joyce Corpuz • Phil Rouse • Val Arizzi • Janice Mueller • Kim Moon • Krista Carroll • Jean Crockett • Angie Petroske • Ronda Stemach • Rosemary Smith • Volga Koval • Rebecca Brown

34. Diving Deeper Into Processes

35. Zero In On the First Process for Review • Sometimes the landscape is enough…really • You’ll often want to go deeper into one or more process(es) • Use a “productive venting” brainstorming session to help pinpoint the biggest opportunity areas • List issues and opportunities • Discuss what a future might look like Swim-lane diagrams allow us to dive deeper

36. What is a Swim-Lane Diagram? • Swim-lane diagrams show activities performed by actors over time • They are used to tell a more detailed story

37. A Guide to Using Swim-Lane Diagrams • Show ALL actors who touch the work – each lane is an actor • Show the march of time from left to right • Be careful with parallel work or decision points • Start with a trigger, end with an outcome • Iterate … one pass will not be enough • Make it as wide as it needs to be • Make it only as detailed as it needs to be. Swim-lane diagrams tell the story of the process

38. Let’s Go Swimming… • Let’s try it with the process that we outlined already … before we move our activities into lanes, let’s just follow the work. Actor 1 Actor 2 Actor 3 Actor 4

39. Now Fill In What is Happening • Now let’s fill in some activities – move over the activities from your previous work and plot them here Actor 1 Activity Activity Actor 2 Activity Activity Actor 3 Activity Activity Actor 4 Activity

40. Iterate: Who Really Gets the Work Next? • Progressive detail … steps are hidden Actor 1 Activity Actor 2 Activity Activity Activity Actor 3 Activity Activity Actor 4 Activity Actor 5 Activity

41. Walk the Flow • Make sure you have it right by walking the flow with the core group involved • This is a good point to add in baseline metrics for this process: • Time in each step (minimum, maximum, & most likely) • Time to actually complete the task (minimum, maximum, & most likely) • Rework %s – how often is work sent back for errors? • Service scores – how do folks feel about it? Adding metrics gives you a sense of the current state as well as validating your map

42. A Note on Metrics • Metrics are critical to understanding progress, but they don’t have to be scary • Sometimes we don’t have firm metrics but the group has a good idea of how long each step takes, so ask • As you build processes and improvements, think about how you’ll measure it Always good to measure – it helps to tell the story

43. Remember: Swim Lanes Tell the Story • Showing systems • Multiple actors on one stage • Parallel vs. collaborative • Avoid visual clutter • Use of symbols: keep it simple The swim-lane diagram is meant to tell an accurate story that can be used to assess a current situation.

44. Assessing the Flow

45. Looking for Opportunities • Now that the process is a swim-lane diagram, we can ask what works and what doesn’t • Things to look for: • Transportation • Inventory • Movement • Waiting • Over-processing • Over-production • Defects • Unreasonableness These are “lean” concepts that are helpful in focusing attention on typical issues in processes

46. The Challenge Question • Having a hard time finding opportunities? • Overstate each step and see if it makes sense: • “This form MUST go to the Vice President for approval” • “This form must go to the VICE PRESIDENT for approval” • “This form must go to the Vice President forAPPROVAL” Keep challenging yourself and the team!

47. Exercise: Finding Opportunities • Literally walk the process you have outlined and identify where the “pain points” exist Actor 1 Activity Actor 2 Activity Activity Activity Actor 3 Activity Activity Actor 4 Activity Actor 5 A useful approach is to allow each team member to “vote” on where pain points exist and then look for clusters Activity

48. Understanding the Enablers • There are many things that enable each process – often we only focus on the technology and workflow, but these can hide deeper issues • Information systems • Workflow • Human resources • Motivation/Measurement • Guidelines/Rules • Facilities/Other

49. Exercise: Use Enablers • Go back to the map and group your pain points by enabler If an enabler is left with no pain points, go back and see if anything was missed

50. List Out Potential Issues • Describe the issues with enough detail and connect them to the goals, values, and metrics you have already uncovered