Say what you do. Do what you say.

All process improvement boils down to this: Say what you do. Do what you say.

Easier said than done :)

Project Planning using Post-it Notes

I took a project management seminar that used Post-It notes to create the project plan and work breakdown structure. It's a good way to brainstorm and then organize the details quickly.

Mind Mapping

I recently took a seminar on mind mapping and it is a fun and creative way to brainstorm and to get your thoughts onto paper. There are tools out there but paper and pen (or pencil) work just as well if not better.

SAS 70

I am currently engaged in a SAS 70 audit for a financial services firm. SAS 70 audits have become much more popular with Sarbanes-Oxley requirements. I like SAS 70 because it is not prescriptive. You merely say what you do and do what you say. This is, of course, hard to do consistently but it is a good goal to shoot for.

Maker-checker

Maker-checker (or 4-Eyes) is an implementation of separation of duties where one person makes the change and another checks it.

Separation of Duties

Separation of duties is an important control to reduce the risk of fraud and errors.

DMAIC

The Six Sigma equivalent to Plan-Do-Check-Act is DMAIC:

Define
Measure
Analyze
Improve
Control

Plan-Do-Check-Act

Plan-Do-Check-Act is a method of continuously improving quality.

Process Maturity

Here is a good article on process maturity:

http://www.bptrends.com/publicationfiles/10-04%20ART%20BP%20Maturity%20Model%20-%20Fisher.pdf

Maturity Models

I was introduced to maturity models through the Capability Maturity Model (now CCMI). Recently, there has been an explosion of maturity models. They all follow a similar path:

1) Undefined
2) Defined
3) Managed
4) Optimized

Depending on the process they may be called different things and they may be broken down into finer detail but they all begin with chaos and end with continuous improvement.

People need holes not drills

Harvard Business School professor Ted Levitt wisely said that people who buy drills don't need drills; they need holes.

Value Stream Mapping

I took a Lean Six Sigma course last year and the most interesting thing I learned was Value Stream Mapping. In Lean methodologies, waste is defined as anything that does not provide value to the customer. Value streaming mapping visualizes the process of providing a product or serve to discover where waste is and what is valuable. You can do this with a paper and pencil or use a software tool such as Visio.

While Lean is largely focused on manufacturing there are many applications for service organizations as well. Six Sigma doesn't play as well in service organizations although it too has its applications.

http://www.lean.org/Bookstore/ProductDetails.cfm?SelectedProductID=9