the right questions can help drive process improvement
DESCRIPTION
Process improvement team members should ask themselves the following questions to help improve a process: Is the process understood by all employees? Are customer requirements known? Is there a history of customer complaints, and is it easy for customers to give feedback? Are customers satisfied? Does the process delight customers? What would happen if the process ceased to exist? Is the process operating at a world-class level? Is there clear responsibility for managing the entire process? Is there excessive variability in process outputs? Does the process require constant rework? Does the process have adequate feedback loops? Is technology appropriately used? Is cycle time understood and as short as possible? Is there a large difference between waiting and touch times? Is there a bottleneck? Can something be changed earlier in the process to improve later steps? Can steps be executed simultaneously? Are employees empowered to manage their processes? Is the process well staffed? Does management review cause rework? Are there inspection steps? Is there unacceptable variability in inputs? Does the supplier respond promptly to requests? Of course, there are many other questions a team can ask to drive process improvement. Ultimately, the desire and commitment to improvement are the most important factors.TRANSCRIPT
“Only the Questions That are Asked Can
be Answered”Manny Rosenfeld
April 1994
Thought-provoking questions an audit team can ask to help identify process improvement
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