Curious Cat Management Improvement Library - Process Improvement

Lean Software Engineering - My progression toward Kanban by Brian Doll, Dec 2009
I was really impressed with how much work the various development teams could accomplish, given the fairly bureaucratic environment they were working in. Scrum brings some fairly specific and rigorous processes to agile development that appeals to the sensibilities of project managers. For developers used to working in waterfall or similar processes, this can be blast of fresh air... Developing software systems requires many different disciplines and no two projects or teams are the same. Spending time focusing on how you deliver value can dramatically increase your effectiveness and reduce unnecessary work, which reduces frustration. No matter where you end up, youll likely be happier than where you are now."
The 5 Universal Laws of Gemba Management by Jon Miller, Nov 2009
"The frequency of leadership going to the gemba is inversely proportional to the number of walls separating them from the gemba. ... The effectiveness of root cause problem solving increases by a power of ten for each "why? question asked and decreases by a power of 10 for each "who?" question asked..."
Gemba-Based Leadership - Not Just for Chief Engineers by John Shook, Feb 2009
"Here's what lean practitioners do: grasp the situation, look for facts at the gemba, as opposed to analyzing data removed from it in time and place, and go through the Deming management cycle."
Visualizing Agile Projects using Kanban Boards by Kenji Hiranabe, Aug 2007
"I'll discuss Kanban Boards as the main information radiators, and Burndown Charts and Parking lot Charts as sub-tool which summarize Kanbans visually... A project team consists of people working toward the same goal. Typically, a manager, customers, developers, business analysts, users, testers and other stakeholders should be members of the team. The whole team should share information on time and tasks to achieve the project goal..."
Write it Down by John Hunter, Mar 2007
"In meetings writing down decisions (what is the issue, who is going to do what...) is very helpful. It is very easy for people to think people agree to some somewhat clear statements made in the meeting. Only later it becomes obvious several people have different understandings"
Lean Thinking and Management by John Hunter, Mar 2006
"The biggest thing I think we need to learn from this is that improving management is not easy. The concepts may seem simple but most of us can look around and see much more Dilbert Boss behavior than lean thinking behavior. And the gap between those two types of behavior seems to rise as you go 'up' the organization chart... My belief is that an organization must slowly and consistently move in the right direction. Toyota got to where it is today after many decades of continuous improvement."
Process Leadership by Daniel T Jones, Nov 2005
"What is missing is process leadership at the top. Top management focuses on strategic thinking and financial thinking but not on processes thinking."
Dangers of Forgetting the Proxy Nature of Data by John Hunter, Aug 2004
"We use data to act as a proxy for some results of the system. Often people forget that the desired end result is not for the number to be improved but for the situation to be improved. We hope, if the measure improves the situation will have improved. But there are many reasons this may not be the case (one number improving at the expense of other parts of the system, the failure of the number to accurately serve as a proxy, distorting numbers, etc.)."
A3 Reports: Tool for Process Improvement by Durward K. Sobek, II and Cindy Jimmerson, May 2004
"Toyota uses it to systematically guide problem-solvers through a rigorous process, document the key outcomes of that process, and propose improvements. The tool is used so pervasively that it forms a keystone in Toyota's world-famous continuous improvement program. Toyota calls this tool the A3 report."
Improving Problem Solving by Ian Bradbury and Gipsie Ranney, Nov 2002
A good overview of common problem solving practices. The report also includes advice on how to improve results in you organization though problem solving and system improvement.
How Toyota Turns Workers Into Problem Solvers by Sarah Jane Johnston, Nov 2001
Interview of Steven Spear. "It is our conclusion that Toyota has developed a set of principles, Rules-in-Use we've called them, that allow organizations to engage in this (self-reflective) design, testing, and improvement so that (nearly) everyone can contribute at or near his or her potential, and when the parts come together the whole is much, much greater than the sum of the parts."
Process Improvement Notebook by Navy Total Quality Leadership Office, Jan 1997
Manual to assist quality improvement teams to highlight important information related to process improvement. Each section of the PIN contains forms and instructions for how to complete the forms.
Managing Our Way to Economic Success: Two Untapped Resources by William G. Hunter, Feb 1996
"American organizations could compete much better at home and abroad if they would learn to tap the potential information inherent in all processes and the creativity inherent in all employees."
The Scientific Context of Quality Improvement by George Box and Soren Bisgaard, Sep 1987
Scientific method is a key ingredient in the new philosophy of quality and productivity improvement. This paper provides an overview. A discussion of new ideas of how to design quality into products and processes is provided and Taguchi's work is evaluated and put in context. Publication: Quality Progress, June 1987.