Improve - Part 1 - Many ways to Improve

A Management charter like “Continuous Improvement” may sound very boring or heavy. But a closer look tells that that’s the only way we conduct our lives, personal or professional. The very reason we pursue careers is to become better, in one aspect or the other – Knowledge, Power, Financials or just physical comfort. And the whole idea of “Continuous Improvement” isn’t new. One of the famous verses of Bhagavadgita mentions that man tries to elevate himself by himself (uddhared atmanatmanam, उद्धरेदात्मनात्मानं).

Though Continuous Improvement is indeed the natural instinct of human being, in the corporate world this idea is flooded by many jargon, unnecessarily complicating it. Some frequently heard names are Lean, 6-sigma and CMMI. So which one do I pursue in my organization? Answer is that they are not mutually exclusive or substitutes. They can co-exist. For example, a person may be working on a long-term plan to buy or construct a own house and move out of a rented one. This is a big improvement with a structured planning approach and quantifiable financial benefits. Alongside he may be doing multiple, small things ranging from increasing the wattage of bulb in his reading lamp to buying a kitchenware or upgrading his gadget. They happen in parallel and don’t wait for each other. 

A quick scan of the frequently heard names:

• PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act): Talking about “Continuous Improvement” PDCA is the most basic approach and “Top of the mind” recovery. This is expected to be a continually repeating cycle and serves as abstracted model for most of the improvement approaches
• 6-Sigma: Probably this is the term which has maximum number of interpretations in the corporate world. 6-Sigma as from manufacturing meant that if processes are run in a highly controlled way that it’s natural variations (Control limits) is as low as client-provided limits (Specifications), then it would leave very little space for defects (i.e. chances that outcomes lie outside the specification limits). This number is 3.4defects per million. The key to achieve this was “Variability Reduction” (bring control limits within spec limits). A structured approach to this was defined with life cycles such as Define-Measure-Analyse-Improve-Control (DMAIC). To establish that improvements occurred, statistical techniques were recommended and improvements obtained were articulated in financial terms.  Based on above evolution, a “6-simga Project” as heard in the market can mean one or more of the below
• Defect Reduction
• Variability Reduction
• Improvement project following DMAIC approach
• Improvement project where a statistical techniques are used
• Improvement project where results are articulated in financial terms

        Watching out for these possible interpretations and understanding accurately will help.

• Lean is a methodology focusing on “Eliminating Waste” (as compared to “Reducing Variation” of Six-sigma project). It recommends identifying and eliminating 7 types of wastes wrapped into an acronym TIMWOOD (Transportation, Inventory, Motion, Waiting, Over-production, Over-processing, Defects)
• Kaizen is another word which just refers to “Continuous Improvement”. In short this refers to multiple, small improvements, the natural way. For e.g., you may decide to put-up a whiteboard in the kitchen to record "grocery items to be purchased" then and there or start using an app to track your daily exercises. These improvements don't have to deliver a major, quantifiable business benefit. 
• Poka-yoke refers to “Mistake proofing”. In simple terms making systems fool-proof or preventing errors. Simple things like Access controls (preventing someone from accessing a document which he is not expected to edit). Compare 2 static code analysers in software – one which accesses the code from repository and scans it and another which indicates the error even as developer writes a code. Basically Poka-yoke aligns with “Preventive Actions” as discussed during Corrective and Preventive Actions of a Non-conformance or defect or Customer Complaint
• CMMI & Other Quality Models include a “Continuous Improvements” perspective. For e.g. CAR and OPF Process Areas of CMMI Model.

Though all these and more have always been available, many a time improvement programs may not gain much steam whether in organization or at personal level. The reason is that the major factors controlling it’s fate are subtler than tangible.