Process Improvement in Pooling

P r e s e n t e d b y S a r a A . P e t e r s o n

2 0 1 4 N L C - R I S C S T A F F C O N F E R E N C E S T . P A U L , M N

W E D N E S D A Y , O C T O B E R 2 2 , 2 0 1 4 1 0 : 4 5 – 1 2 : 0 0

Session Overview

As pools mature, many processes become engrained.

Is the way we’ve always done it the best way?

! 

What & Why

think about the work we do

Methods & Tools

view process differently

! 

Common Principles

questions we should consider

Potential Potholes

avoid system drag as we change 

Why Process Improvement?

! 

Customer service

! 

Doing more with less

! 

Reducing errors and drag

! 

Getting better results – improving quality

! 

Aligning departments

Sure, but also…

! 

Organizational health

!  Internal / external focus

out of balance !  Strategy decay " Losing distinctiveness " Being superseded " Reaching exhaustion " Customer power !  Silo pathologies !  Change-averse culture ! 

Individual performance

!  Shared history, values,

and language

!  Habit blindness

!  Homeostasis

!  Separating process from

Processes, Processes

Member&

Services&

Wri1ng&

Under/

Claims&

Control&

Loss&

Member&experience&

Informa0on,&data…&

Loss&intelligence&

Technology&

W E L L …

A C T U A L L Y A C O M M O N C Y C L E ( O R T W O ) T O U S E

Approaches

!  Total Quality Mgment Customer satisfaction focus

!  Lean Six Sigma Family

!  Kaizen Concentrated problem-solving events

!  Six Sigma Reduce defects / variation

!  Lean Eliminate waste

!  Toyota Production Mura, Muri and Muda

!  Rummler-Brache Similar but focus on workforce perf.

!  Theory of Constraints Rectify most significant bottleneck

Sharing an OD secret

Diagnose

Evaluate

Plan

It’s Iterative

"PDCA Process" by Johannes Vietze - Own work.

There are Acronyms

! 

DUH-MAY-ICK

!  Define Plan & Map

!  Measure What comes out of what is?

!  Analyze Why does it happen? (Root Cause & 5 Why’s)

!  Improve Create, Pilot & Implement Improvements

!  Control Monitor & Continuously Improve

! 

DUH-MAD-VEE (a.k.a. DFLSS)

!  … Design & Verify

Implementation = Change 101

Unfreeze

Change

Refreeze

Break the

hold of inertia

Develop momentum

First

F R O M A L O N G L I S T O F P O S S I B L E S T E P S

Mapping Questions

! 

What activities are performed

! 

Who performs each activity

! 

What sequence are the activities performed in

! 

What forms and reports are used/generated

! 

What computer systems and files are used

Probing Deeper

! 

Information In

!  What do I need to complete the step, from whom

!  Who touches that information

! 

Information Out

!  Who uses the results of the step

!  Who touches that information

CAUTION

(start somewhere)

"Mandelbrot set image" by Binette228 - Own work.

Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons –

Explore & Challenge

! 

Process

!  Context and History

!  Outputs and Outcomes

! 

Problems to solve

!  Indirect – a result of the process or its inputs

!  Direct – drag in the process itself

!  Outside the process – performance or environment

! 

Root causes and effects

Process & System Drag

… aka waste, friction, leakage

! 

Overstress – too fast, too much pressure (J curve)

! 

Personal drag – style conflict, culture…

! 

Lost time – waiting, in transport

! 

Duplication of effort (data entry, approval…)

! 

Unnecessary steps, information or decisions

Investigating Root Cause

! 

Explore your inner

4-year-old

Why…

Why…

Why…

Why…

Why…

A N D S P ’ S D I S C I P L I N E S T O A V O I D T H E M

Potholes

! 

Improvement without goals

! 

Over or under inclusion

! 

Not going far enough back or forward

! 

Insufficient attention to unintended consequences

! 

Perfection as the enemy of good

! 

Process paralysis

! 

Failing to differentiate input from resistance

Ya Know Cah-nected

! 

Everything is connected whether I see it or not

!  What is important to me may not be to others and vice versa

!  What is apparent to me may not be to others or vice versa

! 

Not all of those connections

!  Can be anticipated

!  Are intended

!  Have shared meaning

! 

In practice, this means…

Shared Meaning

!

What is the problem with the following?

JFK was assassinated

in October 1963.

People, People, People

! 

Input or resistance?

!  The “problem” child

! 

And communication

!  Marathon Effect

!  Early / Late Adopters

That Includes Me

! 

What kind of problem

solver are you?

!  Hobbies

!  Home

!  Work

! 

Going Deeper

!  Tic Tac Toe v. Chess

!  Easy v. Hard Sudoku

!  Fix v. Solution ! 

Frustrations by style

Potholes

! 

Diving in without a

PLAN

! 

Incomplete

ANALYSIS

! 

Being too Slow to

IMPROVE

! 

Forgetting to

LEARN

T H A N K Y O U S A R A A . P E T E R S O N [email protected] P| 812.822.2122 " C| 651.260.0273 " F| 812.205.2987 WWW.SARAPETERSONCONSULTING.COM

Questions?