You have inherited a slow process

By the end you will be able to walk the process yourself, put three honest numbers on it, and tell the difference between a problem that needs a project and one that needs a conversation.

7 steps · about 19 minutes · free, no account, read in any order you like

Start reading

1. 1

   Guide · 5 min read · 1 of 7

   What are processes?

   Start with the word itself. Everything an organisation does is a process, whether anyone designed it or not, and the queueing maths here explains most of the delay you are looking at.

2. 2

   The method · 2 min read · 2 of 7

   The hidden cost of broken processes

   What the thing is actually costing while nobody is counting. Read this before anyone asks you to justify spending time on it.

3. 3

   The method · 1 min read · 3 of 7

   Five questions before your next improvement project

   The questions that decide whether a project is worth starting. Most failed improvement work was doomed at this stage rather than later.

4. 4

   The method · 1 min read · 4 of 7

   Statistical Process Control: the chart most misuse

   The chart that tells you whether the process is behaving or drifting. This is the one tool worth learning first.

5. 5

   The method · 2 min read · 5 of 7

   Breakthrough vs control: two jobs, most teams do one

   Fixing it and keeping it fixed are two different jobs. Most teams only do the first and then wonder where the gain went.

6. 6

   The method · 3 min read · 6 of 7

   Kaizen: small gains, and two ways to get it wrong

   The small version, compounded. What to do on the weeks when there is no project and no budget.

7. 7

   Case study, first of a series · 5 min read · 7 of 7

   Meridian Hospital Group

   The whole method under load, on a real decision, with every solution graded rather than sold.

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