QOS: Activity 5 – Managing Improvement Efforts
In a recent blog post (here), I shared how Dr. Deming’s theory of Organizations Viewed as a Production System evolved into a five-part approach: Quality as an Organizational Strategy (QOS). In this series, we’ll take a deeper look at each of the five activities, including Establishing and Communicating the Purpose of the Organization, Organization Viewed as a System (includes measurement), System for Obtaining Information, Planning for Improvement, and Managing Improvement Efforts.
Activity 5 – Managing Improvement Efforts
Dr. Edwards Deming often asked leaders, “by what method?” when they talked about wanting to improve. His challenge to leaders was that having an aim alone is not sufficient. You also had to have a theory and an approach to executing the improvement.
All organizations have aspirations for improvement, but many do not have a method for designing and executing improvement or for managing the system of improvement efforts. Effective and efficient quality improvement in a complex organizational system requires a shared method and a system of people and processes to support strategic improvement.
A firm grounding in improvement science is a core foundation for any improvement system. This science combines systems thinking, understanding variation, theories of knowledge, and human behavior. It is complemented by tools and methods that support testing, implementing, and spreading improvement. You can learn more about the science of improvement here.
It’s important to adopt a shared approach or framework for chartering and executing improvement. Several approaches exist (A3, DMAIC, FOCUS-PDSA, etc.). I use the Model for Improvement.
Figure – Model for Improvement from API’s The Improvement Guide
…which uses three simple yet complex questions that aid in defining and designing our work:
- What are you trying to accomplish?
- How will you know a change is an improvement?
- What changes will result in improvement?
It prioritizes using the plan, do, study, act cycle to test and learn from change ideas.
Figure – Plan, Do, Study, Act Cycle (API)
An endless toolbox of tools and methods is available to support learning and improvement. Learn more here.
Finally, there needs to be a system to sponsor and support improvement work. Projects need to be chartered and resourced, progress tracked, and results shared. Local successes shall be implemented and spread. A learning system should aid in sharing knowledge about the successes and challenges of improvement work, unpacking and capturing organizational barriers, and creating a culture of discovery.
Great improvement begins with chartered projects and willing teams. It takes a system to support managing improvement efforts across an organization. Laying the scaffolding and creating the support aid project success, ensure spread, and enhance learning. There’s no one way to do it, but having an improvement framework, some core improvement methods, and tools, and a learning system are a solid foundation.
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This concludes the five activities of quality as an organizational strategy. What’s presented here only scratches the surface. If pursuing this strategy were easy, everyone would be doing it. It’s not easy and takes focus, commitment, and hard work, but the results are immense, and they build year-on-year. It all begins by just starting the journey.
Reference: Clifford M. Norman, Lloyd P. Provost, and David M. Williams. Quality as an Organizational Strategy: Building a System of Improvement. (Provident-Heierman Press, Austin, TX). 2024
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