Selection and prioritization of the process
improvement recommendation(s) will be based on
the team's determination that the selected
recommendation will result in the greatest degree
of improvement. Additional improvement recommendations
may also be made (i.e., those that may have less
of an impact on the overall improvement) but
will result in the achievement of some measurable
improvement of the initial problem/process.
If barriers are identified that prohibit the
implementation of the primary or ideal recommendations,
then the team should recommend alternatives,
although they may not have the same degree of
positive impact on the process improvement. The
selection of the priority for the improvement
may be based on the following types of factors:
- Ability to impact positively on the program's
mission
- Complexity and stability of the system needing
attention
- Necessity from a legal or regulatory compliance
perspective
- Security, safety, or other issues that would
create a risk to individuals
- Probability that customer expectations will
increase or have increased
- Reliability and stability of new systems
as compared to the old processes
- Degree of interest in the process improvement
within the organization
- Opportunity to reduce cost or increase revenue
The design phase of any process improvement will
utilize tools to achieve its objectives. These
tools may include, but are not limited to, the
following: flowcharts of the processes, cause-and-effect
diagrams, affinity diagrams, failure mode effects
and criticality analyses. These tools will be
used individually and in tandem with each other
to design a process that is best suited for the
desired change in process or outcome.
Important actions and questions to be answered
in this step include:
- Select a portion of the process to improve.
- What is the proposed process improvement?
- Write a mission statement.
- What changes to the process are most
feasible?
QI Tools that can be used during
this process improvement step include:
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