A Five Step Process for Improving Work Processes in Municipal Government

From the ICMA (International City/County Management Association) website

(www.icma.org) :

“Process improvement efforts systematically document, analyze, and reduce

redundancies and inefficiencies in processes. The best systems focus employees on
customer needs to drive improvements. They require time and management
commitment across the organization.”

Well said.

My main “take aways” from this paragraph are the need for process improvement
and the importance of meeting customer needs. But let’s make sure this is more
than just lofty rhetoric.

Every organization needs a structured approach for improving processes. Any

sound process improvement technique will have customer needs as an integral part
of activity.

Here is a simple and effective five step process for improving processes.

Step One: Define the Project

You should always start with a definition of the project. Often, there is a rush to
action without truly knowing where action must be applied. Spend time (as painful
as it may be) up front laying out the case for the project and constructing a context
for the team to work through in the project.

The project definition should always start with the voice of the customer. Start this
voice by identifying as many project stakeholders as possible. Stakeholders are all
departments, people, entities, etc. that may be affected by the results of the
project. (internal and external customers areexamples of stakeholders) They
deserve to know about the project before it starts. Their input will be valuable to
help the team formulate a plan for action.

Other key components of a project definition include:

a. The project team

b. The team leader
c. The project’s scope
d. A business case for the project
e. A mentor for the project
f. A goal for the project
g. A metric for the project

Step Two: Measure the Process

As part of the project definition, the business process needing improvement must
be defined. In step two, the team starts understanding the process. Measure its

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current performance by mapping the process steps and collecting as much

performance data/information as you can.

Techniques for measuring a process include:

a. Simple process flow diagram

b. Deployment diagram
c. Value stream map
d. SIPOC diagram
e. Videotaping the process in action
f. Time studying the process in action
g. Brainstorming

Step Three: Analyze the Process

Now that you have thoroughly measured the process, take time to analyze the
results of the measurement. Within the data and information is a story. You are
looking for tangible opportunities for improvement. A key concept in the third step
is the relationship between inputs and outputs.

Simply defined, a process converts inputs into outputs. Outputs are what customers
require and are what we see and notice. When we say a process needs
improvement, we are really saying an output must improve. To improve an output,
we must improve inputs. The analyze step helps define the key inputs driving
outputs.

Techniques used in the analyze step include:

a. Fishbone diagram
b. Nominal group technique
c. Matrix diagram
d. Scatter plot
e. Process Failure Mode Effects Analysis (PFMEA)

Step Four: Improve the Process

Once you hone in on the key inputs, you should have a good sense of what is
needed for the process to improve. Now, take actions to improve the process. Use
the PDCA cycle to implement your ideas. First, develop a plan (P) for
implementation. Be clear on what you will try, experiment with, or implement. The
plan is just a plan if you don’t put it into action so be sure and enact or do (D) the
plan. You don’t know if it will work but you will not know until you try. Once you do
the plan, take time to check (C) the results. What did you learn? What went right?
What went wrong? Using the results of your check, decide on the next actions (A)
to take. Do you go back to the drawing board and develop a new plan? Do you
need more evidence? Did you like the results enough to permanently enact the
changes? Whatever the case, go back to the plan step and start a new journey
through the cycle.
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Step Five: Control the Process

Once you have implemented and verified improvements, be sure and implement
controls to sustain the positive results. If this step is skipped, the process could
revert back to its previous state. Implement controls to keep an eye on the process
and to alert the team if more opportunities for improvement arise.

Example of process controls include:

a. Process audits
b. System audits
c. Control plan
d. Statistical process control