Quality Improvement – Six Steps to Improving Quality

Step 1 - Reason for Improvement

Objective – Identify the Problem (Theme).

What key activities should be undertaken?

Research for Theme(s) (Problems)

- Review key processes and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

- Survey internal/external customers

- Identify what the team knows (brainstorming)

- Conduct interviews

Determine Process Ownership (related to problem/improvement)

- Document the “As Is” processes

- Determine customer needs

- Determine what improvement is needed using available data

- Show likely impacts of the solution/new process

- Get to work on the new solution/activities

Tools to Utilize

* Control Charts

* Brainstorming

* Process Maps

* Relationship Interaction Diagram

* Variance Analysis

Key Questions to Ask

* What do we produce? (Work products)

* Whom do we do it for?

* How well do we do it?

* How do we know we are doing it well?

*** Note: The other five steps will be posted in the coming days.

Interesting and Enlightening Video

McCain and Obama Dance Off

They can do scary things with video software these days.

General Colin Powell and Leadership

General Colin Powell spoke at this year's PMI (Project Management Institute) Global Congress in Denver, CO.

The PMI website summarizes General Powell's remarks below.

“Leadership is leadership is leadership,” says General Powell, who served as a U.S. National Security Advisor for former President Ronald Reagan and held executive positions at several organizations.

“At the end of the day you have to convince a bunch of followers to do what you want them to do—and [convince them] that they want to do it.”

The goal, he says, is to make sure every member of the team knows what is expected of them and to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. That means providing support, plus clear, concise missions and inspiration.

“The leader’s passion has to be the example of excellence in the organization and people will want to follow you,” he says.

Sometimes, though, the difference between a good leader and a bad leader is as simple as the ability to recognize when an employee is worth the investment—and when they are not. While it’s important, General Powell says, to capitalize on strengths and build on weakness, leaders can’t “carry dead weight.”

In Denver,CO and a Mile High!

Waiting for the PMI global conference to start. I attended the ISSIG business meeting today and walked around the city. Denver is a great town.

See You at the PMI North American Global Congress 2008

I'm traveling to Denver on Saturday to attend the PMI Global Congress. Anybody else going? Want to meet up? E-mail me at sfseay(at)yahoo.com

PMI North American Global Congress 2008 Announcement

PMI is proud to host its Global Congress 2008—North America in Denver, Colorado, USA. The city of Denver is the largest city in Colorado and is also the state’s capital. The nickname of "the Mile-High City" was given to Denver because it is situated at an elevation of one mile above sea level. Denver has the largest park system in the U.S. and experiences more than 300 sunny days in a year, which makes it sunnier than San Diego or Miami Beach. Because of this and its proximity to the mountains, Denver has gained a reputation as being a very active, outdoor-oriented city for skiing, hiking, climbing and camping.

Denver lies at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and experiences a semi-arid type of climate. Autumn (October through December) has a warm climate with sunny days and cool nights. The climate of Denver can be quite unpredictable and does experience frequent weather fluctuations. A popular saying in Denver is that if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute; it will change.

John McCain shows he is a Statesman.

Thanks Senator McCain for bring some civility to the conversation.