Initiating a Process Improvement Program
Continuous Process Improvement is the underlying principle
behind most modern quality and process standards. In order
to stay competitive in a global economy, organizations must
systematically strive to improve their processes through
sustained and disciplined efforts. This paper presents the
fundamental steps leading to process improvement and
suggests some practical ways to jump-start this project in
your organization.

1. The PDCA Cycle (A.K.A.: "the Deming Wheel")
A systematic process improvement project is composed of the
four fundamental steps.

The concept of the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) cycle was
originally developed by Walter Shewhart and later promoted
by the famous Quality Management authority, W. Edwards
Deming. It makes explicit the idea that careful planning,
disciplined implementation, objective evaluation and
determined action are the necessary and recurring parts of a
continuous improvement cycle.

1.1 Plan
Knowing where you are going is the essential first step in
this journey. This is where you set forth the goals for the
process improvement project, and this is also where you
establish the infrastructure that will support and nourish
this project.

1.1.1 Activity:
Establish a Management Steering Committee
Description:
The Management Steering Committee is composed of senior
staff representing all the major functions of the
organization, including Finance and Marketing. Its purpose
is to:
A)Provide overall leadership and direction for
the process improvement efforts.
B)Provide adequate resources (budget, people,
and tools) for the process improvement activities.
C)Review and approve the Development Process
Group recommendations and deliverables.
D)Resolve organization-wide issues.
Tools and resources:
Strong support from Senior Management.
Management Steering Committee Charter

1.1.2 Activity:
Establish a Development Process Group
Description:
The Development Process Group is the focal point for process
improvements. Its responsibilities are to:
A)Propose, plan, coordinate and execute
well-defined activities and tasks that contribute to the
effective implementation of the company's process
improvement program.
B)Offer solutions to problems and provide
input.
C)Contribute to sharing of processes and
products across the organization.
Tools and resources:
Development Process Group Charter.
Project management tools
Document Management Portal
Training Facilities
E-Learning Infrastructures

1.1.3 Activity:
Conduct a Process Assessment
Description:
A Process Assessment establishes a process performance
baseline. It helps in the identification of current gaps,
challenges, and improvement opportunities.
Tools and resources:
A process improvement or quality model (for example: the
CMMI®).
A process assessment methodology (for example:SCAMPI®).
Process improvement expert(s) or auditor(s).

1.1.4 Activity:
Set up the Process Improvement Project
Description:
Based on the Management Steering Committee guidelines and
the Process Assessment gap-analysis report, the Development
Process Group develops a process improvement project with
tangible milestones and measurable objectives.
Tools and resources:
Project management tools
Effort tracking and issue-tracking tools.


1.2 Do
The following activities must be performed for every
improvement opportunity prioritized by the Development
Process Group,

1.2.1 Activity:
Establish Criteria
Description:
It is important to establish selection and success criteria
before going too far in the evaluation and/or development of
a single solution.
Tools and resources:
Management Steering Committee guidelines
Gap-analysis report
Industry reports

1.2.2 Activity:
Select a Solution
Description:
A solution meeting the selection criteria and with good
probability of achieving the success criteria is retained,
ideally amongst an array of at least three distinct
alternatives.
Tools and resources:
Decision and analysis tools and techniques.

1.2.3 Activity:
Obtain Approval
Description:
Approval and sign-off should be secured from the Management
Steering Committee and, when appropriate, from other
relevant stakeholders before starting to implement the
solution.
Tools and resources:
Management Steering Committee
Change and deployment procedures.

1.2.4 Activity:
Conduct a Pilot
Description:
Always conduct a limited, controlled pilot before
rolling-out a new process or a new tool.
Tools and resources:
Success criteria.
Feedback forms.



1.3 Check
No matter the efforts and costs that went into it, never
deploy a solution until you have demonstrated its
usefulness and effectiveness.

1.3.1 Activity:
Assess the impact of the changes
Description:
Verify that the changes are having a net positive impact on
the performance of the organization, using objective
criteria and hard data.
Tools and resources:
Historical data.
Statistical tools and techniques.
Surveys.

1.3.2 Activity:
Make the Go –No Go Decision
Description:
Based on the assessment of the impact, decide whether or not
to roll-out the changes throughout the organization.
Tools and resources:
Development Process Group
Management Steering Committee.


1.4 Act
Implement the changes on a larger scale, making them a
routine part of your activity.

1.4.1 Activity:
Communicate
Description:
Make sure everyone involved is aware of the coming changes
and understands why they are being implemented.
Tools and resources:
E-mail.
Internal newsletter
Awareness sessions

1.4.2 Activity:
Prepare Documentation and Support Material
Description:
Key to a successful deployment is to provide people with
adequate, practical documentation, templates and other
supporting artifacts.
Tools and resources:
Templates
Tools
Document Management Portal

1.4.3 Activity:
Train
Description:
People Everyone involved needs to know how their roles will
be affected by the changes and what will be expected of
them.
Tools and resources:
Training Facilities
E-Learning Infrastructures

1.4.4 Activity:
Deploy
Description:
When all is said and done, it's time to go into production.
>From then on, provide adequate support and start collecting
the performance data that will feed the next PDCA cycle.
Tools and resources:
Support hotline.
Process champions.
Feedback forms.



2. The CMMi Generic Practices for Establishing a Disciplined
Process
The previous section described a high-level methodology for
continuously improving processes. But what are the
characteristics or the requirements of a disciplined and
effective process?

One answer to this question can be found in the Capability
Maturity Model Integration (CMMI®), a framework for process
improvement that primarily targets Software and Systems
Engineering.

Since this paper focuses on the initial phases of a process
improvement program, we'll find the most relevant material
in the generic practices of the CMMI® maturity level 2.
These practices mark the transition between a performed but
undisciplined, ad hoc set of activities to a well managed
process.

2.1 Generic Practice:
Establish an Organizational Policy
Description:
Organizational policies are the backbone of a disciplined
process. They define the expectations for the process and
make these expectations visible to those who are affected.
Tools and resources:
Management Steering Group.
Document Management Portal.

2.2 Generic Practice:
Plan the Process
Description:
Determine what is needed to perform the process, when or in
what context it will be performed, what it will involve,
etc. This planning can be imbedded into specific project
plans or be implemented as a de facto process to be used by
all projects.
Tools and resources:
Project Planning and Scheduling Tools.
Project Procedures and Process Descriptions.
Organizational Procedures and Process Descriptions.

2.3 Generic Practice:
Provide Resources
Description:
Resources include adequate funding, facilities, skilled
people and tools.


2.4 Generic Practice:
Assign Responsibility
Description:
Ensure that the responsibility for performing the process
and the tasks of the process are assigned and that the
people assigned to the responsibilities understand and
accept them.
Tools and resources:
Project Plan.
Organizational Charts

2.5 Generic Practice:
Train People
Description:
The people performing and supporting the process need to be
trained as needed. Training Facilities
Tools and resources:
E-Learning Infrastructures

2.6 Generic Practice:
Manage Configuration
Description:
Establish and maintain the integrity of the process support
artifacts (tools, documentation, templates) and deliverables
(documents, reports, checklists, etc.).
Tools and resources:
Configuration Management Tool.
Document Management Portal.

2.7 Generic Practice:
Identify and Involve Relevant Stakeholders
Description:
Ensure that interactions necessary and required by the
process occur by identifying and involving the relevant
stakeholders.
Tools and resources:
Project Plan.
Organizational Charts
Roles and Responsibilities Lists.

2.8 Generic Practice:
Monitor and Control the Process
Description:
Perform the day-to-day monitoring of the process with
respect to the relevant plans and procedures.
Tools and resources:
Time tracking tool.
Status report templates.

2.9 Generic Practice:
Objectively Evaluate Adherence
Description:
Provide credible assurance that the process is implemented
as planned and follows its description, standards and
procedures.
Tools and resources:
Whenever possible, involve independent (internal or
external) Quality Assurance professionals .

2.10 Generic Practice:
Review Status with Higher Level Management
Description:
Provide higher level management with adequate visibility
into the process's activities, status and results.
Tools and resources:
Reporting tool
Digital Dashboard
Periodic and event driven meetings
3. Conclusion
The PDCA cycle is the engine that should drive your process
improvement initiatives. Providing the required
infrastructure (including public endorsement and direct
involvement from higher management) is the first step in
starting this engine.

Then, by systematically submitting your processes to the 10
"questions" of the Maturity Level 2 Generic Practices, you
will ensure that your organization is on the right track for
sustained, resilient and result oriented process
improvement.

For additional information:
`Out of the Crisis', W Edwards Deming, MIT 1989
The CMMI® web site: http://www.sei.cmu.edu/cmmi
Process Academy's web site: http://www.ProcessAcademy.ca

About the Author:Françis Dion is a software development and
process improvement specialist. He is recognized process
improvement trainer as well as a certified process assessor
and auditor. mailto:Francis.Dion@ProcessAcademy.ca.

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