Full-Disclosure – this entire post is just an excuse for me to brag about getting a bulls-eye.
Any theory with predictive value relies on a set of simplifying assumptions to make it work.
Economics assumes a rational actor, physics models often start with the assumption of a vacuum or zero friction.
We all know these conditions rarely exist – but you also can’t deny the value these theories bring.
The key to using them effectively lies in understanding what their assumptions are – so they can be modified when applying the model to your unique situation. Fail to update these assumptions to match reality, and you’ll end up with some pretty catastrophic results.
Process improvement is of course no different. Yet I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen Lean or Six-Sigma written off as “ivory tower nonsense” because someone took them straight from a textbook to a corporate environment – always with disastrous consequences.
So, today I want to cover three critical simplifying assumptions included in almost every improvement methodology.
To act as a foil, I’ll use one of the rare fields in which all these assumptions actually hold true – archery.
To get the most out of it, I’d recommend you compare your project/team/process to each assumption and ask yourself:
“what does the reality of my project/team/product look like?“, and “how could I adjust for that difference?“
The Target is Clear
You never have to ask “did you hit it?”, everyone knows what the goal is. It helps that the target is a big red dot (or tennis ball in this case), but it’s also important to note that in archery everyone is observing the target from the same angle too.
Our own initiatives are often cross-functional engagements in which everyone has drawn a bullseye in a separate (and sometimes secret) location. Lean and Six Sigma both rely on transparency of the target as a fundamental assumption, if you don’t incorporate the messy reality of your situation, you could end up with an arrow in your butt.
Failure is Obvious
It is immediately clear when you fail to hit the target. Can you imagine an archer retroactively spray-painting a bullseye under the location their arrow fell? Such shenanigan’s are laughable.
Yet how often have you sat in a quarter-end meeting where metrics or project outcomes were explained away. Maybe even pitched as a kind of alternative success.
There is value in failure – learning, but without the ability to clearly spot failure you’ve essentially blinded yourself to your greatest source of learning, the feedback loop.
The Effect of Change is Immediate
Which brings me to the last major assumption that every process improvement methodology starts with. The cause-and-effect nature of our actions is the BEST way to understand the reality of a process.
Over the course of a few minutes you can quickly gauge the effect of a different stance, release method, or breathing technique. It’s all laid out there in front of you, a beautiful visual representation of you accuracy and variance.
Most of our processes however operate in complicated spider-web of dependencies. Assessing the impact of a change can feel like an exercise in futility.
The impact of my policy adjustment on compliance rates two teams over may never be as directly correlated as two behaviors in archery. But that’s not really our goal is it? At least not anymore than an economist needs all humans to behave rationally in their own self-interest.
Remember what I asked you to do at the beginning of the post? These theories don’t have value in spite of their simplifying assumptions, the assumptions themselves deliver value because they direct your focus and enable you to adapt the theory to meet your own reality.
So, in what specific ways does your work fail to meet the three assumptions of process improvement?
And most importantly, how can you adapt Lean or Six Sigma to incorporate those shortcomings?
The great news is that these methodologies were designed to be adapted! You have my blessing to bastardize them to meet your needs.
Don’t wait until the non-existent day when all your stakeholders agree on a target, or measure success the same way, or have the data to back up their claims.
Get scrappy, get creative, and have fun with.
Happy adapting!