Holistic and Iterative Process Improvement (HIPI)
HIPI Overview
What do I mean when I say my approach to process improvement is holistic and iterative and why does it matter? My approach evolved from lessons learned as a non-profit staff member, trying to increase efficiency with significant budget and time constraints. I found that when everyone kept these two things in mind as they were working on a process problem, the process of process improvement was a much smoother...process.
Holistic
A process evolves from the organization that developed it, and thus cannot be separated from the culture in which it exists. Often, what we see as a failed business process or problematic piece of technology has deeper roots. Ultimately, the source of these problems may have more to do with people than with technology; with organizational structure, culture, communication, or training than with out-of-date software. Sometimes, it takes an outsider to notice and mediate these issues. Throughout the process, I keep my eyes and ears open to these big-picture concerns. First and foremost, my goal is to make the work lives of entrepreneurs and non-profit professionals easier; listening to their needs and facilitating communication is central to accomplishing that goal.
Iterative
One thing I've learned in my first year of motherhood is no matter how prepared I think I am, whether it be for an event, my son's next stage of development, a walk around the block, what have you, something unexpected always, always happens. I've found the same to be true for process improvement. No number of thoughtful theoretical planning discussions or comprehensive implementation plans can account for everything. Sometimes you come up with a plan you think will work perfectly! Then once you get started you realize something isn't right. Flexibility when you're trying to improve a business process is crucial, so I've built it into the core my approach.
The Phases of HIPI
1. Assess the Process
My approach begins with a thorough assessment of the process including stakeholders, deliverables, and the technology being utilized. In other words, I help the organization clearly answer the following questions:
What is being done?
Who is doing it?
What are the tools and resources currently being used?
Is there a painful process you'd like to assess right now? Download my Process Assessment Worksheet and get started! (It's free!)
2. Identify Issues
As we discuss how the process currently operates, issues and pain points will naturally come to light. We're not trying to prioritize just yet. Instead, the intention of this phase is to give everyone a chance to air their grievances and develop a "Perfect Process Wish List" (PPWL).
Say an organization wants to streamline donation processing. Finance wants accounting codes to be automatically applied. Development wants thank you letters to auto-generate. The ED hates the way her donation reports are organized. Donors want to enter less information when they give online. Inevitably, there will need to be compromises, but envisioning an ideal world helps everyone get fired up about the changes ahead.
3. Uncover Solutions
I will take the PPWL and begin researching how best to solve the challenges we've identified. Examples of what this phase might include: shadowing team members as they complete their related tasks, observing team communication, learning about the capabilities and limitations of the technology being used, and investigating potential replacement tools.
4. Create a Plan
I will provide a draft Process Improvement Plan (PIP) that includes a breakdown of every item on the wish list along with cost and implementation time estimates. This is when we get down to prioritizing. I will include a suggested priority order with the plan, but you will have the opportunity to re-order and eliminate items for the second draft. However, if I think something you want to ignore is particularly important, I will let you know. After all, that is part of the service you've hired me to provide.
5. Implement Solutions
Sometimes, all your organization needs is help coming up with the plan and your talented team can take it from there. Sometimes, you want someone to serve as your Project Manager to provide guidance and help keep everything on track, or there might be just a couple of items that you'd like someone else to tackle. Or you can leave all of the changes in the PIP in my hands so your staff is free to focus on their primary responsibilities.
...and REPEAT!
This is where the "iterative" part of my approach comes in to play. Whether your team tackles the PIP yourselves, or I complete every item, after each change is implemented I will check back in with you to see if we can cross it off the PPWL. Did the change we make help, but it could be better? We'll go through the cycle again until it's right.