Process Management Rises from the Ashes

Improvement Insights Blog

Process Management Rises from the Ashes

Harvard Business Review (Jan 2025) argues for a renaissance, a rebirth of process management and quality improvement. Here’s why:

You might want to order reprints of these articles and forward them to your leadership. (HBR Reprint S25011)

Download my free eBook, Agile Process Innovation-Hacking Lean Six Sigma for Results.

 

“I’m Jay Arthur, author of “Lean Six Sigma Demystified” and QI Macros [software].

“In the most recent issue of Harvard Business Review (I think this is January 2025), shockingly enough, what did I discover? An article about Process Management! Oh my gosh!

“The closing argument in here from these folks is:

“It’s time for senior management to put process back on their radar screens and begin to sort out how to make it better in their departments.”

“Oh my gosh! Process management has been around forever. Let’s rediscover it. Put it back on your radar. I’m just amazed.

“There are some pretty simple things in here. I’ll read them to you because I just… you know, I’ll save you [from] looking this thing up.

“Process management isn’t a complicated process or concept. Its goal is to understand how a sequence of tasks fit together to create a specified outcome and then make improvements.”

“Wow, that’s what we do!

“Better managed processes mean higher productivity. Error rates, cycle times, and low-value work are all reduced.”

“I tell you…

“Indeed, new ideas about processes, including scientific management, Statistical Quality Control, Total Quality Management, Six Sigma, Agile Lean methodologies, have a rich history of impact. The fact that new thinking about Process Management keeps emerging is testimony to its importance.”

“Here’s one that I love:

“The lack of technological support…”

“(for example, [the lack of] QI Macros)

“…particularly in incremental process improvement approaches like Lean and Six Sigma, contributed to the decline in popularity of process thinking.”

“So not having software to support you when you’re trying to do Lean and Six Sigma stops the process. I can’t tell you how many people are afraid to pony up a few dollars and buy some software to make their life easier. It’s just ridiculous.

“Focus initially on one or two processes that are critical to performance.”

“Don’t try and fix everything. I’ve been saying this for a long time: Don’t fix everything. Fix the things that are broken.

“You can use process automation to improve invoicing, purchasing, order fulfillment and more.”

“This is all the backroom functions that need to be fixed in manufacturing and all of the service industries as well.

“Find descriptions of interfaces between departments are especially useful, particularly early on. Often these interfaces lie in the white space…”

“That’s the arrows between processes, right? That’s where the gaps are. In between processes, between functions. That’s where all the delays and defects and mistakes happen. All right,

“…and companies should base targets on what is needed and seems possible.”

“(I love this one. I used to work for a phone company.)

“One telecom firm, for example, determined that it took about 90 days to deliver a particular type of service. Digging deeper, it found that the actual work time was about 10 days, with the remaining 80 days spent waiting between steps.”

“Oh my gosh, this is true in almost every process I’ve ever diagrammed, all you need is some post-it notes and you can start to figure this stuff out.

“Companies must establish a new normal in which control and continuous improvement prevail.”

“Oh my god, Harvard Business Review is saying “Come back, come back to Quality Improvement!”

“There’s a virtuous cycle of better data, easier technological implementation, productivity gains, [and] increased payoffs. So it’s time for senior managers to put process back on their radar screens and begin to sort out how to make it easier.”

“Duh!

“And then there’s a whole ‘nother article in here that starts off with Taichi Ohno developing the Toyota production system.

“Rather than revolutionizing the industry through bold, innovative and risky endeavors, Toyota chose incremental but relentless improvements.”

“Ha! Harvard Business Review, [January] 2025, is saying what we’ve been saying for decades: It’s time to come back to Quality Improvement.

“So that’s my Improvement Insight for this week. Let’s get back to doing process improvements and process management. Let’s go out and improve something this week.”

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