Process improvement
Encyclopedia
In organizational development (OD), process improvement is a series of actions taken by a process owner to identify, analyze and improve existing business process
es within an organization
to meet new goals and objectives. These actions often follow a specific methodology
or strategy
to create successful results. A sampling of these are listed in the "See also" section below.
Process improvement is also a method to introduce process changes to improve quality, reduce costs, or accelerate schedules.
Business process
A business process or business method is a collection of related, structured activities or tasks that produce a specific service or product for a particular customer or customers...
es within an organization
Organization
An organization is a social group which distributes tasks for a collective goal. The word itself is derived from the Greek word organon, itself derived from the better-known word ergon - as we know `organ` - and it means a compartment for a particular job.There are a variety of legal types of...
to meet new goals and objectives. These actions often follow a specific methodology
Methodology
Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
or strategy
Strategy
Strategy, a word of military origin, refers to a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. In military usage strategy is distinct from tactics, which are concerned with the conduct of an engagement, while strategy is concerned with how different engagements are linked...
to create successful results. A sampling of these are listed in the "See also" section below.
Process improvement is also a method to introduce process changes to improve quality, reduce costs, or accelerate schedules.
See also
- BenchmarkingBenchmarkingBenchmarking is the process of comparing one's business processes and performance metrics to industry bests and/or best practices from other industries. Dimensions typically measured are quality, time and cost...
- Business Process ImprovementBusiness Process ImprovementBusiness Process Improvement is a systematic approach to help an organization optimize its underlying processes to achieve more efficient results. The methodology was first documented in H. James Harrington’s 1991 book Business Process Improvement. It is the methodology that both Process...
- Business process reengineeringBusiness process reengineeringBusiness process re-engineering is the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization.According to Davenport a business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome....
- Process RedesignProcess RedesignThe Process Redesign methodology was developed by H. James Harrington in the early 1980s and is applied to the current process to remove all of its waste and to streamline its activities. It first streamlines the processes, and then uses IT techniques to perform the routine and repetitive activities...
- Capability Maturity Model IntegrationCapability Maturity Model IntegrationCapability Maturity Model Integration is a process improvement approach whose goal is to help organizations improve their performance. CMMI can be used to guide process improvement across a project, a division, or an entire organization...
/Capability Maturity ModelCapability Maturity ModelThe Capability Maturity Model is a development model that was created after study of data collected from organizations that contracted with the U.S. Department of Defense, who funded the research. This model became the foundation from which CMU created the Software Engineering Institute... - Goal-Question-MetricGQMGQM, the acronym for "goal, question, metric", is an approach to software metrics that has been promoted by Victor Basili of the University of Maryland, College Park and the Software Engineering Laboratory at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center after supervising a Ph.D. thesis by Dr. David M....
- Hoshin KanriHoshin KanriHoshin kanri - is a method devised to capture and cement strategic goals as well as flashes of insight about the future and develop the means to bring these into reality."...
- ISO 9000ISO 9000The ISO 9000 family of standards relates to quality management systems and is designed to help organizations ensure they meet the needs of customers and other stakeholders . The standards are published by ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, and available through National...
- IT Governance
- Just In Time manufacturing
- Lean manufacturingLean manufacturingLean manufacturing, lean enterprise, or lean production, often simply, "Lean," is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination...
- Performance improvementPerformance improvementPerformance improvement is the concept of measuring the output of a particular process or procedure, then modifying the process or procedure to increase the output, increase efficiency, or increase the effectiveness of the process or procedure...
- Process managementProcess managementProcess management is the ensemble of activities of planning and monitoring the performance of a process. The term usually refers to the management of business processes and manufacturing processes...
- Process Improvement and Management (PI&M)Process Improvement and Management (PI&M)-Identify, analyze and improve the Key Processes:According to Rummler an organization is only as good as its processes. To be able to make the necessary changes in an organization, one needs to understand the key processes of the company. Rummler and Brache suggest a model for running a Process...
- Six SigmaSix SigmaSix Sigma is a business management strategy originally developed by Motorola, USA in 1986. , it is widely used in many sectors of industry.Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing and...
- Theory of ConstraintsTheory of ConstraintsThe theory of constraints adopts the common idiom "A chain is no stronger than its weakest link" as a new management paradigm. This means that processes, organizations, etc., are vulnerable because the weakest person or part can always damage or break them or at least adversely affect the...
- Total Quality ManagementTotal Quality ManagementTotal quality management or TQM is an integrative philosophy of management for continuously improving the quality of products and processes....
- Trillium ModelTrillium ModelThe Trillium Model, created by Bell Canada, combines requirements from the ISO 9000 series, the CMM for Software, and the Malcolm Baldrige criteria, with software quality standards from the IEEE. Trillium has a telecommunications orientation and provides customer focus...
- Twelve leverage pointsTwelve leverage pointsThe twelve leverage points to intervene in a system were proposed by Donella Meadows, a scientist and system analyst focused on environmental limits to economic growth...