1. Focus on Value
1.1. Definition
1.1.1. Everything the organization does, should link back, directly or indirectly, to value for itself, its customers and other stakeholders. Value may come in various forms, such as revenue, customer loyalty, lower cost or growth opportunities.
1.1.2. Who is the service consumer? When focusing on value, the first step is to know who is being served. In each situation the service provider must, therefore, determine who the service consumer is and who the key stakeholders are, in doing this the service provider should consider who will receive value from what is being delivered or improved.
1.1.3. Remember to address various stakeholder groups, not only customers
1.2. Consumer Perspective
1.2.1. When identified the consumer, the service provider needs to further know:
1.2.1.1. why the consumer uses the services?
1.2.1.2. what the services help them to do?
1.2.1.3. how the services help them meet their goals?
1.2.1.4. the role of cost/financial consequences for the service consumer?
1.2.1.5. the role of risks for the service consumer?
1.2.2. Value can come in many forms, such as increased productivity, reduced negative impact, reduced costs, the ability to pursue new markets or a better competitive position. It is defined by the services consumer’s own needs, achieved through the support of intended outcomes and optimization of the costs and risks. It also changes over time and in different circumstances.
1.3. The customer or user experience
1.3.1. An important element of value is the experience consumers have when they interact with the service and the service provider. This is often further expanded into customer experience (CX) or user experience (UX).
1.3.2. CX (or UX) can be defined as the entirety of the interactions a customer (or user) has with an organization and its products. This experience can determine how the customer feels about the organization and its products and services. This is both objective and subjective
1.3.3. For example: When a customer orders a product and receives what they ordered at the promised price and in the promised delivery time, the success of this aspect of their experience is objectively measurable. On the other hand, if they don’t like the style or layout of the website they are ordering from, this is subjective. Another customer might really enjoy the design
1.4. Applying the principle
1.4.1. Know how service consumers use each service.
1.4.1.1. Collect feedback on value on an ongoing basis, not just at the beginning of the service relationship.
1.4.1.2. Encourage a focus on value among all staff. • Teach staff to be aware of who their customers are and to understand CX (and UX).
1.4.1.3. Focus on value during normal operational activity as well as during improvement initiatives. • The organization as a whole contributes to the value that the customer perceives, and so everybody within the organization must maximize the value they create.
1.4.1.4. Include focus on value in every step of any improvement initiative • Everybody involved in improvement needs to understand what outcomes the initiative is trying to facilitate, how its value will be measured, and how they should be contributing to the co-creation of value.
2. Collaborate and promote visibility
2.1. Definition
2.1.1. Involve the right people in the correct roles, efforts benefit from better buy-in, more relevance (because better information is available for decision-making) and increased likelihood of long-term success.
2.1.2. Conclusion is generally a better policy than exclusion.
2.1.3. Silos can occur through the behavior of individuals and teams, but also, through structural causes.
2.1.4. Applying the guiding principle of think and work holistically can help organizations to break down barriers between silos of work.
2.1.5. Recognition of the need for genuine collaboration
2.2. Transparency builds trust
2.2.1. Working together in a way that leads to real accomplishment requires information, understanding and trust.
2.2.2. Work and its results should be made visible, hidden agendas should be avoided and information should be shared to the greatest degree possible.
2.2.3. The more people are aware of what is happening and why, the more they will be willing to help. When activities occur behind closed doors, assumptions and rumors can prevail.
2.2.4. Resistance to change will often rise as staff members are unaware and therefore, speculate about what is changing and how it might impact them.
2.3. Whom to Collaborate with
2.3.1. As the name suggests, a stakeholder is anyone who has a stake in the activities of the organization, including the organization itself, its customers and/or users, and many others.
2.3.2. The first and most obvious stakeholder group is the customer. Some organizations, however, do a poor job of interacting with customers.
2.3.3. In the end, however, the right level of collaboration with customers will lead to better outcomes for the organization, its customers and other stakeholders.
2.4. Other stakeholders to involve:
2.4.1. Developers working with other internal teams to ensure that what is being developed can be operated efficiently and effectively. Collaborate with technical and non-technical operational teams.
2.4.2. Suppliers collaborating with the organization to define its requirements and brainstorm solutions to customer problems – Internal and external suppliers collaborating with each other.
2.4.3. Relationship managers collaborating with service consumers to achieve a comprehensive understanding of service consumer needs and priorities.
2.4.4. Customers collaborating with each other to create a shared understanding of their business issues
2.5. Communication for improvement
2.5.1. For each stakeholder group, it’s important to define the most effective methods to use
2.5.1.1. Some contributors may need to be involved at a very detailed level, while others can simply be involved as reviewers or approvers.
2.5.1.2. Depending on the service and the relationship between the service provider and the service consumer, the expectations about the level and type of collaboration can vary significantly.
2.6. Increasing urgency through visibility
2.6.1. When stakeholders (whether internal or external) have poor visibility of the workload and progression of work, the impression is that the work is not a priority.
2.6.1.1. Equally, when staff members attempt business-as-usual (BAU), improvement work may seem to be a low priority without support by the organization’s management. Insufficient visibility of work leads to poor decision-making. To avoid this, the organization needs to:
2.6.1.1.1. understanding the flow of work in progress
2.6.1.1.2. identifying bottlenecks, as well as excess capacity
2.6.1.1.3. uncovering waste.
2.6.1.1.4. It is important to involve and address the needs of stakeholders at all levels. How it relates to the stated vision, mission, goals and objectives of the organization. Determining the type, method and frequency of such messaging is one of the central activities in communication
2.7. Applying the principle
2.7.1. Collaboration does not mean consensus
2.7.1.1. It is not necessary. Some organizations are so concerned with getting consensus that they try to make everyone happy and end up either doing nothing or producing something that does not properly suit anyone’s needs
2.7.2. Communicate in a way the audience can understand
2.7.2.1. Selecting the right method and message for each audience is critical for success.
2.7.3. Decisions can only be made on visible data
2.7.3.1. Making decisions in the absence of data is risky. There may be a cost to collecting data, and the organization must balance that cost against the benefit and intended usage of the data.
3. Start Where You Are
3.1. Deifinition
3.1.1. In the process of eliminating old, unsuccessful methods or services and creating something better, there can be great temptation to remove what has been done in the past and build something completely new.
3.1.2. This is rarely necessary, or a wise decision. On the contrary, it can be extremely wasteful, not only in terms of time, but also in terms of the loss of existing services, processes, people, and tools that could have significant value in the improvement effort.
3.1.3. Do not start over without first considering what is already available to be leveraged
3.2. Assess where you are
3.2.1. Ensure decisions are based on accurate information. Be aware that there is often discrepancy between reports and reality.
3.2.2. Getting data from the source helps to avoid assumptions. To ensure this, remember:
3.2.2.1. To observe activities directly.
3.2.2.2. That there are no stupid questions.
3.2.2.3. That different roles need to be part of the
3.2.2.4. observations, and get firsthand information
3.2.3. Services and methods already in place should be measured and/or observed directly to properly understand their current state and what can be reused from them.
3.3. The role of measurement
3.3.1. The use of measurement is important to the principle “start whereyou are”. It should however be used to support the analysis of what has been observed rather than to replace it as over-reliance on data analytics can introduce biases and risks.
3.3.2. Organizations should consider a variety of techniques to get knowledge of their working environments. Some things can only be understood through measuring their effect, but direct personal observation should always be preferred
3.3.3. It should be noted that the act of measuring can sometimes affect the results, making them inaccurate. People are very creative in finding ways to meet the metrics they are measured against. Therefore, metrics need to be meaningful and directly relate to the desired outcome.
3.4. Applying the principle - Advices
3.4.1. Look at what exists as objectively as possible, using the desired outcome as a starting point
3.4.2. When examples of successful practices or services are found, determine if and how these can be replicated to achieve the desired state
3.4.3. Apply your risk management skills
3.4.4. Recognize that sometimes nothing from the current state can be re-used.
4. Progress iteratively with feedback
4.1. Definition
4.1.1. Resist the temptation to do everything at once. By organizing work into smaller, manageable sections that can be executed and completed in a timely manner, the focus on each effort will be sharper and easier to maintain sequential or simultaneous.
4.1.2. Each individual iteration should be both manageable and managed, ensuring that tangible results are returned in a timely manner and built upon to create further improvement.
4.1.3. The overall program, as well as its component iterations, must be continually re-evaluated and potentially revised to reflect any changes in circumstances and ensure that the focus on value has not been lost.
4.1.4. This re-evaluation should make use of a wide range of feedback channels and methods to ensure that the status of the initiative and its progress are properly understood
4.2. The Role of Feedback
4.2.1. A feedback loop is a situation where part of the output of an activity is used for new input. Feedback should actively be collected and processed along the value chain to understand:
4.2.1.1. End user and customer perception of the value created.
4.2.1.2. The efficiency and effectiveness of value chain activities.
4.2.1.3. The effectiveness of service governance as well as management controls.
4.2.1.4. The interfaces between the organization and its partner and supplier network.
4.2.1.5. The demand for products and services.
4.3. Iteration and feedback together
4.3.1. Working in a time-boxed, iterative manner with feedback loops embedded into the process allows for:
4.3.1.1. Greater flexibility
4.3.1.2. Faster responses to customer and business needs
4.3.1.3. The ability to discover and respond to failure earlier.
4.3.1.4. An overall improvement in quality.
4.3.2. Appropriate feedback loops between the participants of an activity gives them a better understanding of where their work comes from, where their outputs go and how their actions and outputs affect the outcomes, which in turn enables them to make better decisions.
4.4. Applying the Principle
4.4.1. Comprehend the whole, but do something Sometimes the greatest enemy to progressing iteratively is the desire to understand and account for everything. Understanding the big picture is important, but so is progress
4.4.2. The ecosystem is constantly changing, so feedback is essential Change is happening constantly, so it is important to seek and use feedback at all times and at all levels.
4.4.3. Fast does not mean incomplete Just because an iteration is small enough to be done quickly does not mean that it should not include all the elements necessary for success. Create a minimal viable product, or a version which allows the maximum amount of learning with the least effort.