Operational Systems · Continuous improvement · Component
The measurement
Before and after for each change, so that effect can be distinguished from enthusiasm.
The deliverable
What it is
A baseline taken after the change is not a baseline. This is the most common failure and it invalidates the whole measurement.
Most improvements are smaller than expected and some make things worse. An improvement programme that reports only successes is not measuring.
One level in
What it is made of
Each element is a constituent part of the component. Follow one to see the attributes it carries.
The baseline
The reading before the change, over a period long enough to be representative.
3 attributes: Baseline value · Measured over · Normal variation
LearnThe after reading
The same measure after the change, taken the same way.
3 attributes: After value · Settling period · Outside variation
LearnThe confounders
What else changed during the period that could explain the difference.
3 attributes: Confounder · Plausibility · Attribution confidence
Learn
A baseline taken after the change is not a baseline. Take it before the change is even announced.
The other components in continuous improvement
The improvement log
What was changed, by whom, and what it was expected to do — kept so that improvement can be distinguished from activity.
LearnThe updated standard
The improvement written into the standard — which is the step that makes it permanent rather than temporary.
Learn