“Continuous improvement is not about the things you do well — that’s work. Continuous improvement is about removing the things that get in the way of your work. The headaches, the things that slow you down, that’s what continuous improvement is all about.” – Bruce Hamilton
Locomotion – when viewed as an integral set of actions in the lives of biological entities – remains a signature aspect of evolutionary cycles. All manner of animal species and organisms initiate movement, undergo dislocation, and migrate for a variety of purposes; and hence, such actions would be central to the rhythms of a biological existence. One of the key motives of human locomotion resides in the search for resources, nutrition, livelihood, professional pursuits, and recreation, among others. Locomotion maybe viewed as a stylized expression central to an evolving dynamic – or developing narrative; part of such narrative could emerge as a continuous improvement toolkit.
Such a mechanism finds manifold representations in modern industrial, scientific, and commercial paradigms. Continuous improvement also serves as a lynchpin in contemporary ideas of managing productivity and developing talent – in industrial landscapes, information systems, modes of negotiation, education frameworks, quality control mechanisms, acts of scaling innovation, and in modern versions of the knowledge-driven economy. In such a sweeping context, analysts could consider the use of structured blueprints – such as flowcharts – to ideate on concepts of uplift and improvement, locate the core areas of improvement, and implement innovation that drives mechanics of processes to the proverbial next level.
At a primary level, builders of continuous improvement toolkit could choose to focus on objectives central to the conception of such mechanisms. This stance could take shape as a series of horizontal stages that preface flowcharts, or similar illustrations. For instance, operators of e-commerce enterprises could establish targets in terms of metrics – such as customer engagement, timed delivery of packages and merchandise, high levels of operational efficiency, reducing the cost of business per transaction, better mechanics in digital interfaces that mediate business and buyers, and more. We could view these stages as the preliminary steps undertaken toward achieving a continuous improvement toolkit. The subsequent stages could outline tactics and strategy devised to align the e-commerce organization with said targets. In essence, flowcharts emerge as a crucial step that enable the modern organization to embrace transformation through sets of incremental action.
Random events – for instance, precipitate interventions that bear potential to effect qualitative change inside legacy processes – must find clear and robust representation inside the operational dynamic of a continuous improvement toolkit. Strategists and product developers must collaborate to generate scope that accommodates the spirit/essence of intervention. This stance allows stewards of process to consider a variety of mechanisms (or sub-processes) that could affect improvement on a sustained basis. Therefore, flowcharts devised to describe a populated, expansive process could include blank spaces in the vicinity of major operating elements. This line of thought can elevate the concept of a continuous improvement toolkit and manifest range of benefits that follow. In addition, designers could create spaces that invite specialists and operators to record thoughts and ideas and undertake sandpit-based experimentation – for subsequent consideration in campaigns undertaken to further continuous improvement toolkit.
Simplicity, in technical matters, could yield positive outcomes when pursued with serious intent. For instance, the developers of a continuous improvement toolkit could elect to adopt a purely numbers-based technique that accelerates outcomes in process performance. Flowcharts can participate in this technique by registering a series of numbers that emanate from operational aspects of a process or system. These numbers must register over a finite timeframe, and must connect to a narrative that brings to light the facts; we note such a linear technique can yield insights and spur organizations into decisions to revamp processes, pursue re-invention, and embark on voyages of re-engineering, among others. Subsequently, process specialists could work to modulate or improve specific segments of process in pursuit of a better set of numbers that help align processes with the overall objectives of an organization, and hence such techniques would be innovations that power progress inside a continuous improvement toolkit.
Quality paradigms – such as Six Sigma – must remain organic to organized efforts undertaken to fashion a continuous improvement toolkit. This stance finds enduring validity because the core objectives of Six Sigma and toolkits converge relentlessly on ideas designed to accelerate outcomes. Therefore, designers could utilize flowcharts to outline the contours of continuous improvement toolkit embedded with the essence of Six Sigma techniques and processes. In such scenarios, flowcharts also emerge as tools that excise the unnecessary, delete the extraneous, and eliminate the wasteful. Process operators may find it necessary to re-tune targeted sections of process with a view to fully harness the outcomes of enterprise described. In addition, flowcharts may prove to be manuals of instruction that educate organizations on the necessity of devising custom versions of continuous improvement toolkit and implementing these at multiple levels.
Gradations comprise an interesting concept – these can appear as visual markers that indicate progress resulting from implementing a continuous improvement toolkit. Various forms of gradation are essential when process operators seek to conduct reviews of improvement programs. Gradations would thus be a sequence of stages that populate flowcharts devised to ignite improvements inside systems. From a design point of view, gradations could emerge as blocks of color that denote improvement against a timeline. This technique improves the transmission of information from flowcharts, allows larger segments of readers to absorb process-specific information, and comprises an integral part of a continuous improvement toolkit. In addition, such techniques empower process operators to fashion roadmaps that describe progress – and the challenges thereof – inside campaigns that drive continuous improvement.
Multiple lines of improvement – or constructs that drive uplift – could coalesce inside flowcharts as part of a composite strategy built into a continuous improvement toolkit. This illustration could emerge as multiple sections of diagram connected at different levels of a multi-phase process. Such illustrations emerge as sophisticated blueprints that bear significant potential to demonstrate the utility of continuous improvement toolkit in various contexts. Designers must invest intellect – and consult with process operators – to define the outlines (and objectives) of such improvement, visualize the scenarios that encode possible outcomes, and develop sub-strategies that could complement the main technique of improvement. Additionally, they could devise flowcharts to build connections within outcomes; this stance empowers process operators to manage outcomes without reducing the impact of process operations.
These lines of investigation and assessment empower readers to explore the possibilities of integrating flowcharts into the design and development of a continuous improvement toolkit. We note such ventures must be informed by intelligent grasp on the finer points of process operation; the core essence of improvement – and acts of sustaining such initiative – must reflect in the interactions/movements and connections that populate flowcharts. Revisions of improvement may spur designers to sketch fresh iterations of flowchart; such a stance enables rapid prototyping of uplift and qualitative improvement.
Further to the above, the use of flowcharts may promote experimentation and scenario planning in the minds of designers and proprietors of processes. The mechanics of such illustration could enable designers to fashion new editions of toolkits, improve the performance of components therein, and help establish new lines of connectivity between thought and process. In doing so, flowcharts and variations thereof, serve as extensions of the original Industrial Revolution, an event that emerged as a watershed in recent history.
