Management idea

Our client was suffering from too many customer visible errors because of dumb mistakes.  What was frustrating was that the problem was understood, acknowledged, and had a corrective action plan in place to fix it.  The corrective action was having the QA department complete a full set of documented work instructions that would institutionalize best practices.

The challenge was that the QA department had multiple projects that limited its availability to work on this task. In addition, every work instruction required the scheduling and interaction of multiple, busy people.  It was clear that unless the approach changed, the problem wasn't going to be fixed anytime soon.

A back of the envelope ROI analysis suggested that this issue was costing the company big bucks every day.  The solution was to swarm on the problem.  We identified everyone required to complete the set of work instructions, scheduled a Saturday meeting for the entire group, set up computers and printers, and had everyone commit to work as late as required to create a written version one release for each work instruction.

With an accurate draft of each work instruction, the remaining tasks of polishing, publishing, and training were well within the capacity of the QA department.

RUN WITH THE Big dogS™

Every week the strategic planning facilitators of Myrna Associates interact with the executive teams of the best managed mid-sized companies in America.  The weekly RUN WITH THE BIG DOGS™ newsletter shares an idea generated in one of those meetings.