Page 276 - The Handbook for Quality Management a Complete Guide to Operational Excellence

262 C o n t i n u o u s I m p r o v e m e n t e f f e c t i v e C h a n g e M a n a g e m e n t 263

take 3 to 5 years to cycle through DMAIC (Harry and Schroeder, 2000),
while others are completed in less than 1 year.
Business-level projects may be defined at the top of a particular busi-
ness unit within a larger corporation, as well as at the executive level of
the corpo ration. GE, for example, set stretch goals for itself as a corporation,
and extended them to each of the particular business units.
Operations-level projects concentrate on metrics particular to the
function al areas within the organization, although the projects are typi-
cally cross-func tional, and may even involve customers and/or suppliers.
Operations-level projects may seek to improve yield, reduce material or
labor costs, and remove the system-wide Hidden Factories responsible for
rework in the organization. Operations-level projects may be defined to
achieve goals within a stated fis cal year.
Process-level projects are much smaller in scope, and are designed for
a much shorter duration. A given black belt will typically work three to
four process-level projects a year, although smaller projects are not unheard
of. In fact, it’s recommended that process-level projects be defined to allow
conclusion within a 3- or 4-month period (sometimes less). This prevents
“world peace” projects that process-level project teams will have difficulty
seeing to conclusion. A typical goal is for each process-level project to save
$100,000 or more on an annualized basis. Process-level projects deal with
issues such as cycle time reduction, defect reduction, process capability
improvement, etc.
At their best, business-level, operations-level, and process-level proj-
ects are intertwined. Results from the business level provide projects
defined at the operations level, which can in turn create projects at the pro-
cess level. This top-down approach is generally preferred to a bottom-up
approach, where projects are proposed by team members with a vested
interest in the outcome. The top-down approach ensures that process-level
projects are aligned with strategic business objectives and customer needs.
Top-down developed projects also offer greater exposure of the project
team to upper management, which can make those projects appealing to
up-and-com ing project team leaders. That said, projects developed at the
process level can also offer great rewards: commitment from team members
who understand the process; local recognition from affected co-workers;
and improved processes affecting (at least) short-term goals, budget con-
cerns, and customer orders. With that in mind, it’s useful to find a happy
medium between top-down and bottom-up project definition.

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