There are two ways to implement and deploy the problem-solving framework.
Deploy Framework by Individual
You can improve your process, or solve your problem with the best practices – the problem-solving framework. You can learn it, understand it, and apply it to your daily problem solving.
Whoever you are, wherever and whenever in the project, you can start using the framework right now. If you have already used a tool for solving a small problem, you have already used the framework because a tool is a part of the problem-solving framework. If so, what you need to do is to understand the big picture of framework and the connection between the tools. The more you solve the problems with the framework, the deeper you understand it. Your experiences will convince yourself of effectiveness with the framework.
As a leader of problem-solving, you can show the best practice of the framework to your team members. Your team members would sympathize with you. If you can make a coalition of framework with your team members, you can contribute more values to your organization more efficiently.
Deploy Framework by Organization in Company
An organization in a company must deploy the problem-solving framework to obtain the highest effectiveness. The deployment of framework in the organization allows not only all employees owning the company’s vision and goals, but all employees’ activities also aligning to the company’s vision and goals. The speed of problem-solving increases by sharing the best problem-solving practices in the organization. The framework seamlessly connects the employees’ activities together for the maximum performance.
Lean Six Sigma for example of the framework can be deployed any companies regardless the size of organization because there are many well-designed mechanisms for deployment from the beginning.
When you as an individual start using the problem-solving framework, you can quickly gain the confidence in the framework as a scientific-thinking way.
But, what is the value for an organization who deploys the problem-solving framework?
[Initiate a change in the organization]
The organization will introduce the new problem-solving practices with new tools and new roles when deploying the framework. It initiates a change in the organization and transform the stagnating organization to a growing organization.
[Align activities to strategy with the best practices]
If the activities in the organizations are not aligned to the companies visions and goals, there is the value to deploy the framework because the framework orchestrates the activities, and lead the employees with the best practices.
[Drive operational discipline]
The framework assigns the appropriate new roles to the employees to achieve the company’s goal, the employees with the new roles form the project teams, and then the project teams use the best practices with the best tools at the best time for the problems to solve. The framework will become a driving force to raise the operational disciplines in the organization.
[Develop employees’ leadership]
The framework such as Lean Six Sigma assigns the new roles – Champion, Master Black Belt, Black Belt and Green Belt – to the employees to build the project teams. Each role has a specific responsibility. The challenge of fulfilling the responsibility will become a driving force to raise the leadership capability.
[Embed the best methods and practices into organization]
The organization embeds the best methods and practices into themselves by repeating the problem-solving with the framework. Also the repetition of using the framework increases speed and quality of the problem-solving.
The following picture shows an example of organization who deployed the framework.
There is a good circulation in the organization. First, the organization setups the business strategies based on the external/internal environments, then decomposes the business strategies to the operation strategies and the division plans. Each division identifies various projects to meet the plan or to achieve the goals. This process is nothing different from what we are doing today. One of the differences is that the framework uses the strategy deployment tools such as “Hosin Planning” with X-Matrix and Bowling-Chart. The “Hosin Planning” aligns the projects, the division plan, and the operation plan to the business strategies seamlessly.
Second, the projects are assigned to the value streams of the divisions. The numbers in the picture represent the number of projects assigned to the steps in the value streams. For identifying a value stream and a project, the framework uses various tools.
There are many constraints i.e., time, budget and resource, and the organization can not execute all project at one. Therefore, the organization should prioritize the projects using the criteria such as ROI, impact on the business, required efforts and probability of success. There are many useful tools for prioritization. Then the projects are executed according to the priorities.
Each project has a unique characteristic. Based on the characteristic, the projects select the best problem-solving framework. Some projects use Six Sigma (DMAIC), and some projects use DFSS (DMADV), other projects use Lean (PDCA), and so on. The Champion, the Master Black Belt, the Black Belt and the Green Belt are assigned to the projects to support the team members.
Selecting the best problem-solving framework increases the probability of business success in the most effective way with the limited resources. It is possible because the each project is aligned with the business strategies. The framework and this good circulation improve the organization from inside, and change the organization to the competitive company for growth. The faster the organization circulates the framework, the stronger the organization becomes in the market.
Deploying the framework to the organization could cause a painful challenge. Sometimes an employee may resist the framework deportment because people tend to dislike any change. To overcome such resistance, John Kotter’s 8 step process of change can be used.
[Kotter’s 8 Step Process of Change]
- Step 1: Establishing a Sense of Urgency
- Step 2: Creating a powerful coalition
- Step 3: Create a vision and Strategy
- Step 4: Communicating the Change Vision
- Step 5: Empowering Broad-Based Change
- Step 6: Generating Short-Term Wins
- Step 7: Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change
- Step 8: Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture
Step 0: Tipping Point
The organization could reach a tipping point of change when declining the revenue, the quality of products or the quality of service (i.e., declining the customer satisfaction). A tipping point could come when the organization realizes that they could not grow anymore if they keep the current way of doing, and the top of the organization decides to change the organization to a new direction.
Step 1: Establishing a Sense of Urgency
“If the organization cannot change themselves now, the organization will not exist in future.” The leadership members in the organization must establish such sense of urgency after the top of the organization decided the change. And the leadership member must share the strong sense of urgency together.
This step could be the most difficult step to the leadership members who want to protect their position and power. But the sense of urgency can be established and shared by the leadership members when an external threat, a challenging business goals and a difficult internal issue are given. The leadership members must decide to change because it is the best way to avoid the risk.
Step 2: Creating a powerful coalition
A powerful coalition of people who have a power of authority and a great motivation to change must be created after the leadership members established a sense of urgency. The members of coalition should be the leaders of the teams. If the president or the vice president of the company can join to the coalition, it is the best.
Lean Six Sigma for example defines the role of Champion. The members of coalition can be the Champions, and the Champions are assigned to each department such as:
- Product Research and Development
- Manufacturing
- Quality and Assurance
- Sales and Marketing
- Human Resource
The training program for Champions is held in this step
Step 3: Create a vision and Strategy
The coalition creates a simple and clear vision and show it to all employees in the organization. The vision must explain what is the framework, what is the purpose and the reasons why the organization need to deploy the framework, and the most importantly what is the benefit of framework to the employees in the organization.
Step 4: Communicating the Change Vision
The vision should penetrates the organization. The coalition could utilize every possible communication techniques to send the vision again and again until the organization starts to move.
Step 5: Empowering Broad-Based Change
After the vision was shared by all employees, an individual employee could start making an action voluntarily to solve a problem. The members of coalition encourage the employee and support him or her.
The training programs for Black Belts and Green Belts who become the leaders of future projects are held in this step
Step 6: Generating Short-Term Wins
The Black Belts and the Green Belt start leading the project teams and solve their problems with the framework. The project teams generate many short-term wins in this early phase. Sharing the successful experiences within the organization becomes the driving force of change.
Step 7: Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change
As gaining more successful experiences with the new problem-solving framework, the organization expands the scope of application. The organization starts using not only Lean Six Sigma for process improvement, but DFSS for product development, or Lean for eliminating wastes in manufacturing. The organization tries to use different frameworks and tools.
Step 8: Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture
The organization starts anchoring the problem-solving framework after successful deployment. The organization makes a plan for sustaining the framework in the next 10 to 20 years. To establish a new culture, the plans could include the training program, the belt certification program, and the belt allocation program. Anchoring and sustaining the new culture with framework could be harder than deployment. Many company failed at this phase. Only the companies who successfully anchored the framework win in the competitive market.