1)Explain why you picked that process.

2)Explain the steps you might take to analyze how to improve the process.

3)Who should be involved with you?

4)What are some of the questions you should ask about the current process?

5)How will you know if the process was actually improved?

First, we need to be sure you can identify a process; many students have difficulty with that, so refer to your class readings.Be sure to pick a fairly narrow scope for your process - for example, processing an invoice for payment vs. Accounts Payable. I am also interested in the method to be used to improve the process, not a solution.(For example, I am not looking for something like:"The Caf where I work is not selling enough coffee. We should use social media to advertise more."The discussion here is about identifying a specific process and how a business would go about deciding how to improve that process, who should be involved, what should be considered, and what steps should be taken to be able to analyze the current process and plan for improvement.)You should employ the techniques discussed in class or those that you find in your research.Keep in mind that outside resources strengthen your responses.

How what you respond to the following?

For the process improvement topic, I have chosen to focus on my military unit's role in launching a cargo aircraft and potential improvements. My unit (we will call them Team A) will alert a crew (pilots, etc.) to fly the mission, effectively beginning a 3-4 hour process. Another unit (Team B) is responsible for the airplane: maintenance checks, fuel, etc. Team C is responsible for loading all of the cargo and passengers. The most effective process is when the "control centers" for each team are situated in the same room, communicating in-person with each other while phones and radios relay information to the members out at the airplane.

The location I am currently at cannot house all three respective "control centers" together due to facility layout and IT constraints. Attempting to communicate with them all via phone while they relay information back to the individuals physically at the aircraft frequently leads to misunderstandings and delayed flights. This is the As-Is process I am looking to improve. The To-Be process will revolve around sharing real-time information and progress updates. A centralized tracking sheet on the network for each team to continuously update with steps taken and issues arising will reduce the need for constant phone calls to ask for updates. Additionally, installing a broadened radio network will allow each team to monitor the others' communications and reduce the risk of a follow-up phone notification being forgotten.

All of the teams' control centers will need to be included in the proposed changes in implementing this process change. Relevant questions will be determining which pieces of information are crucial to the other teams and which do not need sharing. Additionally, a determination will need to be made as to how much extra work will be required, such as continuously updating the tracking sheets. Finally, detailed validation will be essential to ensure the new process is an improvement or a hindrance. Six Sigma recommends, "Summary statistics must be calculated and assumptions tested in order to determine the correct comparative experiments to be carried out to validate process improvements" (Wetzel, 2012). Both data sets: flight metrics (on-time vs. delays) and human capital (extra work hours vs. ease of communication), will need to be captured and analyzed. It's possible the new process would require multiple changes and adaptations before settling on the most optimal solution.