LEAN Improvement Steps

1. Specify value from the perspective of the end customer.
2. Identify all the steps in the value stream, eliminating those activities, processes, and policies that do not create value.
3. Flow products and service smoothly toward the customer.
4. Let the customer demand pull value from the next upstream activity.
5. Pursue perfection through continuous improvement.

Demings 14 TQM Principles (know them)

1. Create a constancy of purpose.
2. Adopt the new philosophy (a new way of thinking about running your business).
3. Cease dependence on mass inspection.
4. End lowest tender contracts (do not award business based on price alone).
5. Improve every process.
6. Institute training on the job.
7. Institute leadership.
8. Drive out fear.
9. Break down barriers.
10. Eliminate exhortations (slogans).
11. Eliminate arbitrary numerical targets (quotas).
12. Support pride of workmanship.
13. Encourage education.
14. Develop top management commitment and action.

LEAN at all IT Levels

EXECUTIVES:

• Set and communicate direction (strategy)
• Guide direction (strategy deployment catch ball, system kaizen to drive breakthrough change)
• Enable value stream flow: reducing unevenness and variation and overburden
• Lead (as if they have no authority) and inspire others to lead with them
• Go see and ask why
• Actively engage in continuous improvement through the practice of leader standard work supported by a regular monthly cadence of PDCA
• Improve the work and improve themselves

MANAGERS:

• Establish basic stability: level demand matched with capacity across value streams
• Communicate strategic direction, align with daily work and process improvement (strategy deployment catch ball)
• Go see and ask why
• Actively engage in continuous improvement through the practice of leader standard work supported by a regular weekly/daily cadence of PDCA with their associates
• Make time for workers to regularly practice continuous improvement
• Coach change, improvement, and innovation; support cross-functional process kaizen activity; inspire others to lead with them
• Keep problem-solving at the right level, drive decision-making closer to the individuals and teams that interact with the customer
• Improve the work and improve themselves

TEAMS AND INDIVIDUALS:

• Focus on waste reduction, sustain the gains
• Stop the process when an error appears, identify root cause, and take corrective and preventative action (quality at the source)
• Improve the work and improve them

Strategy Development System

STRATEGIC

Long-term strategy

Mid-term strategy

Breakthrough improvements

Annual improvement plan

TACTICAL

Value streams

Divisions

Business units

Departments

OPERATIONAL

Supporting processes

Projects

Continual Service Improvement

How NOT To Measure Performance

1.    Do not consider the impact of measurements on behavior

2.    Do not invest adequate effort to determine what should be measured

3.    Do not take measurements seriously

4.    Measure corporate goals, not customer satisfaction

5.    Measure only departmental process, not the entire process

6.    Measure only small pieces of the process

7.    Measure only what you are good at

Benchmarking Step by Step

1. Understand your current processes in terms of effectiveness (measures and current levels of performance) and maturity (use value stream mapping to identify waste and determine where to focus improvement efforts).
2. Set your focus by determining what business process you are investigating.
3. Identify what organizations and industries have similar processes and are potential leaders.
4. Research and contact leading companies to identify best practices and performance metrics (through the American Productivity and Quality Center [APQC], the Global Benchmarking Council, trade journals, conferences, and so on).
5. Collaborate with these organizations to share best practice information. (This works best when companies agree to exchange information beneficial to all parties within a benchmarking group.)
6. Identify gaps and opportunities for improvement; feed these ideas as suggestions and potential countermeasures into the kaizen process.
7. Implement improved business practices with realistic metrics, goals, and targets applying PDCA.

Risk Management Policy

Policies for the ERM framework and its processes and procedures

Policies for risk management decisions

Risk appetite

Risk criteria

Internal risk reporting

Commitment, responsibility, and timing for monitoring, and review of policies

Enterprise Risk Management Framework

Mandate and commitment to the ERM framework

Agreement in principle to proceed with ERM

Gap analysis

Context for framework

Design of framework

Implementation plan

Risk management policy

Policies for the ERM framework, its processes and procedures

Policies for risk management decisions:

Risk appetite

Risk criteria

Internal risk reporting

Integration of ERM in the organization

Risk Management Process (RMP)

Context

Risk assessment (identification, analysis, and evaluation)

Risk treatment

Monitoring, review, and actions

Communications and consultation

Communications and reporting

Accountability

Risk ownership and risk register.

Managers’ performance evaluation

Monitoring, review, and continuous improvement

Responsibility for maintaining and improving ERM framework

Approach to risk maturity and continuous improvement of ERM framework

10 Principles of Risk Management from ISO 3100

1. Creates value for objectives of health, reputation, profits, compliance, and so on, less the costs of risk management.
2. Is an integral part of organizational processes including project management, strategic planning, auditing, and all other processes?
3. Is part of decision making through analysis and evaluation to understand risk and determine its acceptability as treated.
4. Explicitly addresses uncertainty and how it can be modified.
5. Is systematic, structured and timely and produces repeatable and verifiable outcomes and decisions.
6. Is based on the best available information including historical data, expert opinion, stakeholder concerns, and so forth, tempered with the quality and availability of the information.
7. Is tailored to the organization, its objectives, its risks, and its capabilities.
8. Takes human and cultural factors into account in addition to technical and other "hard" factors that impact the likelihood of consequences.
9. Is transparent and inclusive so that communication and consultation with stakeholders and others keeps the risk management and risk criteria current and relevant.
10. Is dynamic, iterative and responsive within a "continuous improvement" environment that responds to changes in context, trends, risk factors and other internal and external factors.

Risk Appetite and Tolerance

RISK APPETITE: how much risk an organization is willing to take on to ensure it has ample opportunity to achieve its objective

RISK TOLERANCE:  communicate the appropriate level at which a risk must be managed to be considered acceptable. Risk tolerance is not defined as a single finite number, but rather as a tolerable zone or range of values where an operational risk is neither under-managed nor over-managed. When a risk is under-managed, existing management activities and practices around that risk do not produce enough certainty that operational objectives will be achieved.

When a risk is over-managed, the amount of certainty produced by existing management activities and practices does not merit the investment of time, effort, and resources dedicated to the risk and would be better applied elsewhere.

Operational Risk Considerations

• How do you align operational risk management with enterprise risk management?
• How do you assess operational risks, particularly in a dynamic business environment?
• How do you encourage a culture of risk management at the operational level?
• Is risk all bad?
• What can you do to manage operational risk?
• What is operational risk and why should you care about it?
• Why do you need to define risk tolerance for aligned decision making?

Warren Buffett's Risk Management Lessons

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway 2001 and 2002 annual reports outline his risk management framework as follows:

• Accept only those risks you understand. (This requires guarding against the twin biases of overconfidence and the illusion of control.)
• Focus on impact not probability: Do not accept any single or group of risks which threaten solvency no matter how improbable. This requires a comparison of risk appetite to capital. Keep in mind risk is based not only on the experience of what has happened, but also on beyond the data exposures.
• Derivatives are dangerous because they create the incentive to cheat: They are opaque and imbedded with latent and potentially lethal dangers. Since their true nature does not manifest itself until later, track records are of little use. Thus, it becomes difficult to determine cheaters.
• Governance: Berkshire has a small number of interested, component directors who eat their own cooking.[*] They have a clearly stated risk appetite: $6 billion as of 2007 based on $120 billion shareholders’ equity and are willing to sacrifice market share to stay within their risk appetite.

Risk Management Capability

HR: Does the organization have sufficient, qualified, and experienced people to manage the risk?

RISK MANAGEMENT CONTROL ENVIRONMENT (e.g., proper tone at the top, good communications about risk, an organization structure aligned with decision-making authorities, code of conduct). Does the organization's risk management environment support or impede the management of its risks?

RISK MANAGEMENT CONTROLS AND OVERSIGHT: Does the organization have appropriate and effective controls and oversight in place to ensure that risk management practices are working?

RISK MANAGEMENT PRACTICES: Does the organization have appropriate and effective risk management practices in place to manage the risk?

RISK MEASUREMENT: Does the organization have risk measurement models that see risk beyond the typical approach of predicting future risk exposures based solely on historical information?

UNDERSTANDING OF RISK: Does the organization understand the potential risk events that could result in the occurrence of a risk and the potential impact and likelihood of these events?

Risk Tolerance Factors

1. What is my organization's attitude toward risk?
2. What are the goals of my organization?
3. How capable is my organization of managing risk?
4. Does my organization have the capacity to absorb a potential loss related to taking the risk?
5. What are the costs and benefits of managing the risk?

Risk Management Cycle

React:
Respond to mitigate the current situation, and take corrective action regarding deficiencies 

Detect:
Determination of activity types that may lead to materialization of threat.

Assess:
Identification and assessment of existing threats and vulnerabilities, and the prediction of future threats and vulnerabilities.

Prevent:
Taking sufficient measures to shield the organization against anticipated threats and vulnerabilities.

Communication Plan Components

ü  Ownership

ü  Style

ü  Delivery mechanisms

ü  Competences – skills, training

ü  Other related ongoing activities

ü  Audiences internal and external

ü  Involve staff at all levels (stakeholder and operations)

ü  Timescales

ü  Critical success factors

ü  Monitor audience feedback

ü  Ensure the right message meets the right people at the right time!

Simple ways to be happy and successful

• Ask for assignments at work to give you new experience—avoid comfort zone
• Build personal relationships, not phony internet connections
• Find what you enjoy and might help you long term. Work to Live, not live to work
• Multitasking is for marginal performers—focus on one thing
• Relax, it’s really just a game. 
• Seek professional growth and invest in your continuing skill development 

Six types that Prevent Change at Work

The “Unique” Change Resister their situation does not apply

The “Let Me Be Last” Change Resister wants to see others make mistakes

The “We Need More Time to Study” Change Resister  paralysis by analysis

The “Cost Justifier” Change Resister  the ROI Master

The “Incremental Change” Resister baby steps commitment

The “Positive” Change Resister pretends to agree, but raises ever so small doubts

from:  http://www.businessinsider.com/why-companies-cant-change-2013-4

Four Types of People at Work

Assertiveness vs Responsiveness 

Analyticals are people who are less assertive and less responsive. Emotionally restrained, they rarely compliment others or get excited. They are organized and systematic. They crave data — the more the better. They are slow decision makers because they want to make sure they have carefully weighed all the facts.

Amiables are, like analyticals, less assertive, but more responsive. Friendly and generous with their time, they are excellent team players. They aren’t flamboyant creators, but rather diligent, quiet workers who do what’s asked of them.

Expressives are, like amiables, more responsive. But they are also more assertive. They’re friendly and empathetic like amiables but aren’t as low-key about it. Flamboyant, energetic, and impulsive, they are the most outgoing of the People Styles.

Drivers are, like expressives, more assertive. But they are less responsive. Decisive and task-oriented, they focus intently on the job at hand. In conversations, they get right to the point. They are purposeful and energetic, just as expressives. But expressives are concerned about people as human beings. For drivers, there’s no time for such concerns.

Read more on http://www.businessinsider.com/4-behavioral-styles-that-determine-productivity-at-work-2013-5

Cross-Functional Integration Maturity Levels

STRONG

Effective Partnerships - Effective cross-functional integration, seamless interaction, sophisticated systems, effective use of information technology to achieve goals of another area, strong and transparent communication structures.

Data and Needs Resolution - Developing more proactive participation and collaboration mechanisms, efforts focused on developing a shared understanding of data and support needs, access to data, and resolving data quality issues.

Communication Development - Working towards better inter-department understanding and developing quality communication, begin getting more inter-dependent input in planning and decision-making processes, basic participation and collaboration occur.

Basic Understanding - Trust, basic understanding and appreciation are all issues to be resolved, interaction begins to focus on communication of basic information such as priorities and rationales for decision making, the medium and frequency of communication is very important.

Dis-Integration - Integration does not exist, open hostility or complete lack of understanding or trust might be present, there is little to no effective interaction related to the work relationship

NONE

User Request Fulfillment

Request fulfillment has a very high impact on user satisfaction.  Requests that are managed poorly, dropped, or not addressed on a timely basis will project a poor image of the ITOperations, and its ability to get things done. 

To facilitate effective communication with users, requests need to follow a predefined standard fulfillment procedure.  A documented model of approval time frames for each of the services being requested should be made available to users.  Thus, information about what request time frames are available will be easily accessible, so that all parties are absolutely clear on the scope.  This implies that available service requests are published to users as part of the service request communication or service catalog.  This information should be easily accessed, since it is the first source of information for users seeking access to service on timely basis.

Agreements or understanding with testers' time frames should be in place regarding standardized time frames for services available to users.  This assumes establishing self-help front-end capabilities that allow the users to interface successfully with the request fulfillment process.  These tools may provide an efficient front-end interface to the users.  It is essential that these are integrated with the back-end fulfillment process and tools, often managed through incident or change management.

As requests must be fulfilled in an efficient and timely manner that is aligned to agreed service level expectations for each type of requests, the percentage of service requests dropped due to improper time frame synchronization should be tracked.  Requests may be further categorized by authorization time frames and functional areas called to perform the testing.