a3 management (part 2 of 2)

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A3 Management: From Structured

Problem-Solving to Workforce

Development

Part II of II

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© 2011 Karen Martin & Associates

Your Instructor

Early career as a scientist; migrated to

quality & operations design in the mid-80’s.

Launched Karen Martin & Associates in

1993.

Specialize in Lean transformations in non-

manufacturing environments.

Co-author of The Kaizen Event Planner;

co-developer of Metrics-Based Process

Mapping: An Excel-Based Solution.

Instructor in University of California, San

Diego’s Lean Enterprise program.

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Karen Martin,

Principal

Karen Martin &

Associates


PDCA: Plan Stage

3

Primary

problem-solving

role:

Investigator


PDCA: Do-Check-Act Stages

4

Primary

problem-solving

role:

Director

Common Components of the A3 Report

Theme: ________________________________ Owner: ________________________________

Plan Do, Check, Act

Background

Current Condition

Countermeasures / Implementation Plan

Effect Confirmation

Follow-up Actions

Target Condition / Measurable Objectives

Root Cause & Gap Analysis


Theme: “What is our area of focus?” Owner: Person accountable for results.

Plan Do, Check, Act

Background

Current Condition


Effect Confirmation

Follow-up Actions

• What?

• Who?

• When?

• Where? (if relevant)


• Diagram of desired state

• Measurable targets – how will we know that

the improvement has been successful?

• Diagram of current situation or process

• What about it is not ideal?

• Extent of the problem (metrics)

• Problem statement

• Context - why is this a problem?


• Graphical depiction of the most likely direct

(root) causes

• What measurable results did the solution

achieve (or will be measured to verify

effectiveness)?

• Who’s responsible for ongoing

measurement?

• Where else in the organization can this

solution be applied?

• How will the improved state be standardized

and communicated?

Building a Lean Enterprise

Process

Stabilization

Tools

Building a Lean Enterprise

Flow-Enabling

Tools


Once you know the root cause,

brainstorm and prioritize solutions

1. List relevant countermeasures.

2. Eliminate those that aren’t possible.

Regulatory, budgetary, resource availability,

system capability, etc.

3. Combine those that are similar.

4. Number the countermeasures sequentially.

5. Place countermeasures accordingly on the

PACE Prioritization Grid.

PACE Prioritization Grid

High Low Anticipated Benefit

Ease o

f Im

ple

men

tati

on

Dif

fic

ult

E

as

y

20

7

5 13

4 23

1

22 8 9

2

10

16

11

6

12

14 19

15

17

3 21

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Consider all options

Be innovate – be willing to challenge your paradigms & help

others challenge theirs.

Make sure the countermeasure is directly very

specifically to the root causes.

Make it clear exactly what will be done – by whom, by

when, where, how, in what order, etc.

Aim for full implementation by a certain date.

The problem owner’s role shifts to advocate and project

manager.

Cross-functional involvement & consensus is a key

success factor.

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Implementation /

Countermeasures

Sample Implementation Plan

Task Type Accountable Implementation Schedule (weeks)

Progress Date

Complete 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Create visual board to track KPIs. KE Mary W. 100 25

75 50

Clearn up data base. Proj George S. 100 25

75 50

Create self-quality checklist. KE Sally R. 100 25

75 50

Create standard template. KE Sally R. 100 25

75 50

Modify weekly report. JDI Bruce M. 100 25

9/22/2010 75 50

100 25

75 50

100 25

75 50

100 25

75 50

100 25

75 50

100 25

75 50

Type: JDI = Just do it; KE = Kaizen Event; Proj = Project

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Sample A3




Plan Do, Check, Act

Background

Current Condition


Effect Confirmation

Follow-up Actions

• What?

• Who?

• When?













(root) causes



effectiveness)?


measurement?




and communicated?


The A3 Report:

Effect Confirmation

Tie confirmation directly to the target condition.

Define 2-5 key performance indicators (KPIs).

Determine ways to verify the effectiveness of the

countermeasures, one by one if possible.

Plan in advance for the data that will need to be

collected.

Identify who will help collect the data and how

frequently.



Plan Do, Check, Act

Background

Current Condition


Effect Confirmation

Follow-up Actions

• What?

• Who?

• When?













(root) causes



effectiveness)?


measurement?




and communicated?


The A3 Report:

Follow-up Actions

How will you communicate the new process?

Who will monitor the process?

Which metrics will be used to measure ongoing performance?

Look for similar processes within the department and across the organization that can benefit from these countermeasures

Ensure ongoing improvement – who will do this?

Share the wealth! Communicate results across the organization and teach

others to problem-solve via the A3 process

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Sample Effect Confirmation Option

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Metric Current

State

Projected

Future State

Projected %

Improvement

Actual

Results *

Actual %

Improvement

Lead Time 36 Days 16 Days 56% 20 Days 44%

Rolled First Pass Yield 55% 75% 36% 80% 45%

Scrap $1.2 M $0.5 M 58% TBD TBD

Labor Effort 5.6 FTEs 3.0 FTEs 46% 3.8 FTEs 32%

* Measured by Sally Turner on 8/20/2010; monthly measurement;

improvement efforts continuing.

Effect Confirmation & Follow-up

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Sample A3

Effect Confirmation & Follow-up Actions

Follow-up Actions

Effect Confirmation

When Are You “Done”?

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Deming’s PDCA Cycle

Plan

Do

Check

Act

Develop

hypothesis

& design

experiment

Conduct

experiment

Measure

results

Analyze

results &

take

appropriate

action


Using A3 to develop

organizational

capabilities

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The Role of the A3 Coach

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Coaching and Mentoring

Coaching is working in partnership to facilitate learning, improve performance, and create desired results. Primarily in service of the A3 owner’s development.

To this end, what will be most supportive?

Mentoring is the process for imparting subject matter expertise and wisdom to a less experienced person. Primarily in service of achieving results.

More of a one-way, training-driven relationship

Begin with coaching; move into mentoring as needed.

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Mentoring Relationship Coaching Relationship

? ?

Focus: Asking questions Focus: Providing information

Wisdom Wisdom

Coach Coachee Mentor

?

? ? ?

Mentee


Problem-Solving Proficiency

Needed

Lean analytical, process design, and

implementation tools

Data analysis

Visual display of data

Project & time management

Team building / people skills

Change management skills / psychology

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Coaching vs. Mentoring

Coach Mentor

Purpose Growth/development; helping people realize their potential,

while also generating results

Role Teacher/consultant; learning/thinking partner

Relationship Built on respect and trust; supportive in nature

Process

Drawing out knowledge that

resides within coachee

Sharing knowledge that

resides within mentor

Questioning; coach engages

in inquiry to guide the

coachee

Telling; Mentor shares

expertise, offering answers

and solutions

Focus Primary: Developing strong

problem-solvers

Secondary: Assuring the

problem is thoroughly

dissected and solved

Primary: Assuring the

problem is thoroughly

dissected and solved

Secondary: Developing

strong problem-solvers

The Wisdom Comes in Knowing When

to Coach and When to Mentor

Types of Coaching Owner’s Problem-Solving

Skill Level

Focus During Session

What to Ask / Do

Problem-solving is spot on. Coaching

Goal: “Thought

partners”

“How’s it going?”

“What’s working well?”

“What’s not?”

“What have you learned?”

“What’s been most

surprising?”

“What are you doing next?”

“Do you need any help?”

Problem-solving is off course

and needs correction.

Coaching & Mentoring

Goal: Get person back

on track

Probe using Socratic

questioning. Focus on one

or two areas of the A3.

Problem-solving is on track

so far, but owner’s having

difficulty taking next steps.

Coaching & Mentoring

Goal: Build confidence;

remove obstacles;

create an action plan

Use Socratic questioning to

help person realize his/her

strengths & grow

competencies; provide

mentoring for knowledge

transfer (e.g. specific tools).


Why should we avoid telling

people what to do?

It robs them of the opportunity to think

through the problem themselves.

It deprives them of ownership of the

problem.

You might be wrong.

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Socratic Questioning

Named for Socrates

Based on his belief that the

most effective learning results

from a disciplined practice of

thoughtful questioning.

Way of assuring “rigorous

thinking”

Open-ended questions that

cause the learner to think

deeply.

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Questioning “Don’ts”

Masked recommendations

“Leading the witness”

Disguising your recommendation as a question (and

thinking that counts as a question)

“Run on” questions

Long questions that contain multiple questions

“The inquisition” – asking question after question

Instead of pausing and allowing the person to answer

Closed-ended questions

That can be answered with yes, no, or a word or two.

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Questioning “Don’ts”

Harsh or judgmental tone

Multi-tasking or half-listening instead of

engaging the person in a focused dialogue

If the problem owner asks, “What do you

think?”, don’t take the bait!

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Building Organizational Capabilities –

Model 1 – Leadership Development

Pre-select 4 problems related to annual business goals.

Break into 4 teams; team lead is the problem owner; others

play dual role, focused primarily on building coaching skills.

1-day workshop – learn P stage of PDCA.

4-6 weeks to work on projects; heavy support throughout

from seasoned coach/mentor (2nd coach).

1-day workshop – teams present progress; much discussion;

learn DCA stage of PDCA.

4-6 weeks to work on projects; heavy support throughout

from seasoned coach/mentor (2nd coach).

1-day workshop – teams present progress; focus on

sustainability and spreading the learning across the

organization.

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Building Organizational Capabilities –

Model 2 – One-on-One Development

Specific problem is selected.

Identify problem owner and coach/mentor (typically

the project owner’s direct supervisor).

Seasoned coach/mentor serves as either:

“2nd coach” – coaches the coach (if coach is skilled in

improvement tools)

Primary coach to problem owner, with side-bar coaching

discussions with coach.

Support from seasoned coach is heaviest during the

P stage of PDCA.

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How A3 Shifts Culture

Cross-functional engagement

Root cause analysis helps break the

“band-aid syndrome”

Learning together

Alignment with organizational strategy

Coaching role of leadership helps move

them away from tactical involvement

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Common Problem-Solving Pitfalls

Problem isn’t tied to key business goals.

Problem owner isn’t proficient in analytical and

improvement tools.

Coach isn’t proficient in analytical and

improvement tools.

Consensus isn’t built throughout the process.

A3 drags on forever.

A3 used for everything.

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Comment on how A3s and VSMs relate to one another, and which

one to turn to in the beginning.


Key Success Factors

Engage all stakeholders from the beginning.

They must clearly understand why “this” is a problem.

Gain consensus every stage of PDCA.

Keep leadership from getting into tactics.

Their role is strategy and policy.

Test/experiment before rolling out an improvement.

Assign clear accountability for monitoring the improved

state and continued improvement.

Avoid moving forward until true root cause is known.

Establish measurable targets.

Develop leaders into engaged and active coaches/mentors.

Share the process company-wide.

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In Summary

The A3 process should become a

standardized form of currency for problem-

solving, dialogue, and decision-making in

your organization – creating an organization

of “scientists” who continually improve

operations and achieve results through

constant learning from the work at hand.

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Other A3 Applications and

Common A3 Components

Proposal

Theme

Background

Current Condition

Analysis and Proposal

Plan Details

Unresolved Issues (if

relevant)

Implementation

Schedule

Total Effect

Status Report

Theme

Background

Current Condition

Results

Unresolved Issues /

Follow-up Actions

Total Effect

During Kaizen Events

Professional Development A3

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For Further Study

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a3 management (part 2 of 2)

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