Category: Process Improvement
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Optimize the Whole
When we think in parts, we improve in parts. Most of the business improvement is the game of ‘sub-optimization’. You optimize pieces without looking at the whole. When a customer reports problem with your software, you do an incidental root cause analysis and address the code quality problem. You deploy tools, introduce new processes, measure […]
Tanmay Vora
On Simplifying Through Subtraction
I am on a mission to minimize. It started with this website which went minimal a few months back. It was hard to give up on all those fancy pages, content and images that I had created before. I kept adding more pages to this website till it started feeling like a burden. Now that […]
Tanmay Vora
Measuring Right Things: Utilization Versus Efficiency
In manufacturing world, there is a direct correlation between how much machines are utilized and how much they produce. This works because machines do the work that is non-linear and there is very little variation in producing exactly same unit of work. Utilization is the extent to which installed capacity performs actual work. Less idle […]
Tanmay Vora
Book Announcement: Implementing Lean Six Sigma in 30 Days
I am so glad to announce that my next book is just released. It is an actionable guide titled “Implementing Lean Six Sigma in 30 Days” that aims to help readers in understanding the Lean Six Sigma methodology and solve problems that undermine quality and inhibit efficiency. This book is for business owners, quality improvement […]
Tanmay Vora
Consulting, Content and Context: A Fable
It was the first day of his job as a consultant with this large consulting house. The consultant entered the office and walked across the corridor confidently, armed with his knowledge about methodologies, tools and best practices. In next few weeks of his induction, the challenge was to apply his knowledge on several simulated situations […]
Tanmay Vora
Hansei and 6 Pitfalls to Avoid in Reflective Exercises
As individuals, teams and organizations, how much we learn from our past is critical for our improvement and future success. Hansei (meaning self-reflection) is an important part of Japanese culture – an exercise undertaken to look at past mistakes, outline the lessons and pledge to act on those lessons. According to Wikipedia, “Han" means to […]
Tanmay Vora
What We Need: Compassionate Compliance
Compliance stems from our need to ensure certainty, reduce variability and adhere to a certain structure or model. Compliance may be explicit (e.g. to a certain process model like ISO) or it may be implicit (e.g. to a certain specific belief system, way of working or ideology). Focusing on compliance means that you have a […]