How Do You Identify Process Improvement Opportunities

A process improvement opportunity (or chance to improve things) can arise from many sources, but it is not necessary for there to be an incident or complaint involved to make something worthwhile.

Processes that feel slow or cumbersome are often good targets for optimization because you can usually reduce the time it takes to complete them through simple changes.

There are several different types of opportunities available in any area of your organization, so how do you identify which ones exist? Here are some tips to help you get started.

This article will discuss five common ways to recognize potential process improvements and what qualities each type of opportunity typically has. By being aware of these characteristics, you’ll know what to look for when trying to find opportunities to optimize.

You’ll also learn about some easy tools and techniques you can use to assess the quality of your organization’s current processes. This can help you determine if there are any weaknesses you should address with your department leadership or external consultants.

Lastly, we'll talk about some strategies for implementing changes after identifying valuable processes and opportunities.

Watch how other companies are running their processes

A great way to identify potential process improvement opportunities is by looking at what others have done well, and then doing it better. By studying how other organizations run their functions, you can learn some valuable insights that can be applied to your workplace or area of responsibility.

This also means going beyond just watching TV or listening to music; instead, watch YouTube videos or listen to an audiobook to get solid information.

By diving into the work of successful businesses, you will find there are always ways to improve things we do every day. These improvements may seem small, but they make a big difference!

There are many different types of process improvement opportunities, so don’t feel like you need to only look in the areas where your organization has been before. Take a close look at how other departments handle their jobs and see if something could be adapted for use here.

Create a process map

A process improvement opportunity is any change that improves an existing process or creates a new one. The difference between making changes to processes and improving ones already have done so is just whether your changing what goes into the mix or doing it better.

Making changes for no reason is not process improvement. Redesigning something that has worked well before is not process improvement. Changing things because you want something different is not process improvement.

Process improvements are always looking to save time, reduce waste, enhance quality and increase efficiency. All of these apply to finding process improvement opportunities as an individual contributor or in leadership.

As a leader, you may need to look beyond the department or even the organization for opportunities. For example, if your company uses vendors that do business with many other companies, there may be ways to improve their internal processes.

You can also find opportunities at work through asking questions and seeking feedback, keeping meetings focused and using effective time management strategies.

Perform process reviews

A great way to identify potential opportunities for improvement is by performing a systematic review of your organization’s processes. This can be done at any time, not just during process changes or redesign projects – it should always be done!

Performing a process review doesn’t have to be very in-depth – sometimes a quick survey will do the trick. But if there are significant process changes happening, a full audit may be needed to determine whether improvements can be made and what changes need to be made.

Process audits don’t necessarily mean changing something completely, but looking into the details about how things work within a particular process can help streamline it and improve efficiency.

There are several ways to perform a process review. Some people choose to use video or chat tools to talk with team members outside of meeting spaces, while others conduct face-to-face interviews. It all depends on the size of the company and the level of trust that has been built between employees and their superiors.

Use the results of your process reviews

After you have done a thorough analysis of how things are currently run, it is time to look for ways to improve what goes on around you.

You should always start by looking at the results of past events to see what worked and what did not. By analyzing these success stories, you can determine which processes work well and could be adapted to fit in the organization more effectively.

Likewise, you can also find wasted resources or inefficient procedures that may no longer be needed. It is important to go through this step before actually changing anything, however.

It would be too easy to make changes without thinking about the implications first. Plus, we often times get attached to things that have made us feel comfortable in the past.

Running an internal review is definitely worth doing, but only if you know what you are looking for! Make sure to do your research and test out the new methods on a small scale before making any significant changes.

Use the 5 Whys method

The five why’s are an effective tool for identifying potential process improvement opportunities (PIAs). This technique was developed by W. Edward Deming in the 1950's, and it has since become one of the most popular tools used to gain insight into cause and effect relationships.

The how-to is simple - start with what you want to know and then ask "why?" that thing until you get a clear answer. Then repeat this step until no new answers arise.

Your final answer should be something like: "Because we wanted our team to work more effectively." or "To create a healthier environment for collaboration" or your own unique reasons that matter to you.

This can also help you identify barriers to implementing PIA concepts at your organization. One of the why questions could be “Why have we not implemented these before?”

Reflection time! Take some time today to apply the lesson learned about using the 5 Why's to identify PIAs. Make a list of all the things you identified as important targets for change.

Use disruptive innovation

Another way to identify opportunities is to look for things that are breaking down of current systems and creating new ones. This is what innovators do, they take existing concepts and products and make them better by removing features or replacing them with something different.

A great example of this is what happened with how people connect to social media sites. At first, it was just individuals posting messages on their own pages. As time went on, we had Twitter, then we had Facebook, and now we have almost every person having their own personal page on either site.

This isn’t too surprising though because we all know someone who has a facebook profile! It’s also not very original, but it’s still effective due to its simplicity.

What makes a lot of these “next-generation” sites successful though, is that instead of being simple, anonymous profiles where anyone can read anything, they create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing more information. This creates an overall feeling of trust which is why most people use them.

There may be some privacy settings here and there, but it doesn’t seem like much compared to what people gave up when leaving facebook behind.

Use the Kano model

The KANO Model is an effective way to identify process improvement opportunities. Developed by Drs. Thomas Kuhlen, Peter Cappillino, and John Lawler in the 1990’s, this method looks at the five factors that influence workplace performance to determine if there are opportunities for change.

The three main components of the KANO model include:

Attitude (of workers)

Environment (workplace conditions)

Resources (or tools available to perform tasks)

These can all play a role in determining how well employees work together and meet deadlines. If any one of these areas needs improving, it could hinder productivity or create a lack of motivation in others.

By looking for changes in these areas, you will be able to find possible opportunity gaps and make improvements before things get worse.

Use historical data

Historical data is a great way to identify potential process improvement opportunities. By looking at past performance, you can determine if your current practices are effective or not. If they are, then keep them!

If there have been changes made in how well things are done, chances are good that something was not doing its job very well before.

By analyzing past performances, we can sometimes find clues as to what may be limiting production now.

Remedying these limitations is often just a matter of changing one thing or another. So, by studying past results, we can learn about possible solutions to address ongoing issues.

Historical data analysis also helps us understand how effectively certain strategies work so that we can apply this knowledge to new projects.