Deming Chain Reaction

You took a mystery and made me want it
You got a pedestal and put me on it
You made me love you out of feeling nothing
Something that you do

These are the words to the song, Chain Reaction. However, this post is about the Deming Chain Reaction … something entirely different!

In a nutshell: One of the main purposes of having quality products and processes is less rework. Definitions of what is acceptable and what is unacceptable make the worker’s job possible. Clear operational definitions are critical.

In fact:

Creating true quality metrics is the basis behind Taguchi’s loss function and Deming’s chain reaction. The ability to create true quality metrics has been one of the biggest differentiators between successful and unsuccessful Six Sigma initiatives.

As quality improves your productivity improves because you have less rework, fewer in process delays, better use of machine time and manpower. This means that your costs are less and you are able to go to the market with a higher quality produce that costs a less to produce. You now have a competitive advantage in the marketplace, which enables you to capture the market, grow the company, and create jobs and more jobs. Deming stressed worker pride and satisfaction and considered it management’s job to improve the process, not the worker.

To address the first box in the chain reaction (improve quality), management must adopt the 14 principles of management and understand the statistical approach to process improvement. To appreciate fully the meaning of improving quality in Deming’s chain reaction, an understanding of the concept of variation is required.

There is no doubt that this model works. We see evidence of it all around us and in those markets where head to head competition is seen, this model dominates in every case. Note that. Not half the time; but every time.

Heuristic Redefinition

What are the Seven Creativity Tools?

The Seven Creativity Tools are a result of the work of Dr. Helmut Schlisksupp of the University of Heidelberg in Germany. He first researched creativity methods and techniques while working with a subsidiary of the Battelle Institute in Germany over 25 years ago. Subsequent work in applying creativity techniques in business applications resulted in the definition of 42 distinct creativity methods that he grouped into seven sets of tools. These tools include:

1. Heuristic Redefinition
2. Class Brainstorming
3. Brainwriting 6-3-5
4. Imaginary Brainstorming
5. Word-Picture Association and Analogies
6. TILMAG
7. the Morphological Box

In this post, I’ll look at Heuristic Redefinition:

In summary:

Heuristic redefinition is a two-step process that begins by creating a visual presentation of a problem. This is followed by a systematic evaluation to search for the optimal solution to the problem. Development of a visual presentation is encouraged. It is accomplished by having a team draw a picture of the overall system as well as symbols or icons for the most important components of the problem.

The visualization process clarifies the problem as a system because the resulting picture reveals system components, its subsystems, and interrelationships expressed in terms of a specified goal.

Potential concerns, articulated as questions, are formed based on these interrelationships. The questions are systematically evaluated using a prioritization matrix where the likelihood of success, the effort needed, and the quality of the results of each are noted. Finally, the team discusses which concern is best suited in terms of success, opportunities, and/or innovations.

Five Steps of the Heuristic Redefinition Process (HRP)

These are defined as

1. Define goals and opportunities. Objectives must be clearly stated. Is it a process metric that needs improvement? Is there functionality that needs to be integrated into the current system or process? Is there an undesirable effect to be reduced or eliminated?
2. Map the process or system. Each step of the process or constituent element of the system must be identified. While this most often takes the form of a process map (a.k.a. wall-map, functional map or diagram, flowchart, swim lanes), systems are sometimes described using inter-relational diagraphs or tree representations.
3. Express impact of each step or element. Each process step or system element is analyzed in turn. How does this step or element support the process or system? What is its role? What are its effects – both useful and harmful? The answers are ideally expressed fewer than five words; if more are needed, this could be an indication that Step 2 is incomplete ( i.e., has not been sufficiently expanded).
4. Link each impact back to each goal. While Step 3 focuses on putting each step or element in context within the process or system, this step expressly contrasts the impact of each step or element with the objectives set forth in Step 1. How does this step or element support the goal(s)? How is it leveraged to realize the opportunity? How does it contribute to the problem? The output is then phrased as a question that defines the new problem to solve.
5. Organize and consolidate statements. Finally, all problem statements that were generated need to be organized. Are there recurrent themes? If so, they may point to a powerful opportunity in that one solution may address several problem statements. Are there interactions among steps or elements? Perhaps there are synergies or contradictions that can be worked on. Is the problem statement stand-alone or isolated? Then there is an opportunity to work on a focused, well-scoped problem.

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