How to Improve Flow Dramatically
How to Improve Flow Dramatically
Every challenging situation or thing is a flow-system - and so benefits from the application counter-intuitive of dramatic improvement flow-improvement patterns.
How to Improve Flow Dramatically
- Flow-RATE Acceleration is increasing the volume produced by the situation or thing per time.
- Flow-TIME Reduction is reducing how long it takes to produce each outcome or thing.
- Flow-QUALITY Optimisation is improving the value of what's produced.
- Flow-COST Containment is reducing how much investment is required.
- Flow-State Enablement is deliberately jumping into and remaining in a mental flow-state.
Flow-Rate Acceleration
A set of simple, counter-intuitive steps to improve the flow-rate of any system, process, programme, situation or thing dramatically.
Flow-Rate Acceleration
- Draw the flow.
- Identify the end-to-end bottleneck.
- Optimise the bottleneck for performance.
- Introduce QC immediately before the bottleneck.
- Choke the inflow to match the bottleneck's.
- Buffer the bottleneck to protect it.
- Introduce pre- and post-processing.
- Add bottleneck capacity.
Flow-Time Reduction
A set of simple, counter-intuitive steps to reduce the cycle-time of any system, process, programme situation or thing dramatically.
Flow-Time Reduction
Flow-time is related to, but distinct from flow-rate. Flow-rate affects flow-time, but there are other things that contribute to flow-time, including:
- Rework time.
- Wait-time.
- Setup-time.
- Processing time.
- Curing time.
- Travel-time.
Flow-Quality Optimisation
A set of simple, counter-intuitive steps to enhance the quality of any system, process, programme, situation or thing - dramatically.
Flow-Quality Optimisation
The cost of perfection is infinite, so the objective is to optimise quality, rather than to maximise it.
- Assess the target against the primary quality dimensions (Performance|Features|Reliability| Conformance|Durability|Serviceability|Aesthetics|
Perception) - Draw the quality flow-system for each dimension.
- Identify the key intervention point to improve/ degrade quality.
- Intervene in stages.
Flow-Cost Containment
A set of simple, counter-intuitive steps to reduce the cost of any system, process, programme, situation or thing dramatically.
Flow-Cost Containment
The opportunity for cost reduction is limited to zero, so the objective is to contain rather than minimise costs to avoid compromising Flow-Rate, -Time, -Quality and -State)
- Identify the primary cost contributors, like Labour|Materials|Waste|Services|Utilities|Inventory |Advertising|Sales in the direct and indirect fixed, variable, extraordinary etc categories (e.g. TIMWOOD).
- Draw the cost flow-system and identify ways of containing cost at the ideal intervention points.
Flow-State Enablement
Free up time and energy lost (easily a day a week) in seemingly unavoidable multitasking.
Gain not only time and throughput, but also increased customer satisfaction and accelerated capability and collaboration, in the process.
Flow-State Enablement
Here is a starting set of simple techniques for reducing the seemingly unavoidable costs multitasking:
- Task Completion.
- Task Batching.
- FocusTimes.
- Interruption Windows.
- Scheduled Catch-Ups.
- Interruption Processing Slot.
- Cognitive Momentum Caching.
