Forget Process, Focus on People - Peter Leeson

@ITCAMPRO #ITCAMP17Community Conference for IT Professionals
FP2
Peter Leeson
Quality Manager White Clarke Group
pleeson@WhiteClarkeGroup.com
@PeterLeeson
Forget the Process;
Focus on the People!

Many thanks to our sponsors & partners!
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What are we trying to achieve?

The Deming Quality Chain
"Companies ... tend to focus only on the end result –
return on investment. This viewpoint is like trying to
keep a dog happy by forcibly wagging its tail."

Foundations of Quality
People
Process Technology

What do you need?

How do you make people happy?

Living Wages

Resources

Skills

Continuity

Stability

Plan

Methodology

View the Product

Vision

Environment

Leadership

Respect

Team

Support

Control

Voice

Recognition

Feedback

Trust

Eustress

Freedom in Framework

PUTTING IT INTO CONTEXT
This is not new

Maslow
Breathing, food, water, sex,
sleep, homeostasis, excretion
Security of body, employment,
resources, morality, the family,
health, property
Friendship, family, sexual
intimacy
Self-esteem, confidence,
achievement, respect of/by
others
Morality, creativity, spontaneity,
problem solving, lack of
prejudice, acceptance of facts
Creativity
Problem Solving
Lack of Prejudice
Acceptance of facts

SO, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THIS?

RESISTING CHANGE
Understand why people don’t want to change

Budget
If I do not meet my delivery date and budget, I am the
one who gets into trouble. Improving future projects is
a nice idea, but in the short term, I need my people do
deliver products.

Sales
Long-term investment in improvement programmes is
very nice, but I have short-term sales and delivery
figures to satisfy. The improvement programme
cannot take any resources or attention away from our
immediate priorities.

Control
This is my business, I am responsible, I made the
investment to get this business running. If I want an
engineer to work for me, today, I can ask that and get
it. I decide on the priorities because I am the only one
ultimately responsible.

Certification
The goal is simple: by being certified according to a
well-known standard, our quality will increase, won't
it?

Team
I know who are the good people in my team and I am
not ready to let them go. When there is no work, I will
keep them busy rather than let the other teams know
that my best people are ready to be poached away.
I know what my team members are doing, I can
control them without all that extra stuff.

Fear
The change is ignoring my experience in favour of
some theory. I have estimated and delivered projects
successfully for many years, now I need to fill in forms
and justify every decision. It only demonstrates a lack
of trust from management.

Documentation
Basically, it seems that this whole change programme
focuses on more documentation and bureaucracy and
the implementation of a whole lot of new buzz-words
which I do not understand, even though they all end-
up on my invoice.

Objectives
I am not really sure what is the ultimate goal of the
project on which I am working; there is no clear
outcome that I can deliver. My success is based
entirely on my faith in a consultant.

Image of Done
I am told that the objective is to improve our quality
and reduce costs, but I am also told that this will be
measured based on passing an audit at the end of next
year, and we need to have all the boxes ticked.

Sharing
This new approach is seeking to make me explain to
everyone else my personal knowledge and strengths -
as a result, my added-value will be lost and they can
make me redundant and send my job to Asia.
In addition to this, you are going to tell me that my
way of work is not valid and I have to work according
to your unproven theories.

Measurement
Measurements are being implemented to identify who
produces too little. They say it is to measure the
process and not the people, but I know my
management...

Understanding
I don't know why we are doing this. It is just the latest
fad...

ESTABLISHING DIRECTION
Deciding what to change
Deciding how to change
Deciding to change

Focused Change
Stable basis for change
QA

Always remember
• Performance Improvement is a culture change
–It is not easy
–It is completely dependent on management
–It can be highly successful if done correctly
–It requires you to change (and not only everyone else!)

But it’s worth it!
• The result will make life more predictable for you in
your daily work
• The result will remove the barriers that keep you
from being proud of your work
• The result will focus on fixing the system instead of
blaming the people

Q&A

Resources
• “Forget Process; Focus on People” (FP2):
–http://prezi.com/qm4wcnk_5hnb/forget-process-focus-
on-people/
• Can Process Make You Happy?
–http://www.slideshare.net/PeterLeeson/can-process-
make-you-happy-13828882
–http://vimeo.com/47411278

Forget Process, Focus on People - Peter Leeson

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