A description and comparison of Continuous Improvement cycles for online training provision at Edinburgh Napier University.

1. Improvement Cycles

2. DMAIC Cycle Explained
Define the problem and state goals
• Define who customers are, what the requirements are for products/services and their Critical to Quality (CTQ) issues
• Define the core business process involved, the stop and start of the process and project boundaries
• Define the process to be improved by mapping the process
• Define what the objectives are of the project
Measure the performance of the core business process involved
• Develop a data collection plan for the process
• Collect data from many sources to determine types of defects and metrics
• Compare to customer specifications to determine gap
Analyse the data and the process map collected to determine root causes of defects and opportunities for improvement
• Identify gaps between current performance and goal performance
• Identify sources of variation
• Prioritize opportunities to improve
Control the improvements to keep the process on the new course.
• Prevent reverting back to the "old way"
• Require the development, documentation and implementation of an on-going monitoring plan
• Institutionalize the improvements through the modification of systems and structures (staffing, training, incentives)
Improve the target process by designing creative solutions to fix and prevent problems
• Work with process experts to brainstorm and develop ideas
• Create and trial innovative solutions, try to error proof(systems solutions, validation, checkpoints) your solutions
• Develop and deploy implementation plan

3. PDCA Cycle Explained
Plan: Understand purpose
• Establish the processes involved and the scope
• Understand the objectives of the work (target/goal)
• Agree outputs of project
• Propose timescales
Do: Experiment to improve
• Implement plan
• Implement new process/product
• Collect data
Check: Measure against purpose
• Analyse actual results- from DO step above
• Compare results from expected (target or goals from PLAN)
• Understand what information data and analysis is telling you
Act/Adjust: Implement Learning (traditional step is Act more recently some people are using Adjust to distinguish more
clearly between DO and ACT steps
• Complete corrective actions on variance outside agreed specification
• Determine root causes
• Improve performance