The Right Side of the A3

Description of the Components of the A3

Countermeasures

Identify countermeasure(s) to eliminate the root cause(s): we either get paralyzed by analysis or we jump to this point, offering solutions too quickly. If the problem is well-defined and the root cause is verified then the appropriate countermeasures are seldom difficult. This is where if you walk away saying “I knew that” it’s not that bad a situation. Countermeasures are the changes to be made to the processes by addressing root cause. They should move the organization towards reducing the specified gap.

Why waste everyone’s time: Some may have been thinking that we have been wasting our
1. time. But changing the process without the data is cause for failure. You have heard it time and time again, JUST DO IT! We have been trained that way, action is accomplishment. But the wrong action may accomplish little or drive you deeper into a hole. Without the data from the previous steps, you will not be able to make the effective and dramatic improvements that you desire. Seek 200% process improvements and cost reductions of half! If you have defined, measured, and analyzed, if nothing else you are one smart cookie. More importantly, if your team has survived, this is the stage where they will come back together and the excitement can be re-kindled. Let’s put it all into action: In the improve stage, we must find and implement solutions that will eliminate the cause of problems. We typically go through a five-step process.
  1. Generate ideas
  2. Refine ideas
  3. Select a solution
  4. Test
  5. Implement
I have a tendency to use two different tools at this point, an impact/effort matrix and a tree diagram. As we are generating ideas, we are refining ideas. If we can place the ideas in the impact/effort matrix it simplifies the solution process. So, after you are done brainstorming using the famous Post-It notes method, just post the notes into their appropriate squares, as you see fit. You may even segment them in the squares themselves as you are reviewing them. Ask yourself “Is this easier to do than that?” Or “Will this have minimum impact from a customer standpoint”. It is even great to have an online focus group of customers, operations, sales, etc., who are willing to participate and pick which solutions will have the greatest impact.

So let’s say we have narrowed our solutions and we have two or three really good ideas but have difficulty deciding on which one to test. A tree diagram is what I use. The reason I wait to this stage is that I do not want to limit any ideas at the beginning. Using the tree diagram allows me to expand on each idea and drill down on how difficult it will be to implement and the exact strategies and tactics and even resources that may be needed.

Testing follows a project planning guideline that is somewhat beyond the scope of this blog post, but it is a mini-project in itself with one more important ingredient. Ask yourself two questions: “Did we get the results we wanted?” and “Did we follow the procedures outline?” Don’t fall so in love with your idea that you compromise the results.

After the testing, we are actually ready to implement, except we have to put some controls in for stability of the process! Don’t settle for routine improvements. If you want your creative juices to flow, push yourself to eliminate and make radical improvement of 200% or more. Seek cost reductions of half or more. Go for it!
Create a Criteria Matrix to evaluate countermeasure(s): A criteria matrix is a tool used to choose among several possible items that need to be weighed against several key factors. It promotes the use of data and facts to facilitate decision making. A matrix is usually nothing more than a table with specifications written in rows and then the weights of those rows depicted in numbers by the data down.
Predict short- and long-term results of each countermeasure: They differ! You must weigh the long-term effects versus short-term. New commission structures established for short-term gains may be very down the road. You may set an expectation either internally or externally (which is more difficult to control) with short-term thinking.
Gain team consensus, select countermeasure(s) and document why: You have all this data in front of you and you are ready to act. Acting as a team to move forward is imperative. Reach consensus and select which countermeasures to act on and give the business reason for doing so. There is no better way to reach consensus than for everyone to understand why you are doing it. At this point it should be obvious, and if it is, document it. If it is not, find out why it is not… It sounds really simple but ambiguity here when there is absolutely no reason for it will reduce the clarity needed to carry out and implement the plan.

Future State

What does the customer really need: Identifying the CTQs is very important to us, as is working on the items that provide value to the customer. If a customer does not value the action, why would you do it? Anytime it comes to prioritization, people will have a tendency to pick the low-hanging fruit. Why not prioritize by the importance the customer sees and by the most profitable segment of your business? This will make a greater impact in your efforts and achieve the greatest results.
How often will we check our performance to customer needs: What happens if before you complete this project your competitor comes out with a new gadget that makes yours obsolete? Will that cause you to change your way of thinking? Certainly! Set parameters on how often metrics need to be looked at. One of the ways to decide this is by determining how often you are going to use the data. If you are only going to react to it once a month, the collection could be continuous but continuous accessibility may not be needed.
Which steps create value and which steps are waste: In a typical value stream it is important to understand value-added and non-value-added steps. It will help you prioritize the work and also, discovering that you are working on a step that is not a priority or that a customer deems foolish is, well, not a good use of your time. However, some non-value-added steps from a customer perspective may add value to your organization. The question still might be “Why we are doing it?” but that probably is beyond the scope of your A3 at this point and time.
How can we flow work with fewer interruptions: One item that we always need to consider is hand-offs, moving from one stage to the next. “The more hand-offs, the more room for errors” is a pretty good rule of thumb. “Continuous delivery, continuous work” used to be the old axiom for success. Seldom is that possible but the flow of work to the customer on a continuous state would be very good collaboration, so don’t hesitate to consider looking for ways to do that.
How do we control work between interruptions, and how will work be triggered and prioritized: Building a future state for work can be a tricky process. This work needs to be identified and prioritized. Work standing still is not a bad thing if it does not affect the overall flow of the project… This is where Kanban can be a very effective tool.

Implementation

Gain team consensus on execution plan (What, Who, Where, When); Make an Excel spreadsheet and carry out the plan. Define your 4 Ws map and get on with it. If you leave blanks in this map, there probably will be blanks in the execution process of it. I like to use the one-page project manager (1PPM) which is an excellent reporting form to use in conjunction with the A3. The author, Clarke Clifford, has even written a book about using the 1PPM with A3s. I sometimes embed the 1PPM in the electronic A3 or print them out on an A3 sheet on the back of the A3 (I know that is cheating) so that the entire process can be shown.
Have task, timelines, owners, costs, and reports been assigned: This is basic project management. If they have not been assigned individually or as part of a team effort, they will not get done and as a result may cause unneeded complications at a later date or even threaten completion of the project.
Have daily/weekly stand-up meetings been scheduled: I love stand-up meetings even with my virtual clients when I use Skype. Just saying good morning and hearing what each of us will be working on today makes for great community and maintaining connections. You may not be included in each other’s plans that day and you may say “the next time we need to talk it’s on a certain day” but take advantage of it so that the relationship can be maintained. Without communication, projects wander off course and the urgency leaves.
Have control points been well-defined: Control points are touch points within your organization to determine how well things are going. They can help determine whether all the goals within a stage have been achieved successfully and whether the project can progress to the next stage.A control point review help determine whether all the goals within each stage have been achieved successfully and whether the project can progress to the next stage. Many reviews fail due to lack of preparation. If you are going to have a control point review, prepare for it. This should include a minimum of a check sheet, a milestone list, deliverable documents, etc., for review. This could even be an automated process that the customer knowingly or even unknowingly completes.

Follow-up

Was the activity/problem a success: Sing your praise! One of the main purposes of using A3 in marketing is that we start providing quantified and measured data to others.
Was the gap closed according to the target metrics: Demonstrate the difference in the gap that you identified. This is what the entire process was about. It may be fine to talk about everything else that may have resulted from the process, but the first topics addressed should be “Was the target metric used”, “Did you close the gap”, and “By how much?”
Did you standardize the new process or procedures: This is particularly important if you are not closing the entire process out at this stage. If this process is going to be continued or if this process was improved, then it should be standardized so that it becomes part of the regular routine. When you start a continuous improvement process such as Lean or Six Sigma, many times you will get that initial surge and after some additional hard work, you might feel that you have developed a good process for continuous improvement. You’re happy and the employees are happy and things could not be better! Then it stops…why? Our basic instinct is that we have a tendency to keep things as they are even if they aren’t very good. We resist all change. If you have been doing something one way for 20 years, a 60-day improvement is minuscule in comparison. I was always taught when training bird dogs that once a habit is created it takes at least twice as long to break it. There are exceptions if a traumatic or an extraordinary circumstance takes place but for the most part it takes time. If an organizational culture change incurs large resistance, it may be because it is a really terrible idea or a really good idea. Small incremental improvements meet the least amount of resistance and are a much easier way to gain acceptance.
Did you reflect and note successes and failures of process chosen? This is the time you improve on how you do the A3 process. This is not about the problem you solved but the process you used in solving the problem. Continuous improvement (CI) is also about improving the way you utilized A3 and what you must do to improve the way you manage the process of improvement. Very important and also suggest to the standard process should be used as the result of this. CI is an important part of all aspects of your business. Team improvement, team communications do not improve with an effort to improve them.
Create a simple review process of the A3:
- The Problem. Was the problem well enough defined? Were you able to find the point of concern and root cause as a result?
- The Application. Once your organization decided to use A3 and transform its processes, how did you go about doing it? What were the first steps you took? Was it an organization-wide adoption or just on the team level? Did you use training or tools?
- The Solution. What was the result? Can you quantify the improvements that the A3 process helped realize?
- Assembly: Was the assembly simple or time-consuming to create?
- Fun Factor: Did team members and others like it? Did it provide buzz or word of mouth as a result? How far did it extend itself from its natural boundaries?
- Educational Factor: Is it educational? Does it encourage other discussion?
- Novelty Factor: Was it unique? Seen before? Is it enjoyable? Have other teams been able to use your A3 to help in other areas?
Did you communicate with others on this performance: A true knowledge and continuous improvement culture does not exist unless successes and failures are shared. This must become a standard part of the way you do business. Overcoming this gap is very important because this is a key Lean term in respect of people. Many times people don’t share because they are not sure how it will get interpreted. Lean makes the case to find problems with the process, not the people. This is the ultimate goal. If your people are afraid of sharing, then you will have difficulty operating in the collaborative culture that exists today. Collaboration is what is creating the competitive advantage for most organizations and this must start with assigning blame within your organization before success can be realized outside the organization. Every team member should be able to tell the story of the A3. Think of the A3 as a simple storytelling process. Using the A3 as a backdrop, you walk through the process of defining the problem, the overall vision of the process, highlighting the gaps you hope to close, the critical issues you need to address to do this, the implementation, and the follow up.
Are there any unresolved issues remaining and what happens to them: It is ok to have unresolved issues. They may just be issues that were unresolved because there was not enough value in doing them at the time or they may have been too far off in the distant future and beyond the scope of this project. There should be a type of closure to the A3 and those unresolved issues should be noted and if necessary referred through proper channels. What is important is that they are noted and that there is a way for the appropriate people to decide whether or not to act. What happens to them should just be part of the report.
Can gains be sustained without further action: What is the sense in all the effort if it is just going to return to the present? One of the biggest reasons for failures is the hand-offs between different projects, teams or even stages in marketing. All that may be needed is a simple tickle file for this A3 to be reviewed in 90 days. It may require documentation to move the process to another team or department. If you want your sales and marketing to improve, this area should be addressed.

A3 Problem Solving Example (cont.) – Right Side

Countermeasures: Countermeasures are the actions steps you are considering. This is a good time to start brainstorming and then organizing your thought process. Pick out the best ideas and create a criteria matrix to evaluate the ideas. In our example below we selected seven countermeasures and evaluated them.

We chose 4 of the 7 to implement: Telephone Solicitations, Purchase Database (mail and phone numbers), Advertise in Hospital Newsletters and Direct Mail in support of solicitations and follow-up. The implementation plan started 120 days prior to the workshop. Implementation: Bill worked out a payment plan with the call center if they met their targets, which would mean that we would meet our gap of 30%, they would receive a bonus of an additional $800 bringing their total to $4,000. On the other hand if we did not reach 15% of our gap that could be directly attributed to them our payment would be $2,500 versus the $3,200.

Follow up:

We failed to meet our goal of 30% but came very close at a 25% increase in attendance.
Though we had high hopes for the call center, we felt that their efforts fell short and required us to make direct phone calls and follow ups after their initial conversations and our follow-up mailings. We ended up paying them $3,000
The added increases in participants were primarily from the healthcare related fields. The other areas still stayed sluggish and in fact may have even dropped slightly.
The local advertising that Jennifer created proved to be an excellent source of leads. We felt that a dedicated phone line in the future with the option of talking to a live person or requesting information through automation may assist us in the future.
Lack of testimonials from like professionals would have helped us especially from leaders in the healthcare field. We did gather a few at the conference to assist us in future workshops.
As a result of this A3, we recommended and received approval to update all databases.

Bonus Material: Jamie Flinchbaugh is the co-author of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Lean: Lessons from the Road and co-founder and partner of the Lean Learning Center. The JamieFlinchbaugh.com blog is a frequent stop of mine and many other lean practitioners. Jamie says about control points:

Ever have the strange feeling that something big is wrong, but you don’t know what it is? This common disease is hereditary in one species: the manager. Most managers spend too much time firefighting. One of their biggest fears is that there may be larger fires they don’t know about. Different managers deal with it in different ways. Some use “management by walking around” to look for signs that something isn’t right. Others insist on knowing every detail instantly. If they know everything, then there can be no hidden problems.

Managing by control points is the only cure. Control points are the variables that indicate what is really going on in the organization.

Start the process of managing control points by identifying the points you already have. There are two dimensions to consider. First, determine how proactively you can manage the control point. Can you be predictive or just reactive? Next, determine if the control point can be managed manually or automatically. If a person is needed to find a problem, it’s a manual control point. If the problem puts its hand in the air and says, “Here I am,” it can be managed automatically.

Podcast: Can Control Points add Value in Lean? eBook: Using Control Points to Manage in Lean