Process Improvement Flashcards

After a successful pilot, what should a leader do to keep the improvement from slipping back to old habits?

Answer: Document standard work and set up ongoing monitoring

Standardizing and monitoring the new method locks in the gains, matching the 'Act' and 'Control' phases.

When coaching a leader through employee resistance to a process change, which approach is most effective?

Answer: Involving employees in diagnosing problems and designing solutions

Involvement builds ownership and lowers resistance because people help shape the change.

Value stream mapping is primarily used to do what?

Answer: Visualize the flow of materials and information to find waste

A value stream map shows each step, its time, and its delays from start to finish, exposing value-added and non-value-added activity.

A team brainstorms dozens of ideas about workflow problems on sticky notes. Which tool helps them group these ideas into natural themes?

Answer: Affinity diagram

An affinity diagram sorts large numbers of ideas into related groups to reveal patterns.

Which statement best reflects W. Edwards Deming's view of performance problems?

Answer: Most problems come from the system and process, not the individual

Deming argued that most variation and defects come from system design, which management controls.

A coach asks a leader, 'How will you know the change is an improvement?' This question mainly encourages what?

Answer: Defining measurable success criteria before acting

Setting clear metrics in advance lets the leader judge results objectively instead of by gut feel.

In a Kanban system, what is the main purpose of setting work-in-progress (WIP) limits?

Answer: To improve flow and expose bottlenecks by limiting how much work is underway at once

WIP limits cut multitasking and queues, speed up flow, and make constraints visible.