"A continual improvement process, also often called a continuous improvement process (abbreviated as CIP or CI), is an ongoing effort to improve products, services, or processes."
The process of continually improving public services through ongoing feedback, evaluation, and adjustment.
Lean Six Sigma: A methodology that combines Lean principles of minimizing waste with Six Sigma tools of reducing process variation to improve quality and efficiency of public service delivery.
Process Mapping: A tool that visually represents the steps taken to deliver a service, helps identify redundancies, and improves performance by optimizing the process flow.
Root Cause Analysis: A technique that helps identify the underlying factors that cause service failures, such as errors, delays, or customer complaints, to prevent their recurrence.
Project Management: A discipline that provides structured approach to planning, executing, and monitoring the progress of improvement initiatives, using tools like Gantt charts, risk management, and stakeholder engagement.
Performance Measurement: A process that involves selecting appropriate metrics, collecting data, and analyzing the results to monitor service delivery performance and compare it to established targets.
Continuous Improvement Culture: An organizational environment that encourages and supports ongoing learning, knowledge sharing, experimentation, and problem-solving to sustain the momentum of improvement efforts.
Customer Experience Management: A strategy that focuses on understanding, identifying, and meeting the needs and expectations of customers by collecting feedback, analyzing patterns, and designing processes that prioritize their satisfaction.
Change Management: A structured approach to managing the people side of change, including assessing readiness, developing communication plans, and providing training and support to ensure the success of improvement initiatives.
Quality Management Systems: A set of policies, procedures, and guidelines that define how organizations ensure consistent quality and continuous improvement in their service delivery, such as ISO 9001.
Employee Engagement: A strategy that aims to foster a sense of ownership, commitment, and motivation among employees by involving them in improvement initiatives, encouraging teamwork, and recognizing their contributions.
Lean Six Sigma: A methodology that combines the Lean methodology, which focuses on eliminating waste, with Six Sigma, which focuses on reducing defects and variability. This approach uses statistical tools to measure and analyze data to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of processes.
Total Quality Management (TQM): A management approach that focuses on continuous improvement of quality, customer satisfaction, and employee involvement. It involves setting quality standards, measuring progress, and improving processes in all aspects of an organization.
Agile: An approach that emphasizes flexibility and adaptability in response to changing environments and customer requirements. It involves a collaborative and iterative process of planning, executing, and reviewing projects.
Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA): A four-step cycle for continuous improvement that involves planning a change, implementing the change, measuring the results, and adjusting the process based on the results.
Kaizen: A Japanese term that means "continuous improvement" and is a philosophy that focuses on making small, incremental improvements over time. It involves involving all employees in the improvement process and constantly seeking ways to improve processes.
Business Process Reengineering (BPR): A radical approach to process improvement that involves redesigning processes from scratch to achieve significant gains in efficiency and effectiveness.
Balanced Scorecard: A management tool that focuses on aligning an organization's goals and objectives with its strategic vision. It involves using a set of performance indicators to track progress and make continuous improvements.
Continuous Process Improvement (CPI): An iterative approach to process improvement that involves identifying, analyzing, and improving processes on an ongoing basis to meet changing needs and requirements.
Statistical Process Control (SPC): A methodology that uses statistical methods to monitor and control processes to ensure that they are stable and capable of meeting quality and performance standards.
Root Cause Analysis (RCA): An approach that involves identifying the underlying causes of problems or defects in processes and addressing them to prevent them from recurring.
Value Stream Mapping: A visual technique that involves mapping the flow of materials, information, and activities through a process to identify areas of waste and inefficiency and find ways to eliminate them.
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA): A systematic approach to identifying potential failure modes and their effects and prioritizing actions to mitigate or prevent them.
Hoshin Kanri: A planning and management process that involves setting long-term goals and objectives, developing action plans, and monitoring progress to ensure that the organization stays on track toward its goals.
Poka-Yoke: A technique that involves designing processes and systems to prevent errors and mistakes from occurring. It involves incorporating features or controls that stop a process before an error can occur.
Theory of Constraints: An approach that focuses on identifying and eliminating bottlenecks or constraints in processes to improve throughput and efficiency.
"These efforts can seek 'incremental' improvement over time or 'breakthrough' improvement all at once."
"Delivery (customer valued) processes are constantly evaluated and improved in the light of their efficiency, effectiveness, and flexibility."
"Some see continual improvement processes as a meta-process for most management systems (such as business process management, quality management, project management, and program management)."
"W. Edwards Deming, a pioneer of the field, saw it as part of the 'system' whereby feedback from the process and customer were evaluated against organizational goals."
"The fact that it can be called a management process does not mean that it needs to be executed by 'management'; but rather merely that it makes decisions about the implementation of the delivery process and the design of the delivery process itself."
"A broader definition is that of the Institute of Quality Assurance who defined 'continuous improvement as a gradual never-ending change which is: '... focused on increasing the effectiveness and/or efficiency of an organization to fulfil its policy and objectives.'"
"The key features of continual improvement processes in general are:"
"Feedback: The core principle of continual process improvement is the (self) reflection of processes."
"Efficiency: The purpose of continual improvement process is the identification, reduction, and elimination of suboptimal processes."
"Evolution: The emphasis of continual improvement process is on incremental, continual steps rather than giant leaps."
"It is not limited to quality initiatives. Improvement in business strategy, business results, customer, employee and supplier relationships can be subject to continual improvement."
"Put simply, it means 'getting better all the time'."
"It is focused on increasing the effectiveness and/or efficiency of an organization to fulfill its policy and objectives."
"It is not limited to quality initiatives."
"Improvement in business strategy, business results, customer, employee and supplier relationships can be subject to continual improvement."
"A gradual never-ending change."
"The purpose of continual improvement process is the identification, reduction, and elimination of suboptimal processes."
"The emphasis of continual improvement process is on incremental, continual steps rather than giant leaps."
"Feedback from the process and customer were evaluated against organizational goals."