The clarion call for improvement, in everything from the minor shop floor activities to big picture strategic implementation is clear. We all need to do more with less, and this requires that we identify which bits of our current activities should be changed, redirected, or trashed.

In effect, there are three questions that should be answered:

  1. What are the underlying drivers or causes of problems?
  2. How can we build predictability of outcomes from any particular activity, and group of activities?
  3. How can we ensure the mistakes of yesterday are not repeated today?
  4. These seemingly simple questions lie at the core of all improvement I initiatives.