Apply continuous improvement principles to an experimental process
Overview
This standard covers the competences you need to apply continuous improvement principles to an experimental programme.
You will be required to investigate an experimental programme by obtaining all the necessary data and information, to enable you to identify and evaluate possible improvement opportunities.
You will be able to apply problem-solving techniques and procedures to an experimental programme to identify improvement opportunities and produce an improvement plan with key performance indicators to monitor the proposed improvements. You will engage the relevant people in identifying and agreeing the improvement opportunities.
You will ensure that the identified improvements meet all the business objectives and stakeholder requirements and comply with all relevant regulations and guidelines. Your responsibilities will require you to comply with organisational policy and procedures for the successful implementation of the improvements, and to report any difficulties that you cannot personally resolve to the relevant people.
Performance criteria
You must be able to:
- Identify the business objectives and stakeholder requirements and the critical success factors for the experimental programme
- Obtain the relevant data for each stage of the experimental programme
P3 identify appropriate business improvement and problem-solving techniques to be used to help identify improvement opportunities P4 identify areas in the experimental programme where there are opportunities for improvement P5 evaluate the root causes of any problems identified P6 propose improvements to the process based on the analysis of the experimental programme P7 identify key performance indicators to confirm improvements to the process P8 ensure that the improvements determined meet with organisational requirements and comply with all relevant regulations and guidelines P9 keep all relevant people informed of progress throughout your work, and where appropriate, involved in the improvement process P10 communicate the proposed improvements to the experimental programme to the relevant people, in accordance with departmental and organisational procedures
Knowledge and Understanding
You need to know and understand:
K1 the business objectives of the work K2 the critical success factors for the work as agreed with the stakeholders and customers K3 how to gather the relevant data for each stage of the experimental programme K4 how to identify and apply suitable diagnostic tools K5 the importance of good data collection and analysis to support problem solving K6 the range of improvement techniques that can be used to improve the performance of the experimental programmeK7 how to carry out a gap analysis to identify improvement opportunitiesK8 the key stages in the analysis activity, and who should be involved and/or consulted at the various stages K9 how to ensure that appropriate people in the organisation are involved in the planned analysis of improvement opportunitiesK10 how to formally define the improvement opportunities, and the level of involvement required from others in the process K11 how to develop a practical improvement programme K12 the relevant legislation, regulations, standards and guidelines to be considered when defining the improvement programme K13 how to prioritise improvement activities to meet improvement targets K14 how to implement the improvement actions identified K15 how to identify key performance indicators to monitor the improvements to the process K16 how to identify and minimise potential risks that could occur during implementation of the improvement programme K17 how to provide constructive feedback on improvement opportunities and key performance indicators to the relevant peopleK18 the document control and reporting procedures that should be used K19 the lines of communication and responsibilities in your department, and the links with the rest of the organisation K20 the extent of your own authority, and to whom you should report in the event of problems that you cannot resolve