Continual improvement

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Continual Improvement (also called incremental improvement or staircase improvement) is a process or productivity improvement tool intended to have a stable and consistent growth and improvement of all the segments of a process or processes. Continual improvement ensures the process stabilization and further improvement. When an organization's growth and development is intended, identification of all the processes and development of a measurement analysis of each process step is necessary. Some of the continual improvement tools include the corrective action analysis, preventative action analysis, and customer satisfaction analysis. ISO Management systems such as Quality Management or Environmental Management System use this to ensure that the overall objectives of the organization are achieved.

Continual improvement is recognised as the most effective way for companies to improve efficiency and improve quality.

[edit] Prerequisites

Continual Improvement requires the following:

Management support.
Feedback and review process steps.
Clear process ownership.
Employee empowerment.
Tangible metrics to be able to measure the result of process improvements.

Continual improvement can be performed as a result of a formal service review or escalation, or can be performed as a proactive activity by anyone performing a process.

It is strongly recommended that continual improvement be seen as a sustainable activity to be performed regularly rather than a bolt-on or quick fix.
In order to improve any process, the following must take place:

The original process must be clearly defined and documented.
Several examples of process shortcomings must be made available.
The stakeholders of a process must be involved in any improvement discussions.
An environment of transparency is required when analysing existing processes, contributing factors to process shortcomings, and recommendations for improvement.
Any process improvements must be agreed, documented, communicated and metrics measured within a suitable timeframe to measure the level of success achieved, and whether further improvements are required.

Continual improvement can often be achieved by reducing complexity, reducing potential points of failure (sometimes by improving communication, tools or automation) and putting the necessary checkpoints and safeguards in place to protect quality throughout a processes execution lifecycle.