From Traditional Quality to Value Enabler - A Paradigm Shift

Service Knowledge Base held a session on Traditional Quality to Value Enabler on 29th April. Featured speaker was Parvathy Satish, Mavenir Systems Group Director

The speaker began the session by taking attendees through the evolution of quality from Quality Control to Internal Auditing to ISO Certification, and from Continuous Improvement to Delivery Lead, Operational Excellence to Program Management and Operations

After that, Core Quality was explored, including top-down, leadership mandates, setting up objectives, compliance & effectiveness, management reviews, and audits & certifications.

As Business Priorities Change, maintaining and continuous investing becomes a challenge. It becomes Second Nature to work better, quality is an afterthought

What is the best way for Quality to renew this? Managing Change through the Quality Team, moving beyond ISO Certification and Compliance to help others succeed is one way. Start small and involve all stakeholders. Manage Change Management Initiatives as projects, measure metrics. Scale once benefits are visible and buy-in is achieved

Speaker shared examples of what Quality can do to enable value? Facilitating SWOT Analysis for Business & Technology Teams, Setting Priorities & Objectives based on Customer Feedback and Improving Employee Productivity by setting time and agenda for meetings. It may be assigned by senior management or self-assigned

This is best achieved by Quality due to its eye for improvement, knowledge of what is happening in the organization, and role as the organisation's eyes and ears

To accomplish this, quality personnel need to be able to adapt, have learnability & be open to trying anything different, ready to learn on "GO" & deliver. Quality should understand how business models work

What is the best way to transition to this? You can begin by asking for the role, asking how you can add value, establishing rapport with new stakeholders, and identifying people willing to take risks

You should upskill/reskill during the transition process, give yourself time to learn a new way of working, its tools, and domain, think your work enables the organisation, take stock, and finally give yourself a pat on the back. Allow things time to get in shape without fretting, taking pressure or being too hard on yourself

The importance of quality goes beyond sponsorships. Quality involves business, finance & people, making the right choices at the right time, ROI, margins, the ability to build competencies, the number of iterations a release needs, the number of customer deployments or returns, and the transparency of the organization in terms of data and information management. Speaker highlighted these as key takeaways from value enabled thinking

In closing, the speaker highlighted new areas where quality can add value, such as cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, sustainability reporting, and intelligent analytics.

Key Takeaways from Opening Doors to Possibilities, a LinkedIn Live Event by Sau Yong (S.Y.), Chin & Adeline Tiah

Opening Doors to Possibilities REINVENTING Our Lives & Work: A LinkedIn Live Event was hosted by Sau - Yong (S.Y.) Chin on 30th March. A Leadership & REINVENT Coach & Author, Adeline Tiah spoke. 

This talk shared insights on how to increase our chances of realizing our best selves, not only by opening, but by creating new doors.

Reinvent stands for:

R - Risk Taking Mindset

E - Entrepreneurial Thinking

I - Inclusiveness

N - Noticeable

V - Vulnerable

E - Empathy

N - Networking skills

T - Trans-disciplinary learning

Just like software versions, reinvention is a journey of multiple career upgrades

Reimagining is a marathon, a journey for longevity, not a race for the top

There is no constant change, only exponential

Rather than climbing ladders, future workers will build career ladders

It's not how hard you work that determines your pay, but how hard you are to replace

In the market, hybrid skills will command a 20% premium

Looking for a job should be like looking for a business opportunity, rather than looking at a JD; think about problems you can solve, value you can bring

Don't be afraid to fail when reinventing yourself. Don't set unrealistic expectations, just do your best

The ability to recognize when to take short strategic breaks, rest & recharge, is vital to reinvention

The concept of transdisciplinary learning means learning skills outside your domain, which is very important in the current situation. It involves learning complementary skill sets, creating an overlap to create a niche

Be intentional when learning trans-disciplinary skills, look for opportunities to apply the skills learned & monetise it i.e. are people willing to pay you for it (in-demand skills)

In life, you need to take strategic risks & venture outside of your comfort zone. Be entrepreneurial by seeing the possibilities and taking risks instead of seeing road blocks. Mentality matters.

The move that matters the most is the next step taken

You learn, you learn, you relearn, and you get stronger

To embrace a growth mindset, we must be aware, accept, and adapt (adjust).

Adeline concluded by saying that Arnold Schwarzennegger is a great example of Reinvention, as he started out as a body builder, reinvented himself as a leading Hollywood actor, later served as governor for two terms and is now a keynote speaker.

Always strive to be an improved version of yourself. Take that first step and unlock new possibilities

Gaining Competitive Edge Through Holistic Digital Transformation

Service Knowledge Base hosted a session on Gaining Competitive Edge through Holistic Digital Transformation on 25th March. Speaker was Sujatha Sivaraman, a Digital Transformation Evangelist

The following are the key takeaways from the program

We are more in the Digital space now & that is the reason why we are looking at Digital Transformation. Any transformation requires inner transformation first. Embrace technology & simplify life by being digital. 

Current challenges faced from an employee perspective are Learning, Stagnating Income, Outdated Technologies, Office Politics, Shaky Economy, Lack of Differentiation. Solution to overcome them lies in your commitment to upskilling, investment in yourself, how you are creating visibility, differentiating yourself, your emotional quotient, how you work

From a Business Perspective, Legacy Technology & Applications, Investments not channeled in the right direction, product or service differentiation, customer & employees dissatisfaction are some of the challenges faced. The Solution lies in having a digital vision driven by Leadership i.e. to be a digital first architecture company. Any business needs to be a digital business. There has to be a digital presence.

Examples of Blockbuster, Kodak, Blackberry were discussed wherein it was seen that their inability to transform to the Market needs, rigidity in not going with the technology shift, led to it’s downfall.

Digital leadership starts with an inspiring vision to drive transformative change through the power of technology, use of digital technology that leads to beneficial business outcomes.

Holistic Digital Transformation refers to Total Experience, Combination of Technology, Combination of Process, Multitude of Factors that helps the business to survive.

All sectors have to be digitally enabled else they will risk losing out to competition. Same is applicable to individual employees as well.

The different maturity levels of digital transformation are

• Digitization - At the transaction level, improvements, etc.

• Digitalization - At the project or functional unit level

• Digital Transformation - At the line of business, enterprise level wherein all the multiple units come together, there is coherency

Some of the different terminologies in digital transformation are 

• Change refers to version / upgrading

• Innovation refers to novel or better way of doing things e.g. Embedded Finance

• Transformation, entire company is changing holistically leading to accelerated transformation metamorphosis, become a fitter enterprise

For Digital Transformation to be enabled, to happen, the entire operational functions value stream has to be aligned i.e. logistics, recruitment, marketing, HR, IT, Administration functions

The First Principles of Digital Transformation are Multi-Functionality, Multi Channel, Ease of Use, Straight through processing & value delivery

Skills required for Digital Transformation are multiple, one skill dedicated specialist is losing charm. V-shaped skills are required for Digital Transformation i.e. being specialist in one area backed by strong complimentary skillsets

Digital Transformation is 

• IT innovation aligned with business goals. It is not Adopting technology for the sake of using it.

• both technological and cultural shift and not just digitalization of business process

• leveraging the technology that adds value and not using the latest technology and gadgets

• creating new business models and opportunities and not minor adjustments to existing processes

• A fundamental company - wide initiative and not a single project, department or business line

• A long-term process requiring a well planned strategy and not a short term tactic or one-time fix

It is estimated that by 2025, the Digital Transformation Market will be 1009 Billion $ with a CAGR of 16.5% (Source: Markets & Markets Publication)

A successful digital transformation requires to have a Pilot, Scale & Accelerate or Adapt by Crawl, Walk & Run Strategy.

Conclusion: Become a vital person & not just a functional person by looking a multiple technologies, having an innovative mindset, looking at synergy of technologies

A data driven approach to quality improvement

Service Knowledge Base hosted a session on Data-Driven Quality Improvement Process on 7th January with Amit Choudhary, Senior Advisor, Data Analytics Solution Expert, KPMG.

Data-driven quality has replaced customer experience-based quality. While organizations may initially lose customers in this transition process, they will have made a foundation for acquiring a larger number of customers in the long run. The essence of data-driven process improvement can be summed up in this sentence.

Data-driven decision-making is best achieved by using the Question, Plan, Collect, Analyze, Recommend method that ultimately converts data into insights that lead to the formulation of action plans, such as improving service quality, product quality, customer satisfaction, etc.

Data-driven project management has the advantage of bringing about plenty of cost optimization. A data-driven approach can help study the impact of a project internally and externally to the organization, thereby improving project risk management.

Leveraging data can help leverage the strategy by dynamically updating short-term plans that contribute to the overall long-term strategy. An organization that uses data will be more agile and faster since it will be driven by data. An analysis of the project at different stages can enhance business performance by being data-driven.

A data-driven organization can be formed by combining Descriptive Analytics (what happened? ), Diagnostic Analytics (why did it happen? ), Predictive Analytics (what will happen?), and Prescriptive Analytics (how do we make it happen?)

There were case studies presented by the speaker on four different sectors: telecom, retail, manufacturing, and financial services. This provided a better understanding of the importance of improving business process quality through analytics.

Regression & classification models, Hypothesis testing, Simulation, Visualization & Hybrid ML are some useful techniques for building a data-driven quality organization.

Minitab, Excel with plug-ins, Crystal Ball, and Power BI / Tableau are the tools.

An organization that follows a bottom-to-top approach will find it easier to obtain quality data.

Cloud platforms are becoming the future of data storage by switching from 'Data Bases' to 'Virtual Data Lakes'

Certifications that working professionals should focus on to upskill themselves are generally categorized into three levels

-        For leaders and decision makers, pursue AI and ML Framework for Quality, Agility in Quality Framework, Awareness of entire data analytics framework

-        At the mid managerial or at executional level, choose business statistics, visualization (Tableau, PowerBI) and natural language processing (NLP).

-        For technical staff, they should be skilled in Python, R, Click View, SQL, and MongoDB

Data-driven decision-making needs to be made accountable by leaders within organizations. Business Leaders should go all out and learn as much about data as possible, concluded the speaker. 

Measure the Extent of the Problem - 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 - 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

 In continuing with my reading of the book 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐩𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐦𝐚 - 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, this month I read the Chapter ‘𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐎𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦’ and practiced the lessons it taught.

𝑰 𝒇𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒖𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓:

a) Obtaining the right, accurate, and correct data is essential for any Six Sigma project. In case of mistakes in the data collection process, this can impact the overall project improvement.

b) An explanation of the difference in headings that should be used when doing root cause analysis by utilizing a Fishbone Diagram (also known as a Cause & Effect Diagram, or the Ishikawa Diagram).

For manufacturing, take note of the following: Methods, Machines (Equipment), People (Manpower), Materials, Measurements, and Environment.

People, Processes, Procedures, Place, and Environment could be the considerations for service companies.

c) In order to collect data, there must first be a Data Collection Plan and then a Data Collection Template. The part about detailing down to the minute was interesting to me. Taking this approach, the Analyze Phase and the remaining improvements would be highly effective.

𝑴𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔:

i) For creating a data collection plan, 4W1H can be used.                      
- Four W: what, when, where, who
- One H: how

ii) Gage R&R is a tool to identify variations in measurement system performance, where R&R refers to repeatability and reproducibility.

Every process is subject to two types of variation: Variations in the measurement system and variations in the process.

Generally, LSS projects are done to reduce variation in processes, however, there may be measurement system variations that are higher than the permissible limit or unknown, and that could have a detrimental effect on a project's success if unchecked. 

Attribute Gage checks for 
- Repeatability within the individuals
- Reproducibility between the individuals
- Accuracy that all the results are matching the standard

R&R on Attribute Gage should include at least two resources and two trials.

You can use Excel or Minitab to perform Attribute Gage R&R.

In order to pass Gage, the percentage of appraisals against the standard must be greater than 90%.

In case it fails, find out where the problems lie and then make improvements.

If Gage passes after improvements, only then should you proceed to data collection.

How I am attempting to become more focused & productive by eliminating the time spent on non-value-adding activities

 𝑫𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒇𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒔.

Took up a 𝟑𝟎-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 by avoiding watching a single game of Indian cricket team. And to free up that time spent in pursuing some other meaningful activity.

The last cricket match I watched was India vs England, a T20 World Cup Semifinal on 10th November at Adelaide Oval.

This marks 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉 since I stopped watching meaningless cricket matches. 

It became evident to me that I was wasting a lot of time watching cricket matches, 3 to 4 hours per game for a T20 match. Moreover, these games lacked any meaning. I feel as if the Indian Cricket Team is playing every other day. 

Consequently, I realized that it is time to stop viewing these games and instead utilize that time to read a book, journal, or increase my skill level by attending online courses.

Even if I do nothing, at least the digital screen or television viewing portion of the process will be eliminated. I can expect at least that benefit from taking on this challenge. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒐𝒅𝒂𝒚.

As a result, I have missed Ishan Kishan's recent world record-breaking double-century innings in an ODI game, Rohit Sharma's blazing half-century batting at No. 9 with an injured thumb, and Suryakumar Yadav's (SKY) second T20I century in this year against New Zealand. 

I regret not being able to witness all of these memorable innings, but I have no regrets whatsoever. I am enjoying the time that I have spent away from watching the game of Cricket and instead availing myself of some other meaningful activity. 

𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆 𝒊𝒕. 

𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒊𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒃𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌, 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉.

It is my intention to continue from here. The next 3 months will be no different for me. I will not be watching meaningless cricket matches.

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒚? 𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅?

8 Steps To Problem Solving by Mohit Sharma Book Review

This month’s book review focuses on 8 Steps to Problem Solving Six Sigma authored by Mohit Sharma

There was a need for me of a practical guidebook that would be of use to update my knowledge about the Six Sigma Black Belt Course. Additionally, it should also serve as a handy reference while doing a Black Belt project. I was convinced that this was the book I was looking for after reading Ankur Tyagi's review followed by a short discussion on the book with him.

Thus far, I have read and practiced the concepts from the first four chapters of the book, namely up until the chapter on Define the Project.

Listed below are some of the strengths of the book as I have observed them

• This book, despite being written on a topic as complex as Six Sigma Black Belt, is written in an easy and understandable language. 

• The book provides an explanation of each concept through a series of examples and case studies. Therefore, it will be possible for you to relate the examples to the material presented. I found this aspect of the book to be the most appealing.

• Each chapter concludes with a series of questions posed by the author to the reader. Before moving on to the next chapter, I distilled my key learnings from the chapter by answering those questions. This helped me retain the knowledge.

• The author outlines various do's and don'ts that Black Belts should follow while executing projects. By following these tips, you will be able to complete the project steps effectively and efficiently.

As a result of reading the chapters so far, I have learned or gained some insights as follows

• The customer will always present you with a practical problem; convert it into a statistical statement and thus it becomes a quality improvement or six sigma project.

• As a Black Belt (BB), it is their responsibility to help the customer reach his or her objectives but not necessarily to follow the instructions of the customer. There is a need for BB's to look at the problem differently, and that is what adds quality.

• For a project, the metric selected should be the smallest unit of the process since when the smallest unit is set correctly, the entire process will be correct as well. Make sure that you are working on direct metrics rather than derived metrics.

• One of the most important concepts of Six Sigma is to understand the relationship between Project Y and X, impacting the Y. If we refer to equation Y=F(X), Y is a dependent variable and X is an independent variable. If we change X, Y will be impacted.

• Although there is no set rule on how deep Black Belts can drill down into a drill-down tree to reach specific, actionable, measurable project metrics, it is generally advisable to drill down to at most five levels.

• The COPIS acronym stands for Customer, Output, Process, Input, and Supplier. Previously, it was known as SIPOC.

With my continued reading of the book, I will share more insights and key takeaways as I progress with my project.