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Showing posts with the label small scope projects

Acknowledging Milestones: 50 Projects and Counting

Two overlapping tidbits of information caught my eye this last week. First, I am trying to persuade my boss to send me to a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt course. In the description of the course, a Master Black Belt candidate is described as a Black Belt with an experience level equivalent to 50 process improvement projects. Second, I visited the blog of a very well-known practitioner who indicates that his experience level consists of "over 250 projects" completed. It got me thinking: I wonder how many projects I have completed? I found it surprisingly hard to count projects, even harder to count them honestly. The hard part isn't remembering the work. The hard part is determining what constitutes a project, and which projects count as personal experience. Do all projects have to be continuous process improvement to count?  Does a rapid improvement event count as a project, or should I only count full projects? If I manage the project manager (i.e., he or she works

Intangible Value in Small Projects

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How big does a continuous process improvement project need to be? I get variations of this question every time I provide training on the topic. My best answer goes something like this: "The tools and techniques of CPI are scalable to accommodate both large and small projects. Black belt projects are normally larger and more complex than green belt and yellow belt projects. In a typical cross-functional process map with four departments and 30 steps, a yellow belt might do a project on one step, a green belt might do a project on one department, and a black belt might do a project on the entire process." Two hidden issues underlie this question. Issue number one is that people believe that every project must provide substantial and tangible benefits to be worthwhile; they believe that doing small projects is a waste of time. The truth is that there is value in doing a CPI project, however small, for the sake of doing the project. Colleagues might argue that projects consu