Do you want to remodel your workplace to become more efficient but are unsure where to start? Whether you are the manager of a large business or want to make effective changes in your personal life, process behavior charts can be an essential tool for success.
The basic idea of this type of charting is that it can help identify specific processes (or tasks) which need improvement. Process behavior charts (PBCs) are a versatile tool that can help you drive the performance of your business.
Here are some tips for using these tools to your advantage.
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Identify The Process You Want To Improve
According to reports, the global business process management size is expected to grow from $11.84 billion in 2021 to $26.18 billion in 2028.
As with any decision, it is crucial to focus on your objective before selecting a course of action. Begin by asking yourself why you are making this change. Is it because of an upcoming project that needs improvement? Or perhaps there has been an uptick in errors related to this task? Whatever the reason, you can identify which job specifically needs to be improved by knowing yours.
Many business processes can be identified in the workplace. For example, there may be several tasks executed by an employee during their shift (ordering supplies, processing invoices, etc.) or any number of steps within a complex task (a recipe for cooking chicken parmesan).
Knowing which processes you want to improve will allow you to narrow your charts to the specific steps causing the most problems.
Select Your Metric
After identifying the process that needs improvement, choosing a metric to measure its overall effectiveness is helpful. For example, if you are working on improving communication within your office, communication time would be an excellent start.
Metrics are different for every process so it may take some brainstorming. Do not be afraid to narrow your metric down later if you find that the one you initially chose doesn’t work well once you start taking measurements.
Determine Your Target Range And Process Behavior Chart Type
Once you have chosen a metric for the task, determine the appropriate control limits for this data. You must use 3-sigma as your upper and lower control limits (UCL and LCL), with the centerline set at the process mean.
After deciding on control limits, you need to select types of process behavior charts that will be most helpful for this specific metric. There are four choices:
- Individuals control charts
- Moving range control charts
- Attribute control charts
- Variables control charts
Individuals or ranges can be used to measure variables that can take on a limited number of values, such as the number of errors made by an employee. If, instead, your metric is something like “time to complete the task,” use attribute or variables control charts.
Track Your Data
Once you have a control chart set up, it is essential to track your data for this process weekly or monthly, depending on how often it occurs. Remember that standard sample average charts are better used when the data being tracked is more variable. In contrast, range-based charts are best suited for processes with low variability data.
Compare Your Data To The Control Limits
Compare it to your chart’s upper and lower control limits as you collect data. Since these charts monitor processes over time, this comparison will show how the process is performing as time goes by and can be used as an early warning system if the process starts to stray away from the centerline.
Set Up An Action Plan
When your data deviates significantly outside of the control limits, this should serve as a signal that you need to take action to bring it back within range.
The best method to do this is by using “what-if” scenarios and identifying what types of events might be causing the process to deviate.
With a good action plan in hand, you will be able to identify the specific cause of process deviations, apply fixes where needed, and take steps to prevent future problems from occurring.
Repeat And Track Your Results
It would be best to use this technique consistently to make incremental improvements. Remember that these charts can help you monitor your performance and determine where processes break down within your team or company (and how to fix them).
Reporting analytics to your boss can be daunting, but when you use process behavior charts to do it (and these tips), the result will be a better understanding of your data.
Remember that it is essential to know the process behavior with time to truly understand where there might be problems and how they can be fixed. Use your metrics and control limits to watch for deviations from the norm, and take action when you find an issue.
