{"id":3507,"date":"2024-02-11T22:33:39","date_gmt":"2024-02-11T22:33:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/?page_id=3507"},"modified":"2024-02-11T22:33:39","modified_gmt":"2024-02-11T22:33:39","slug":"design-application","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/?page_id=3507","title":{"rendered":"Design Application"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Lisa Kim\u2019s back was starting to cramp up from how rigidly she was sitting in the office chair. She blamed her sister, Felicia Kim, entirely for her current predicament. All she wanted was a night out with her sister so she could complain about how poorly her marketing department was doing compared to the other departments within Kent Publishing House. She felt extremely exhausted, both mentally and physically, and she was looking for a chance to unwind to finally open up about it to someone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thing was, Lisa was finding more and more that the complexity of all the different job types and job routings her team were handling was becoming unmanageable. She could\u2019ve gone to the other department managers for some advice but the sheer workload each department had made Lisa refuse to even consider the idea. What if the answers were simple and it was just taking me a bit of time to get there?<\/em> She just needed to find some time to completely relax, and then focus in on the important tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa knew the worries circling in her head were a warning, but they were starting to dominate her thinking, and this was often completely unhelpful in solving the situation she was facing. To make it worse, finding any gaps for the downtime she wanted at such a crucial time for her company was impossible. So, she kept her lips firmly sealed and tried her best to push through. Adding to Lisa\u2019s sense of pressure was that her role model and branch manager, Roy Bensen, was facing a huge workload and seemed able to remain in control of it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A key point of frustration for Lisa was that previous attempts to improve the flow through her department had unravelled. There had been too many moving parts, and this had created too many tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa believed it would be an act of failure if she didn\u2019t produce some sort of improved solution before reaching out to Roy for help, which is why she needed her sister. She needed someone she trusted to tell her that she could do this, even if she didn\u2019t necessarily know all the answers Lisa was seeking at the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, today, instead of venting her frustrations to her sister, she found herself sitting in front of Ms. Ada Wang, an expert consultant when it came to anything business, at least that\u2019s what Felicia claimed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood afternoon, Ms. Kim. How are we doing today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGreat.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa frowned at how choked her voice sounded. Surely, this wasn\u2019t an entirely unsalvageable situation. She would listen to whatever Ada had to say and leave as soon as it was over with no plans of coming back. Ada\u2019s eyes seemed to narrow in on her, just watching her for a minute which made Lisa try and sit up straighter than she already was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll just go over the challenges you\u2019ve been facing so I know what I\u2019m dealing with. Think of this as sharing your troubles with a trusted friend. I assure you that I\u2019ll do my best to assist you in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa hesitated, picking her words carefully. \u201cOur publishing house is one of the larger ones, and we have many products and many customers\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo on,\u201d prompted Ada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOK, I have been trying to stabilise and control the performance of my department for some time now. But inevitably, the changes I have made become blocked and non-scalable. Performance improves temporarily and then spins out of control. It\u2019s driving me crazy. I need a solution that will stick and make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cWould you like something to drink?\u201d Ada interrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPardon, sure. Just a glass of water will do.\u201d Lisa replied, trying to relax. She kept repeating \u2018this is Ada\u2019s job\u2019 repeatedly in her head to hopefully ease her into it. It wasn\u2019t working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa watched as Ada pressed a button and asked her assistant to get her two glasses of water before she turned back to Lisa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s change topics briefly. Tell me, do you have any reservations about this meeting, Ms. Kim?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa was not expecting that question, but when she continued to stare mutely at Ada, the other lady simply waited, her hands folded on top of one another on the desk in front of her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUh\u2026\u201d Lisa started, before the sound of a door opening thankfully cut her off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She took a sip of the ice-cold water that now sat before her and cleared her throat before trying again. She was hoping she didn\u2019t have to participate in this meeting and that Ada would just give her a bunch of general tips and tricks before slamming down a paywall in front of her for access to more personal help. Lisa was not going to pay someone to tell her how to be a better manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, I feel like this is a waste of time.\u201d Lisa winced, not being able to hold back her sharp tongue, but Ada simply smiled and waved her hand, gesturing for her to go on. \u201cA lot of the changes I need to implement are basically adopting stricter rules for my staff.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, you believe the problem lies with your employees?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Lisa replied, having no doubt about it. She just needed her people to be straight with her. To share their problems with her and let her help them instead of crashing and burning on their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHmm\u2026\u201d Ada hummed to herself. \u201cExactly what kind of problems are you facing with your employees?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cWell, I\u2019m in charge of the marketing department. We produce promotional content such as videos, posters, merchandise, you name it, for the authors that are licensed by us. Since I know all the authors licenced by our company and the upcoming sales events, my department is able to start work early on their promotional content, ensuring we have a reasonable time frame before the final publishing date to make any changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, even though we start early, we always seem to be delivering right on the deadline or a little late. And a lot of time and money is being wasted every time we have to reprint to accommodate last-minute update change requests. While I wish my employees would complete certain things on time, or early, I have had to increase the lead time to start even earlier so we can get the drafts prepared and accommodate whatever changes the other departments or the authors wish. But it is really not our fault as they keep asking us to make changes closer and closer to the due date. Either way, it seems like the more time we allow, for jobs, the more time the jobs need. It\u2019s a little ridiculous really.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa took a huge sip of water as Ada hummed, nodding her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOn top of that, the many and varied demands we receive from the other departments are the main reason why my team members are being told to get started on tasks early. The more requests made the more disruption is caused. While I can manage this day by day, I do feel like I should rework my department\u2019s processes before nitpicking on the others. The last thing I would want is to increase the tension within the company.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnything else?\u201d prompted Ada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, due to various interruptions, our flow of jobs is frequently interrupted. Once a job starts, we basically have low visibility and managers have to micromanage everything. The complexity is huge and rising. We struggle to differentiate and react promptly to our own jobs, and then we have jobs for other departments that need our inputs. There is never enough time to do it all. For example, another department might want a fast response from us for a revision of some promotional materials, but these interrupts are not necessarily something our system is optimised for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAm I right in saying that you\u2019re constantly being pulled back and forth from focusing on your department flow to focusing on the demands of other departments, who are trying to protect their flow?\u201d Ada inquired, making Lisa raise her eyebrows in surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAbsolutely! Our system is a myriad of processes. All these processes are necessary for us to ensure we deliver on the orders, but since my department is linked to the others, I\u2019m really not sure if I should be focusing on improving my department\u2019s processes, routings, and control systems, or reach out to the other managers to rework the processes we jointly follow. To make matters worse, our job routings are not easily understood, nor able to be scrutinised, and they tend to expand at every review to ensure every edge case is represented. More jobs equal more routings. It is becoming impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clearly, something needs to change so that we are all on the same page. I need to ensure my team members aren\u2019t spending an exorbitant amount of time on any one job and that all the various jobs are finished within or before the set deadlines.\u201d Lisa supplied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oh<\/em>, Lisa thought. This is getting a little deep, is Ada following me?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ada seized the opportunity to ask a probing question. \u201cWith so many jobs and their unique routings, how do you know where to focus your attention? Have you got control points you monitor that inform you what risks to pay attention to today?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the problem, I don\u2019t know. Most of the time we can\u2019t agree on what and where to monitor. There are so many points of risk,\u201d Lisa added. Good question, not what I expected<\/em>, thought Lisa. Nobody has been able to grasp what I am saying before, let alone understand my problems so clearly<\/em>. Lisa finally let a smile show and nodded along, now much more interested in what Ada might have to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cIt\u2019s not as though we never tried implementing any solutions before. It\u2019s just that once we address one process and tweak it, we realise other issues that we had now become a huge problem. Sometimes, the solutions we suggest directly clash with the timelines set by other departments or slow down the work further. It feels like I just keep going around in circles, and the best I can offer my people when I give them their assignments is to \u2018be quicker with this than the last time.\u2019 I would like to reduce our lead times, but any talk of this is met with shocked disbelief or outrage. Apparently, it can\u2019t be done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHmm, I can understand your frustration.\u201d Ada hummed, looking sympathetic. Lisa needed to vent her thoughts out loud for someone to hear, and here was a person who seemed willing to listen and seemed to understand. I am at the point of being too burned out to continue functioning like a normal human<\/em>, Lisa rationalised, and here\u2019s an angel sent to her by her sister, willing to hear everything<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAda, there are many factors that affect our work processes, it has been hard to configure the system we follow to represent all our products. Especially when every change in the product mix brings about its own share of routing variations that further mess up any control system we put in place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo\u2026\u201d Ada trailed off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, it is often easier for the managers to micromanage and assign tasks to employees as problems arise. But this method consumes so much time that we are reacting late to the job risks that arise. We need a holistic solution that reveals the truth in real time and helps us focus correctly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ada made a small noise of agreement before proposing a question. \u201cWould you say that these difficulties are the main ones causing your department to fall behind the others, for your managers to find themselves out of control? And what about the increased costs from wasted resources, time, or money you\u2019ll be experiencing from starting jobs so early? Is there anything else you\u2019d like to cover before I start?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ah, this was the moment she\u2019ll give me general tips and tricks on how to manage my department<\/em>, Lisa thought to herself. It\u2019s not as if Lisa herself hasn\u2019t scoured the internet for hours on end trying to figure out different tactics to address her issues and have motivational talks with her employees. She promised Felicia she would give this meeting a chance and since she had nothing more to lose, why not hear what Ada Wang has to say?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, these are the main issues I am facing within my department.\u201d Lisa nodded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHmm, now, I do have a few suggestions on how to systematically reduce your risk exposure and improve the control you have over the jobs flowing into and through your department. And, I\u2019d like to have more meetings with you in the future to keep track of your progress and assist you when the inevitable new issues crop up as you successfully resolve these issues for your department,\u201d Ada began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Of course, you do,<\/em> Lisa thought to herself, but nodded again for Ada to continue, making her smile. Lisa couldn\u2019t fault Ada for trying to acquire a new customer, and she was definitely more receptive to it now than she was when the meeting started. A part of Lisa hoped she would not have to pay to access more of Ada\u2019s advice, but she had to admit to herself that she didn\u2019t completely hate the idea either. I\u2019ll give her a chance<\/em>, thought Lisa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt has been my commercial experience that no system actually has hundreds of utterly unique product routings. Most product extensions are just that, a variant, or a change to an existing routing. Most of your routings will use in-common process, with the scale, the quantity, or the colour changing. Now, most people will see each product as different and not as a set of in-common processes, and as a result, they create system solution designs that have excessive complexity. Inevitably, this means to stay in control they implement many management control points, and micromanaging becomes the norm. No, first you should look for the in-common process steps. Seek to merge routings into in-common flows. Find out what your most used routings are and build from there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow Lisa, you know as well as I do that people will inflate the safety in their completion estimates. Most people think \u2018A bit longer equals a bit safer.\u2019 Stop doing that. Think in terms of system safety monitored at your control points, not, \u2018Is this job late?\u2019 rather \u2018Is the system in control?\u2019 Your system solution has to be buffered and predictive. Currently, it is reactive with safety being wasted through late starts, slow handovers, last-minute requests for artistic change, and the like. Your solution should put you in a position where you have a minimum, usually three to five, control points which reveal to you the in-progress overall system risk and any trending individual job risk.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis means choosing the right amount of safety to add, what I am calling your buffers, and to do that you\u2019ll have to assess the frequency and magnitude of events that cause you lead time losses. As in, what will you treat as routine events to be protected against in your solution and what will be addressed as an exception?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cSince you have to keep making changes to pre-made promotional materials, I propose you add chase-up processes to reveal likely change requests early. For example, if a poster for the release date of a book has been made, the next task would be to follow up on the draft and bring forward in time any changes they want to see so you get it approved as a \u2018final.\u2019 Make visible which drafts are still waiting on change request feedback and preserve the buffers. Following me so far, Lisa?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, it will be a bit repetitive if we go back and forth, but I suppose being proactive on this is better than finding out at the last-minute and then being late.\u201d Lisa agreed, whilst relaxing into the soft chair she was on for the first time since she stepped into this office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course, this also means that you will not be sending finalised work for any promotional material ahead of time. Instead, this will be a joint process with the other departments which will improve your joint ability to deliver on time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIs it possible,\u201d Lisa wondered, \u201cIt would address a major problem we\u2019re facing which is that other departments frequently leave their artistic choices to the last minute, when they have known for days what will be necessary\u2026 yes this can work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why didn\u2019t I think of this? It seems so simple. Find what is in common in what we do, and really a lot of it is the same processes, figure out what we experience as the most frequent delays, and act to control the collective flow risks at these points! Mitigate the risks and protect the buffers. Got it. <\/em>Lisa couldn\u2019t help but look at Ada in wonder as her words sunk in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In amusement, Lisa almost rolled her eyes at the thought of buying Felicia lunch for a week as she threw a barrage of \u2018I told you so\u2019s at her. This was worth a month\u2019s worth of lunch if Lisa had anything to say about it, though she could do without the smugness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRemember, it is important to focus on the effect of a process and not its product-specific uniqueness. This will allow you to make a flow map of your operation, on to which you can design your control points and your buffers. It will also highlight where the other department risk plays a role in your department\u2019s success. Having a tangible representation, like a schematic, will aid you in choosing and communicating your control points. You can use it to clarify with other department managers how your department affects their performance and vice versa.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, make a flow chart? What did you call it? A schematic\u201d Lisa asked, half-jokingly, but was hanging on to Ada\u2019s every word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s certainly one way to do it. You can map out the sequence of processes each routing takes and merge them together where they follow in-common processes. Think, how would you describe the transform of raw materials into finished goods on the flow chart? The same map can be used to track the progression of jobs that your employees are working on.\u201d Ada smiled at the incredulous look on Lisa\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t knock it till you try it!\u201d Ada stated cheekily. \u201cThis addresses the main concerns you\u2019re facing. These design principles will lead you to a solution that gives you increased control with less micromanagement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHang on, are you saying that this alternate view of my system will eliminate a good 80% of the micromanagement noise? Oh my, that would be heaven,\u201d Lisa added, before looking at Ada with fresh eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you so much, Ms. Ada!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re most welcome, Ms. Lisa.\u201d Ada returned Lisa\u2019s smile. \u201cRemember, your management system is what you are reconfiguring. The focus should be on tweaking the system to cut through the noise and absorb the risks. This is the role of your control points.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot to think about and do, but I\u2019ll get started on it first thing Monday!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOf course. These suggestions address your main concerns. A caution though, as you succeed here, your people\u2019s attention will shift to other complaints. That is a sign of success, not failure. Your solution should halve the pain and then halve it again. Very few people need a perfect solution. You need just enough solution that people stop worrying about the issues you had at the start of today\u2019s session. I call it \u2018Getting a better grade of problems to solve.\u2019 Can I expect another meeting with you in the near future to discuss your progress?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know what? I think you can definitely expect me back, Ms. Ada!\u201d These were the first concrete pieces of advice Lisa had received about her situation and she was not about to lose what she had started to see as a breakthrough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have three book releases coming up over the next month, how about we set our meeting about a month from now?\u201d Lisa offered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ada was only too happy to comply.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lisa Kim\u2019s back was starting to cramp up from how rigidly she was sitting in the office chair. She blamed her sister, Felicia Kim, entirely for her current predicament. All she wanted was a night out with her sister so she could complain about how poorly her marketing department was doing compared to the other …<\/p>\n

Design Application<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3507","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3507"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3507"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3525,"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3507\/revisions\/3525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/keypractices.viagointernational.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}