As with any sophisticated work, one of the building blocks to mind software is effectively designed processes.
We understand that a good, well-designed process makes everything work better and easier. This
is true for any and every sophisticated task. So, we can think of a server taking and delivering a restaurant customer’s order., for example. The restaurant owner can let every server do it however he/she wants, or he/she can create a process, and then train and equip the staff to implement that process.
Since the process is composed of key steps, those steps can be measured, and those measurements compared to a goal. So, for example, let’s say that the server’s process requires the customer’s order to be entered into a tablet computer at the table, within 15 minutes of the server greeting them. You could easily develop a means of capturing the information and then compare actual measurements to the
ideal. When there is a discrepancy, you can take some action to improve that step on the process. In so doing, you continuously improve.
That approach is effective for any and every recurring, sophisticated task. Think of McDonalds without a system or processes. They don’t
hire the best people they can find, and then give them this charge: “You guys figure it out.” No — they create a system, made up of processes, activities, tools and measurements, and then train and measure the employees to effectively implement that system.
Whether it is making a sales call,
cooking a meal, assembling a Ford, or writing a term paper, any and every sophisticated, reproducible task should be turned into a process and systematized in order to do it better and continually improve it.
The task should be sophisticated. In order words, it should be composed of a number of
sub-tasks. So, for example, installing a new... READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE
