Improvement methods accelerate management and work processes with better results and without waste. But which method best suits your organization and your team? In this article, we explain 4 models so that you can get an initial impression of the possibilities.

Would you also like to improve the effectiveness and efficiency within your organization? Read this article in which we discuss the following topics:

• Why apply improvement methods?

• Which improvement model suits your organization?

Get acquainted with…

• Lean Canvas

• Lean Six Sigma

• Kaizen

• Scrum
  

We provide Lean training courses, where you learn how to apply improvement methods. Curious about the possibilities? Request a brochure for our Green Belt training without obligation. Have you completed it? Then take the next step with our Black Belt training!

Improving work processes is not a one-time action, but a continuous improvement process, regardless of the improvement method you choose.

But why is it beneficial to apply improvement processes? With every method, you identify waste, increase awareness and involvement among colleagues, and stimulate both internal and external collaboration. By working in a structured and data-driven way, you offer your customers the very best experience at the lowest possible cost.

However, each method is different. Discover the differences below.

The 4 improvement models below analyze and optimize your business processes and activities. For each method, we explain what you can expect, what the advantages are, and in which situation(s) it is most effective.

1. The Lean Canvas
The Lean Canvas is a one-page business plan template designed by Ash Maurya. The canvas is derived from Alex Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas, but optimized for so-called “Lean Startups” (more on that later).

The Lean Canvas is divided into 9 blocks. These blocks form a logical route in which you make thorough and strategic choices: from defining problems to mapping cost structures and revenue streams.

• Problem
  Name 1 to 3 problems that you regularly encounter during your work. Also mention how these problems are currently being solved today.

• Solution
  Describe possible solutions for each problem.

• Key Metrics
  Describe the key metrics that indicate how your company/product is performing.

• Unique Value Proposition
  State the unique, clear message of your organization that indicates how your product distinguishes itself and why people buy it.

• Unfair Advantage
  State what competitors cannot easily copy or purchase.

• Channels
  Describe the inbound and outbound routes to/from the customer.

• Customer Segments
  Describe the different target groups and users.

• Cost Structure
  Map out your fixed and variable costs.

• Revenue Streams
  Map out where the revenue comes from.

The advantages of the Lean Canvas
The Lean Canvas offers the following advantages:

• Save time!
  Writing a business plan usually takes several weeks to months. With the canvas, you can outline the main lines of multiple possible business models in just one or two afternoons.

• Create a dynamic strategy
  Not only is the canvas easier to share with colleagues… Due to its compact format, it is read and updated more often and more quickly.

• Keep it concise
  The canvas forces you to emphasize the essence of your product. On average, you have 30 seconds to capture the attention of an investor and only 8 seconds to capture the online attention of the (potential) customer.

• Communicate effectively
  With the canvas, you document and communicate in a concise and effective way with both colleagues and investors. You avoid long stories and stick to the essence of the organization.

When the Canvas is the ideal methodology for your organization
Is your organization still a Lean startup? Then the Lean Canvas is a suitable method.

A Lean startup is a small team that experiments a lot. Long and extensive business plans do not fit your strategy; after all, the team works quickly, effectively, and efficiently. In this way, products are continuously improved using feedback from the market.

With Lean Six Sigma, you improve both the efficiency and the quality of your organization. The method combines the most important aspects of two improvement methods: Lean and Six Sigma:

• You eliminate waste and deliver the highest possible added value to the customer for a smooth flow with maximum value creation (Lean);

• and you continuously measure and improve quality for consistent business processes (Six Sigma).

The advantages of Lean Six Sigma
This combination offers several advantages:

• Create higher customer satisfaction
  By removing unnecessary activities, you reduce process complexity and improve communication both internally and externally. Not only with colleagues, but also with customers!

• Achieve more profit
  Because you create a framework to reduce defects, improve efficiency, and increase delivery quality, you achieve more profit.

• Experience higher productivity while maintaining good quality
  You improve the efficiency of (work) processes. These processes complete products/services faster without compromising their quality.

• Make fewer mistakes within (business) processes
  You change the organizational culture in which people learn to speak the same language. You use a method that guarantees the quality of the product or service.

When Six Sigma is the ideal methodology for your organization
Lean Six Sigma is particularly interesting if your organization deals with process control and process improvement. Especially if you regularly experience complex problems or challenges whose causes are not immediately clear. By collecting and analyzing data, you can determine which improvements to implement in order to optimize (business) processes.

Read tip: We recently wrote an article about the impact of Lean Leadership >

Kaizen is Japanese for “change” (kai) to “become good” (zen). It also stands for taking apart and reassembling, in a better way, for example a process, system, product, or service. With this, Kaizen goes beyond one-time improvement; it is a daily activity in which you continuously prevent waste and implement improvements.

The methodology consists of 5 foundations:

• Teamwork

• Personal discipline

• Improved morale

• Quality circles

• Suggestions for improvements

The advantages of Kaizen
With Kaizen, you eliminate waste based on the 3 Mu’s:

Reduce waste (muda)
Achieve high, consistent quality at lower costs.

Less inflexibility (muri)
Deliver the right quantity at the right time.

Less variability (mura)
Create greater reliability and predictability within the process.

When Kaizen is the ideal methodology for your organization
It is suitable for both production and assembly companies as well as service-oriented organizations.

You apply the method when (re)designing business processes and implementing improvement processes. It involves all employees (from all levels) within an organization because only then can you achieve the best result.

Scrum is an Agile way of working for project teams to deliver projects productively and respond quickly to potential changes. Think of market developments, but also changing customer needs. The goal is always to try, learn, and then determine how to move forward.

With Scrum, you increase your agility and aim to align as well (and quickly) as possible with the wishes of your target audience and end user. You work in a self-organizing and multidisciplinary development team and in short cycles (sprints) on concrete intermediate products. These sprints consist of fixed meetings:

• Sprint planning

• Stand-up

• Review

• Retrospective

The advantages of Scrum
The Scrum method offers the following advantages:

• Work in an independent and self-managing team
  You do not tell your team what they should do, because they already know. As a stakeholder, you determine the desired result, after which the team works toward the most ideal end result.

• Always create a realistic sprint planning
  A sprint usually lasts 2 weeks. Priorities are determined for these 2 weeks in order to create a realistic sprint plan. The team agrees with and supports the planning so that the priorities are achieved.

• Work effectively with clear communication
  You closely monitor the progress of a project, regularly discuss developments, and are continuously aware of your team’s capacity.

• Build only what you need
  You only work on the components that matter at that moment. Once a foundation has been laid, you and the team go deeper into other components.

When Scrum is the ideal methodology for your organization
Scrum fits best within organizations where…

• projects regularly face (sudden) changes;

• multiple (external) parties are involved in the realization of a project;

• time, budget, and quality fall short in projects;

• teams keep preparing, consulting, and researching instead of executing;

• and where you want to continue motivating each other to get the best out of yourselves.

Would you like to learn more about the methods above? We provide Lean training courses in which you learn how to apply improvement methods. Request a brochure for our Green Belt training without obligation. Have you completed it? Then take the next step with our Black Belt training!
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