Many of us have spent years working without using data. We came up with ideas for improvement simply through the experience of working on a process or by talking with customers and business partners. As problems arose, we used our experience and knowledge to come up with solutions. Sometimes the problem would disappear, and sometimes not. There is nothing wrong with applying our knowledge or even intuition to come up with improvements. Yet, numbers can become a powerful tool to separate what you think is happening from what is really happening. Data can establish a baseline to measure improvement.
Instructions
1. Take notes on what you want the numbers for. Ask yourself a series of critical questions regarding your business. Are you seeking to expand your margins? Does the business have operational performance gaps you are attempting to understand? Do you need to control costs? Knowing that the goal of any business is to make a profit, determine the likely areas that you could leverage to expand that profit, and gather data on those areas to better understand both the opportunity and the specific interventions to take.
2. Gather your numbers from a trusted source. Regardless of the business, obtaining data from a reliable and acceptable source of truth that will be recognized as such in the organization is a critical step. Common sources include data from operations, finances and sales. Even if circumstances prevent you from getting at all of the data you're seeking, any data you can gather is helpful. This could be manually collected data tracked via simple tick sheets or keyed into Excel. While not perfect, manually collected data are at least directionally accurate and provide you with more information.
3. Verify your numbers. You need to have confidence that the numbers are meaningful and that others will view them in the same manner. If you don't feel confident about the numbers, complete additional data collection to give yourself the best numbers available.
4. Place the data into a format that is easily presentable, and work with a colleague or team to brainstorm around the numbers. Use a common quality improvement tool, such as a control chart, a Pareto analysis, or a cause and effect analysis, to dig into the numbers. The output of this is an understanding of the causes of the situation and what interventions you can employ to improve your results.
You may have a lengthy list of action items born from your analysis. Prioritize your actions into short, medium, and long term. Itemize each action step and assign who will complete it, and when. If possible, note the current measurement for the process as a benchmark for current performance. Finally, implement those plans, allowing time for those actions to influence the processes.
5. Take measurements at regular intervals, using the same methods as in your original analysis. Did the actions you implemented move the numbers? Look for correlations between the date you implemented a change to your numbers. You likely will see both improvements and additional opportunities.
