Let’s take a look at an example of continuous improvement practices at the company Atlassian.
Atlassian, a software company that offers products to product managers and development teams, has successfully created and sustained a culture of innovation and continuous improvement. Atlassian achieves this in a few different ways.
Firstly, to drive innovation, employees are given 20% of their allocated work time to spend on personal projects. [1] This is modelled on Google’s innovation strategy, where personal projects often can be transformed into creative new features or products for the organisation. This strategy requires Atlassian to allow their employees the time to work on these personal projects, which is an expensive risk for the company since 20% of employees’ time is given away to experimentation. However, to ensure that this time is used productively, employees focus their personal projects on the team, how it operates, and what they do.
Secondly, Atlassian cultivated a culture of continuous improvement to support innovation. Specifically, Atlassian split their employees into small teams and encouraged them to own their career path by embracing and identifying challenges and strengths. What they found was that successful teams handled challenges differently to other teams, so to help those who struggled, Atlassian implemented a workshopping resource called the Team Playbook. They gathered the practices that successful teams used and created short, purposeful workshops and exercises that enabled teams to learn and adopt these practices. [2]
For example, Atlassion’s Health Monitor [3] helps teams to assess their strengths and weaknesses. Once some weaknesses have been identified, teams and employees can use other plays to strengthen these areas.
Instructions: How do you implement continuous improvement practices?
Taking dedicated work time to innovate and find continuous improvement opportunities can be an expensive cost for an organisation. Considering what you have just learned, complete the following:
- Explain in a brief paragraph:
- How might you go about implementing effective continuous improvement practices?
- What might you do differently to Atlassian?
To implement effective continuous improvement practices, foster a culture of collaboration and openness, encouraging all employees to contribute ideas.
Set clear goals aligned with strategic priorities and provide training on problem-solving techniques.
Create a supportive environment for experimentation and view failure as a learning opportunity.
To implement effective continuous improvement in project management, using Atlassian’s approach:
1. You give at least,20% free work time to workers so they can invest same time on the projects. This avails them the opportunity to learn more about the project.
2. If for example, you have 30 workers who had been grouped into only 2 or 3 groups, you change this approach and split them into 5 or 6 groups.
3. Assess your workers’ strength and weaknesses and learn how to utilize both into the improvement of your product..
Implementing effective continuous improvement practices involves creating a culture that encourages feedback, learning, and adaptation at all levels of the organization. This can be achieved through regular assessment of processes, identifying areas for improvement, setting specific goals, and implementing changes incrementally. Key components include fostering open communication channels, providing resources for skill development, empowering employees to experiment and make decisions, and celebrating successes.
To differentiate from Atlassian, one might focus on customizing improvement strategies to the unique needs and challenges of the organization, leveraging different tools and methodologies tailored to the team’s dynamics, and ensuring alignment with overarching business objectives while maintaining flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances swiftly. Additionally, fostering a culture of psychological safety where individuals feel comfortable sharing ideas and providing constructive feedback can further enhance continuous improvement efforts.
To implement effective continuous improvement practices,
– A culture of continuous improvement among employees and stakeholders must be established and cultivated, This would be done by engaging employees to contribute their ideas at all levels, regular trainings in line with business goals and also to develop their problem solving skills.
-Employees will be divided into smaller teams to handle various improvement processes such as feedback from product users , constructive criticism on the products and processes. Ideas generated from the team would be evaluated by the product manager and seen to be implemented in the improvement processes.
-Measures should be put in place for continuous analysis and reviews that aids improvement process.
For Atlassian, rather than take 20% of their work time, I would encourage them to execute personal projects outside work time but with a time frame for conclusion and project presentation. I would also include incentives for the most creative project.
First is to drive innovation which involves actively engaging employees. This gives them the opportunity to think outside the box and bring about ideas that could help the product.
it is also important to note that the ideas that employees come up with should be evaluated and utilized and continuous feedbacks is also essential.
Analysis should also be done from time to time to know if there are loopholes that need to be filled up.
employee should be engaged in the idea of continuous improvement, likewise team mix should be prudently done in order to engage all employees.
Continuous feedback should be integrated to ensure that the 20% personal project is not a waste of time.
Finally goal should be measured to indicate value.
Initially, employee should be engaged in the idea of continuous improvement, likewise team mix should be prudently done in order to engage all employees.
Continuous feedback should be integrated to ensure that the 20% personal project is not a waste of time.
Finally goal should be measured to indicate value.
First, a survey will be carried out personally, to be able to evaluate the necessary attention to be given to the problem at hand.
Then selection of team will be the next step.
Good leadership, showing the path with example.
Further analysis and evaluation of reports, to be able to fit in with the team’s goals
CHINAZOR MBAGWU.
Effective continuous improvements practices involves a systematic approach to identifying, analyzing and ehnacing processes and operations within an organization and the steps are;
A. Ensure leadership commitment to foster a culture of continuous improvement.
B. Identify key performance indicators(KPIS) that align qith communication goals.
C. Ensure employees involvement at all levels to participate innthe improvements.
D. Map out existing processes to understand workflow and potential areas for improvements.
E. Continuous monitoring
F. Root cause analysis
G. Idea generation
H. Technology integration
I. Performance reviews
J. Regular audits
By adopting these practices, organizations can create a synamicand adaptive environment that fosters continuous improvement leading to increased efficiency, customer satisfaction and overall business success.
With more of this they would have done differently
To implement effective continuous improvement practices, I would recommend the following steps:
– Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current processes and identify areas for improvement.
– Prioritize the most critical areas for improvement and develop specific, measurable goals.
– Seek input from employees and other stakeholders on ways to improve the process.
– Implement changes gradually, monitoring progress and making adjustments as needed.
– Continue to assess and improve the process on an ongoing basis.
When it comes to Atlassian, I would suggest that the company focus on improving its communication and collaboration tools. Atlassian’s products are already very popular, but there are always ways to improve, and Atlassian could focus on making its tools even more user-friendly and intuitive. Additionally, Atlassian could improve its support and training offerings, to make sure that users are getting the most out of its products. By focusing on these areas, Atlassian could further differentiate itself from its competitors and maintain its market share.
Continuous reassessment of team results and allowing workers to use their ingenuity in solving task. Consistent training of staffs rto use updated facilities.