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 a continuous improvement practices, I would have to put these into consideration:
Firstly, I need to avail employees the opportunity to exercise their expertises, thereby giving them the desired opportunity to spend time trying to handle task on their own with minimal supervision.
Nevertheless, to succinctly monitor periods given to get this work done, my employees will be allotted to teams to enable them pay rapt concentration in getting the work done in time. I’ll be able virtualize how they operate and what they can offer.
Furthermore, I’ll develope a norm of constant improvement to harness innovative. I will also share my employees into sub teams and let them focus on highlighting their weaknesses and strengths. That way, those who need necessary supports, who cannot achieve designated results perfectly on their individual capacities, but can do more while working as a team will be able to catch up easily. Also, creating time to organize an exhibition session for employees to be able to ascertain if they are on track is another way of letting them gain mastery and improve in what they can do effectively and efficiently.
To implement effective continuous improvement practices, I can adapt Atlassian’s strategies to my context:
Personal Projects: Allocate a small percentage of work time for employees to work on personal projects that align with team goals and improve processes.
Team Playbook: Develop a playbook with best practices and conduct short workshops to help teams adopt these practices.
Health Monitoring: Regularly assess team strengths and weaknesses, and create targeted action plans to address areas for improvement.
I’ll tailor these strategies to focus on product management, customer service, and HR, leveraging training and customer feedback to drive continuous improvement.
To implement effective continuous improvement practices, you can start by fostering a culture that values innovation and encourages employees to contribute ideas for improvement. Providing dedicated time, like Atlassian’s 20% time, for personal projects or improvement initiatives can be beneficial. Additionally, creating a structured framework, similar to Atlassian’s Team Playbook, that helps teams identify challenges, strengths, and best practices can guide the improvement process. Encouraging open communication, feedback, and collaboration among team members is also crucial for successful continuous improvement efforts. To differentiate from Atlassian, you could tailor the improvement strategies to suit your organization’s unique needs and challenges, ensuring that the practices align with your company culture and goals.
How I will go about implementing effective continuous improvement practices is by the following concepts –
* Employee engagement which has to do with team buy-in and contributions to the efficiency of the team,
* Incremental changes
* Continuous feedback and
* Measurable results
What I’ll do differently from Atlassian is get feedbacks from both their users and team, as regards innovations and continuous improvement opportunities that’s best for their products and organization.
As a product manager, I will simply implement the 4 pillars of continuous improvement.
Customer-centricity, product quality improvement, process efficiency, business profitability, and put to effective use the PCDA process of plan, do, check, and act.
This already embodies whatever methods any product manager would want to employ for the continuous improvement of products.
What I will ensure to encourage is building a continuous improvement culture in our organization, and I will even go as far as rewarding employees who stand out in performing their tasks while being involved in the continuous improvement processes, be it in bringing up innovative ideas or innovations or in developing more effective feedback collection and analytical methods.
The Atlassian way is fantastic in that it fosters innovation in employees and challenges them to greater accomplishments on a product, but it is also a risky method, hence the support and structures built by Atlassian to mitigate against risk. But what I will add to the Atlassian way of continuous improvement is selecting a group of customers as testers alongside the insiders or team testers of marginal improvements right from the very beginning of the process.
This will further reduce risks if considering the Atlassian way, especially if it is a software product
To implement the effective continuous improvements, the benefits of improved productivity through simplified processes to increased product quality and improved collaboration and communication is achieved by firstly having a great team to work with.
They are allowed personal work space to allow the juice of innovation or creativity to flow through various experimentations which will lead to product creations.
Secondly the culture of continuous improvements to support innovation is implemented by working in teams or small groups, the improved collaboration and communication breeds improve practices.
What I will do differently from Altassian is invest more money and time because it will ultimately lead to the company’s profitability and competitiveness.
Implementing effective continuous improvement practices involves establishing a culture of ongoing evaluation and enhancement. Begin by fostering an environment where feedback is encouraged and valued. Implement regular training sessions to keep employees informed about best practices and new tools. Use data-driven decision-making to identify areas for improvement, setting specific, measurable goals. Employ methodologies like Lean, Six Sigma, or Agile to streamline processes. Regularly review progress through performance metrics and adapt strategies as needed. Unlike Atlassian, which heavily relies on their proprietary tools like Jira for project management and continuous improvement, you might focus on customizing a variety of tools to fit your organization’s unique needs, ensuring flexibility and adaptability
Uwoghiren Osagie Williams
How might you go about implementing effective continuous improvement practices?
Implementing effective continuous improvement practices involves creating a structured approach to regularly review, analyze, and enhance processes, workflows, and outcomes within an organization. Here are steps to consider: 1, Establish a Culture of Continuous Improvement 2. Define Clear Objectives and Goals 3. Identify Improvement Opportunities 4. Implement Changes 5. Measure and Monitor Progress 6. Review and Learn 7. Encourage Innovation 8. Provide Training and Resources 9. Celebrate Success and Recognize Contributions 10. Adapt and Evolve
What might you do differently to Atlassian?
The thing I will do differently from Atlassian is to focus on the area that Atlassian is lacking
1, Data-Driven Decision Making 2. Customer Education and Support 3. Innovation and Differentiation 4. Streamlined Product Development 5. Cross-Functional Collaboration 6. Enhanced User Research and Feedback Loops 7. Prioritization and Roadmapping
Continuous improvement is a mindset and a methodology that seeks to incrementally improve processes, products, and services over time. It involves a ongoing and systematic effort to enhance efficiency, reduce waste, and increase quality, with the goal of achieving operational excellence. This approach encourages individuals and organizations to embrace a growth mindset, recognizing that there is always room for improvement, no matter how small. Continuous improvement is often associated with the Japanese concept of “kaizen,” which emphasizes the importance of small, incremental changes that, over time, can lead to significant improvements.
In practice, continuous improvement involves regularly examining and assessing processes, identifying areas for improvement, and implementing changes to address those opportunities. This may involve soliciting feedback from stakeholders, conducting root cause analysis, and experimenting with new approaches. The key principles of continuous improvement include a focus on incremental progress, a willingness to learn from failures, and a commitment to ongoing learning and development. By embracing continuous improvement, organizations can cultivate a culture of innovation, agility, and excellence, leading to improved outcomes, increased customer satisfaction, and sustained competitiveness.
1Implement the Kaizen method. Which means change referring to what is good and improved. …
Use the 5 S’s method. …
Implementing Lean Management. …
Optimize with the PDCA method. …
Set SMART goals.
2Atlassian allows employees to work from anywhere the company maintains a legal business entity.