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?
For me what I will do differently in monitoring continuous improvement is to create a department for it or make the safety department coordinate it by creating a job card for everyone in the company to monitor this by just filling a form and submitting while doing their normal daily task.
I will define the goals and purpose the improvement in line with the organisation’s objectives and vision. Then communicate effectively with every one regarding the gathering of data and needed information required for continuous improvement practice. Also, I will analyse / evaluate the operations and the product performance from time to time within our team and the public space as well to get feedback that could lead to continuous improvement.
How to implement a continuous improvement process
According to Indre Kulakauskaite (2023), Continuous improvement is a process that involves making incremental changes to systems, processes, and products to achieve better results over time. It’s a crucial aspect of business management that ensures that organizations remain competitive, efficient, and profitable in a constantly evolving marketplace.
Given the above definition, it is pertinent to know that continuous improvement could emanate from operational challenges, complaints from customers, or the need to optimize existing workflows. Several methods can be used to implement changes that optimize the existing processes to meet or exceed the required standards.
The methods commonly used are:
• The Kaizen method
• The Use of the 5 S’s method
• Lean Management
• The PDCA method
• . Set SMART goals
• Six Sigma
• Business process re-engineering (BPR)
• Gap analysis
• Process mapping
Tapping on the knowledge that I have acquired so far, I will create a culture of innovation, team dynamics and involvement. Everyone will be given a chance to contribute ideas to support the group’s efforts by creating an atmosphere of trust and open communication, comradeship, commitment, collaboration, adaptability, and a positive attitude. This will complemented by a well-defined reward system that encourages continuous learning and innovative tendencies.
Atlassian concept of continuous improvement is quite commendable. Giving employees 20% of their official work to spend on their project is a hygiene factor for the employee which can be misused. I would have clearly defined how the 20% should be used. Without any particular biases for race or creed, I am such that most of the employees would probably choose to use the time for projects that will earn them additional income but have no relevance to the company’s project. I would have insisted that the time be used for research on how to improve the ongoing organization project with a promise of compensation for the research outcome that brings about continuous improvements for the organization. I will also encourage employees to use part of the time for their continuous professional development.
Implementing effective continuous improvement practices requires a multifaceted approach that encompasses both structural and cultural elements within the organization.
Firstly, establishing clear channels for feedback and communication is essential, allowing employees to voice their ideas and concerns openly. Encouraging a growth mindset across the organization fosters a culture where individuals feel empowered to challenge existing processes and propose improvements. Additionally, providing resources and support, such as training programs or dedicated improvement initiatives, enables employees to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to drive change effectively. It’s crucial to create a framework for capturing, prioritizing, and implementing improvement ideas systematically, ensuring that efforts are aligned with strategic objectives and have measurable outcomes.
To differentiate from Atlassian, one might tailor the continuous improvement practices to the specific needs and dynamics of their organization, considering factors such as size, industry, and existing cultural norms. Additionally, fostering cross-functional collaboration and diversity of thought can bring fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the improvement process. Moreover, continuously reassessing and adapting the approach based on feedback and evolving organizational needs ensures the sustainability and effectiveness of the continuous improvement efforts over time.
The best way to encourage continuous improvement is to create a culture that supports it.
Encourage employee involvement by asking for and receiving feedback. And when employees make suggestions, take them seriously and give them the resources they need to make those improvements.
For Atlassian, I would reduce the time given to employees to work on personal projects from 20% to 10 %.
This would reduce the risk to the company’s resources.
To implement effective continuous improvement practices in our organization, i will carefully implement the following personalized steps:
1. Clearly define the purpose and goals of our improvement initiative, aligning them with our unique vision and objectives.
2. Foster a culture that values and supports continuous improvement, encouraging every team member to actively contribute their ideas and insights.
3. Engage all employees at every level, empowering them to participate in the improvement process and take ownership of their respective areas.
4. Gather specific data and metrics relevant to our organization, enabling us to assess our current performance and identify areas where we can make meaningful improvements.
5. Regularly evaluate our processes, systems, and practices, tailoring our assessments to our organization’s distinct needs and challenges.
6. Prioritize improvement projects based on our specific circumstances, considering their potential impact and feasibility within our unique context.
7. Implement changes effectively and monitor progress closely, ensuring that we are making tangible strides towards our desired improvements.
8. Review the outcomes of our improvement initiatives, celebrating successes and learning from any setbacks or obstacles we encounter, and adjusting our approach accordingly to continually optimize our practices.
As a product manager, I intend to implement an effective continuous improvement practice. This will be achieved by fostering harmonious job relationships between employees and employers, thus facilitating a constant improvement of both the product and the employees.
To attain this objective, I intend to empower my team by providing an environment that encourages suggestions and constructive feedback without fear of criticism. Further, I plan to establish intelligent objectives and provide frequent feedback that will benefit my team, consumers, and management team alike.
Implementing effective continuous improvement practices requires a combination of fostering a culture of innovation, providing resources for experimentation, and empowering teams to identify and address challenges. To start, I would emphasize the importance of continuous improvement through regular communication and training sessions. Encouraging employees to allocate a portion of their time for personal projects or skill development can stimulate creativity and innovation, much like Atlassian’s 20% time model. Additionally, I would implement structured feedback mechanisms and tools, such as performance assessments or team health monitors, to identify areas for improvement and track progress over time. Furthermore, I might introduce cross-functional collaboration opportunities to encourage knowledge sharing and diverse perspectives. While adopting some of Atlassian’s strategies, I might customize the approach based on the organization’s unique culture, industry, and goals to ensure maximum effectiveness.
As a product manager, I will implement an effective continuous improvement practice through creating harmonious job relationship between employees and employers, whereby establishing a continue improvement on the product and employees itself.
To empowered suggestion and give room for constructive improvements for effective and effecian work progress without fear of criticism while setting intelligence objective and frequently feedback that cuts across my team, cosumers, management team.
While change is constant in everything, one must be implement decision, engage collection of data to arrived at the goal point.
As a product manager i will put in place a mechanism that will accelerate achievement of progress while learning from the past mistake.
As a product Manager, my expertise would come in to create a culture of innovation and change within my team by making them accept it as a way of life and see reason why this must be implemented as it can affect the overall business and products goals.
Being overall head of the product management and development, i would encourage team work which would help to implement continous improvement processes and goals because each person would contribute to the little expectant changes to be made to achieve the definite outcome.
I will also encourage continuous improvement through massive customer feedback at product launch. This feedback will highlight each team’s contribution to the creation of the product. So each team is getting a feed back from the design team to the functionality to the market awareness etc. what I will do differently from atlassian’s is that I will give incentives to each team by paying them for their extra time to effect change so as to encourage and boost their interest in doing so.
My target would also be customer or consumer based because they are the receivers of the end product. massive discounts would encourage customers loyalty and improved feedback system would boost their patronage.