In LO 15997 Paul Meagher wrote:
>The dilemma I am currently facing is the following: if the process and
>specifications are spelled out in too much detail it may be disempowering
>and creativity inhibiting for the developers (not to mention
>unrealistic), if the process and specifications are spelled out in too
>little detail then it may be difficult to do good project management.
> Any ideas on how one might define the appropriate level of detail for a
>specification and a process? Or, more generally, if one wants their
>organization to become more process centered, what >destinguishes between
>a process that is Tayloristic versus one that empowers and effectively
>coordinates employees?
Thanks, Paul. I think that this is a worthwhile area for exploration.
In one of my previous lifetimes I was operations manager for a start-up
computer depot repair center. Our work teams were made up of primarily
young, just-out-of-school, very energetic, and creative people with good
problem solving skills. One of the challenges we faced was to create
disciplined, repeatable, effective (standardized) processes for the work
we did, while simultaneously creating a culture of contnuous improvement.
Standardization and creativity, discipline and risk-taking, agreeing to
"follow the process" while encouraging individual empowerment. Sort of a
balancing of the yin & yang situation.
Our approach was to have the process experts (the technicians who did the
job) define what the most effective method for creating the desired output
was to be, given the current constraints. When the group defined this
process, we agreed that all technicians would standardize on the method.
The standardized process was used until improvements were made. These
process improvements came about through recommendations by teams and
individuals who experimented with different methods off line. When the
improvements were introduced, they became part of a new standardized
process, and all agreed to use that process until more improvements were
introduced. This approach worked pretty well for us.
I don't know much about creating web-sites. The scenario I just described
was used in an environment were we worked on tangible stuff with parts
that had exacting measurements, and processing equipment that we could
move around as we wanted. My impression is that the product that you are
creating is pretty intangible (cyber stuff). Does this make a difference
in how a person would approach this issue?
Regards to all.
Bruce Coe
bcoe@tx-fund.com
--"Bruce K. Coe"<BCoe@txfund.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>