Technology or Process

One of the questions, we frequently encounter is the use of IT to resolve issues. There are many applications out there. Aside from the common applications of Microsoft Office, There is an application for scheduling, forecasting, purchasing, accounting, etc. The computer has allowed many productivity enhancements through aggregating and disaggregating data for decision making. And it can perform these caluclations ion fractions of a second.

However, there are many managers out there today that think that an IT application can solve many problems, including saving money and improving efficiencies. This article recently published in EComputer World disputes all of these claims with some pretty astounding data. http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9141428/Harvard_study_Computers_don_t_save_hospitals_money

The article states that the value was delivered for adminstration and not the clinicians. One of the fundamental principles in lean improvement is to define or specify value in the eyes of the customer. So who is the customer of an IT system?
I think when this can be properly answered, IT solutions can deliver all kionds of value.

another point I frequently stress with clients is to fix the process and the workflows first, then deploy a technology solution. As a retired Lt. Colonel told me a few years back, software = process+policy. Software hardwires the workflow. To get the value, you firtst have to define your workflow. Unfortunately, with many software packages, the files and screens are already primarily fixed. Your workflow becomes screen completion in the soft ware package you just purchased.

While it may sound like I am against technology, I am not, in fact I'm just the opposite. But I am a bigger fan of defining process first. And by defining process I mean eliminate as much non-value added as you can, and then create standard operations. When you have done this, you may nopw be at a point where you need to leverage technology to take out more non-value added activity, or to hardwire the solution.

Also, you should have realistic expectations in terms of what IT will do for your organization.

Ron
www.breakthroughhorizons.com