BEC 6.1

Question 1

List the five process management activities.

Answer 1

1. Design
2. Modeling
3. Execution
4. Monitoring
5. Optimization

Question 2

List the elements of PDCA:

Answer 2

1. Plan
2. Do
3. Check
4. Act

Question 3

List the benefits of process management

Answer 3

1. Efficiency
2. Effectiveness
3. Agility

Question 4

Define: Outsourcing

Answer 4

Contracting of services to external providers.

Ex: payroll service or a call center to provide support or back office services for a fee.

A contractual relationship exists between the business and its outsource provider.

Question 5

Define: JIT and the underlying concept of JIT

Answer 5

JIT = just-in-time

JIT management anticipates achievement of efficiency by scheduling the deployment of resources just in time to meet customer or production requirements

Underlying concept of JIT is that inventory does not add value.
Maintenance of inventory levels purely produces wasteful costs.
Reducing inventory by ensuring that resources arrive only if they are needed (just in time for use) is the idea behind JIT

Question 6

Define: demand flow

Answer 6

Manages resources using customer demand as the basis for resource allocation.

Demand flow contrasts with resource allocation based on sales forecasts or master scheduling

Question 7

Define: Theory of constraints

Answer 7

Anticipates that organizations are impeded from achieving objectives by the existence of one or more constraints.

Organization/project must be consistently operated in a manner that either works around or leverages the constraint

Question 8

What are the five steps in the theory of constraints?

Answer 8

1. Identification of the constraint
2. Exploitation of the constraint
3. Subordinate everything else to the above decisions
4. Elevate the constraint
5. Return to the first step

Question 9

What is Six Sigma?

Answer 9

Anticipates the use of rigorous metrics in the evaluation of goal achievement.

The program is a continuous quality-improvement program that requires some specialized training.
Six Sigma expands on the Plan-Do-Check-Act model of process management and logicaly anticipates methodologies to improve current processes and develop new processes.

Question 10

In Six Sigma, what is DMAIC?

Answer 10

Existing product and business process improvements (DMAIC):
1. (D)efine the problem
2. (M)easure key aspects of current process
3. (A)nalyze data
4. (I)mprove or optimize current processes
5. (C)ontrol

Question 11

In Six Sigma, what is DMADV?

Answer 11

New product or business process development (DMADV):
1. (D)efine design goals
2. (M)easure CTQ (Critical to Quality issues)
3. (A)nalyze design alternatives
4. (D)esign optimization
5. (V)erify the design