A Framework for Systematic Evaluation of Process Improvement Priorities

Abstract

Each process improvement project must prioritize and select the areas or aspects to focus on. Moreover, each such selection needs to be communicated, motivated, and justified to all stakeholders (management as well as participating or affected parties). For both challenges, a conceptual framework and tool set is presented in this paper which is based on a quantitative model of the relations between improvement efforts and outcomes. These relations are represented as weighted dependency graph with extensions for time dynamics as well as uncertainties. The graph can be used for a goal-driven search of strategies as well as for simulation analysis of specific scenarios. The development of the graph basically requires a systematic documentation of the expectations or experiences in the respective context. The framework is outlined at the example of agile process fragments based on a knowledge base of evidential data.