Ramachandran SwaminathanRegional Delivery Manager| Oracle Consulting IndiaBangalore, Karnataka, India
Adnan - As you mentioned yourself it is a project and your understanding is correct. There are certain exceptions though. If you are looking at a continuous process improvement in a company, eg; Company wants to move from CMMi L3 to CMMi L5. This may or may not be tracked as a project,but again depends on the company decision. Saving Changes...
Following the PMBOK Guide definition of a project, the answer is yes. Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Great comments above. Let me write about my personal experience. Process (or Functions which are a higher level) are the way organizations answer to environmental stimuli. Process are defined from the strategy. Process are the link between components of the organization and both (components and processes) are the organizational architecture. So, when things change into the environment then processes and/or components must change. Projects are the mean to put the change in place. Then, it is possible to create a project because you need to improve a process. That´s is what I am doing from years. Obviously the decision process to define if a project deserves to be started or not is the same than for any other type of initiative and it is guided for things like comments above have mentioned. Saving Changes...
At an organizational level, most companies will define a lower threshold (e.g. cost, effort) on what is defined as being a project against which governance & methodology standards would apply.
If it's a small process improvement initiative, that might fall below the threshold.
Kiron Saving Changes...
Tara BachmanDeputy Administrator| Public Service Commission of WisconsinMadison, Wi, United States
If you define process improvement as something with a beginning and end with a unique output, then yes, this is the same definition that PMI uses to define a project.
However, while process improvement and project management have alignments, there is also a fundamental difference.
Similarities include the use analytical tools, leveraging advanced planning, requirements gathering, setting success criteria and objectives, etc.
Where the fundamental difference lies is that continuous improvement should never be undertaken with a final product in mind. Continuous improvement is about determining your current state, analyzing data, making an intervention/change, and determining the impact of that change....rinse and repeat, in many cases. Process improvement may take many cycles, and may not have a defined end date - as the goal is continuous improvement, so you may revisit the new process in the future to measure it's effectiveness. If you know the intervention in advance, that isn't a true continuous improvement endeavor, that is an implementation project.
You can have process improvement inside of projects and you can use principles of project management for process improvement, but it is important to recognize the distinctions between the two, in my opinion. Saving Changes...
Adnan ShareefEPMO Director| JEDCO (Jeddah Airports Company)Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Thank you all for your great contributions.
The case here with the consulting firm is that it takes a contract for process improvement in some organization.
The process improvement may take from 3 to 18 months at max.
The deliverables are improved quality, speed & profit.
Then the consulting firm shift to another process improvement contract in another organization. Saving Changes...
Ramachandran SwaminathanRegional Delivery Manager| Oracle Consulting IndiaBangalore, Karnataka, India
Adnan - In your particular case, it without any doubt a project Saving Changes...
Andrey GrubinPMP, PMI-ACPBrooklyn, Ny, United States
Adnan - according to PMBOK, improving the project could be a project. Saving Changes...
FAHIM SHEIKHPresident| 0947292 BC Ltd.Surrey, British Columbia, Canada
Yes indeed, as long as certain techniques are being employed from a certain point in time to a certain point in time (start date and end date should be clear). Saving Changes...
