The Process Is The Problem

There are only two ways a manager can manage:

1. One in which the PeopleAreTheProblem, so when a problem is discovered, someone must be blamed and fired.

2. One in which TheProcessIsTheProblem, so when a problem is discovered, the process is at fault and the true causes of the failure must be understood and somehow fixed, usually by simply changing the process.

Number two also requires that people are willing to change the way they work, to accommodate to an ever changing process. Every work product must be reviewed continually, so that when a problem is discovered it can be traced back to the true cause of the problem. If people are not willing to change the way they work, they could be fired as in the first case.

The problem with TheProcessIsTheProblem is that a bad manager can complicate the process so much that it would be impossible to know what went wrong. Also he would not listen the developer when they say that TheNewProcessIsTheProblem?.

--GuillermoSchwarz

A way to avoid the PeopleAreTheProblem and to solve problems using TheProcessIsTheProblem is to implement processes which provide RapidFeedback.

Funny how you never hear TheManagerIsTheProblem. -- GarryHamilton

That's just an special case of the PeopleAreTheProblem (sic). The only problem is that the manager usually can dictate the process and hire the people, so he can make both the process and the people a problem. -- GuillermoSchwarz

Warning: Much disagreement with this page to follow.

This page seems to take a very binary view of the world, and reality simply does not fit in a "one or the other" model.

The people are not the problem and neither is the process, either may cause problems, but that is far different from being the problem.

There is far more to the world than problems and non-problems. Everything has a range of variation and it is only when the variation crosses a threshold is it deemed a problem. Please note that the threshold also varies. It is far more productive to focus on reducing the level of variation (i.e. continuous improvement) than to wait for a problem to arise and then try to address it.

It also must be noted that it is not possible to isolate every problem to a generating cause. There are statistical tools (i.e. control charts) that are used to help discriminate between problems that may be associated with a specific cause and those that are unlikely to have an identifiable association.

Variation exists in people, processes, natural resources, everything. That is reality. This natural variation may result in a product that has a problem. The problem may have been a result of a person, a process, an incoming good, or it may be the result of some unknown combination. There is no a priori formula that says if there is a problem then it was always caused by agent X.

 --WayneMack

CategoryProcessesProcedures