Session Number
Fourth Plenary Session
Keywords
Culture of assessment, Lean, Process improvement, A3, Professional development, Change management, Academic Library, Case study
Description
To succeed organizations rely on the purposeful application of the management functions, planning, organizing, leading and controlling, i.e., assessment. Assessment involves the collection and analysis of service and performance data to inform planning, organizing and leading-- opening the door to a culture of assessment and continuous improvement. Like other organizations responding to ever challenging economies and ever changing customer expectations, libraries are examining continuous improvement methods such as Lean, or Six Sigma, to ensure operations and services are customer focused and can be continuously assessed and improved with limited resources. Librarians though, often lack a general understanding of assessment and continuous improvement methods and may be reluctant to implement. At the Li Ka Shing Library, staff and librarians are taking advantage of the University’s Lean Six Sigma green belt certification program to learn the methods of data gathering and measuring performance outcomes to continually assess and improve services and processes, i.e., ensure operational strength (a University strategic initiative). To help staff and librarians tell the story of their improvements and to reinforce management competencies learned in the Lean Six Sigma training, the A3 method of problem solving is being used to report progress and practice demonstrating the value of their contributions to the University’s stakeholders.
Included in
Problem Lah! Learning to Tell the Story of Continuous Assessment and Improvement
To succeed organizations rely on the purposeful application of the management functions, planning, organizing, leading and controlling, i.e., assessment. Assessment involves the collection and analysis of service and performance data to inform planning, organizing and leading-- opening the door to a culture of assessment and continuous improvement. Like other organizations responding to ever challenging economies and ever changing customer expectations, libraries are examining continuous improvement methods such as Lean, or Six Sigma, to ensure operations and services are customer focused and can be continuously assessed and improved with limited resources. Librarians though, often lack a general understanding of assessment and continuous improvement methods and may be reluctant to implement. At the Li Ka Shing Library, staff and librarians are taking advantage of the University’s Lean Six Sigma green belt certification program to learn the methods of data gathering and measuring performance outcomes to continually assess and improve services and processes, i.e., ensure operational strength (a University strategic initiative). To help staff and librarians tell the story of their improvements and to reinforce management competencies learned in the Lean Six Sigma training, the A3 method of problem solving is being used to report progress and practice demonstrating the value of their contributions to the University’s stakeholders.