We had a customer ask us this week about obtaining “ASO certification”. Here, in a nutshell, is what we said in reply:

“We’re unfamiliar with ‘ASO’ certification (one of my cohorts “googled” the acronym and didn’t think any of the results fit, so we assumed they meant “ISO” - if we’re wrong, we’ll hear about it). However, if a company wants to obtain ‘ISO’ certification, it has to do the following:

1. Develop a quality management system (QMS);
2. Implement the QMS and collect data;
3. Review the data collected and use it to drive improvement;
4. After several cycles of the QMS, you should have an indication of whether it’s working. When you’re sure it is…
5. Apply for a certification audit.  Your country’s ISO member body should have information on certifying bodies, registrars, etc.;
6. A few weeks after you’ve been through the audit, the certication auditor will tell you if you passed (or if you didn’t, where you were weak and need improvement). If you passed, ring the bell! Have a party! Tell all your friends (Facebook and real), family, and business associates! Your Quality Management System is now ISO certified! And…
7. In the event you didn’t pass, make the necessary changes (at the bare minimum) and reapply for a certification audit.

One thing we didn’t tell the customer initially is, “Don’t have unrealistic expectations.” Developing and utilizing the QMS — as well as the subsequent audit — are going to take time and effort.

If you’re doing it purely for marketing’s sake, if you think you can knock out a QMS and pass a certification audit in a matter of months…you’re in for a load of grief. You’ll never get a solid QMS under you AND you’ll never make deadlines, because they’re unrealistic.

If you build a QMS because you want to provide your customers with the best everything — if customers are the reason for everything you do, including the QMS – you’ll take the time you need to get it right, you won’t set unrealistic goals and deadlines, and you won’t drive yourself crazy trying to figure out why you never meet expectations.

OK, so they’re not really easy steps…but the concept itself isn’t at all complicated. Each of the steps above is broken down into successively smaller pieces (things, activities, people, etc.) but if you start with the “big picture” and keep the big picture handy, you’ll do fine. Refer to it continually as you build. That’s where a lot of companies go wrong — they focus on just one part of the whole story as if that were the whole story, like the blind men and the elephant.

Keep your perspective. Remember — you’re in it for the long haul.  Best of luck in your QMS journey, and let us know if you’d like our help.

Let’s face facts. Most companies are never going to be innovators, and that’s fine. Most would rather lead their respective categories, anyway, and they lead by doing most of the important things — all coming under the heading of “customer needs and wants” — consistently better than their competitors.

What are the important things? Give your customers what they want (which varies from one customer to the next but can be lumped into one category, “value”). Give it to them when they want it and don’t make excuses.

Value translates to “quality”, which you can give a customer from the outset if you’re lucky. Anyone can get it right at least once but what most of us call “quality” comes about only through establishing consistency in a process. And consistency can only be determined over time.

So, how do you ensure consistency? Keep working at the process. Keep refining it. Implement “best practices”.  This will, at best, let you “keep up with the Joneses” (and Toyodas and Fords, etc.).

What if keeping up isn’t good enough? Yes, the silver medal is nice but wouldn’t gold…or platinum…be even better? How do you get ahead of the pack? How do you differentiate yourself in a way that really matters?

Well, what’s the difference between a company that successfully meets or exceeds most stated customer requirements — again, not a bad place to be — and companies that go beyond the known and measurable? The difference is marked by a willingness not to be defined — or confined — by conventional thinking. Innovators don’t think a subject to death: they act decisively.

Of course, they get it wrong a lot of the time but they don’t fret about their mistakes. They learn from them, and they keep moving.

Sure, “mistake-proofing” has its rewards. Mistake-proofed organizations are more certain, they’re more measurable, and they’re often profitable. Innovative companies aren’t afraid of mistakes, because they know that’s how we learn best, as companies and as individuals.

In fact, it’s when we get into a “rut” of consistency that we often lose our gift for innovating. Consistency is not necessarily better than creativity, and vice versa. Consistency and creativity need not be mutually exclusive, either…so we’d like to think. After all, innovation and change can go hand in hand. What do you think?

Can innovation and “best practices” coexist?

* * * * * * *

For More On This Subject…

• “How to Kill Innovation: Keep Asking Questions”, by Scott Anthony, HBR Blog Network (25 Feb 2010) - http://blogs.hbr.org/anthony/2010/02/want_to_kill_innovation_keep_a.html
• “Does Repeat Collaboration Really Kill Creativity?”, by Andrew O’Connell, HBR Blog Network (1 Mar 2010) - http://blogs.hbr.org/research/2010/03/if-repeat-collaboration-kills.html

We all know what “corrective action” is, right? If you don’t, it’s really easy. It’s an action you take to eliminate the root cause of a problem (or nonconformance), thereby preventing — or reducing the likelihood of — the problem’s recurrence.

So, define the problem. (Well, see, it’s like this. Our skater was ahead — I mean “way ahead” — in the longest of the long-distance races. It’s, like, six miles. And with nearly three-quarters of the race gone, his opponent’s nowhere near him. He might as well be in another building…or another country.)

Doesn’t sound like a problem to me. (I was about to get to that. It’s at that point that our guy’s supposed to switch lanes to the outside. Only our coach says, “INSIDE!”, and our guy GOES inside, like he’s told. And because he didn’t switch lanes, our man’s DQ-ed.)

DQ-ed? (Disqualified. He had the best time, but didn’t win the race. We had the best man, the best coaches, the best training, best nutrition, best staff, the fastest track…and we have nothing to show for all that. No winner, no medal, no endorsements…nothing.)

And why was your man disqualified? (Like I said, the coach said “go inside” and he went inside. The coach made a mistake. So did our skater, I guess.)

Why did the coach tell your skater to go inside? (He wasn’t paying close attention…he was distracted…he was confused, somehow.)

Why did the skater do what the coach said? (He trusted the coach. He wasn’t paying attention, either.)

Why weren’t they paying attention? (I can’t say for sure. Maybe they were so far ahead, they got a little careless.)

See what we did? Recognize the “Five Whys”? We got down to a possible root cause. I say ”possible” because we rely on an individual’s focus, memory and biases. If we subject several people, including the skater and coach, to the “Five Whys”, we get a somewhat balanced result.

Now that we’ve identified a root cause, how do we eliminate it? Better yet, “What does this have to do with MY business?” For the answer to these and other questions…

…stay tuned.

Thanks to those of you who’ve expressed interest in the upcoming beta test of our policies and procedures management software. We’re making adjustments to the system and expect to release it for testing shortly.

We’re still recruiting testers for the policies and procedures management system. As a beta-tester, you’ll have unlimited access to the system during the test period and you’ll have the option to continue using it once it’s released to the general public.

The application will be web-based, so no installation is required. You’ll be able to set up other users in the test period so you can share policies and procedures. You’ll see firsthand what a great benefit this is. We plan to charge monthly for a certain number of seats, or licenses.

Your web app will come loaded with a set of Bizmanualz policies and procedures. In addition, potential testers have told us they’d like to upload their own procedures and supporting documents. They say they like the idea of a web-based application, because it leaves in-house technology resources free to support other needs. What would you do with Document Management Policies and Procedures Software?

Test Our Software Now - Get the Features You Want Later

Early testers will help us select from a long list of features planned for development. By participating in the test program, testers are likely to get the features they want sooner.

If you’re interested in taking part in this beta test of the Bizmanualz policy and procedure management system, please call (800-466-9953 or 314-863-5079), e-mail, or leave a message on our web site. Let us know:

Q1: Please provide your full contact information, including your name, company name, work title, address, e-mail, phone number, and website address.

 Q2: How do you currently use policies and procedures?

 Q3: Why are you interested in participating in this test?

 Q4. Today, how do you manage your documents; are you using software, network storage or a manual system? If using software, which software by name are you using? Roughly how many policies, procedures and supporting documents might you wish to manage in a software repository?

 Q5: Is there anything about your current policies and procedures software and/ or processes that you wish you could change or improve?

 Q6. What is the approximate number of employees in your entire organization___, and in your department or component___?

 Q7. How many would need to access the system; how many: Authors?___ Editors?___ Reviewers?___ Browsers/View-only access?___

 Q8: What do you plan to do with policies and procedures in the next 30 to 60 days?

When we get your responses, we’ll contact you to arrange for an introduction to the software. Prefer to answer the above questions in survey form? Click here. We hope to hear from you soon. Thanks for your assistance.

Much has been made of procedure writing, both here at Bizmanualz and around the Internet, but very little is said about an equally important part of the design and development process — procedure review.

Many problems with procedures that crop up after they’ve been implemented are traceable to inadequate or no review. Let’s say a procedure as written describes an ideal process, performed under ideal conditions (i.e., real-world conditions aren’t taken into account). If this isn’t caught in a procedure review, the end product will meet requirements only through luck. Luck being notoriously unreliable, inconsistent, and uncontrollable, you’re clearly better off with a review.

Why do you review anything? To ensure the accuracy and completeness of whatever it is you’re reviewing and to make sure everyone has the same understanding of the policy, process, or situation. In short, to ensure effective communication, which will lead you to the desired outcome.

Effective communication is a big reason why the international quality standard, ISO 9001, mandates design and development reviews (clause 7.3.4).  If you don’t review, you risk missing any number of product requirements, both stated and unstated, and you risk losing customers.

Need another reason to review policies and procedures? No one is perfect and no process is perfect. No one will write the perfect procedure the first time, every time.

Furthermore, no one — NO ONE! — can multitask. Your technical writer wears several other hats, right? That person is bound to temporarily lose focus on the policy or procedure they’re writing when other projects and other managers are continually demanding that their stuff is mission critical, “…so drop everything and work on this.” (Now, where was I?)

We all agree, then, that policies and procedures have to be reviewed, right? So, how’s it done? Well, one method that works is based on speech evaluations as done by Toastmasters. For a Toastmaster, learning how to evaluate a speech - or a written document - is as critical as learning how to give a speech or write one.

Objectives

Always start with the objectives or requirements. Were they clearly communicated to the technical writer? Did he/she understand them? Do you? Were the objectives prioritized and categorized? Were they SMART objectives?

Review

Did the technical writer achieve the stated objectives/requirements? (Have a list of the objectives in front of you as you review the document.)

Also, list some important, yet unstated, objectives. For example, correct spelling and good grammar are often taken for granted. Don’t make that mistake. Make up a checklist for often overlooked items, like “Are important terms defined?” and “Is ‘active voice’ used?”

Did the tech writer go beyond the stated objectives? For example:

The procedure mentions a packaging machine that a first-time reader may not be familiar with. The tech writer includes a long shot (photo) of the machine and a closeup of the control panel. The pictures aren’t a requirement; furthermore, they (and additional photos) push the document beyond the stated requirement of “six pages, maximum”.

Which is the SMARTer objective, user understanding or document length?

Reward

In your review, whether its written or oral, be sure to lead with those aspects of the procedure where objectives were met or exceeded. If critical objectives were not, consider possible explanations for that (the writer’s level of experience, competing projects, the amount of information provided them, clarity of the objectives, etc.).

The point is not to let the writer “off the hook” (or to find a hook to hang them on). It’s about encouraging the writer - praising what they did well and asking them to do better. Tell them, “Here’s what you did well.”

Don’t be vague or insincere, either. Don’t fish for compliments — you’re not helping them by telling them that their capitalization was great, or they had all the commas in the right places.

Be truthful, be specific, and give them something to build on.

Respond

Tell the writer exactly what you see in the procedure (ex., will the reader know who’s supposed to do what, when, and why?) Restate the objectives and indicate which were met, which were exceeded, and which weren’t met. Use a numeric scale in your review (rarely is anything “black or white”).

Beyond that, does the procedure “flow”? Did they use the PDCA model correctly? Did she or he use words, voice, style, grammar, etc., effectively? Does the story - and the message - come across clearly?

Tell them what they did well and point out specific opportunities for improvement. Hand the document back to them with another objective: you need the revision back for a “final” review by a specific date.

Remember that policy and procedure review is an integral part of a design and development process. After you’ve reviewed the document, the writer will probably have to make some changes. After the writer has revised the document, review it again.

Don’t review it to death, however. Four or more reviews of the same document should tell you that the review process has broken down…somewhere. It might be time - at least temporarily - to bring in another pair of eyes.

As a reviewer, you’re obliged to:

• Be sure that stated and unstated objectives were met;
• Be fair;
• Be consistent;
• Be thorough; and
• Point out strengths and opportunities for improvement in the document and in the process.

And as one of my favorite sports announcers (Jack Buck) used to say after every broadcast, “Thanks for your time this time. ‘Til next time — so long.”

* * * * *

For more on evaluation, see “The Three R’s of Evaluating“, by David Hobson, DTM (”Toastmasters” magazine, Nov., 2007).

How familiar are you with document management software? Have you heard the term, or its acronym, DMS? Have you done some research on the subject, or even had firsthand experience with a document management system?

And what do you know about policies and procedures management software (PPMS)?  Is there a difference between document management and policy and procedure management?

Document management is primarily focused on version control — automated logging, tracking, and control of original documents and their revisions. Version control generally includes document archival, as well. But what about policy and procedure management? How’s that different?

Well, for starters, policy and procedure management software must work within a compliance environment. That is, policies and procedures don’t just tell us how and why we do things (their primary purpose), but they can also show your company’s compliance with regulations and/or standards. For that reason, P&P management software has to enable clear document control. Auditors look for such things as:

• Evidence that a policy or procedure was approved by the appropriate party prior to use;
• A system of periodic policy/procedure review (and update, if necessary, with reapproval); and
• Appropriate release of legible, identifiable versions at the point of use.

The big difference between document management and policy and procedure management software is in the workflow.  Document versions can be easily logged and managed in a database — document workflow requires business logic (a set of rules) to move the document along, with specific workflow state endorsements, or approvals.  An example of workflow state is in WordPress: this blog post existed first as a “draft”, then moved to “pending” (where an editor was notified that it was ready for review), and finally it was “published”.

In a policy and procedure management system, emails may be sent, the document may be transformed from Word to PDF format on release, and point of use distribution lists may be maintained with “required reading” logging.

Document management software is readily available from a number of vendors, but very few of these products provide full policy and procedure management features.  Using policy procedure management software, or PPMS, should reduce the number and severity of audit findings in your next audit. PPMS will also improve your document workflow and provide more information to more workers in less time.

If you’re purchasing Bizmanualz policies and procedures, think about how you’re going to manage your policy and procedure documents. Then, think about the new Bizmanualz policy procedure management software application: call (314-863-5079), email, or contact us at our website for more information.

You’re invited to join Bizmanualz on Facebook. Becoming a Fan allows you to connect with others who share your interest in developing and implementing effective and robust Policies and Procedures. In addition, you can:

• Start - or participate in - discussions on policies, processes, and procedures;
• Comment on recent articles and blog posts;
• Post pictures;
• Follow current issues and events; and
• Get information on -  or sign up for - various posted events via links.

Here’s the link to join: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bizmanualz/39752124669.

As Chris Anderson wrote recently, document management systems (DMS) give you several advantages right away — security, cost savings, easy retrieval, and compliance.

I’d add a couple more advantages, at least in the short run. When you subscribe to the soon-to-be-released Bizmanualz document management system, it’ll come pre-populated with Bizmanualz policies and procedures.

You could download policies and procedures and load them onto your local computer network (for example, locate them on a local server). But, then the documents are organized in a basic hierarchical format. You have to somehow build in the access and version control; otherwise everybody has access to your documents. They can read, write to, and delete them without your permission or knowledge.

You could send an e-mail to “All”, saying that “Manufacturing procedures are on the ‘M:\’ drive, in the ‘Procedure’ folder. Don’t change anything without telling me.”  That’s going to work, right?

On the other hand, when you use our online document management system, you’ll simply send a link with login information.  Procedures, records, and rights to use or edit them would be managed within the web-based system. Deployment — and control — become very easy.

When you use our online DMS, the information comes pre-loaded, pre-organized, and rights-managed. The documents can’t get lost, and you don’t have to pull your hair out sorting through multiple versions.

Why is a Document Management System better than a Shared Drive?

Storing and sharing records on your local network is like having an electronic file cabinet. While that’s easier in many ways than a paper-based file system — because you can access it remotely (saving you steps) and quickly and you can easily back up your information — it’s not a great leap forward. You haven’t improved the process — you’ve merely replicated it in a different form.

True, as long as you can put your finger on your compliance records — the part of your system that proves your company complies with some standard or regulation — you’ve got one aspect of your business under control. Beyond compliance, though…are those records helping you manage your business? Can you easily tabulate information contained in the records and produce visual charts and graphs, showing you and your colleagues unusual behavior, or trends?

In the “shared-drive scenario”, the best you can do is once in a while collect information, dump it into a spreadsheet, and chart it. But, if you keep your information in an online DMS with reporting capabilities built in, you can generate and view reports in real time, as your coworkers are entering data into the system. And, you decide who has permission to enter data, read reports, and so on.

At Bizmanualz, we share the following sales report real time across the company on our on-line system. Everyone can see how sales are doing, and what the most popular products are. We can see trends as they develop while there is still time to react to them to affect real-time improvements.

At Bizmanualz, we can see trends as they develop while there is still time to react to them to affect real-time improvements.

And, when you want to revise policies and procedures, the DMS not only helps you to organize the development and review processes — it automatically performs version control and minimizes risks (like documents disappearing).

Do You Want to Take Part in a Document Management System”Beta-Test”?

Our developers plan to open up the Bizmanualz Document Management System to organizations like yours. Soon, new customers will access their Bizmanualz policies and procedures online, using the DMS.

Would you like to participate in a beta test of this system?  Please post your comments below or contact us at our web site, and we’ll let you know when you can try our online Document Management System for yourself, before it goes on the market.

Thank you for your help.

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games begin in earnest tomorrow, February 13. (The overhyped, overwrought opening ceremony doesn’t count.) Alpine skiing, freestyle skiing, the biathlon, ice hockey, luge, speed skating, short-track skating, ski jumping…and that’s just the first day!

Some Olympic records – and a few world records – will be broken over the course of the next two weeks. You watch these athletes perform and you marvel at their power, their endurance, their finesse.

How do they do it? What makes them so special? Are they that different from you and me? Are they superhuman? No, not really. They’re just like you and me…well, maybe not now. But we all start out on equal footing.

The big difference? With a few exceptions, the athletes got their start fairly early in life. And almost from the day they laced up a pair of skates or strapped on skis, they had an ambitious, long-range goal – to be a pro, maybe even the next Wayne Gretzky or Herman Maier.

Mom and Dad encouraged and helped them. Their parents, and then their coaches, made up their plan. They knew that to get the big goal, these future stars had to accomplish a lot of smaller goals, and they had to do it in stepwise fashion.

The plan included competition, proper nutrition, and physical and mental training. Their coaches checked their performance in training and competitions. They analyzed the athlete’s performance, noted where they were reaching those small goals and where they weren’t, and revised the plan accordingly. Then, they executed the revised plan to improve performance.

They repeated this stepwise plan over and over until they reached their big goal, whether that was turning pro, making the Olympic team, making it to the medal round, or standing on the podium at the medal ceremony.

Think about that. They made a plan, executed it, checked their progress, and improved incrementally. What does that remind you of?

If you thought “Deming Cycle”, you’re right. Plan, do, check, and act — just like your organization should be doing (if it isn’t already). Your organization is just like that Olympic athlete. Improvement doesn’t happen overnight. It happens in stages, over time, following a plan.

Consider this: What are your goals for the short and long term? Do you have a plan to get there? Are you satisfied with your performance? More importantly, are your customers?

How do you get better? What will it take to make your firm stand out from the rest – to get to the Games, to the medal round, and maybe even the gold, silver, or bronze?

Are you monitoring and analyzing your performance in order to improve? Are you looking for overnight success, or are you looking for incremental improvement over time? Do you adjust your plan when you don’t meet your goals?

Enjoy the Games. And remember, as you’re watching the long hill jump – seeing that ski jumper glide down the ramp, pick up speed, then hurtle the length of a football pitch before touching down gently (we hope). Remember that it started with a plan…

So, what’s your favorite event at the Winter Games? Who’s your favorite athlete? Will they have to truck in snow? (Sounds like somebody had a plan.)

We sometimes hear from small business owners who wish to replicate their successful business and expand to one or more new locations. They often say that they “…need someone to come and package up (their) business from head to toe so we can expand.” That’s what they say — but is that what they need?

Most companies that expand successfully do so with a combination of:

• Researching and documenting “best practices“;
• Process documentation, in the form of well-written policies and procedures;
• Customized employee training; and
• Implementing a quality management system (QMS)

so they get consistent results across all operations.

After a few e-mails back and forth between the small business owner and Bizmanualz, the gravity of the situation — their “replication strategy” — becomes apparent. The process of documenting best practices, implementing policies and procedures, training employees, and implementing a quality management system is no small undertaking — any one of them alone would be daunting, let alone all four. While the owner’s first inclination may be to have someone to come in and do it, seldom are they in a position to budget for it.

Nor would it be advisable, in most cases. For most of our customers, existing staff — labor — is the largest cost, by far. When you dig down for what the owner really wants, it’s to enable the current staff to achieve the desired growth without spending more money than they’re already spending on employees and related expenses. Given our customer’s practical concerns, our approach has evolved into guiding and enabling growth, not sending in a “hired gun” to do it for them. We guide growth through training and workshops, and we enable growth with our products and services.

Saving Time with Pre-Written Policies and Procedures

Our pre-written materials save you time by giving you a starting point and a framework. But, in the case of the business owner seeking growth, he’s asking, “Which procedures do I need to customize, why are they important, and once I’ve customized them, how do I know they’re working?” These and other questions are answered in our two-day roll-out training.

In our Implementation training, we help you find the answers you need and help select the right procedures to sustain growth. That way, your staff can build the best-practice procedures you need.

But wait! There’s more! With the training, you get a year’s worth of phone consultations. Once you’ve taken the Implementation training, pick up the phone and ask us anything you want. Contact us, or download a one-page flier about the roll-out training.

The training will show your team how to build — and sustain — a system of best practices for growth. We’ll help you select, modify, and apply our procedure templates to improve your current operations, making it cheaper for you to provide your service to your customers. Not only do you make your operations more effective and more efficient — saving you money and increasing your profits. In this tough economy, you’re better able to answer price challenges from competitors.

Supporting your Growth and Expansion with Software

Our customers have taught us that when their businesses expand geographically, they often face challenges in coordinating, controlling, and distributing their policies, procedures, and best practices among their locations. That’s why Bizmanualz is currently testing a new software platform that will help you handle these challenges. Once this platform is available, you’ll be able to rent access to our software platform and upload your procedures so that when you’re ready to expand, all your locations can access controlled releases of policies and procedures, as well as other key documents.

Furthermore, you’ll pay only for what you need! Billed monthly, our web-based software will be particularly cost-effective for our small-to-medium-sized customers. You’ll get the convenience, control, reporting, and smooth operations that you want, with none of the hassles of maintaining the software in-house. It will come pre-loaded with your Bizmanualz policies and procedures. All you’ll need is an Internet browser.

If you want to help us test our upcoming web-based policies and procedures management software release, please comment below or contact us via the Web. Our job is to help you grow efficiently and with as little risk as possible. Share your growth challenges with us, and we’ll reply with ideas and products to help you.