Bay Area Deming Users Group - November Notes

[DanRobrtsn@aol.com]

All interested parties are welcomed to attend our meetings.  
Please pass this on to those who may have an interest.  

NOTES FROM THE BAY AREA DEMING USERS GROUP MEETING

Our next meeting is on Monday, 6 December 1999 from 6:00-8:30pm,
at Acuson in Mountain View at Shoreline Boulevard and Shorebird
Way.  Detailed directions available below.

PLANNED PROGRAMS: 

For the next several meetings we are designing a more in-depth 
discussion and study of Dr. Deming's philosophy.  The focus will
be on the System of Profound Knowledge, Dr. Deming's 14 points
for Western Management, and relevant topics within his vast body
of knowledge.  An invited guest or BADUG associate will facilitate
the discussion each month, and we will PDSA this new format.  
People interested in facilitating or having a topic to put on 
the agenda are encouraged to contact Marcia Daszko.

For December, Florence Beckmann will facilitate our discussion
on the topic of Variation.

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 

* The Systems Thinking Special Interest Group meets each month:
The BADUG Systems Study Group will meet prior to the regular 
BADUG at Acuson in the same building as the regular BADUG meeting
on 6 December. Please call Karen Takle Quinn at 650-964-5195 or
email (ktq@svpal.org) if you are planning to attend.

* The British Deming Association will hold its annual 
Transformation Forum at Loughborough University 28-29 June 2000,
with an "open space" day on Friday the 30th.  With a combination
of keynote addresses and breakout sessions, featured speakers
will include Henry Neave, Tom Nolan, Joyce Orsini, and Myron
Tribus, along with several other practitioners and guides
involved in the implementation of Dr. Deming's philosophy.  
Phone ++44-0-1722-412138, email Deminguk@aol.com or click 
http://www.deming.org.uk for more information.

* Drs. Donald Wheeler and Sophronia Ward are offering public 
seminars on Statistical Process Control, Continual Improvement
and Industrial Experimentation, with a new schedule released
for the year 2000.  Phone (800) 545-8602 for registration 
information or check the SPC, Inc. website at 
http://www.spcpress.com/semi.html

* The ASTD's Total Quality Management Special Interest Group
holds its meetings at National Semiconductor's "National
Semiconductor University" site in Santa Clara, the 4th Monday 
of each month, 6:30-8:30pm.  Ring Betsy Wolf-Graves at 
(408) 294-5779 for more information.

* WE ARE VERY INTERESTED IN GETTING YOUR INPUTS FOR UPCOMING
TOPICS and SPEAKERS. If you have inputs, please contact Marcia
Daszko.  Also contact Marcia for details about upcoming programs.
Her number is 408-247-7757; e-mail address is MDaszko@aol.com. 

Surf the Worldwide Web to BADUG.  An overview, past meeting 
minutes, and an index of Deming-associated sites can be accessed
via your web browser.  Find us at: 

http://www.cafm-services.com/badug/BADUG-TOC.htm

Employment Opportunities:

Following are contacts for recruiters or managers presently 
looking for quality professionals.  These positions have not 
been evaluated as to their association with "Deming style" 
companies, but we are providing this listing for those who may
be looking for a new position.  Please pass this information
along to others who might have an interest.  

* Software Quality Engineers -- Dan Staringer, Technical
Recruiter, IT&E Corporation, has several S.F. Bay Area positions
open and is looking for "skilled SQA Engineering professionals
who are interested in consulting, project-related opportunities".
Contact Mr. Staringer at 408-938-1000, or e-mail: 
dstaringer@itecorp.com.

* Quality positions in medical device industry -- Positions in 
management, auditing and customer relations.  For more details,
contact Rosemarie Christopher at Med Exec International, 
100 N. Brand Blvd., Suite 306, Glendale, CA  91203; 
(800) 507-5277; E-mail: rosechristopher@sprintmail.com

* Website posts quality positions -- John Hunter, proprietor
and webmaster of the Curious Cat Management Improvement
Bookstore, has put up an online section which allows companies
to post opportunities and visitors to the site to search for
jobs (it is completely free).  Click to 
http://www.curiouscat.com/guides/career.htm for further info.

The November Meeting - A facilitated discussion regarding Systems:

Dennis Bradley, a BADUG associate who was first introduced to Dr.
Deming's principles in 1985, took on the role of facilitator for
our discussion.  The notes will reflect to some extent the fact
that we took something other than a straight line course in our
discussion -- Diversions led to new insights that would bring us
back to previous parts of the discussion for a more in-depth look.

We started by establishing that our definition for a system would
be a network of interdependent components that work together to
attempt to achieve the aim of the system.  (We discovered more
than once during the session that definition is an important thing
to set out in these discussions!)  We found value in starting with
a model of Input->Transformation->Output to also describe what a
system is in very basic terms.

We wrestled with how to define the boundaries of a system.  
Dennis encouraged us to consider a 'suprasystem' beyond whatever
boundaries were declared; containing other systems that would
ultimately have connections to the system under study.  

We recognized that feedback is an important element of a system,
and that the Input->Transformation->Output model above does not
include it.

What about the pieces of the system that work against each other?
If not working towards a common aim, it may still be a system --
It is a dysfunctional system.  If engineers from ABC Company 
deliver a product to the suprasystem that it cannot use, the 
suprasystem still gets what it wants at some point out in time.
The feedback no longer comes from the suprasystem, or if the 
feedback is not paid attention to, entropy happens to ABC Company
-- It dies.  Sometimes the suprasystem takes a while to figure
out that it does not want the product.

Process groups sometimes become so process-focused that they lose
focus on the system and its aim.  They only focus on the box of
components and the formal processes (activities) connecting them
and how they interplay.  There can be an infinite number of 
suppliers and customers, along with numerous informal processes
binding parts of the system together in ways that are difficult
to detect and describe quantitatively.

A subsystem could be an organization within a business, mining
for new customers, or a clique (informal social system).  If
individuals share information and an aim they will create it.
When groups function on the lowest common denominator, systems
will not function at their optimum.  The organization chart is
not how business is really done, nor does it define leadership
(formal system only).  Subsystems are sometimes created to do
something; for instance, to develop a new business the company
has to support.

Expeditors in large organizations -- Isn't that a whole other
subsystem to shore up the activities of the other subsystems?
Expeditors mean that the flow isn't working.  What can you do to
make sure the expeditor isn't needed?  How do you work on the
system, versus doing the work of the (suboptimal) system? If a
system can do its work without expeditors (that is more cost-
efficient), it can put the expeditor system out of business.
Use the scientific method to try to remove the flaws in the 
process/system.

Systems thinking is a critical blueprint for seeing things 
differently.  Dennis shared his experience with a company that
needed to reduce their customer service turnaround to 10 days.
They measured the current situation and found the turnaround
was 35 days.  One problem uncovered was that customers were 
not returning defective product quickly enough to be fixed
and turned around.  The customer is a part of the system.  
The challenge came in changing customer behaviors --They got 
new product pre-shipped when they called with a failed product
to return, reinforcing their not sending the failed product
back.  Existing conditions allowed for a "path of least 
resistance".  (Reference Robert Fritz for his book with that
title.)  Yogi Berra was quoted as saying, "I can see a lot
by just looking."

We studied the diagram Dr. Deming presented in his Japan visit
of 1950.  He put up the system diagram of a business back then.  
This is an open system.  Now we see outsourcing for much of the
work of a business system; contractors doing the jobs that used
to be inside.  A vertically integrated company is no longer the
norm.  Instead, they are reducing complexity by outsourcing to
other suppliers.  Subcontractors have to have the same aim -- as
a partnership.  How will we do this so that the system stays 
whole?

As an example of work in progress across related businesses, 
Dennis described Sematech's model, where collaboration within 
the semiconductor industry is helping the US to regain a strong
position.  Now they are working together for quality:

Tier 1: Intel, Motorola, IBM
Tier 2: Novellus, Applied Materials, Lam Research
Tier 3: Asyst...
Tier 4: LSP...

The work to be done is in improving the capability of processes.
HP was using "Just In Time" (JIT).  Delivery time and quality
were how they picked suppliers.  HP used the money they would
have spent on the inventory they would have otherwise carried --
A Win-Win situation.  Lean manufacturing is being used by one of
the Tier 1 companies and it saved millions.  The system boundary
got redefined, but the suppliers did not have the capability to
supply the resources.  The suppliers have to be considered in the
optimization of the system.

A systems perspective can be used to look at the community, 
families, schools, cities, as well.  Talking about human beings,
notice the behavior of the people in a system.  With humans in
the system the system does speak to you.  We want to do good 
work.  Least resistance makes the easiest path, though.  We have
an inclination to survive.  We will do the best we can do, even
though we are doing what is against the aim of the system.  This
is the exceptional case.  Holding people accountable, aren't 
supervisors supposed to make clear the expectations, consistent
with the aim, so that people will be able to do good work?

People aren't resistant to change -- they're resistant to being
changed.  Integrating companies can be a good idea, but it is 
done badly.  The culture of the group taken over should be 
respected.  The innovation of the company taken over may be what 
the takeover company needs.  The system can go wrong.  The people
may not be taken into account.  There are examples of mergers
where the aim was to take over the technology, period.  Being 
honest with people about the aim would have been better -- 
Although there's a strategy in not telling the real aim.  
Merging complex systems -- This is a process.

We reviewed some principles of systems, as described in a past
presentation by John Dowd:

- System is a set of components having a unifying purpose and
  functional relationships
- Each component has an effect on the set as a whole
- Each component depends upon at least one other in the set
- The components of a system cannot be divided into independent 
  subsets
- The effects of manipulating a component or group of components
  may not be evident for some time
- Variation of inputs, processes, and outputs is natural; they
  can only be described in statistical terms 
- Systems exhibit entropy (go to chaos) and effort is needed to 
  consume entropy
- The sum of the functioning of the components is not equal to
  the system

We ran out of time, but felt we had covered a lot of territory.
Here are the points made in our wrap-up:

Unanswered Questions (Fuel for the next time we cover this topic!):
1. What lies beyond the Suprasystem? -- It is everything beyond
   the system; Holism?
2. What methods of measurement/observations do we have to fully
   understand/determine the interdependencies within a system?
   What hints can we get about the "Unknowables"?
3. What methods are there for determining appropriate boundaries
   for the system?
4. What tools do we have to strengthen the relationships between
   the subsystems?
5. How do we measure optimization of a system?

Key learnings:
1. Identifying levels of systems
2. Review of hierarchical nature of systems
3. Systems are all-inclusive, including customers
4. The Deming system diagram

Actions to take:  None were identified, but we expect to pose 
this question as part of our wrap-up in future sessions, to make
them more than just an intellectual exercise.

Process review of this session:
- Stimulating discussion
- Brought some things into the discussion through the facilitator
- Brought in different points of view, with everyone taking part
- Provided opportunity to learn about Deming's work and encourage
  initiative to 'go to the books' to keep learning
- Would also like to view some of the Deming videos (maybe a
  maximum of 30 minutes at a time) and then discuss

/s/ Florence Beckmann & Dan R.

To receive the Bay Area Deming Users Group's newsletter, contact:

Dan Robertson         -or-       Marcia Daszko
1141 Bruckner Circle                 2752 Glorietta Circle
Mountain View, CA   94040        Santa Clara, CA  95051
650-964-9186                     408-247-7757
DanRobrtsn@AOL.com               MDaszko@AOL.com

Please supply us with a US Mail address, a fax number or an
Internet ID. BADUG's expenses are completely met every month by
small member donations. Please select that transmission medium
which best fills your needs. 

** Directions to the 6 December meeting **
Venue: The Acuson Corporation Education Center, Building I, at 
1393 Shorebird Way in Mountain View.  Contact Dan Robertson if 
you have questions.

1/ From freeway 101 take Shoreline Boulevard, "Amphitheatre" 
   direction (toward the bay).
2/ Turn right, off Shoreline, onto Shorebird Way (Shorebird is
   the next street after Spacepark).
3/ Building I is the first building on the right. "BADUG" signs
   will be posted directing you to the meeting room. 


Next BADUG meeting is on Monday, 6 December 1999.
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