Have you ever heard to map your process at the 5,000 foot view or the 50,000 foot view? Many times one of the first things we learn about process mapping is that there are different levels of abstraction, or different amounts of detail in process maps. From a conceptual standpoint, that makes sense – in…

SCAMPER is an acronym used in creativity and Lateral Thinking to stimulate creative thought. The letters in SCAMPER stands for: · Substitute · Combine · Adapt / Automate · Modify · Put to another use · Eliminate · Reverse We apply these mnemonics to the Canvas, using each trigger in each block in the Canvas….

In the second episode of The Process Leadership Show, Craig and Brian discuss the first two sides of The Creativity Cube: Challenges and Constraints. For more information about Better Brainstorming using The Creativity Cube, head to Brainstorm.Coach.

In the first episode of The Process Leadership Show, Brian and Craig discuss why brainstorming usually is unproductive and introduce a new model of Better Brainstorming: The Creativity Cube. For more information about Better Brainstorming using The Creativity Cube, head to Brainstorm.coach.

If the first step in problem solving is defining the problem, shouldn’t step zero be defining the definition of problem?  In reading “Are Your Lights On?” by Gerald Weinberg, I cam across this gem: A Problem is a Difference Between Things as Desired, and Things as Perceived. Having performed many gap analyses, I have often…

Once we are finished using the Canvas to describe the purpose, inputs, process and outputs of our process, we can start innovating.  Innovation is really a game of driving waste from the process. We can look at the value of the process, and the outputs and steps used to create it and see there are…

  Someone asked me the other day about my leadership style what kind of a leader I am. I replied without hesitation “I’m a coach.” After the conversation I realized that maybe my definition of coaching wasn’t the same as my questioners. Did she think that I was the Zen master Phil Jackson managing the…

In 1936, Germany, France and Britain met to decide the fate of Czechoslovakia. Not invited to the meeting – Czechoslovakia. The Munich Accords were the result of the conference and gave a portion of Czechoslovakia to Germany. One of the tenets of both business analysis and business ethics is to identify and get input from…

SCAMPER is an acronym used in creativity and Lateral Thinking to stimulate creative thought.  You can use the mnemonic SCAMPER not only for idea generation, but to trigger different methods of improving processes. 1. Substitute – is there a customer who can also use the output of the process? Can we substitute one type of…

This is week 6 of the course I am taking on design. Week 6 focused on aesthetics in design. So why do aesthetics matter, especially when concerned with process design? Aesthetics matter for the following reasons: We, as humans, value beauty First impressions matter Aesthetics are a signal to the user of other unobservable characteristics….

This is week 5 of the course I am taking on design. Week 5 focused on concept testing. The purpose of concept testing is to determine if we are meeting user needs. There are two primary methods of concept testing – purchase intent surveys and forced choice surveys. Purchase intent surveys give the respondent one choice,…

This is week 4 of the course I am taking on design. Week 4 focused on narrowing down the list of potential concepts and creating prototypes. A key method of performing this winnowing is the “Concept Selection Matrix.” In this matrix, the concepts are listed as columns, with the key criteria as rows. Criteria would…