This assignment will have you differentiating typical actions and potential modifications to improve activities and assessing the overall impact of those improvement efforts. Recall a work task, hobby, or other activity that you perform regularly. For example, preparing a cup of coffee, exercising, or any other action you do every day.
1. In a Word document, name the activity and list sequentially the actions you do to complete the activity on two consecutive days.
- To understand variation, you need to complete your selected activity the first time by annotating the steps, check the time to complete each step, and the time it takes to complete the entire activity. Reflect on what steps were taking too much time to make improvements.
- After you reflect on your first-day activity, complete the same routine another day but using your reflection on the first attempt to improve your task the second time. Again, annotate the steps and time it takes to complete each step and the entire routine.
- Use Excel to quantify each attempt by calculating the time average and the time standard deviation. Create a Run Chart for each attempt. Copy-paste your calculations and the Run charts into your Word document or attach your Excel file in your submission.
2. Describe the main differences between doing your activity as you perform it regularly and any variations to those steps you would make to improve your process.
3. Reflect on the complexity of your list and the number of steps needed to complete the activity:
- Did variation affect your activity?
- If so, did the variation cause your activity to be easier or more difficult?
