5S is a fundamental approach to eliminating waste and keeping things organized. While generally applied to workspaces and production cells, the theory of 5S can streamline any process. In this series of articles, we'll look at how 5S can be applied to the composition and control of process documentation. But first let's recap what 5S stands for:
Sort: Determine all the items needed to perform a task, and remove anything that is unnecessary.
Set: Organize the items so that they are easily accessible when needed.
Shine: Keep the items clean and tidy, and that all items are in working order.
Standardize: Create processes to ensure that the Sort, Set & Shine activities occur regularly and in a repeatable way.
Sustain: Review on a periodic basis and ensure processes are still accurate and adequately covering your needs.
How to Apply 5S to the Composition of Process Documentation:
In the context of creating documentation, the Sort activity represents building an outline with all of the steps and details that are relevant to executing the process. Here are some things to consider:
Who is the audience? Are you writing for a specific team or are you covering multiple roles in one document? Based on that, you may need to change the steps you include.
What accesses & tools are needed in order to complete the process?
What level of depth and detail is necessary? Do you need to capture exceptions to certain steps or are you trying to cover the majority of situations only?
The answers to those questions will help you understand exactly what is needed for the document to be effective, and then you can proceed with the Set activity.
Set:
Now that you've compiled the relevant steps and details, it's time to organize them into a format that makes the information easily accessible. This is where table of contents, section headers and links come in handy. These features can greatly help the navigability of your document.
Header Details: It's helpful to note the applicable team or division that the document applies to on a title page, along with the revision number and date of the document.
There's significant value in listing the accesses & tools necessary to complete the task at the beginning of a document. This allows users missing required accesses to save time before trying to follow the document and failing halfway through.
Intra-doc Links: Creating links within a document allows readers to quickly reference other sections which reduces the time wasted on hunting for specific content.
Proper navigation can lead to a much more sustainable process document, and lead to more consistent results from different users.
The shining of documents comes in the form of proofreading, utilizing varied fonts & colors, and highlighting screenshots.
Re-read and edit language that is repetitive or confusing, and use peer review to catch anything you've missed.
Use a variation of bold fonts, colors and sizes to help readers distinguish sub-headers and change of topics.
Mark up your screenshots with icons, highlights and other notes so readers can easily see all of the details you've intended them to.
Shine is all about the visual presentation. When done well it can greatly increase the readability and comprehension of your document.
Standardize:
Standardizing how documents are created and managed from team to team is a significant gap that expands as you grow. This is where the use of templates can be immensely beneficial. This is also where you specify document control processes, but we'll cover that in future articles. The key tenants of standardization include:
This is the core of DocSigma's purpose, to provide a means of standardizing how your documents are constructed. This allows content to be published quicker and easier, while reducing time spent on the presentation of data.
As with any process, document composition needs to be reviewed and improved as time goes on. While your documents haven't changed, it's possible your environment has. For example, your organizational structure has changed, or you have new teams that present new requirements.
So take the time to reflect and ensure that the way you capture processes is still effective and meeting the needs of your organization. If it isn't, then it may be worth identifying alternative methods and solutions to help.
5S is a powerful theory in reducing waste and creating lean operations. When applied to tedious yet valuable tasks like documenting processes, it can provide tremendous benefits in the repeatability, sustainability and efficiency of your operations.
Here at DocSigma, we want to be an integral part of this journey with you, and provide a fantastic tool that meets your needs. To learn more, join our demo list, keep an eye out for new articles and follow us on LinkedIn!
https://www.linkedin.com/company/docsigma-dms/
Comments