Minutes
ITANA Conference Call
June 12, 2008
*Attendees*
Jim Phelps, University of Wisconsin (chair)
Scott Converse, UW Madison
Michael Enstrom, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Jim Hooper, St. Louis University
Colin Jones, British Columbia Institute of Tech
Piet Niederhausen, Georgetown University
Sue Sharpton, U of Alaska
Tom Zeller, Indiana University
Steve Olshansky, Internet2
Ann West, Internet2/EDUCAUSE
Dean Woodbeck, Internet 2 (scribe)
*Agenda*
(0) Roll Call. Agenda Bash.
1. Accept minutes of last call
2. Scott Converse - 6 Sigma in Higher Ed
*Six Sigma in Higher Education*
Scott Converse from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, did a presentation on the use of Six Sigma in higher education. He has been involved in administrative redesign projects at the university. His slide deck is available on the ITANA wiki:
https://spaces.at.internet2.edu/download/attachments/10266/ITANA-SixSigma+in+HigherEd.ppt?version=1
Six Sigma is a set of tools and techniques developed to better understand complex problems and processes. The emphasis is on process improvement. It relies on both developing a quality solution and acceptance and support of those involved in the process.
The higher education example was a process used for processing expense vouchers. The time, from start-to-finish, was six weeks, which was not acceptable. Scott emphasized the need to look at the process and gather data. In the example, there was a lot of "white space," or waiting time, between the steps in the process. White space represents the greatest opportunity for improvement and is non-threatening to those involved in the process. In this example, reducing the waiting time between steps provided significant opportunities for improvement.
Attacking the white space is a primary tool in 6 Sigma. The big gains are in reducing the long idle times.
Six Sigma projects at Wisconsin have included these areas:
• Transferring funds from foundation to department accounts
• Grant Award/Sub-Award process
• Access to IT resources for new, transferring and exiting employees
Scott favors a mixed approach to problem-solving, relying on experts to help the process teams work, but having process teams - comprised of employees - looking at processes and developing solutions. That creates buy-in, which dramatically increases the opportunity for success.
*Face to Face*
The ITANA face to face meeting next week is full, at 40 participants. The next call will include a report from the meeting.
*Next Call, Thursday, June 26, 2008, 2:00 p.m. EDT*