Kepner-Tregoe is a business consulting company that is known all over the world. One of the main benefits of the Business Excellence tools produced by them is the focus on facts and data, rather than emotion, to set priorities, solve problems, and make decisions. These tools are particularly useful for managers and engineers. It complements other Business Excellence tools like Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. The Kepner-Tregoe client list is on the Kepner-Tregoe website.
Kepner-Tregoe: Situation Appraisal
This is the most important of the Kepner-Tregoe Business Excellence tools. It is a formal "Time-Out" for managers to dedicate some time and effort to check what threats or opportunities are coming up. Most good managers do this informally anyway, but a formal Situation Appraisal, done at regular intervals, is an invaluable tool for all managers, especially when used with their direct reports.
There are four steps to the Situation Appraisal:
1. Identify Concerns and Opportunities
2. Set Priorities
3. Plan Next Steps
4. Plan Involvement
Kepner-Tregoe: Problem Analysis
Problem Analysis is the best-known of the Business Excellence tools devised by Kepner-Tregoe. The Problem Analysis tool is particularly useful for solving problems that have not been encountered before. The reason for this is "Cognitive Bias" - the tendancy to use previous experience to try to solve a problem, often by ignoring facts that do not fit with the theory. So when a new problem comes along, time and effort are wasted trying to defend a theory that is not valid.
Kepner-Tregoe Problem Analysis is a powerful tool to avoid "Cognitive Bias", and solve problems by using only known facts.
Kepner-Tregoe: Decision Analysis
When making an important decision, such as which machine should be purchased, different managers will have their own preferences. For example, the production manager may want the machine with the highest output, the engineering manager may want the one with the highest yield, or lowest cost of spare parts, and the finance manager may want the cheapest machine available.
The Kepner-Tregoe Decision Analysis tool is an excellent way to make this kind of decision in a balanced way, in which all stake-holders get to have an input into the final decision. The Decision Analysis also forces transparency, and can help to remove "hidden agendas" or bias.
Kepner-Tregoe: Potential Problem/Opportunity Analysis
This element of the rational thinking process tools is extremely useful. It can be used in various ways. For example, managers will use this tool when there is a new production schedule or sales forecast. Engineers will use it to ensure that a proposed change to the manufacturing process, for example, is implemented in a way that anticipates any problems. Any problems predicted by the process can then be designed out, or mitigated. It is a similar process to the Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) that is in common use.
Kepner-Tregoe: Incident Mapping
Incident Mapping is a visual method that describes in detail, but with great simplicity, how an event happened. It uses color-coded flow-chart symbols to define the "Who, What, Where, When, Why and How" of the undesirable event. For example, it may be used to explain safety incidents and process yield incidents. The root causes of a problem are easily identified, and preventative and mitigating actions are more easy to identify.
It is very effective because it is highly visual: "a picture paints a thousand words".
Kepner-Tregoe: SummaryThe Kepner-Tregoe Rational Thinking Processes may be used as an integrated management tool, as well as a set of "Stand-Alone" Business Excellence methods. The Problem Analysis and Decision Analysis tools are particularly useful for removing emotion from a situation where it is unhelpful.
The processes are all described in detail, with worked examples, in The New Rational Manager, by Kepner and Tregoe. A software package is available that steps through all of the Kepner-Tregoe Rational Processes is also available at this link.
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