Some of our Black Belts were talking the other day about how many projects they’ve got going, and (in spite of focusing our projects on specific value streams) how they sometimes feel pretty fragmented, getting pulled from project to project.

We discussed whether it would be reasonableto pause for a short while, to ensure that project follow-up is being completed and all the t’s have been crossed and the i’s dotted, within a particular value stream or project area.

Our Black Beltsare training our Process Owners as we go – project by project – and sometimes the POs need extra help to get the data collection and monitoring going. In our healthcare organization, much of the data is collected manually by chart review or observation, so it’s a little more cumbersome than pulling reports off of the computer (although, granted, that has its own MSA issues!).

We’ve been pushing the Black Belts to complete a certain number of projects each month, and sometimes it seems as if the goal of quantity is overshadowing that of quality.

I wonder whether this samefeeling isfamiliar toBlack Belts at other organizations, or are we unique?

I’d appreciate any comments you’d like to share!