A Public Sector Journey to Operational Excellence - Applying Lean Principles to Public Policy

Lean management can lead to operational excellence, but toward what end? This book examines the power of linking Lean government operations and purposeful public policy. When Lean process improvement principles and techniques entered the public sector after decades of proven effectiveness in private industry, it brought the same transformative potential. These programs can improve public services, boost employee morale, and free up previously underutilized capacity. It focuses on how the freed capacity can be applied to accomplish important societal objectives. The book has four parts: Part 1: The Foundation of Continuous Improvement (CI) -- The reader is introduced to the field of CI and to Lean principles and techniques as applied to public sector organizations. CI initiatives can improve services, boost employee morale, and free up previously underutilized capacity. This part includes an overview of best practices and strategies for overcoming common challenges. Part 2: Lean Public Policy -- Discussion of both purpose and function. Lean practitioners are systems thinkers. Viewing disparate processes as components of a whole, we seek to integrate functions across silos to maximize value, quality, and efficiency. It would be great if public programs could be designed for optimal functionality. If that were the case, then lean practitioners would simply apply the Plan-Do-Study-Act/Adjust (PDSA) cycle for ongoing improvement. In the real world, policy making tends to be ad-hoc and reactive. This part explores the impediments to Leaning existing programs and considers what lean public policy would look like. Government regulatory functions and health care policy are used as examples. Part 3: Operational Excellence -- This part begins to pull policy and administration together by introducing John M. Bernard’s concept of three levels of maturity in government. Part 4: Putting it together – What to do, how to do it, and who can get it done. This part contains a summary and overview of CI methodology and the prerequisites for the implementation of policies that will lead to progress on societal goals. Drawing lessons from practitioners striving for Level 3 maturity in government, the book closes with a series of recommendations.