12 March 2019 - International inspiration and useful tools at Lean HE
Leah March, Process Improvement Facilitator, University of Sheffield
Mark Boswell, Business Enhancement Manager, Middlesex University London
Lean HE 2018 Conference, Tromsø summary guide
This summary guide (pdf available) was created following our attendance to the Lean HE Conference Tromsø in November 2018. The aim of the guide is to highlight useful tools and topics shared throughout the conference and to provide some tips on making the most of the conference experience. We give some possible next steps in relation to both attending the Lean HE 2019 conference and applying for the UCISA bursary funding which allowed us to attend.
Keynote speakers
Professor Tove Dahl, Professor of Educational Psychology at The Artic University of Norway
Professor Dahl’s session started with a powerful story from her own working life about the difficulty of adopting new technology when she had not been equipped with awareness about the change nor the skills to readily use it, and the frustration and rework it resulted in. She also spoke about the need for courage to adopt change and the importance of equipping people with the necessary desire and tools to make mustering that courage and overcoming the difficulties easier.
You can read more about Professor Dahl’s blog about courage here.
Niklas Modig, Author, inspirational speaker and researcher in Lean and operational excellence
Niklas Modig’s inspiring presentation was split into two halves. The first concentrated on explaining the ‘efficiency paradox’, and the challenge of achieving flow efficiency alongside resource efficiency, across an extended process. The second half was focussed on how he facilitated the first half of the session in a way that enabled his audience to reach their own conclusions, rather than provide conclusions for them, ensuring greater buy-in to the outcomes.
You can watch Niklas here explaining the efficiency paradox and other key areas of Lean.
Professor Torbjørn Netland, Head of Chair of Production and Operations Management, ETH Zurich
Professor Netland’s session talked about the close relationship between Lean and digitisation and that Lean and digitisation should collaborate in order to deliver effective process innovations. He also spoke about the power of Open Process Innovation and the importance of breaking down silos both within our organisations and between our organisations in order to utilise the wide range of knowledge and expertise to drive innovation – the more ideas there are the higher chance there is of good ideas.
You can read more about Torbjørn’s work by visiting his website ‘Better Operations’ to find out more about him and access useful links to his publications and blogs.
Key Tools
General
Pecha Kucha Lean HE Style
For those that have not seen or delivered a Pecha Kucha before, the concept originated in Japan whereby twenty slides are shown for twenty seconds each. It is a clever way to ensure that presentations are concise and fast paced. Several different institutions (Edinburgh Napier University, Leicester University, University of Twente) delivered presentations in this way, all telling their story. You can read more about the Pecha Kucha presentation style here PechaKucha.org.
For you and your team
Inspiring Lean in Your Organisation – University of Strathclyde and CQ University
The session explored four key elements of the Lean Leadership model, which acted as a useful model to encourage others to brainstorm how they can both adopt lean themselves or encourage others to do so. We also completed a Lean Leadership Development plan with activities that we were going to undertake as individuals. You can see a template of the tool in the presentation via the ‘Key Tools’ link above and a summary by Graham and Graeme here.
For your projects
No Flip Charts Required! – University of Cambridge
A really helpful session which demonstrated how institutional risk can be calculated and used to evidence the need for improvements and as a way to encourage (particularly senior stakeholders) to drive change institutionally. I particularly thought their Risk Management Reporting Template and associated quantifiable metrics to be a useful tool to demonstrate and inform key stakeholders of risks and help plan for the future. You can see a template of the tool in the presentation via the ‘Key Tools’ link above and a summary by Kimberley and Kim here.
The Games People Play – Christine Stewart, Macresco Ltd/Cardiff University
Christine demonstrated the use of the ‘penny game’ to engage groups in activity which demonstrates the challenges we create for ourselves when batching work during multi-step processes.
Useful software
Menti: Laura Hallett from York St John University used Menti throughout her presentation to encourage audience participation and gather feedback on the session. It was really easy to join the session and Laura had a really good response rate. If you would like to learn more about Menti you can do so via their website.
Padlet: All sessions, including keynote speakers, were created within the conference Padlet in the order of delivery. Throughout the conference delegates were able to use Padlet to provide instant feedback linked to the sessions they attended. This was then immediately available to all other delegates to review, enabling follow up either with presenters or attendees to learn more where comments sparked interest or ideas. If you would like to learn more about Padlet you can do so via their website.
Value of networking
The team at The Arctic University of Norway did a brilliant job of fostering a relaxed, open and supportive atmosphere throughout the conference. This made networking with other delegates (of which there were 150 from around the world) much easier. Networking can be a really useful way to hear and share ideas, tools and techniques. Many people at the conference also remarked that it renewed their energy through the contagious passion of enthusiasm for the work. It can also allow you to make invaluable contacts for the future, be that for coaching, support or to call on if facing a similar problem or project.
