The Second Way

Summary

In the second way we give more power to our workers and we encourage them to work together to detect problems early and solve them without the need for further approval, by allowing the flow of feedback without fear.

The Second Way

While the first way enables fast flowing work from, left to right, the second way is the enabling of feedback from the right back to the left. This means we can identify problems early on and fix them before work has progressed any further. This is especially important in technology where errors that aren’t picked up early can be catastrophic.

Early detection

Detecting errors and issues early on and feeding this back to make sure the errors don’t continue is only workable in a safe system of work. This means we must create an environment where workers are confident and can give that feedback and receive it without fear. Early detection of errors can prevent some major failures further down the line. to do this we need early testing and we need to incorporate development, product management, and operations. If we do this we not only recovery problems quickly and make the necessary changes, we also prevent these same problems from occurring again.

Solve the problems

Once we have detected problems we need to solve them and make sure these issues don’t spread. To do this, it’s not enough to simply allow departments to carry on working a round the problem, we must all pull together to solve it. This is an important step in containing the issue and dealing with it quickly and efficiently. All departments should stop their work and now work on solving this problem fast. This means we don’t contaminate the issue unintentionally by continuing to work while the problem is still there. No matter how small the problem might seem, it;’s important that we contain it in this way so it doesn’t grow.

Don’t waste time waiting for approval

One of the most frustrating and pointless wastes of time when faced with solving problems is the need to have your work rubber stamped by someone who is elusive and doesn’t work in your team. Instead, we should enable our workers to make decisions =s for themselves, based on their knowledge of their work, and to solve their problems quickly without the need for approval from above. This achieves to things. It means issues get sorted faster and by the people how work with these systems every day and know them inside out. And it makes our workers feel empowered and valued. They no longer have to go to have their work signed off, they have control over it.

The second way is the step that really deals with the problems that occur. This is the centre of solving issues and allowing workers the freedom to do just that. While we pull together and are all involve in dealing with issues, we also recognise that workers at eh source are best placed to understand the issues with that system of work. We create an atmosphere of confidence and value and we give workers the power to act upon their own experiences. By doing this we minimise the problems that cause even bigger problems and our work begins to flow faster.