In agile manufacturing, teams work in short cycles called sprints. These self-organized groups develop products in a modular fashion. This helps to speed up innovation. Such teams evolve on a continuous basis based on experience and customer feedback. How can you improve the management of such structures?
Some key components of management style need to change to allow for improvement in this regard. Consider the following:
- A customer focus must be a priority. Determining what the customer wants and then defining those wants using tests helps to improve efficiency. Then, the tests provide for short cycles to deliver on those features and finding out what customers think of the new updates. Working with customers is essential.
- Team organization is self-managed. Teams determine how they are organized in a way that is efficient and effective for the product. In doing this, the team is able to function specifically. A daily standup call ensures every team of small members remains on the same page. Hiring the highest quality candidates also makes sure that they are prepared for this self-managed work style.
- The team focuses on meeting the guidelines the testing produces as desires from the consumer. This allows such changes to be made far less expensively and enables for the quickest return of the product to market. Unlike other situations where the next product takes five to seven years to launch, the product is in hand faster.
- There is also a level of business transparency present. The goal is continuous improvement and that is done by ensuring everyone can see what is happening, who is doing what and understands the goals of the process.
- As with any real management style, in this form, there is a great deal of effective communication taking place. This is called vertical communications instead of the traditional hierarchy form. The project owner does set goals in terms of what should be worked on. He or she is not the traditional boss, though. Rather, the team members are able to communicate openly with the project’s definitions and goals. The management can communicate a clear vision, then, to the group.
Rather than the traditional boss-is-at-the-top style of management, this is a more open concept. In agile manufacturing, the goal is to align with different goals to achieve a better result. Instead of one group at the top making a decision about what needs to be done, changes are made to products based on what the customer wants to see happen. Then, the group works on achieving those goals as a group, open and easily able to communicate.
This type of organization and management style means products in the hands of customers faster, lower costs and improved overall customer satisfaction since the customer is getting exactly what he or she wants. It also means new products and innovation are easier to achieve. But, this all starts with hiring the best team members, who can work well in the agile manufacturing work environment. Look for your new self-starters by working with the staffing experts at Advance Staffing Solutions.
