STORYBOARDING
PerfOps’ principal consultant invented a storyboarding method for diagramming the "to be" processes for warehouse and shop floor processes over 30 years ago. Several years after the original tool was created, it was found to be similar to the Shikumi diagrams used by Toyota© in the 1990s. An IBM© executive once described our storyboards as “Talking Paper”. We have found this to accurately describe the value of having easy to read flow diagrams which bring different perspectives together in design and training sessions and give the “words in the air” a place to land.
PerfOps’ principal consultant invented a storyboarding method for diagramming the "to be" processes for warehouse and shop floor processes over 30 years ago. Several years after the original tool was created, it was found to be similar to the Shikumi diagrams used by Toyota in the 1990s. An IBM executive once described our storyboards as “Talking Paper”. We have found this to accurately describe the value of having easy to read flow diagrams which bring different perspectives together in design and training sessions and give the “words in the air” a place to land.
The top, graphic portion of the storyboard shows the physical process with the proposed technology in place. Readers follow the yellow bubbles from step to step, reading small descriptions while looking at the diagrams.
The lower portion of the diagram describes what the systems need to be doing at each step. These descriptions are synchronized with the upper portion using the same yellow bubbles.
In this way two types of readers are kept literally “on the same page,”
1) the users performing the physical work and using the new technology, and
2) the technology professionals who are configuring the system.
This tool has been used on more than 100 projects since that time and has evolved through several generations of diagramming software.
THE BENEFITS OF OUR STORYBOARDING METHOD INCLUDE:
Bringing a picture of how a physical process will come together with a technology system to become a solution
Allowing warehouse and shop floor users to envision, in detail, what a proposed solution will feel like to operate prior to its construction
Involving the users more deeply in the solution design not only improves the design but creates true ownership in the outcome
Ensuring the solution is kept in front of the systems configuration and technologists while they perform their activities, which are not normally performed in proximity to the physical process
Getting a few iterations at optimization done virtually instead of after implementation, which reduces risk and saves cost
Eliminates the need for users to try to read long documents which seldom make sense to them anyway
Becomes the foundation for SOPs
In this way two types of readers are kept literally “on the same page,”
1) the users performing the physical work and using the new technology, and
2) the technology professionals who are configuring the system.
This tool has been used on more than 100 projects since that time and has evolved through several generations of diagramming software.
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Our professionals work together because they prefer to and not because they happen to be employed by the same firm. PerfOps is a principled organization and our team members meet a high level of standards.
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While our teams focus on each project’s goals, our team members must also demonstrate a commitment to achieving long-term results for clients beyond each project’s specific scope.
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The PerfOps consortium is comprised of highly experienced individuals. Most team members exceed 10 years of continuous skills development in their chosen areas of work.