Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [389]
FIGURE 19-9 The constraint management model. (From Dettmer, H. W. 2003. Strategic Navigation: A Systems Approach to Business Strategy. Milwaukee, WI: ASQ Quality Press.)
Step 2. Analyze the mismatches. Once the system and its operating environment are defined and observations of the current situation made, it’s time to synthesize what should be happening with what actually is happening. This synthesis is the essence of Boyd’s orientation step in the OODA loop. The product of this synthesis is one or more gaps, or what Boyd referred to as “mismatches.” In this case, the mismatch is between reality and our expectations. The size and scope of such gaps are specifically articulated. Inevitably, a system’s current constraint will be found somewhere within the identified mismatches.
Step 3. Create a transformation. This is essentially a “brainstorming” step. It’s the point in the process where creativity is required—thinking “outside the box” to create breakthrough ideas. Such ideas must be created before any decisions about what to do can be made. “Creation” is an inspirational or inventive activity. There are several widely used idea-generation methods, such as TRIZ (Rantanen and Domb, 2002), that can contribute breakthroughs in thinking needed to close the gaps discovered in Step 2.
Step 4. Design the future. Once a breakthrough idea (or more than one) is created to close the gap defined in Step 2, it must be integrated into a whole-system plan that includes not just the changes to close the gap, but the continuing operations that had no mismatches associated with them. Hypothesis testing, whether in the form of a simulation, prototype, or just a logical verification, verifies the efficacy of various alternatives, from which one or more are selected. This is the essence of the decision step in the OODA loop.
Step 5. Plan the execution. Once the decision is made, an execution plan should be formulated, since “the devil is in the details.” Resources, accountabilities, timelines, and measures of success are established in execution planning. (If this is beginning to sound like a project, it’s because it is!) An execution plan represents the “front end” of the OODA loop’s act step.
Step 6. Deploy the strategy. This is the conclusion of the act step. How long the execution actually takes will depend on the nature of the activities planned. Strategies are typically longer-range than business plans or tactical actions. Time horizons are often measured in years. However, the completion of Step 5 makes managing deployment better structured and easier to monitor. Moreover, as the inevitable surprises, deviations, or unexpected variations occur in execution, the plan can be expeditiously corrected to accommodate them. This is the second half of the OODA loop act step.
Step 7. Review the strategy. Presuming that no major breakdowns in strategy deployment occur, the only remaining task is to evaluate the strategy’s overall effectiveness. This obviously brings us back to the OODA loop’s first step again—observe. This time, however, we’re not looking for deviations in deployment. We’re determining whether the overall strategy we developed in Step 4 is really producing the results we want and expect.
Step 7 includes two feedback links. The more common one connects to Step 2 again (analyze the mismatches). Working with our previously defined paradigm and expectations (established the first time through the OODA loop in Step 1), we compare the second round of observations with our original expectations.9 Have the gaps identified earlier narrowed or even closed altogether? If not, or if they’re not closing quickly enough to suit us, we must reevaluate our strategy and adjust it as necessary. Even if the gaps have closed, a proactive application of the OODA loop requires that we identify and develop “the next big thing