Tag Archives: Public Sector

Why Congress Won’t Investigate Wall Street

Posted on April 30, 2009 by John Hunter

Why Congress Won’t Investigate Wall Street The famous Pecora Commission of 1933 and 1934 was one of the most successful congressional investigations of all time, an instance when oversight worked exactly as it should. The subject was the massively corrupt … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, Systems thinking | Tagged Economics, ethics, government, Public Sector, regulation | 2 Comments

Combinatorial Testing for Software

Posted on March 26, 2009 by John Hunter

Combinatorial testing of software is very similar to the design of experiments work my father was involved in, and which I have a special interest in. Combinatorial testing looks at binary interaction effects (success or failure), since it is seeking … Continue reading →

Posted in Design of Experiments, Process improvement, Quality tools, Software Development | Tagged Bill Hunter, Design of Experiments, Process improvement, Public Sector, Software Development, software testing | 9 Comments

Lean Thinking in Minnesota Government

Posted on February 8, 2009 by John Hunter

The Office of Governor Pawlenty issued a press release on Minnesota’s Drive to Excellence effort: Increased Quality via Lean Continuous Improvement Reform – The State has adopted “Lean Thinking” as its preferred process improvement tool. So far, 18 agencies are … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Public Sector | Tagged government, Lean thinking, Public Sector | 1 Comment

Checklists Save Lives

Posted on January 17, 2009 by John Hunter

Checklists are a simple quality tool that have been used widely for decades. Pilots use them, without fail, to save lives. Some surgeons have been using them and the evidence is mounting that checklists can save many more lives if … Continue reading →

Posted in Deming, Health care, Management, Process improvement, Psychology, Quality tools, Systems thinking | Tagged checklist, continual improvement, Deming, health care system, Process improvement, Psychology, Public Sector, Quality tools | 3 Comments

Federal Government Chief Performance Officer

Posted on January 15, 2009 by John Hunter

A Quality Manager for Obama President-Elect Obama has hired a quality manager, and her name is Nancy Killefer. She is the newly appointed “Chief Performance Officer” whose mandate is to manage budget reforms while eliminating waste in government processes, ultimately … Continue reading →

Posted in Management, Public Sector | Tagged change, commentary, curiouscat, Deming, government, John Hunter, management, Public Sector, quality, quote | 1 Comment

Lean Management in Policing

Posted on August 18, 2008 by John Hunter

Justice served up Jacksonville–style is all lean [broken link was removed] by Joe Jancsurak: The Jacksonville Sheriff Office’s (JSO) Crime Reducing Initiatives Management and Enforcement Strategies (CRIMES) measures, tracks and analyzes crime-fighting statistics, such as the number of arrests and … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management Articles, Public Sector | Tagged government, Madison, Public Sector | 1 Comment

Department of Defense Lean Six Sigma

Posted on June 5, 2008 by John Hunter

Gordon England, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, signed a directive establishing policy and assigning responsibilities to institutionalize the effort throughout DoD. See a webcast of his speech [the broken link was removed] on lean six sigma to a DoD conference … Continue reading →

Posted in Lean thinking, Management, Public Sector, Six sigma | Tagged government, lean six sigma, Public Sector, Six sigma, webcasts | Comments Off

Jeffrey Pfeffer on Evidence-Based Practices

Posted on March 11, 2007 by John Hunter

Jeffrey Pfeffer Testifies to Congress About Evidence-Based Practices [the broken link was removed]: In this short statement, I want to make five points as succinctly as possible, providing references for background and documentation for my arguments. First, organizations in both … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Data, Management, Performance Appraisal, Public Sector, Statistics, Systems thinking | Tagged evidence based management, Public Sector | Comments Off

Six Sigma City Government

Posted on February 28, 2007 by John Hunter

A recent report from the Brookings Institution, Reconnecting Massachusetts Gateway Cities [the broken link was removed], has some good words on the efforts of Fort Wayne, Indiana: In a short time, the city reduced water main replacement costs by 18 … Continue reading →

Posted in Public Sector, Six sigma | Tagged Public Sector, Six sigma | 1 Comment

The Georgetown Kentucky Way

Posted on February 27, 2007 by John Hunter

The Scott County Way [the broken link was removed] by Jillian Ogawa: It seemed only natural that Toyota’s corporate culture would influence the local schools, said Superintendent Dallas Blankenship. He estimated that one in three students in the school district … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Management Articles, Public Sector, Toyota Production System (TPS) | Tagged Education, Lean thinking, Public Sector, Toyota | Comments Off