Incremental and Breakthrough Improvement

No process is perfect. There is always room for improvement in any work you do. By making ongoing improvements to the processes, you can improve the process efficiency, reduce waste, save cost, make it safer or faster.

There are two broad approaches for improvement: Incremental and Breakthrough Improvement.

1. Incremental Improvement:

The first method is incremental improvement, which means improving a system or product in small steps. Incremental changes are those that occur slowly over time. They are usually small and don't require much effort. 

Incremental improvements are often made by adding new features to an existing system. This type of improvement is usually done when there is no need for significant changes to the system's underlying structure.

Approaches used for incremental improvement include:

• PDCA
• Kaizen
• Kaizen Blitz
• Quality Circles

2. Breakthrough Improvement:

The second method is a breakthrough improvement, which means an entirely different approach is used to improve a system or product. Breakthrough improvements are large-scale projects that happen quickly. They are usually expensive and require a lot of planning.

A breakthrough improvement can be achieved through a radical redesign of the underlying structure of a system or product.

Approaches used for breakthrough improvement include:

• Six Sigma
• Business Process Reengineering (BPR)