6+ Continuous Improvement Tools to Help Drive Growth

In today’s world, businesses that can innovate and improve thrive. Ones clinging to old practices, however, eventually die out.

To stay ahead of your competition, your organization should focus on continuous improvement. Meaning, you should constantly re-evaluate your business processes, find improvements, and implement them.

Unless you’re a process improvement consultant, though, this won’t be the easiest of tasks. Over 50% of process improvement initiatives fail – and that happens for a reason. You need a lot of know-how to do this right. You need to know, for example, how to map processes, how to analyze the map, and so on.

If you have the right tools at hand, though, you’ll be dramatically increasing your chances.

To give you a head start, we’ve compiled a list of 6+ continuous improvement tools which are bound to significantly improve your odds.

Continuous Improvement Tools List

Before we dive into the specific tools, let’s talk basics. If you already have a good basic understanding of process improvement as a methodology, jump ahead to the first tool, Drive. Otherwise, read on!

As we’ve already mentioned, continuous improvement means constantly improving your processes.

There are 2 parts to it. One is cultural – making your organization used to improvement on a general basis. Your employees should be supportive of any initiative, and should always be willing to take part in it.

To learn more about this part, check out our article on Kaizen, where we cover the cultural aspect of improvement more throughout.

The other part is more practical – the “hows” and “whys” of improving specific processes.

The continuous improvement tools we’ll cover in this article will focus on the later part.

Process Mapping

Process Mapping is the methodology for visualizing business processes. It’s one of the most essential continuous improvement tools. Before you can improve a process, it’s helpful to have it down on paper. This way, you can actually see potential improvements.

There are several different types of process maps, depending on what you’re working on improving…

Process Flowchart – This is the most straightforward process map. You simply draw the business process as a flowchart, with each block being a single step. If you want to optimize the steps of the process, this map type is the go-to.

Process flowchart example: content marketing

SIPOC Diagram – SIPOC stands for Supplier, Inputs, Processes, Outputs, and Customers. This is a more top-down process map, as it doesn’t go into the details of the process flow itself. Rather, you analyze all the external aspects of the process and improve on those.

Value Stream Map – As with the SIPOC diagram, this one’s top-down. The value stream map analyses the exact way you deliver value to the end-customer, including the process itself, duration of each step, KPIs, etc.

Drive

DRIVE is a continuous improvement tool that involves evaluating problems so you can break them down into simple, actionable steps. DRIVE stands for:

• Define – Defining the problem and identifying success criteria.
• Review – Analyze the current situation, looking for areas that are problematic or need improvement.
• Identify – Finding potential solutions to the problem and evaluating the type of changes needed to sustain these improvements.
• Verify – Figure out whether or not the solutions and changes conducted will help reach the criteria of success as defined in step #1.
• Execute – Carry out the implementation of solutions or improvements. Check if your success criteria are met and review the entire process.

Root Cause Analysis

The Root Cause Analysis is, as evident from the name, a methodology aimed at discovering the root of any problem, issue or quality concern. It’s done in three stages…

• Open Phase – The first is the brainstorming phase. Here, the team comes up with any possible issue that might be causing the problem. The idea here is to generate as many ideas as possible (without filtering any)
• Narrow Phase – The team narrows down the possible ideas to as few as possible, proving most of the theories wrong
• Closed Phase – Once several potential issues are identified, the team validates the final short-list of problems.

The 5 Whys

The 5 whys is a theory first developed by the Toyota Production Systems and now are an important part of Lean Manufacturing, Kaizen, and Six Sigma.

The idea behind it is simple – you continue asking “why” 5 times until you discover the root of the problem. This allows you to break through the layer of symptoms and get to the root of the problem.

People commonly want to address symptoms when problems arise. Then they don’t understand why these same problems tend to keep happening.

Using the 5 Whys may take longer initially, but it will save you the trouble of having the same problems crop up over and over again in your business.

The 5 Whys help you get to the root of any problem and understand the relationship between the different causes of this problem. It is one of the easiest tools you can use because it doesn’t require any data or statistical analysis.

To give you a better idea of how this works, here’s a simple example from Toyota’s website…

Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle

The PDSA cycle is a continuous improvement tool developed by Edwards Demming. It consists of four phases…

• Plan – Identifying potential problems and shortcomings within the company, be it about a process, product or service.
• Do – The planned changes are carried out on a small scale. This acts as a test on whether the proposed changes work or not, without having to risk implementing it on a larger scale.
• Study – Once you have some data on how well the new process works, it’s time to benchmark it to the original. If doesn’t work as planned, then all the new information is taken into consideration when starting the cycle anew. If it does, then you proceed to the final step.
• Act –  Having confirmation that the new process is better than the old one, you can finally start executing it on a company-wide scale.

DMAIC

DMAIC is a bit similar to drive, and it stands for: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control.

• Define – The first phase is identifying all the strategic aspects of the entire procedure. That is, articulating the problem, defining the budget or the scope of the project, etc.
• Measure – Here, the benchmark for improvement has to be identified. i.e, once the process improvement initiative is carried out, the new data should be compared with the old, identifying which method or process is better.
• Analyze – During the analyzing stage, the team has to identify the root cause of the problem. This can be done with a root cause analysis (Fishbone diagram, for example). Once about 3 or 4 potential causes are identified, their connection to the original metric is to be determined. From then on, the exact root cause has to found the potential causes.
• Improve – Once the root cause is found, different solutions are to be tested (usually on a smaller scale). If the solution does solve the problem, and it’s empirically proven with data vs the “measure” step, it can be scaled and applied to all relevant processes.
• Control – The DMAIC process improvement initiative doesn’t end with implementing the right changes. Once that’s done with, it’s important to keep track of the improved process, making sure that it’s working as intended.

Bonus: Process Management Software

There are a lot of problems with process improvement. One of the most notable ones is enforcement.

You spend countless hours improving a process, but your employees just won’t stick with the new variation.

In most cases, this is usually because of habit. The employees are used to doing the things one way, and then you expect them to completely change their behavior.

Some will stick, others will take a while. By using business process management software, though, you can completely get rid of this problem.

Instead of having to notify your employees of changes manually and keep track of whether they’re sticking to it or not, you can simply make a change to the process through software.

The employees will get a notification that the process will be carried out in a different way. Then, the system will automatically enforce the changes, telling the employees exactly what they need to do for each step.

Related Questions

What are the 5 key principles of continuous improvement?

The five key principles of continuous improvement are simple ideas that create powerful changes. First, make problems visible – just like turning on a light in a dark room helps you see what needs cleaning. Second, talk to the people doing the actual work, as they often have the best ideas for making things better. Third, take small steps rather than giant leaps – think of it like learning to walk before running. Fourth, create clear ways to measure success, similar to using a map to know you’re heading in the right direction. Fifth, make improvement part of everyone’s daily work, not just a special project that happens once in a while.

What are the 4 steps of continuous improvement?

The four steps of continuous improvement follow a pattern called PDCA: Plan, Do, Check, Act. Think of it like cooking a new recipe. First, you plan what you’re going to make and gather your ingredients. Then, you do the actual cooking. Next, you check how it tastes and what could be better. Finally, you act on what you learned by adjusting the recipe for next time. Each time you go through these steps, things get a little better.

How do you start a continuous improvement program?

Starting a continuous improvement program is like planting a garden. Begin with a small area where you can see quick results. Start by picking one process that frustrates people and work on making it better. Get everyone involved by asking for their ideas and experiences. Create a simple way to track progress, like taking before and after pictures. Most importantly, celebrate small wins to keep everyone excited about making things better.

What’s the difference between continuous improvement and process improvement?

Think of process improvement as fixing one road, while continuous improvement is maintaining the entire city’s transportation system. Process improvement focuses on making one specific workflow better, like improving how customer orders are handled. Continuous improvement is an ongoing journey that looks at everything in your organization, creating a culture where everyone is always looking for ways to make things work better.

Which continuous improvement tools are best for beginners?

For beginners, start with simple tools that are easy to understand and use. The 5 Whys technique is like being a curious child who keeps asking “why?” until they find the root cause. Process mapping is like drawing a map of how work flows through your organization. Simple checklists help make sure nothing gets missed. These basic tools are like training wheels – they help you get started before moving on to more complex methods.

How do you measure continuous improvement success?

Measuring continuous improvement success is like keeping score in a game. Look for both quick wins and long-term progress. Track simple things like how much time people save, how many mistakes are prevented, or how happy customers are. Use visual charts that everyone can understand, similar to a weight loss journey chart. Remember to measure both the hard numbers and the soft benefits, like improved employee satisfaction or better teamwork.

What role does technology play in continuous improvement?

Technology in continuous improvement is like having a powerful set of binoculars – it helps you see things more clearly and work more efficiently. Modern tools like workflow software help track progress, spot bottlenecks, and share improvements across teams. But remember, technology is just a tool – it works best when combined with human insight and creativity. The key is finding the right balance between digital tools and human problem-solving.

How often should you review continuous improvement efforts?

Review continuous improvement efforts like you check your garden – regularly but not obsessively. Daily quick checks help spot immediate issues. Weekly team discussions keep everyone aligned and motivated. Monthly reviews help track bigger patterns and progress. Quarterly deep dives let you step back and see the bigger picture. The key is making these reviews helpful and action-oriented, not just meetings for the sake of meetings.