Frederick Taylors Principles Of Scientific Management
B: Break down tasks to micro-tasks
- Overview: Breakdown every project into its atomic units. It’s key to use direct observation and motion studies to get a high level of granularity.
- Why It Matters: What’s invisible can’t be improved. Most work is invisible because most human thought and action is automatic.
O: Observe task length
- Overview: Measure how long each task takes to get an objective number. As a rule of thumb aim at one minute per task (Ford assembly line’s average task length).
- Why It Matters: We humans are terrible at estimating how long it takes to perform activities. Without accurate estimates, we can’t learn from experiments effectively or prioritise what to optimise first.
O: Optimise until you find the one best way
- Overview: Experiment with every method of improving the efficiency and ideal load of each ask in order to find the one best way. This includes redesigning / adding / removing steps; augmenting or automating with tools; or innovating the process.
- Why It Matters: Best is often several times better than good enough.
T: Train the team in the one best way
- Overview: Train the team to implement the one best way rather than developing their own system from scratch. This includes skill, mindset, and emotional support.
- Why It Matters: Having a better way doesn’t matter unless it’s widely adopted.