From learning to leading: Celebrating our new Associate Practitioner graduates
Fourteen skilled Continuous Improvement (CI) Associate Practitioners recently graduated from the CI Local Practitioner Programme run by Focus.
Congratulations to our recent graduates of the CI Local Practitioner Development Programme! Your dedication and hard work have set a remarkable example for your colleagues. At the graduation ceremony, attendees from various departments gathered to celebrate the practitioners and hear about their impactful projects. With support from Focus buddies and fellow cohort members, these graduates have demonstrated a strong commitment to Continuous Improvement, driving positive change across the University.
The CI Local Practitioner Development Programme is a 20-week structured course run by the Focus team. It provides participants with essential CI skills and tools that empower them to drive local process improvements within their departments. To implement their project, they use a variety of resources, including e-learning modules, class events and a structured workbook. Practitioners are supported throughout by an experienced buddy from the Focus team or the Associate Practitioner Network, which now has 75 members.
Practitioners champion CI in their departments and continuously seek ways to implement improvements in their projects and processes. Supported by the CI Community of Practice, a professional community with over 860 CI enthusiasts as of March 2025, practitioners are driving positive changes across the entire University.
Cohort 5 project summary
Here is an overview of the remarkable projects from Cohort 5 of the CI Local Practitioner Programme:
New approaches to Foundations and Corporations
With increasing numbers of fundraisers within the Development Office - all potentially interested in making new approaches to charitable foundations or corporations - the team's current approach management process was struggling under the increased volume of requests coming through for approval. This was taking up valuable resource and also delaying new approaches from commencing.
Jonnie recognised the need for improvement, and worked with his team to identify 13 areas that could significantly improve the process. Using the Voice of the Customer tool from the CI toolkit, the team reduced the steps in the process from 18 to 12, and decision points from 9 to 3. The streamlined process is seeking to deliver quicker responses, improve data quality, and allow more time for fundraisers to focus on their efforts.
It was great to be a part of this cohort, learning lots of CI skills and tools, whilst also having a local project to put this all into practice.
Offboarding in NDORMS
The offboarding process within NDORMS was experiencing delays and inefficiencies. To address these issues, Elena used process mapping and the 8 Wastes tool to identify the different types of waste that could be eliminated.
Through Voice of the Customer activities, including meetings, surveys, and workshops, Elena gathered feedback and drafted a process map. The improvements led to a more efficient and effective offboarding process, empowering staff and ensuring a smoother experience for all involved.
AMIIC Research Dissemination
Rachel recognised that the groundbreaking cardiovascular research at the Centre was not routinely shared online, leading to missed opportunities with collaborators, funders, and participants. Through an initial survey and a deep dive workshop, Rachel used Voice of the Customer activities to identify issues such as uncertainty around approvals, lack of time, and concerns about sharing research online.
With no existing process in place, Rachel aimed to design a new one that would improve culture and engagement. Her efforts led to successful workshops and innovative ideas to showcase activity and achievements through multiple communications channels including the AMIC website.
"Understanding the 'Why' using CI tools has made the 'How' possible"
Optimising Competency Centres' reporting
Isabelle has been instrumental in optimising the reporting process across the four independent Competency Centres. Without a consistent feedback and recording mechanism in place, the Competency Centres faced numerous inefficiencies. Using the Stop, Start and Continue tool, Isabelle and her team identified 25 opportunities for improvement, while removing 7 types of waste from the process.
The tools have given me the confidence that I am well-equipped to enhance other areas of our workflow.
Isabelle's innovative approach included creating a Copilot agent to assist with reporting, a first for the centres. The next step includes building several automations to further streamline the process.
Building services task management
With an increase in maintenance reports and requests, the Building Services team were experiencing confusion and frustration around their task management system. Marcus used process mapping and the Bugs & Butterflies tool to uncover that team members often followed their own processes, leading to inconsistencies. He also facilitated a customer workshop using the After Action Review tool and this helped identify the Building Services shared inbox as a key area where improvements could be made.
The main problem areas in a process are often unclear until you start engaging with stakeholders and drilling down.
Marcus and his team streamlined the process by organising the inbox and automating routine emails, reducing the number of emails from 3000 to just 4. The improvements have not only reduced the team's stress but also increased customer confidence in the Building Services team.
Charlie Knight
Administrative Support Officer
Planning and Council Secretariat
Congregation data
Charlie oversees the Congregation database, which holds data for over 5000 members. The database often faces inconsistencies when member details change because the updates are not communicated to Charlie.
To identify issues, Charlie conducted a SIPOC analysis, mapping the entire data process from start to finish. They also conducted surveys and gathered feedback through Voice of the Customer activities, identifying improvements that will lead to reduced waiting times and improved data quality.
Using an Impact/Effort matrix, Charlie identified collecting SSO information as a quick win to ensure data consistency throughout a member's time at the university.
Co-ordinating disability support
Joanna identified the need to review the co-ordination of and processes behind disability support within the Faculty of Law. By conducting a Stop, Start, Continue exercise through a student survey and discussions with colleagues, Joanna pinpointed key areas for improvement. Process mapping provided much-needed clarity and structure. Questioning tools uncovered other, closely related areas of review.
Despite challenges such as workload and the project's significant size, the project has led to some changes being implemented already. Skills learned from the programme are being shared with colleagues. Next steps for the project include establishing some standard operating written processes and continuing the review.
Improving gender equity monitoring and reporting
Ruth recognized the need to improve the school's processes for monitoring gender equity progress. She helped develop a five-year action plan and used Voice of the Customer activities to gather feedback from everyone involved, including the Equality and Diversity team.
By using an Impact/Effort matrix and the PDCA cycle, Ruth identified key areas for improvement and reduced missing data from 60% to 25%, aiming for 0% by 2027. This project has freed up time for business needs and emphasized the importance of continuous improvement, listening, and celebrating success.
Improving examination materials processes
Jamie tackled uncertainties in the examination materials process within the central Student Assessment team (Education Services). By using process mapping and SIPOC analysis, Jamie documented the process from start to end, identifying opportunities to restructure and reorganise exam materials, run regular stock-checks, and avoid overproduction.
Through surveys and workshops, Jamie gathered feedback from departments, colleges, and Student Assessment colleagues to pinpoint key areas for improvement. His efforts resulted in the identification of ‘out of use’ exam materials, reducing physical stock held at the Examination Schools by 50% (of over 12 700 materials). The new process - which will be piloted during the Trinity Term 2025 exam season - aims to make the management and movement of exam materials run more smoothly, and reduce delays to exam start times.
I’m really pleased that the Student Assessment’s team can already see the results of the project so far. I am looking forward to seeing how these improvements will benefit the University in the upcoming Trinity term exam season.
Examination script collection and delivery
Sometimes interim solutions are a necessary part of the CI process.
Efficiency issues with script sorting, collection and delivery have far-reaching implications for university staff and students. Missing scripts can delay marking and the official release of exam results. Delays are a concern, especially if you are a student whose offer of employment depends on confirmation of your graduation.
Edwina used process mapping to map all three processes and facilitated a Waste Identification and Opportunities for Improvement Workshop with the university’s central Exams Team. In collaboration with her colleagues, she conducted the Examination Processes Review Survey, and facilitated a workshop with representatives from almost every academic division. The workshop aimed to form a shared understanding of the scale, complexity and demands on all those involved in exam delivery, and to mutually compile a list of Service Level Agreements that could be refined and trialled in Trinity 2025. The new processes encourage collaboration, and aim to reduce delays, complaints and the number of missing scripts.
Improving student support plan templates
The student support plan (SSP) templates which set out reasonable adjustments for students with disabilities were inconsistent, leading to challenges in collecting feedback and overreliance on a single person.
Through a waste identification workshop with disability advisors, Vicky identified issues and implemented solutions like using Microsoft Forms for feedback and establishing a standard operating procedure. Vicky's work streamlined the process and emphasized starting with small changes for significant improvements.
Advances
The advances process within the Finance Division faced issues like coding errors on request forms and many unreconciled transactions. Rosie reviewed process maps and web guidance, identifying mismatches and areas for improvement.
Through workshops and user feedback, she discovered departmental frustrations and opportunities to streamline the process. The 3 Cs exercise clarified transaction processes and removed duplications.
Improving IT purchasing process
The IT purchasing process faced delays, unclear roles, and frustrated stakeholders. Olga identified issues like the lack of an IT approval step and errors during handovers to the finance team.
Using the ESCAR tool and root cause analysis, Olga proposed solutions to streamline the process and reduce errors. Her efforts led to a clearer process map and a proactive approach to collecting feedback.
Improving POD reporting
Morgan wondered why POD’s reporting spreadsheet, intended to help stakeholders understand project statuses, was not being used consistently by the team. Through Voice of the Customer interviews and using a custom AI agent to analyse trends, Morgan identified that spreadsheet users wanted a clearer understanding of the purpose and impact behind using it, as well as a process that was more efficient and easier to use.
By designing and facilitating two Collaborative problem-solving workshops, she helped teams across POD define and interrogate issues and brainstorm solutions. Morgan's efforts led to a clearer understanding of reporting process requirements and the need for a more comprehensive approach.
