Avoid the most common pitfalls
Tips for a successful Assessment
7. Make the process as streamlined and efficient as possible
Conducting an assessment does not in itself cause any improvement! It is a vital first step, but an assessment simply identifies accurately where improvements are required.
In any organization, the amount of discretionary resource that can be devoted to improvement work is very limited, and this resource needs to be used very carefully and wisely. So it is a big mistake to 'over engineer' the assessment process, since this just 'steals' time and resources from the subsequent improvement projects.
To avoid this problem, first heed the guidance (in a previous tip) about matching the thoroughness of the assessment to the maturity of the organization. And whatever level of thoroughness is required, aim to complete the process as quickly and efficiently as possible, so that there will be time and energy left over to work on the improvement projects.
Further reading
This
article just touches on some of the key issues.
For lots more information on how to conduct an assessment effectively, see
"From Baldrige
to the Bottom Line".