Unit 8 Discussion Topic 1 Discussion Topic

What is Kaizen?

The Kaizen approach to quality management is discussed in Chapter 7 of the PMP Exam Study Guide. What is Kaizen, how does it relate to project management, and which of the ten knowledge areas do you think Kaizen falls into? (Hint: Careful here — it can relate to more than one knowledge area.) How do the processes in this/these knowledge area(s) utilize the Kaizen principles?

Professor and class,

It seems to me that Kaizen is more than an approach to quality management in a business. Yes, it can be attributed to continuous improvement while in the middle of a project, but the actual word comes from Japan and developed after WWll when they really began to focus on manufacturing and innovation (Rouse, n.d.). In terms of knowledge areas, I would have to say that it could fall into almost any category, but if I had to narrow it down to just a few I would say it is most relevant to time management, quality management, human resources management, and cost management. All of these can be improved upon as the project progresses and though I think there might be others it can fall into, I think these are the big ones.

During quality management, Kaizen can be used to push for finding ways to improve and limit the defects in a product. Kaizen can also be applied to human resources because it can provide a more efficient way for workers to get their jobs done and it can be attributed to cost management as well because it relies on the previous two, both of which can help save money.

Jim

Reference

Rouse, M. (n.d.). What is Kaizen (continuous improvement)? - Definition from WhatIs.com. Retrieved

from https://searcherp.techtarget.com/definition/kaizen-orcontinuous-improvement