Document Pyramid – Review
“The best gift I can offer you is knowledge, as meager or plentiful as it may be. I write with confidence you will grow from my experiences earned on a 40+ year journey that began in 1976 when I started a bleeding edge high-tech manufacturing career. Perform the basics well and build upon them in a continual way.” Carl
Document Pyramid Level 1 Recap
By now you have seen the Document Pyramid in all its grandeur, simple in its design and symbolism. The fewest documents with the highest view are at the top in Level 1: Policy. At this level, we are setting direction and answering the question, Why? The reasons we are in business, the vision, values, mission, and who we will serve.
Level 1 of the Document Pyramid is the top-tier information of your company’s business and management system. Included and defined by Top Management is Why the organization exists the policies and processes of the organization. These policies and processes are used to ensure business operations, its people, and resources can consistently meet or exceed defined objectives, customer requirements, to the standard(s) the company chooses to reference. There are few documents in this level, and all should stand the test of time with relatively few changes across many years. Each level of the Document Pyramid cascades down from here to support, retain, and continually improve our knowledge.
Document Pyramid Level 2 Recap
The policy gives way to Level 2: Procedures Part 1 and Part 2, which support and refine the high-level processes of the business. Level 2 of the Document Pyramid says What actions are done, Where, and When. Procedures also define Who is authorized to maintain and be responsible to monitor its performance along with other pertinent information. A procedure is only created when needed to maintain process efficiency and effectiveness. Procedures are time-dependent to describe high-level and/or organizational processes.
Procedures help us communicate and share knowledge of the process workflow. We utilize SiPoC to describe our high-level process. Recall that SiPoC is an acronym for; Suppliers, input, Process, output, and Customer.
SiPoC references the supply chain for the product and service realization process from raw materials and knowledge to finished goods and services to the customer. To ensure our process performs as expected and, we have the opportunity to improve, each process includes at least one objective measure of success.
Document Pyramid Level 3 Recap
When more process detail is appropriate, the procedure may reference one or more work instructions. In Level 3: Work Instruction we provide additional detail of how the process is performed. Procedures and Work Instructions have many similarities; however, one primary difference is the amount of detail in a work instruction on How the transformation is done. The Work Instruction focuses on the iPo to provide a detailed order of applying inputs (i) with a set of Process (P) steps to create the output (o).
Document content, which shall be included in the document, is defined in a standardized way to enable clear and concise communication and training. Most procedures will include 10 content sections;
Template: ProcedureForm.docx
These ten sections are used to create a procedure that defines the transformation of inputs to an intended output. It follows the PDCA (Plan, Do, Check, Act) workflow cycle to increase the success of training, consistency of results, and improve outcomes.
Document Pyramid Level 4 Recap
Lastly, we peaked in the cavernous expanse of Level 4: Objective Evidence. There is a reason this is at the base of the Document Pyramid. The base must support the three tiers above. At this point, the policies, procedures, and work instructions are in place. We will look deeply into the pool of objective evidence that includes references (inputs) and records (outputs). The input and output documents are used to ensure all three of the previous documents (Policy, Procedure, and Work Instruction) achieve the desired result.
Procedures and work instruction will reference drawings, specifications, and standards. This reference information is used to guide the performance of activities and/or provide the standard of conformance and compliance with specific requirements. References support and help define aspects of the parent document.
Business operations output a treasure trove of records from processes. The output information represents the objective evidence that the defined process was followed and completed. Generally considered the “Check” in the Plan, Do, Check, Act (PDCA) improvement cycle. These references must be protected from undue alteration and archived. Archive Objective Evidence output, when appropriate, to meet specific requirements, regulations, and standards. These references become the basis for Business Intelligence to support continual improvement.
Putting it all together
Thank you for allowing me to guide you through the Document Pyramid. We began our journey at the top tier of Policy, then we traveled through Level 2 Procedures. Next, we descended into level 3 Work Instructions and finally into Level 4, the big pool of Objective Evidence, the data, and records. As we descend into the pyramid from the top, we realize how the documents at lower levels support those above them. In our descent into the lower levels, we recognize documents increase in detail to support the process.
When we arrived at the base of the Document Pyramid, we discovered an abundance of organizational data and information. Information that has the power to elevate your business to new heights of effectiveness and efficiency of your customer solutions. Level 4 – Objective Evidence is where the gold is mined. We will analyze the data and information to set direction and priority for improvements. We are rewarded with gold as we implement changes to increase effectiveness (better results) and build in higher efficiency (save costs).
There is another very real value in good documentation management (in whatever form it takes), the retention and building of your organizational knowledge. It is used to decrease the learning curve and increase the competence of employees. We use our documents to standardize and provide consistency to our transformation processes. We share our documents with our suppliers, vendors, customers to ensure clarity and understanding. Our documents communicate our policies, our values, our mission, our goals, and our performance to each of those. Why is document management important? It is your organization’s Book-of-Knowledge. These four levels are your business’ playbook.
Keeping it Together
The four levels of the document hierarchy can quickly become a nightmare to manage without the right tools. Documents will age and can become a hindrance, a burden, and no longer add value. We must set a cycle to review and refresh. The best method to ensure the document remains valuable is for current employees to use it. Secondarily, use the documents, at all levels, to teach and develop all persons in the businesses and those interested parties that influence results. Almost immediately the person doing the process will recognize any deviation from their day-to-day activity. The persons responsible for the process and doing the work, internal or external to your organization, are the best resource for improvements.
To maintain value the business must ensure organization, constant use, and, of course, ease of use are paramount to success. When a document no longer has value, archive it immediately and update the process workflow. It is the natural order – what was once new knowledge will become understood, the SOP, a habit, then like breathing – we cannot stop without knowing pain. When the process becomes that habitual, we will not refer to the document and then it becomes a burden.
How do we keep all the documents managed? In my next post, I will share my solution to organize and manage your Document Pyramid with the Document Index.