Operational Definitions were a large part of what W. Edwards Deming used to advocate in his teachings. Chapter 9 of his book, Out of the Crisis is dedicated to this concept. “Operational Definitions, Conformance, Performance.”
In the opinion of many people in the industry, there is nothing more important for a transaction of business than the use of operational definitions. P. 276.
The concept, while being critical, is nothing complicated. Basically an Operational Definition defines a word, term, or concept that has a distinct meaning in a specific organization or business. People cannot communicate effectively or hope to solve problems and improve operations if they do not all have the same understanding of the various terms being bandied about in the workplace.
One of the first things to be done is to define terms as precisely as possible. In our business, we run across this every day while working with prospects, clients, etc. In fact, just recently while presenting at a conference on S&OP. The attendees in our session were all seasoned Supply Chain professionals from well known companies. During the Q&A at the end of our talk we experienced a basic Operational Definition difference. In response to a question, we talked about the risks of making changes in orders within lead times. An attendee raised his hand and said “Don’t you mean outside of lead time?” It was immediately clear to us that we were operating under different Operational Definitions. His outside of lead time was our inside of lead time. We all meant the same thing however: If changes are made to an order when the promised delivery date of that order is less time than it will take to get the materials, schedule, and complete the production, then that order is at risk.
So, who was right? While we believe our operating definition of within vs outside of lead times is more using it. We throw around terms like Forecasting Accuracy, Inventory Turns, Days Coverage, Cash Cycle, and many others all the time. We assume, whoever is speaking or writing an email assumes, his or her audience is using the terms in the same way we are using them. This is not something we should ever assume. Even when we are the audience, we cannot be sure the speaker or writer has a clear operational definition of the terms he or she is using.
There is something that all teachers say. There is no such thing as a stupid question. This is, in large measure, true. The teacher, professor, or instructor always follows up the statement with the following explanation, If you are not fully understanding or grasping what is being discussed, there are probably others in your same shoes. I believe the second statement may be truer than the first.universally used, there is no right answer to this question. The term needs to be defined by the people.
The problem in both classrooms as well as in the workplace is that no one wants to look, well, for lack of a better term … stupid. It is a fundamental human trait to avoid being embarrassed. Also, if we are to question a term or concept, it needed to be done very early in the business relationship. If we wait a few weeks which then turn into months we find that asking a basic clarification or definition question is really embarrassing. Everyone assumes that everyone else understands.
Although it is quite possible they do, the question still remains, do they understand it the same way you are relaying it. In many cases, the answer is “NO.”
