The beginning of a hospital value analysis project is one of the most important times to get the path of your value analysis initiative moving in the right direction as well as saving time and effort in the process. I am talking about the initial game planning of the hospital value analysis initiative to know exactly what you are doing and what your goals and objectives are. Too often, initiatives are assigned in the value analysis team meeting, nobody takes notes, and the project lead may not even sit down to start the project for a week or two after it was originally assigned. This ambiguous period is what causes value analysis projects to fall short, drag on forever, or worst of all, not get started at all. Here is how I found the best way to avoid this at all costs.
Winging-It is Not a Project Management Strategy
When you have little or no planning built into your hospital value analysis project, you are being pushed and pulled every which way and you will no doubt then be influenced by many things like a piece of evidence, vendor rep, influential customer, etc. That is why it is important to develop a clear vision of your value analysis project to make sure that you start off on the right foot and everything makes sense before you do any further work or waste any time in things you don’t need to do.
Develop Your Rapid Value Analysis Template
We use a simple 6-step process and fill in the blanks around the process that includes the classic steps of value analysis which include Understanding (Scope, Goals, and Objectives), Investigative (Collect Data, Voice of Customer, Develop Requirements), Speculation (Brainstorm for Alternatives that Meet Requirements), Analytical (Develop Alternatives and Select the Best), Planning (Trial Chosen Alternative, Plan for Implementation, Gain Best Price/Terms, etc.), and Execution (Implementation, Training, etc.). We then fill in all of the known elements that we can put in place right from the start of this value analysis study. You will not be able to completely fill out all of these elements, but it should start your mind running with the key questions that need to be answered in order to move forward through each step.
The Value Analysis Plan is the Shortcut
So often, I see value analysis practitioners looking for ways to shortcut the VA process which often leads them to prolonged projects because the shortcuts end up taking them down the road to nowhere fast. If you start the first hours of your value analysis initiative with a well-defined plan of action, you will quickly be able to knock off each of the elements in your project and speed to a fast and most fruitful savings result. The project plan is the best “shortcut” which is not really a shortcut but a best practice for you.
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