In iObeya 4.8 we had to make some changes to the behavior of viewing escalated actions from an action table due to security and privacy constraints. Before, when an action was escalated, all users, even those who did not have access to the source room from where the action was escalated could access it. So, with this mode 3 “All rooms”, all actions of a source room whether escalated or not, viewed from the action plan, were accessible. This was effectively identified as a loophole by our security team and we made changes to block this loophole, thereby, blocking access to all actions in the escalated room if a user did not have access to the source room.
After feedback from many of our users on how this blocked their day to day activity we have acknowledged this request and created a workaround in the form of an “option” in the QCD escalation settings.
So what does this option do? Well, by default this option is turned “off” in the room and QCD actions function as they do presently. When this option is turned “on” (only possible by a room admin), it will allow users that do not have access to the source room from where an action is escalated to view its “escalated actions” via the action tables mode 3. Non escalated actions remain not accessible in accordance with the standard permission management system.
So, the next question that might come to your mind, why did we not rollback the original settings? The reason is simple, while many of you would like to give access to actions of a particular room to all users, there are many clients who would like to keep the privacy of certain rooms, for example, rooms dedicated to R&D which might have sensitive information and these clients do not want all users to have access to actions of a certain room.
This functionality gives users the flexibility to choose between the two options instead of us having a default setting!
In iObeya 4.10, we gave you the option to create action cards not assigned to a letter. Now, to keep on improving on this functionality, we have also created a new filter in action plans which empowers you to filter these actions not assigned to a letter, so that you can continue prioritizing and solving your problems more efficiently.
Previously, when escalated actions were responded to by a higher level of your organization, they disappeared from the action table mode 3 “all rooms” in the source board/room: although the action was present on the board, it could only be accessed/seen on the source room’s board action plans, which could be a cause for confusion for the user.
Well, we have decided to improve this behavior with this version! Now, when an escalated action has an answer, it will appear automatically in the action table set in mode 3 of the source board/room or the board/room from where the action was escalated.
So, no more confusion or searching for this action! All you have to do is open the action card through your action table mode 3, read the response, and if you find that the response solves your problem, close this action!
You will also notice that the action does not disappear from the action table of the escalated room. This is intentional, this action will only disappear when the action has been closed in the source board/room! Why? Well, because this will empower the user who escalated action, once this user has a response they will need to see the answer and by closing the action they will confirm that the solution to the problem was taken into account by them and that it has been implemented. It also gives the user at the higher level the visibility to see if the action was indeed implemented and thus will improve follow up of continuous improvement initiatives in your organisation.
This feature also effectively completes the problem-solving loop of the user creating a problem, escalating it if not able to solve it at their level, getting the response, and then validating the solution by closing it.
Did you setup your indicators and global formula to consolidate your indicators and then suddenly realize that it was not the formula that you wanted?
We have updated this functionality so that now, you can switch between default global consolidation formulas such as Sum, Average, Minimum and Maximum, while still keeping your indicators in the console with no need to re-configure them! This will save time and improve efficiency at all levels of the QCD module usage in your organization, especially when you are looking for a bird’s eye view of your shopfloor’s daily activities.
By default, QCD letters are available with three different configurations providing some colors offered by iObeya. These colors are then used by default when adding QCD letters, charts or tables on a QCD board. As such, we recognized that the default colors did not offer a good contrast ratio with the gray color from the letter’s background, which made it really difficult to read, especially on video projectors or screens that are not well calibrated.
So, to improve the legibility and accessibility of the QCD module we decided to change these default colors! But, no need to worry, as these changes will not impact your existing QCD letters, boards or tools!
Do you want to set up an escalation for a new or existing room but find yourself getting lost scrolling through too many rooms?
We have introduced a new search bar in the QCD escalation settings to simplify this process, so now, to follow up on escalated actions you just need to search the name of the particular room to find it faster, select it and continue problem solving by escalating to the right levels in your organization.
Today, you can create actions not assigned to a QCD letter, which means, you can use QCD actions on any iObeya board. Going one step further, we have created the ability for you to be able to see these independent actions on any Visual Management board and start problem-solving!
So how can you do this? Well, by creating a QCD action table and selecting mode 3 “All rooms” you will be able to select any board from any rooms you have access to and see any actions listed in the QCD action table. These actions can then be used by your organization to problem solve.
This effectively integrates the problem-solving framework offered by our QCD module with any other boards in iObeya and opens up new possibilities to connect the Lean & Agile parts of your organization’s Visual Management System!
We recognized the need for you to have more flexibility with your QCD actions.
So, as you already have the functionality to create actions without a letter, and now can import QCD actions from a non-QCD board, it is, but obvious that the next step to this is the ability to escalate these actions that are not assigned to a letter. This gives you flexibility over your actions and facilitates problem-solving like never before.
Stuck with a problem? Not sure what part of your company operations it is linked to? Create a new action, escalate it to the next level and get your questions answered!
The iObeya planning board helps your teams to easily manage projects and visual planning activities.
In this new version, we have heard your request and it is now possible to add an empty zone on your planning boards. This will add a blank area next to the schedule and you will be able to choose where you want to display it: on the right or at the bottom of your board.
The QCD Table component can be used on an iObeya board to display the values of your performance indicators collected with the QCD module. It helps to analyze the trend for the current period or a longer period by aggregating values from the QCD history.
It will now be possible to display on a QCD Table the average value for each indicator by activating a new option available configuration window. This setting works for both short-term and long-term configurations, allowing you to create the visualization you need to analyze your performance data.