On September 1, 1991, Defense Programs (DP) within the US Department of Energy entered into a research grant with Management Systems Laboratories (MSL) of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech), to study Tools, Methods, and Rules for Managing Cooperation for Performance Improvement. Continuous performance improvement is a gradual, systematic process. The idea is to do a little better each day by knowing where you are, where you want to be, what you have to do to get there, whether or not you have done it, and how to resolve problems doing it. And, although many management decisions are made along direct lines of authority, much of the work of an organization can be achieved only through cooperation (people sharing information and coordinating effort). Therefore, continuous performance improvement requires working cooperatively to do a little better each day. We are researching the most effective configuration of tools working through what we believe is a closed set of nine methods. These methods are: setting expectations, charting, defining indicators and standards, collecting and logging data, converting data to information, organizing and presenting information, reviewing status and progress, self-management, and appraising. We believe that these methods form a closed set because they reflect the management activities of formulation (planning),execution (doing), and verification (evaluating). If these activities are carried out effectively through the methods, the manager can achieve visibility and control.
