Description of Method
The OPUS method includes three processes: Analysis, Creative ideas and Implementation.
The OPUS facilitator works with the OPUS Team throughout these three processes.
The OPUS Team
OPUS, with the client, brings together a team of managers and others who have knowledge and ownership of the business areas under review. This group is called the OPUS Team. The OPUS Team decides target groups for the project and which specific areas need examination and improvement. The OPUS Team sets detailed project goals and objectives and keeps the project focused.
Analysis
The analysis shows which problems your customers experience with your company, or which internal obstacles get in the way of your staff reaching objectives you set for the business.
OPUS is focused on problems and obstacles because if you ask people what their needs are, their answers will be indistinct and generalised. On the other hand, if you ask people what problems and obstacles they experience, the answers will be more specific and focused, and consequently reveal what is important to change and improve.
The qualitative phase
Once the focus, goals and target audiences for the project have been decided, we invite 12-16 people from each target audience to a focus group. During these sessions, the technique of "Painstorming" is used to discover needs, problems and obstacles within the areas of the project. Opinions and statements are not ranked at this stage - the objective is instead to reveal as much information as possible, which will be the foundation for the quantitative evaluation in the next phase. The OPUS Team has the option to delete or to add problem statements and obstacles. The problem statements are related to 10-20 needs that are included in the Quality Barometer. When these techniques are used together, you will create a solid action platform on which to build the most effective improvements.
The quantitative phase
To obtain a quantitative evaluation of the statements and outputs from the Quality Barometer, OPUS uses a unique interview device, which is simpler to complete and more fun than traditional surveys.
We use an OPUS Interview Box with statements that the interviewees sort in different compartments: Totally agree, Partially agree, Disagree, No opinion. It takes only about 20 minutes to complete and has a response rate of up to 90%, which is much better than most other interview methods.
In most projects, 50 boxes are distributed to each target audience. The number varies depending on the character of the project and the size of the target audience.
It is important to note that the purpose of the OPUS method is not primarily to produce precise percentages of interviewee opinions. It is in fact to prioritise which improvement areas, actions and strategies offer the best opportunities for increasing the profitability and competitiveness of the company, or staff efficiency and motivation.
If the purpose of the project is to measure satisfaction with statistical certainty, the Quality Barometer can be used with a greater number of interviewees.
Creative ideas
The Creative process, which follows the Analysis, generates solutions for key problem areas. By encouraging creativity and new ideas, an open and positive atmosphere is generated, in which staff have the opportunity to put forward thoughts and ideas about how problems and obstacles could be solved. Participation also creates strong motivation and involvement, which makes it possible to implement changes in a quick and effective way throughout the organisation.
To stimulate the staff’s existing creativity, different techniques are used. Creative meetings, idea guides and idea envelopes are examples of these techniques. Sometimes, an OPUS Ideas Box is used to enable a greater number of staff to rank and evaluate the ideas from a creative session. It reveals which ideas will give the best results and have the best chance to be fully implemented. The task of the OPUS Team is to encourage creativity and to transform high quality, innovative ideas into real improvements.
Implementation
In the Implementation process, agreed measures are implemented. A few obvious solutions for some problems may already have been implemented during the course of the project. To work through the changes, the OPUS Team sets up smaller workgroups to be responsible for different areas and to make use of the best ideas from the Creative process. They develop the ideas into proposals which are presented to the OPUS Team. The OPUS Team then decides which suggestions should be implemented and draws up a work plan. Sometimes the OPUS Box is used to identify and work with internal obstacles which prevent agreed measures from being put in place.
From the start of the project, OPUS underpins objective steering and participation and provides the company with the potential to quickly and effectively implement agreed measures itself. The OPUS consultant keeps the project on track, makes sure it focuses on important problems and, together with the client, follows up implemented measures. A key factor for all successful improvement projects is to maintain the driving force. So OPUS provides continuous support and follow up for each process.
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