The Heretics' Forum has sprouted a few new threads. Most notable is one called MistakingPracticeForProcess. This page identifies some of the effects of our culture's focus upon process improvement. I started this thread after finally putting a name to a phenomenon I'd been observing in some of my consulting engagements. Some client initiated process improvement efforts seemed to make matters much worse, but the initiators persisted with them anyway, apparently out of a curious respect for the underlying theory.
Danger seems to come with indiscriminate application of process improvement strategies.
Not all work activities are processes and applying techniques meant to improve processes can tangle up other kinds of work activities. The most familiar example of this is where HMOs have indiscriminately applied changes meant to make physician practices more efficient. As my doctor recounted, he was criticized for spending more than the HMO-prescribed seven minutes with each patient. This sort of manic pursuit of efficiency for efficiency's sake seems common in the project management world as well. Stop by and add your observations .