The series of inspiring and truly rewarding for me classes on optimization processes in the corporate companies: Vestas (renewable energy sector) and IAMIP (IT development sector).  Here are the questions and vocabulary items which came out during the classes:

Optimization  initial stage/ questions:

• Where does the idea for the optimization come from? How does it originate in the team? What is the starting point?
• What are the most common operational areas to improve?
• Is saving costs the only motivation to optimize operations in the team?
• To what extent is optimization process a repetitive operation by itself?
• Contributors may fear optimization processes (the fear of losing a job)? How do you manage to convince them to contribute effectively?
• How should the managers effectively communicate the need for optimization to the employees?

Optimization initial stage/ vocabulary:

1. repetitive actions/ operations
2. data verification
3. lose competitive edge- stracić przewagę konkurencyjną
4. to approach the problems differently- inaczej/ odmiennie traktować…/ podchodzić do problemów/ zagadnień
5. prefer to remain unnoticed- pozostać w tle/ niedostrzeżonym
6. each level has its own perspective- pogląd/ opinia/ spostrzeżenie
7. identify common grounds: it’s obvious that the contributors sometimes don’t see the managers’ perspective and vice versa
8. encourage people so that they are not afraid of losing a job

Optimization brainstorm stage/ questions:

• In successful companies the teams grow. It’s a totally different challenge to run the brainstorm stage effectively when the team consists of 5 persons and when, after a few years- it comprises 35-45 contributors. What is the best method to organize the brainstorm stage of the project in numerous teams?
• We all have the tendency to favor our own ideas? How to avoid the conflicts which may result from this?
• ‘Employees are logical and keep common sense. You can trust them’. Do you agree?

Optimization brainstorm stage/ vocabulary:

1. desired exit result of the brainstorm stage- pożądane wyniki końcowe etapu burzy mózgów
2. voice the arguments- zgłosić/ wyrazić…
3. welcome the outsiders, not just the insiders
4. all ideas are welcome and worth considering/ worthy of consideration- warte rozpatrzenia
5. address the issues openly- otwarcie omawiać zagadnienia
6. no hiddden agenda/ nothing in between the lines-  żadnego drugiego dna
7. conduct the series of brainstorm sessions
8. sometimes you cannot expect to elicit all ideas from people just at one session

Optimization development and implementation stage/ questions

• Does optimization have to refer to one team only or do you think optimization stage may refer and upgrade the company inter-departamentally?

Optimization development stage/ vocabulary

1. delegate people/ attribute tasks to the people following the brainstorm stage
2. put oneself in the position of …
3. the thereat of disinvolvment/ disengagement- brak zaangażowania
4. following the development and prior to implementation: analyst what the return on investment is.

Verification stage/ questions

• What kind of feedback do you expect from the contributors?
• Do you analyse the results in short sprints or do you verify the whole process thoroughly after longer spans of time?
• To what extent is optimization an infinite process?

Verification stage/ vocabulary

1. monitoring in fixed sprints- w stałych/ krótkich odcinkach
2. solutions subjected to the scrutiny of thorough tests- rozwiązania poddane dokładnej analizie
3. clear identification of deficiencies- czytelna analiza niedoskonałości/ braków/ niedoborów
4. drawing conclusions and upgrading the solution as promptly as possible
5. compare the input and the output data- porównanie danych początkowych/wejściowych i końcowych/ wyjściowych.