Recently I had an encounter with the word rigor and though the subject was not about processes and process improvement it seemed like a good time to revisit the use of rigor in our processes. The definition I like best for rigor is as follows:
The quality of being extremely thorough, exhaustive, or accurate.
We can apply this definition of rigor to our process projects in several ways:
- Ensure that we are thorough in our documentation and release process. Make sure what we have ready to publish is correct.
- Check our process maps that they are understandable to the target audience. This will save readers time and money in learning the process being communicated.
- In Analysis and Improvement. Making sure we cover all the bases when it comes to analyzing the process for areas of improvement.