The Lean pilot at the University of Oxford focused on streamlining processes around acquiring and delivering scholarships. Through workshops and process mapping, inefficiencies were identified and quick wins implemented, such as altering invoicing and automating payment approvals. Longer-term, the pilot precipitated a team merger and redistribution of work. While Lean proved effective for targeted processes, broader change remains challenging due to Oxford's complex organizational structure.

1. AUA Conference - 11th April 2017
Using Lean to increase participation and
engagement with change at Oxford

2. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Introductions
Joanna Barry, Head of Student Fees and Funding
Claire Taylor, Principal Consultant, SUMS Consulting

3. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Background
The Oxford approach to change

4. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Complex organisational structure consisting of Divisions,
Departments, Faculties, Colleges and Central Administrative
units
• Extensive committee structures
• Autonomy of each individual unit
• Prohibitive cost of change due to extensive IT structures
Background to change at Oxford

5. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Prior to 2015, change within Academic Administration
Division (AAD) was fragmented
• ‘Customer’ was not necessarily always at centre of systems
and processes
• Change was slow to take effect, due to conflicting priorities
Change within AAD (pre 2015)

6. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Sept 2015: review of efficiency and of new approaches to
change
• Review outcomes identified:
- ‘Waste’ within low-level, overly resource-intensive activities
- ‘Non-value add’ activities
- Duplication of effort
- Lack of understanding of impact of change on ‘external’
processes.
Change within AAD (post 2015)

7. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Decision to invest in structured approach to change
identification
• Lean methodology matched Oxford’s requirements to engage
staff and release resource capacity by reducing waste and
focussing on customer value
• Internally facilitated with an initial focus on a set of processes
for a team within AAD section (Student Fees and Funding)
Change within AAD (post 2015 ii)

8. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
An introduction to Lean

9. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Toyota Production System – 1970s
• Manufacturing
• Key early thinkers
History and Evolution of Lean

10. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Process improvement and service enhancement
• Create a better experience for our students and staff
• Focus on delivering excellent service and value from our
resources
Improvement culture
• Creating a culture of improvement & innovation
• Empowering staff to deliver change
Why use Lean?

11. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Identify Customers and Specify Value
• Identify and Map the Value Stream
• Create Flow by Eliminating Waste
• Respond to Customer Pull
• Pursue Perfection
The 5 Lean Principles

12. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
(1) Identify customers and specify value
• Who are the customers?
• What value do they seek from the process?
• Do they have different needs, priorities and requirements?
• Which group of customers are the most important for this
process?

13. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Use Process Maps
• Identify and discuss activities, decisions, information
requirements
• Question and challenge the way things are done:
- Which activities deliver value?
- Which do not? Why are they done?
- Does everyone do things similarly?
- Can things be simplified?
- Where is duplication?
- Where are the bottlenecks?
(2) Identify and map the value stream

14. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Waste: “Any activity that does not add Value”
• Waste is not necessarily inefficiency
• Challenge wasteful activity:
- Transparency
- Walk through process as a customer
- Take a wider perspective
- 5 Whys?
- What are the safety nets?
(3) Create flow by eliminating waste

15. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Effective Lean systems respond to Customer Demand
• How does the service respond to fluctuations in level of demand?
• How does the service respond to fluctuations in type of demand?
(Runner, Repeater, Stranger)
• Concepts: Flow, Bottlenecks, Simplicity
• Reduce: stages, handovers
• Increase: transparency, visibility, clarity of ownership
(4) Respond to customer pull

16. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Incremental Change vs Process Re-engineering
• Perfection:
- What do customers really want?
- How do “best in class” organisations deliver services?
- How can changes in technology enable radical change?
• Continuous Improvement:
- Empowered, critical, positive culture
- A learning culture
- Customer focused
(5) Pursue perfection

17. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Scenario
Customers and Services

18. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
The Lean Pilot at Oxford

19. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Lean Pilot - overview
• “A Lean review of the processes around acquiring and
delivering scholarships for undergraduate and postgraduate
students.”
• Pilot focussed on 3 key areas of Fund administration
- Getting money in: costing scholarships, donor invoicing,
receipting funds
- Fund management: annual reporting and budgeting
- Award disbursement: paying UG/PG students

20. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Lean Pilot - stakeholders
• Set against backdrop of increases in donations, divergence in
UG and PG practice and potential for team merger
• Teams involved:
- Student Fees and Funding
- Graduate Admissions and Funding
- Development Office
- Gift Registry
- Finance Division

21. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Lean Pilot - structure
SUMS Consulting facilitated….
(i) For Lean pilot:
- Lean introduction to Senior Managers
- Drafting of High and Low level draft process maps
- 2 x workshops with key administrators and managers
(ii) Post Lean pilot:
- Feedback interviews with 12 of 32 stakeholders
- 30/90 day ‘Actions’ meetings
- Creation of a LEAN toolkit

22. University of Oxford
StudentLegalSOFinanceGAF/SFFGovernanceOUDOOUGR
High Level - Scholarships: Payments (end-to-end process)
Check student
in attendance 3
times/yr (GAF)
Pay College fees to College
(Manual Journaling)
Payment Tuition to University (Manual
Journaling)
Pay Stipend Termly (PG)
Collect bank
details and
send to finance
International
complete form
for finance (UG)
Automated SLC
download bank
accounts (UG)
Create Cheque for first payment (PG)
Enter Bank
Details onto
Finance System
Scholarship
System
(Database)
Graduates
complete form
Open Bank
Account (if not
already done
so)
Open Bank
Account (if not
already done
so)
SITS
(Scholarship
Flag Checked)
Reconciliation
vs Source of
Funds – End of
Year
Accounting

23. University of Oxford
StudentLegalSOFinanceGAF/SFFGovernanceOUDOOUGR
Low-level Payments (PG)
GAF upload
scholar details
to scholar
database
(linked to SITS)
in September
Scholarship
managers fill in
details re costs
(college, tuition,
maintenance)
Finance
officer checks
data is
correct
MT maintenance
payments
request to
Finance
Send online
form to
collect bank
details
Send tuition
fee data to
SFF
Create list of college
fees for each college
(using report from
scholars database)
Receive queries
or confirmation
from college
finance officers
Instruct finance
division to
make payments
to colleges
HT
maintenance
payment
request
TT
maintenance
payment
request
Grad scholar
accepts award
Student enrols
Student
provides bank
details for
future
payments
Student
Receives
Payment
Student
Receives
Payment
Complex funding packages
sometimes students
confused about what
funding comes form which
body (e.g.
Uni/college/dept)
Prompts quite a few
queries often due to
complex funding
arrangements
Scope – Payments
Identifying payments to be made
College, tuition, students
Confirm enrolment (trigger for
PG is end of selection)
Enrolment status
taken from SITS.
Manual update of
database also
based on tacit
knowledge
Finance make
payments to
colleges
Done in the same ways
as UG via spreadsheet to
Finance
Payments made once per
year
Calendar
trigger – mid-
Michaelmas
Download
bank details,
prepare for
merging into
payment
request
If BACS, told to expect
them by 0th week of each
term. If cheque, told
cheque has been raised
and where it has been
sent (usually their
college)
Finance make
payments to
Students
Always cheque for
first payment for
new scholars -
Time consuming
not future proof
Completed prior to
the start of each
term.
student directs query to
GAF. Usually we can
resolve it (have access to
the Finance system to view
payments), ask Finance for
further clarification if
needed.
Finance make
payments to
Students
Inconsistent
receipt of
remittance
notes by GAF.
Not retained
The fees team in SFF do not make
the payments, however, they
maintain the fee schedule (and
deal with corrections and queries
relating to fees). This is fed
through to Alan in Finance. It is a
completely separate process to
our standard payments.
Please see note above re. SFF and
fee data. Some fees are journaled
manually – but only for a small
number of courses at the Said
Business School and the
Department for Continuing
Education.

24. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Scenario
Process Mapping

25. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Implementation across the HE
sector

26. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Use of Lean in the HE sector
• Lean first used in US and UK HE Sector in early 2000s
• Early Adopters: St Andrews & Cardiff
• Early focus on operational efficiencies
• Current leaders: Strathclyde & Sheffield

27. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Consideration of Lean as a fad
• Customer & efficiency focus
matches sector demands
• Continued growth?
Strathclyde, Sheffield, Stirling
• Cardiff
• Lean Derivatives e.g. LSS
• Other methodologies e.g. SS,
Systems thinking
• Bristol

28. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Barriers to Lean in the HE sector
• Organisational Culture
• Leadership-related challenges
• Long standing processes
• Terminology
• Training

29. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
The Future of Lean in the HE sector
• Continued use of Lean and Lean Derivatives
• Importance of participative, structured, customer centric
approach to change
• Importance of implementation of change generated from
these methodologies

30. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Scenario
Value and Waste

31. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Lean outcomes at Oxford

32. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Appropriate methodology for Oxford, complemented by
culture of continuous improvement
• External facilitator was essential to identifying areas of
change without preconceived barriers
• Achieved process change (quick wins) for areas within remit
of managers
• Critical to ensure all relevant stakeholders present from outset
• 30/90 day action points allowed Senior Managers/Project
sponsor to exert renewed focus
Lean outcomes - our experiences

33. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Built better relationships with stakeholders outside the team
due to close collaboration
• Gained greater understanding of processes in other units
• ‘Quick-wins’ for process change include:
- alteration to invoicing process through Gift Registry
- raising payments to students via electronic approval
- collation of scholar bank details through secure online portal
- Development of scholar database to automate UG/PG scholarship
processes
Lean outcomes: short-term change

34. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Precipitated merger of Graduate Funding team with Student
Fees and Funding team
• Redistribution of work, from ‘UG/PG/On-course’ split to
thematic groupings
• Building Lean into mid-term and annual PDR processes
• Middle managers to review Lean opportunities on rolling
basis
• Lean Toolkit to facilitate internal Lean projects
Lean outcomes: longer-term change

35. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• Importance of recognising limitations of Lean projects and
selecting achievable process change
• Lean projects require endorsement of senior managers
across units
• 90-day implementation reviewed and extension approved for
delivery within new academic/financial year
Barriers to Lean

36. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
• What next for Lean within AAD?
- Pilot roll-out with Estates on PEA (Project Expenditure Approval) project
- Collaboration planned with Sheffield and Strathclyde on resource planning
- Circulation of AAD Lean toolkit for managers
- Securing and developing AAD Lean resource
- Further Student Fees and Funding projects applying Lean
‘Financial need assessments’ and ‘Online application form’ projects
• The Oxford Challenge: Using Lean to bring about change in
conjunction with colleges and academic units across Oxford
(separate entities with separate governance structures!)
Looking ahead with Lean

37. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Any questions?

38. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Scenario
Short and Long-term
Improvements

39. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
Your Lean Challenge…

40. AUA Workshop University of Oxford
To take away…