This technical note is part of a set that focuses on the fundamentals of process improvement, including a brief background on process improvement, the basic elements of a process-improvement program, and common tools used in process improvement. While designed to be used together, these three notes can also be used as stand-alone documents to support particular learning objectives. The other notes in this set are “Fundamentals of Process Improvement: Elements of Process-Improvement Systems” (UVA-OM-1667) and “Fundamentals of Process Improvement: Tools Used in Process Improvement” (UVA-OM-1668).

These materials form one module in our collection of introductory operations management topics, and all are appropriate for an advanced undergraduate- or graduate-level introductory course on operations management. The complete list of the materials in this collection is available in the teaching materials included with this technical note.