Applying the CSI Model to Teenagers

I had a recent chat with a coworker of mine that used the CSI Model at home in a funny yet very practical way. I have her permission to use this and I hope you find this as interesting as I have.

In her own words…. “In addition, to my career responsibilities I have the honor and for the most part the pleasure of being a Mom to two teenage girls. As we all have experienced in life, our work demands sometimes spill over into our home life. On occasion, I have been accused by my girls that I am NOT their boss, and to leave my work demeanor at the front door. Being so entrenched in striving for continual improvement, I figured, this model works at the office, why not see if I can improve things at home? I know – this has trouble written all over it!

The CSI Approach – Using the CSI Model

Step 1 - What is the vision? (Define your vision, your goals, your objectives)

My vision is that my 17 year old high school junior has straight A’s on her report card for the third marking period – Jan, Feb, March

Step 2 - Where are we now? (Baseline Assessments)

It is the beginning of Feb, and I have the baseline. Her school has a great system; all the class assignments, projects, papers and tests are graded quickly by the teachers and they update the CMDB within 2 school days (nice SLA, yes?). When a grade is added, I receive an email (event notification), and can look at the report with the new grade and pull a baseline. Oh NO – BAD NEWS – pulled the baseline – hmmmm- C’s, D’s and 1 F – ARE YOU KIDDING ME an F? Ok ok Mom – take a step back, don’t let emotions take over here!!!! Stick to the CSI model.

Step 3 - Where do we want to be? (measurable targets)

Well, now that I took a deep breath after I pulled the baseline, and by the way had a not so pleasant parental chat with my daughter, I am going back to the vision; we want to be at all A’s; however reality is setting in and I don’t believe straight A’s are attainable. So, speaking with my daughter the stakeholder – (she is ACCOUNTABLE), we have adjusted the requirements and are trying for all B’s!
We put together SMART Targets! Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely
Our newly aligned goal: All B’s for the end of marking period 3.

Step 4 - How do we get there? (service and process improvement)

Now comes the hard part, an actionable plan for my daughter to get her grades up! So my daughter and I sat down together and started talking about the things she needed to do in order to achieve the goal. Also, how was I going to be able to see if she was bringing her marks up? In other words, what are the critical success factors and what are the key performance indicators to measure if she is on track? Well we came up with 3 CSF’s. One was getting her a tutor for her worst subject, Spanish; the second CSF, doing her homework and turning it in on time, and the third, studying UNINTERRUPTED for tests. For those who have teenagers you understand this – while studying there will be NO cell phone, NO texting, NO TV, NO radio, according to my daughter NO life.
Surprise Surprise, we had some quick wins. Her first Spanish test after she had a tutoring session – she got a 93! We continued with the plan, meeting once a week, reviewing reports and tweaking our improvements.
Marking period ends which brings this Step 4 to a close.

Step 5 – Did we get there? (measurement and metrics)

Well, I know you are on the edge of your seat. Did she make it? Did she get all A’s – hmmmm no she did not. Did she get all B’s, hmmmm no she did not.
Drum roll please, She got 4 B’s, 2 A’s in her dual enrollment college classes, and unfortunately a C in Spanish her weakest subject. (this was the F)
Not exactly meeting the step 1 goal, but she exceeded expectations in some areas and other areas there is still room for improvement.

Step 6 – How do we keep the momentum going?

My daughter is well into her fourth marking period. She has learned valuable lessons from her last semester. She has kept up with the Spanish tutor. She has seen and felt the benefit of Continual Service Improvement. We are still trying for those straight A’s, but when all else fails with teenagers use bribery – LOL!”

I hope you found this real life use of the CSI model educational. As my coworker and her daughter have learned, CSI never ends. We should strive to continually improve our personal development. In the work place, we should strive to improve our services.

If you have any CSI stories, please share them with us. Would love to hear how we are making the world a better place!

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