Make It Right Foundation

Rebuilding the Ninth Ward in New Orleans

Challenge:

The “Make It Right Foundation” faced challenges in meeting their goal of building 150 new homes in the Ninth Ward. Progress was slow even though everyone was busy and working long hours.

ASI Solution:

ASI Consulting Group led the team at Make It Right through the Listen, Enrich, & Optimize (LEO) Transformation Process. During the Listen Phase the five steps of the existing process are listed: (1) Raise the money to pay for the property; (2) Acquire the lot on which to build the new home; (3) Assist the potential homeowner with financial and other pre-ownership requirements; (4) Build the home; (5) Aid the owner in getting settled. The Listen Phase identified Step 2, Acquire the lot, as the bottleneck in the process. Three staff members were acquiring three lots per month. In the Enrich Phase alternative processes were “invented” and then investigated to assure that the team selected the most efficient process for meeting their customers’ needs. Once the new process was defined, detailed job aids were created for each step of the process. In the Optimize Phase, ASI led the team through rigorous examination of each detail of the new process. Small scale testing was conducted where possible. Weaknesses were identified and removed.

Achieved Benefits:

The new process allowed one staff member to acquire 20 lots per month. The original process required three staff members to acquire 3 lots per month. The Make It Right non-profit began moving more quickly toward their goal of building 150 homes in the Ninth Ward.