Six Sigma - Chapter 6

A GUIDE TO
SIX SIGMA AND

PROCESS
IMPROVEMENT H o wa r d S . G i t l o w
R i c h a r d J . M e l n yc k
FOR PRACTITIONERS
D a vi d M . L e vi n e
AND STUDENTS
3 RD EDITION
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 6: NON-QUANTITATIVE
TECHNIQUES: TOOLS AND METHODS
What Is the Objective of This Chapter?

The objective of this chapter is to introduce you to the
non-quantitative tools and methods used in process
improvement.
Some Notation
CTQ is an acronym for Critical to Quality characteristic. It

is the problematic metric that your process improvement
project is aimed at improving; it is called Y in Statistics, or
the dependent variable.
X refers to the steps in the process that can be
manipulated to get better output for the CTQ.
So, a CTQ = f(X1,X2,X3,X4, ,Xn)
Flowcharting
A f l o wc h a rt i s a t o o l u s e d t o m a p o u t
( d r a w a p i c t ure o f ) a p r o c ess. W e
wi l l d i s c uss p r o c ess a n d d e p l oym e n t
f l o wc h ar ts.
Process flowcharts Process

flowcharts describe the steps and
decision points of a process in a
downward direction from the start
(top of the page) to the stop
(bottom of the page) of the
process.
Deployment flowcharts Deployment flowcharts are organized
into lanes that show processes that involve various
departments, people, stages, or other categories . The red
starbursts show potential problematic areas in the process.
How to Do Flowcharting
Flowchart Symbols and Functions

Symbol Function
Start/stop symbol The general symbol used to indicate the beginning and
end of a process is an oval.
Basic processing symbol The general symbol used to depict a processing operation
is a rectangle.
Decision symbol A diamond is the symbol that denotes a decision point in

the process. This includes attribute type decisions such as
pass-fail, yes-no. It also includes variable types of
decisions such as into which of several categories a
process measurement falls.
Flowline symbol A line with an arrowhead is the symbol that shows the
direction of the stages in a process. The flowline connects
the elements of the system.
Successful flowcharting efforts have the commitment

(not only support) of top management, the process
owner, the employees who work in the process, and any
other key process stakeholders. Commitment is required
because if you are going to flowchart a process there
must be a reason for the effort, such as documentation
or improvement of the process. Both documentation and
improvement require the commitment of all the
stakeholders of the process.
The employees who work in the process, and the

process owner, must understand that flowcharting the
process is a positive exercise aimed at making things
better and that no one will be blamed for problems in the
process.
Voice of the Customer (VoC)

Voice of the Customer analysis involves surveying
stakeholders of a process to understand their
requirements and needs.
Stakeholders can include customers, employees,

investors, regulatory agencies, building and grounds, the
legal system, and the environment, to name a few
possible stakeholders of a process.
Voice of the Customer (VoC)
There are typically four stages when conducting the VoC

analysis:
1. Define/segment the market. (Identify the stakeholder
groups.)
2. Plan the VoC. (Identify who will be interviewed and who will
interview them, establish a time schedule, and prepare the
questions.)
3. Collect the data by stakeholder group.
4. Organize and interpret the data.
How to Do a Voice of the Customer ( VoC) Analysis

How to Define/Segment the Market
The first thing we need to do is figure out from whom are

we going to get our VoC data; that is, who are the
stakeholder segments to be interviewed that can provide
input on the CTQs of interest.
The simplest method for segmenting a market is to study

the SIPOC analysis and focus attention on the outputs
and on the customers by asking
What are the outputs of your process, both intended and
unintended?
Who are the customers of those outputs?
Are there particular groups of customers whose needs focus
on specific outputs? Today? Tomorrow?
How to Plan the VoC
Next we have to plan the VoC. There are two types of VoC
data: reactive data and proactive data.
Reactive data arrives regardless of whether the
organization collects it, for example, customer complaints,
product returns or credits, contract cancellations, market
share changes, customer defections and acquisitions,
customer referrals, closure rates of sales calls, web page
hits, technical support calls, and sales, to name a few.
Proactive data arrives only if it is collected by personnel in
the organization: This is the type of VoC data we need to
collect. It is data obtained through positive action, for
example, data gathered through interviews, focus groups,
surveys, comment cards, sales calls, market research,
customer observations, and benchmarking.
Some of the steps involved in planning the VoC are the

following:
Choosing stakeholders within each stakeholder segment to
interview; for example, customer segments, employee
segments, investor segments, regulatory segments,
environmental segments, building and grounds, and so on.
Creating the interview questions.
Setting up the interviews.
Assigning interviews to team members.
How to Collect the Data for a VoC
This step involves conducting the interviews to collect

VoC data from your stakeholder segments. A few things
to keep in mind when conducting the interviews:
Record their answers in bullet point form; it makes the data
easier to organize later.
Let the interviewee talk; this is time for you to understand
her perspective on the process. However, dont let the
interview become a therapy session; gently stay on task.
Write down exactly what they say in their words; you dont
want anything to get lost in translation. This is important! If
profanity is used, record it. It may be an indicator of the
degree of emotion felt by a person being interviewed.
How to Organize and Interpret the Data for a VoC
The last step involves organizing and interpreting all the

VoC data you have collected. Focus points are the
underlying themes for one or more raw VoC statements.
Affinity diagrams are used to create focus points.
Example: Voice of the Customer Analysis for Patient No
Shows at an Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic
Define/Segment the Market
To define and segment the market for the outpatient
psychiatric clinic discussed earlier, the team went back
to the SIPOC analysis they had created and looked at
the suppliers and customers.
Patients/family
Appointment schedulers
Insurance providers
Patient registration reps in clinics
Nurses
Physicians
Finance office

Plan the VoC
Next up was planning the VoC. The team decided to

focus on collecting proactive VoC data since there was
no reactive VoC data available for this process. Next,
they did the following:

Choosing Stakeholders within Each Market Segment to Interview
The team decided that they would take a judgment

sample (expert opinion) of the following stakeholder
groups to interview.
Five patients and family members
Two appointment schedulers
Two insurance providers
Two patient registration reps in clinics
Five nurses
Five physicians
One finance office
Creating Interview Questions
The team then decided on questions to ask each
interviewee related to the patient scheduling process in the
Outpatient Psychiatric Clinic at XYZ Hospital. The
questions are designed to understand the process as much
as possible:
How do you feel about the patient scheduling process as it
relates to patient no shows?
What issues/problems do you see with the patient scheduling
process that may lead to patient no shows?
What solutions/recommendations do you have to decrease the
number of patient no shows?
What feelings or images come to mind when you think about
patient no shows? This last question is important because it
captures the circumstance surrounding the process.

Setting Up Interviews
The process expert assigned one of the team members

the task of setting up the interviews with the various
stakeholders making sure to follow the timeline set out
by the Black Belt in the project plan.

Assigning Interviews to Team Members
The process expert then assigned interviews to different

team members based on his understanding of each team
member, their personality, and their relationships with
various stakeholders.

Collect the Data
The various team members then went out and conducted
the interviews to collect VoC data from their respective
stakeholders. The process expert gave the team specific
instructions:
Record their answers in bullet point form to make the data

easier to organize later.
Let them talk. This is time for you to understand their
perspective on the process.
Write down exactly what they say; you dont want anything to
get lost in translation.
Vo i c e o f t h e C u s t o me r S u m m a r y Ta b l e
Selected Market Affinity Diagram Theme (Focus
Segment Raw VoC Data Point) Driving Issue CTQ
Patients I cant get an appointment for 3 months. I get here and Variation in patients showing up for Patients not showing up for their Patient no show rate, by
the waiting room is empty. No wonder I am crazy! (1) their appointments. (1) appointments affects everyone. month.
Note: The number one (1) indicates the thematic group

the VoC raw data point falls into; in this case variation
in patients showing up for their appointments. As you
will see, several raw VoC data points fall into this
thematic group.
They dont take no shows seriously, so I dont feel bad Variation in scheduling patients for Time between date patient calls to Turnaround time to schedule
if something else comes up. (1) appointments. (2) schedule appointment and date of appointments, by patient.
appointment is too long.
Everyone else seems to miss appointments and they

arent held accountable, so I dont feel bad if I do. (1)
Why does it take so long to get an appointment here?
(2)
Appointment schedulers These no shows make our job so hard. (1)
Tough to predict who will no show and who wont. (1)

The variation in who shows and who doesnt makes it
tough to schedule. (1)
We hear complaints from everyone. I am glad they are
finally doing something about it! (1)
Insurance providers No shows seem to be a problem that a lot of hospitals
struggle with. (1)
They arent good for anybody. (1)
Patient registration We see a lot of frustration when patients no show--
representatives from the docs to the nurses to other patients to staff.
We need to decrease them asap! (1)
Sometimes we are busy, sometimes we arent. (1)
It makes it hard for our boss to schedule us. I feel bad
for her sometimes. (1)
Sometimes we get sent home if there are too many no
shows. I get it but it still sucks. (1)
Vo i c e o f t h e C u s t o me r S u m m a r y Ta b l e ( c o n t i n u e d )
Selected Market Affinity Diagram Theme

Segment Raw VoC Data (Focus Point) Driving Issue CTQ
Nurses I have physicians giving me crap for times they

have nothing to do, like its my fault! (1)
Sometimes I am super busy, sometimes its

slow. (1)
I hear patients complaining that they had to

wait a few months to get in. I have no idea why.
(2)
Physicians I am the most expensive resource and half the

time I feel like I am sitting on my butt. (1)
Finance office It definitely has a financial impact, and with the

way things have been going we need every
penny. (1)
They are directly affecting our bottom line. (1)
We need to figure out how to decrease them

and fast! (1)

Organize and Interpret the Data
Team members analyzed the VoC data in Table 6.9 by
the market segments (see column 1 in Table 6.9). Next,
they used all the raw VoC data points (see column 2 of
Table 6.9) to create thematic groups indicated by the
numbers in parentheses in each cell that are
summarized in column 3 of Table 6.9. Next, team
members identified the issue underlying each focus
point, called driving issues (see column 4 in Table 6.9).
Then team members converted each cognitive issue into
one or more quantitative variable, called critical-to-
quality (CTQ) variables (see column 5 in Table 6.9).
The team identified two CTQs via the VoC interviews:

patient no show rate by month (which they kind of knew
all along would be a CTQ) and turnaround time to
schedule appointments by patient. They decided to focus
on the first CTQ, patient no show rate, because they
agreed that turnaround time to schedule appointments
could be a function of the no show rate.
Supplier-Input-Process-Output-Customer (SIPOC)
Analysis
A SIPOC analysis is a simple tool for identifying the

suppliers and their inputs into a process, the high level
steps of a process, the outputs of the process, and the
customer segments interested in the outputs of the
process.
How to Do a SIPOC Analysis
Suppliers
Team members identify relevant suppliers by asking the

following questions:
Where does information and material come from?
Who are the suppliers?
Is the Human Resources department a source of inputs into
the process (employees)?
Inputs
Team members identify relevant inputs by asking the

following questions:
What do your suppliers give to the process?
What effect do the inputs (Xs) have on the process?
What effect do the inputs (Xs) have on the CTQs (outputs)?
What effect do employees (Xs) have on the CTQ(s)?
Process
Team members create a high level flowchart of the

process taking particular care to identify the beginning
and ending points of the process.
Outputs
Team members identify outputs of the process by asking

the following questions:
What products or services does this process make, both
intended and unintended?
What are the outputs that are critical to the customers
perception of quality? Or lack of quality? These outputs are
called critical-to-quality (CTQ) characteristics of the process.
Are there any unintended outputs from the process that may
cause problems?
Customers (Stakeholders)
Team members identify relevant customers (market

segments) by asking the following questions:
Who are the customers (stakeholders) or market segments of
this process?
Have we identified the outputs (CTQs) for each market
segment?
SIPOC Analysis
Process name:
Process owner:
SUPPLIERS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS CUSTOMERS
(Providers of (Resources (Deliverables (Stakeholders

required required by the from the process) who put
resources) process) requirements on
the outputs)
Here we list Here we list all This is a high Here we list all Here we list all
all the the inputs into level flowchart of the outputs from the customers of
suppliers of the process. the process. the process, both the outputs.
the inputs to intented and
the process. unintended.
Example: A SIPOC analysis for the patient scheduling process at
an outpatient clinic in a hospital.
Process Name: Patient Scheduling Process in the Outpatient Clinic at XYZ Hospital
Process Owner: Assistant Vice President of Outpatient Services
SUPPLIERS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS CUSTOMERS
(deliverables from the (stakeholders who

(providers of required (resources required process; these can be put requirements
resources) by the process) CTQs or Xs) on the outputs)
Referring physicians Referral Call comes in New patient record in Patient registration
electronic medical reps in clinics
Patients/families Phone call record system
Nurses
Appointment Patient information Patient entered Scheduled appointment
schedulers into electronic Physicians
Patient and medical record Verified insurance
Insurance providers physician system Insurance
availability Reminder providers

Insurance plan Arrived visit Finance office
Appointment
scheduled Patient no show Patients/families
Insurance verified
Reminder call if
time

Operational Definitions
An operational definition promotes understanding
between people by putting communicable meaning into
words. An operational definition contains three parts: a
criterion to be applied to an object or group, a test of the
object or group, and a decision as to whether the object
or group meets the criterion.
Criteria Operational definitions establish VoC
specifications for each CTQ that are compared with the Voice
of the Process outputs in the test step of an operational
definition.
Test A test involves comparing Voice of the Process data
with VoC specifications for each CTQ for a given unit of
output.
Decision A decision involves making a determination
whether a given unit of output meets VoC specifications.
Problems, such as endless bickering and ill-will, can

arise from the lack of an operational definition. A
definition is operational if all relevant users of the
definition agree on the definition.
Example: A firm produces washers. One of the critical

quality characteristics is roundness. The following
procedure is one way to arrive at an operational
definition of roundness, as long as the buyer and seller
agree on it.
Step 1: Criterion for roundness .
Buyer: Use calipers (a measuring device) that are in reasonably good

order. (You perceive at once the need to question every word .)
Seller: What is reasonably good order ?
(We settle the question by letting you use your calipers .)
Seller: But how should I use them?
Buyer: Well be satisfied if you just use them in the usual way.
Seller: At what temperature?
Buyer: The temperature of this room.
Buyer: Take six measures of the diameter about 30 degrees apart.
Record the results.
Seller: But what is about 30 degrees apart? Dont you mean exactly 30
degrees?
Buyer: No, theres no such thing as exactly 30 degrees in the physical
world. So try for 30 degrees. Well be satisfied .
Buyer: If the range between the six diameters doesnt exceed .007
centimeters, well declare the washer to be round .
(They have determined the criterion for roundness.)
Step 2: Test of roundness.

a. Select a particular washer.
b. Take the six measurements and record the results in
centimeters: 3.365, 3.363, 3.368, 3.366, 3.366, and 3.369.
c. The range is 3.369 to 3.363, or a 0.006 difference. They test
for conformance by comparing the range of 0.006 with the
criterion range of 0.007 (Step 1).
Step 3: Decision on roundness.
Because the washer passed the prescribed test for

roundness, it is declared to be round.
If a seller has employees who understand what round

means and a buyer who agrees, many of the problems
the company may have had satisfying the customer will
disappear.
Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA)
FMEA is a tool used to identify, estimate, prioritize, and

reduce risk of damage being caused by potential CTQs
and Xs or to identify areas of risk to the success of a
project.
Example: The structure of an FMEA.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Critical Potential Potential Potential Current

Parameter Failure mode Failure Effect Severity Causes Occurrence Controls Detection RPN
Before RPN =
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Responsibility,
Recommended Contingency Plan if
Action for an X Alternative Setting for
(Alternative setting X Fails, and Target
of an X) Date Date Action Taken Severity Occurrence Detection RPN
After RPN =
How to Do a Failure Modes and Effects Analysis (FMEA )
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Recomme Responsibil
Critical Potential Potential Potential Current nded ity and Date Action
Parameter Failure Mode Failure Effect SEV Causes OCC Controls DET RPN Action Target Date Taken SEV OCC DET RPN
Lack of buy in Project doesnt Project 10 Lack of 10 None 10 1000 Top CEO. 6/2/2019 2 4 10 80
by top get supported. unexecutable. commitmen managem
management. t. ent must
have skin
in the
game.
Project Black Belt gets Need to hire 3 BB lacks 8 BB does his 5 120 Finance Finance rep. 6/2/2019 2 5 5 50
exceeds fired! new BB. financial best. rep on
budget. expertise. team
responsibl
e for
budget.
Takes too Project is Heads roll. 8 BB lacks IT 8 BB does his 5 320 IT rep on IT rep. 6/2/2019 4 4 5 80
long to get delayed. expertise. best. team
data. responsibl
e for data.
Lack of buy in Implementation Unsuccessful 7 Entitled 8 Lots of 8 448 Physician Physician 6/2/2019 4 6 8 192
from issues. implementation physicians. bitching Champion Champion.
physicians. . back and part of
forth. team.
Lack of buy in Implementation Unsuccessful 7 Entitled 8 Lots of 8 448 Nursing Nursing 6/2/2019 4 6 8 192
from nurses. issues. implementation physicians. bitching Champion Champion.
. back and part of
forth. team.
Lack of Lack of Misaligned 5 Lack of 5 Rumor mill 2 50 Communic Black Belt. 6/2/2019 1 5 2 10
awareness. cooperation. team. communicat in overdrive. ation plan
ion. created.
Scope too Project Project 7 Trying to 7 Planning by 3 147 Strong Black Belt. 6/2/2019 3 3 3 27
broad. becomes unexecutable. boil the Black Belt. planning
unmanage- ocean. effort by
able. Black Belt.
Definition of Severity Scale = Likely Impact of Failure
Impact Rating Criteria: A Failure Could...
Bad 10 Injure a customer or employee
9 Be illegal
8 Render the unit unfit for use
7 Cause extreme customer dissatisfaction
6 Result in partial malfunction
5 Cause a loss of performance likely to result in a complaint
4 Cause minor performance loss
3 Cause a minor nuisance; can be overcome with no loss
2 Be unnoticed; minor effect on performance
Good 1 Be unnoticed and not affect the performance

Definition of Occurrence Scale = Frequency of Failure
Impact Rating Time Period Probability of Occurrence
Bad 10 More than once per day > 30%
9 Once every 3-4 days < = 30%
8 Once per week < = 5%
7 Once per month < = 1%
6 Once every 3 months < = .3 per 1,000
5 Once every 6 months < = 1 per 10,000
4 Once per year < = 6 per 100,00
3 Once every 1-3 years < = 6 per million (approx. Six Sigma)
2 Once every 3-6 years < = 3 per ten million
Good 1 Once every 6-100 years < = 2 per billion

Definition of Detection Scale = Ability to Detect Failure
Impact Rating Definition
Bad 10 Defect caused by failure is not detectable.
9 Occasional units are checked for defects.
8 Units are systematically sampled and inspected.
7 All units are manually inspected.
6 Manual inspection with mistake proofing modifications.
5 Process is monitored with control charts and manually inspected.
4 Control charts used with an immediate reaction to out of control condition.
3 Control charts used as above with 100% inspection surrounding out of control condition.
2 All units automatically inspected or control charts used to improve the process.
Good 1 Defect is obvious and can be kept from the customer or control charts are used for process
improvement to yield a no inspection system with routine monitoring.
Check Sheets
Check sheets are used in Six Sigma projects to collect
data on CTQs and Xs in a format that permits efficient and
easy data collection and analysis by team members. Three
types of check sheets are discussed:
(1) attribute check sheets,
(2) measurement check sheets, and
(3) defect location check sheets.
Example: An attribute check sheet of pharmacy delay
reasons in a chemotherapy treatment unit lab.
Monday Tuesday
Type of 8-10 a.m. 10-12 a.m. 12-2 p.m. 2-4 p.m. 8-10 a.m. 10-12 a.m. 12-2 p.m. 2-4 p.m. Total
Defect
Missing dose || ||| | |||| | 12
Wrong date of | ||| ||| ||| ||| | |||| 19

service
Missing ||| ||| || |||| || || 17

height and
weight
Order expired ||| |||| |||| || || ||| |||| |||| || 32
Total 9 3 18 11 12 6 14 7 80
As you can see, order expired is the most common defect.

Attribute Check Sheets
Outpatient Call Center Defects
Type of Defect Frequency Percentage
Improper use of English language 2 2.9
Grammatical errors in speech 6 8.6
Inappropriate use of words 3 4.3
Rude response 3 4.3
Didnt know answer to patients 25 35.7

question
Call took too much time 30 42.8
Not available 1 1.4
Total 70 100
Measurement Check Sheets
Frequency Distribution of Cycle Times
Cycle Time (Minutes) Frequency
05 < 10 minutes 36
10 < 15 minutes 178
15 < 20 minutes 233
20 < 25 minutes 53
25 < 30 minutes 8
Total 508
Defect Location Check Sheet
Table 6.8Defect location check sheet example

Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a process used to elicit a large number of ideas
from a group of people in a brief amount of time. Team members
use their collaborative thinking power to generate unlimited
ideas and thoughts.
Brainstorming is used to
Identify relevant problems to address.
Identify causes of a relevant problem.
Identify solutions to the relevant .
Identify strategies to implement solutions for the relevant problem.
Brainstorming
Example: Consider a group of eight people, one from

each department of a hospital, who brainstorm about the
problem of excessive employee absenteeism. They have
already decided on the topic to be discussed, so they
can proceed to making their lists of causes. After
completing their lists, they take turns reading their
ideas, sequentially, one at a time. The designated leader
records the ideas on a flip chart.
The first persons list of possible causes of excessive

employee absenteeism is
1. Low pay.
2. No repercussions for missing work.
3. Job is boring.
4. Family problems.
The second persons list is

1. Supervisor is a jerk.
2. Drug problems in the organization.
3. Dont like their job.
4. Unsafe environment.
5. Dont like coworkers.
The rest of the team have similar lists. Everyone reads

their lists aloud and the causes are recorded. The leader
then asks whether any new ideas have been sparked by
piggybacking on one of the first persons causes.
Family problems might elicit another cause, personal
problems. Asking for wild ideas might generate a
response such as addiction to the Internet or crappy
food in the cafeteria.
Once all the ideas have been discussed, each member

of the team receives a copy of the list of ideas to study.
The team meets again and evaluates the ideas by
adding or dropping ideas.
Brainstorming
Brainstorming is a way to elicit a large number of ideas from a
group of people in a short period of time about an idea, topic, or
problem. Members of the group use their collective thinking
power to generate ideas and unrestrained thoughts.
Effective brainstorming should take place in a structured session.
The group should be between 3 and 12 people. No animals, babies, or
electronic devices are allowed; they are too distracting.
Composition of the group should include a variety of people who have
different points of view about the idea, topic, or problem.
The group leader should keep the group focused, prevent distractions,
keep ideas flowing, and record the outputs.
The brainstorming session should be a closed -door meeting with no
distractions.
Seating should promote the free flow of ideas; a circle is the best
seating arrangement.
The leader should record the ideas so everyone can see them,
preferably on a flip chart, blackboard, or illuminated transparency. Or,
each participant can write his own ideas on 3x5 cards; one idea per 3x5
card.
Procedure
The following steps are recommended prior to a
brainstorming session:
1. Select the topic or problem.

2. Send out the topic to all brainstorming participants to ensure all
agree on the topic before arriving at the session.
3. Conduct research on the topic in a library or on the Internet.
4. Prepare a list of the identified ideas and provide a copy to each
of the brainstorm participants before the brainstorming session.
There is no reason to reinvent the wheel. The brainstorm
participants should add ideas to what is already easily accessible
through research.
5. Establish a time and place for the brainstorming session.
6. Invite all attendees to the session.
7. Remind all attendees to study the list of ideas provided to them
on the topic.
8. Ask all participants to add additional ideas for discussion in the
brainstorming session and bring them to the session, say one idea
per 3x5 card.
The following steps are recommended at a brainstorming
session:
1. Post the topic or problem.
2. Each group member makes an additional list of ideas about the
problem.
3. Each person reads one idea at a time from her list of ideas,
sequentially, starting at the top of the list. Group members
continue in this circular reading fashion until all the ideas on
everyones lists are read.
4. If a members next idea is a duplication of a previously stated
idea, that member goes on to the subsequent idea on his list.
5. After each idea is read by a group member, the leader requests
all other group members to think of new ideas.
6. Members are free to pass on each go-round but should be
encouraged to add something.
7. If the group reaches an impasse, the leader can ask for
everyones wildest idea.
Rules
Certain rules should be observed by the participants to

ensure a successful brainstorming session otherwise,
participation may be inhibited.
1. Dont criticize, by word or gesture, anyones ideas.
2. Dont discuss any ideas during the session, except for
clarification.
3. Dont hesitate to suggest an idea because it sounds silly.
Many times a silly idea can lead to the problems solution.
4. Dont allow any group member to present more than one
idea at a time.
5. Dont allow the group to be dominated by one or two people.
6. Dont let brainstorming become a gripe session.
Affinity Diagrams
An affinity diagram is a tool used by teams to organize
and consolidate a substantial and unorganized amount
of verbal and/or pictorial data relating to a problem;
frequently from a brainstorming session or from VoC
interviews.
How to Do Affinity Diagrams
Affinity diagrams are used to analyze verbal or pictorial

data. In this text, we analyze verbal data. For example,
affinity diagrams take verbal data (on, say, 3x5 cards)
and place them into thematic groups, such that the data
(3x5 cards) in a group are similar thematically to the
other data points (3x5 cards) in the group. They can be
used to evaluate data from brainstorming or from VoC
Customer interviews.
Constructing an affinity diagram begins with identifying a

problem. Team composition usually consists of the same
people who participated in the brainstorming session
about the problem under study or conducted the VoC
interviews.
A team should take the following steps to construct an
affinity diagram:
1. Select a team member to serve as the groups facilitator.
2. The facilitator transfers all the ideas generated from a
brainstorming session to 3x5 cards; one idea per 3x5 card.
3. The facilitator spreads all the 3x5 cards on a large surface
(table) in no particular order, but all cards face the same direction.
4. In silence, all group members simultaneously move the 3x5
cards into groups (clusters) so the 3x5 cards in a group seem to
be related; that is, they have an unspoken underlying theme or
affinity for each other.
5. After the group agrees the clusters are complete (usually 3 to
15 clusters emerge), the group discusses all the 3x5 cards in each
cluster and prepares a header card that sums up the information
for each cluster.
6. The facilitator transfers the information from the cards onto a
flip chart, or butcher paper and draws a circle around each
cluster.
7. The underlying structure of the problem, usually typified by the
names of the header cards, is used to understand the product or
process problem.
Affinity diagram
Cause and Effect (Fishbone) Diagrams
A cause and effect (C&E) diagram, also known as a

fishbone diagram. People are frequently overwhelmed by
the number of causes related to a problem.
A cause and effect diagram helps a team identify the

various causes and narrow them down to the most
probable cause(s) by:
Organizing the potential causes of a problem (called an
effect), usually because there are so many potential causes
of a given problem.
Selecting the most probable causes of the problem (effect).
Verifying the cause and effect relationship between the
problem (effect) and the most probable cause(s).
Example: An example of a cause and effect (fishbone)
diagram to understand reasons that patients are not
showing up to their appointments in a hospital clinic. The
team studies the C&E diagram and circles the most likely
causes (Xs) of the effect/problem (CTQ ).
Please note that the fishbone diagram on the previous

slide uses materials, machines, mother nature, methods,
manpower (people), and measurements as the names of
the major fish bones.
Another method for naming the major fish bones is to

use the names of the clusters from an affinity diagram. If
you refer back to the previous cause and Effect diagram,
you could construct a C&E diagram with the major
fishbone categories of chairs not comfortable, not
satisfied with job, and poor management.
How to Do Cause and Effect Diagrams (C&E Diagrams)
The following steps are recommended for constructing a
cause and effect diagram.
1. State the problem, which is the effect.
2. Select the team; usually the brainstorming team or the VoC
interviewer team(s).
3. Affinitize the data (one data point per 3x5 card) into major
causes (fishbones) or use the 6Ms: materials, machines, mother
nature, methods, man, and measurement.
4. Put the major causes on a C&E diagram as the major
categories.
5. Add sub causes for each major cause and place them on the
C&E diagram.
6. Allow time to ponder the sub causes before evaluating them.
You may find some holes in your cause and effect diagram; fill in
the holes by brainstorming or just being thoughtful.
7. Circle sub causes that are most likely contributing to the
problematic CTQ (Y).
8. Verify each potential sub cause with data or relevant literature
and so on.
Pareto Diagrams
Pareto diagrams are used to identify and prioritize

problems (Xs on a flowchart of a process) that contribute
to a problematic CTQ(s); it is mainly a prioritization tool.
The Pareto principle is frequently called the 80 -20 rule;

80% of your problems come from 20% of your Xs (called
the significant few Xs).
How to Do Pareto Diagrams
Note: Pareto diagrams are most useful in analyzing the

data from a control chart only if the control chart is in a
state of statistical control.
Record of Defects for Data Entry Operator: Check Sheet to
D e t e r mi n e t h e S o u r c e s o f D e f e c t s
(Assumption: If the following data is from a control chart, the percentage of defective entries
must be stable over time for proper use of the Pareto diagram.)
Major Causes of Defective

Entries Month 1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 Total
Transposed numbers 7 10 6 5 28
Out of field 1 2 3
Wrong character 6 8 5 9 28
Data printed too lightly 1 1 2
Torn document 1 1 2 4
Creased document 1 1 2
Illegible source document 1 1
Total 15 20 16 17 68
F r e q u e n c y Ta b l e o f D e f e c t s f o r D a t a E n t r y O p e r a t o r : P a r e t o
A n a l y s i s t o D e t e r mi n e Ma j o r S o u r c e s o f D e f e c t s
Major Cause of Cumulative

Defective Entries Frequency Relative % Frequency Cumulative %
Transposed 28 41.2 28 41.2

numbers
Wrong character 28 41.2 56 82.4
Torn document 4 5.9 60 88.3
Out of field 3 4.4 63 92.7
Data printed too 2 2.9 65 95.6

lightly
Creased document 2 2.9 67 98.5
Illegible source 1 1.5 68 100.0

document
Total 68 100.0
Pareto diagram of defective data entries for an operator

Pareto diagram: Cumulative percentage line plotting

Gantt Charts
A Gantt chart is a simple scheduling tool. It is a bar
chart that plots tasks and subtasks against time. It
clarifies which tasks can be done in parallel and which
tasks must be done serially.
Once a list of tasks and subtasks has been created for a

project, responsibilities can be assigned for each. Next,
beginning and finishing dates can be scheduled for each
task and subtask. Finally, any comments relevant to a
task or subtask are indicated on the Gantt chart.
Example: Task 3 begins in March and ends in April, while

task 4 begins May and ends in November. This Gantt
chart shows that three tasks begin in May.
Time Line (Month)
Tasks Responsibility J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J Comments
1 HG B E
2 BJ B E
3 RM B E
4 HG B E
5 RM B E
6 BJ B E
7 HG B E
8 RM B E
Change Concepts
Change concepts are ideas for changing the Xs (steps in
a process flowchart) that lead to improvements in
processes. By creatively combining these change
concepts with process knowledge, teams can develop
changes that lead to substantial process improvements.
T he 70 change concepts listed here are organized into the

following nine general groupings:
Grouping Number of Concepts in Grouping

A. Eliminate Waste 11
B. Improve Work Flow 11
C. Optimize Inventory 4
D. Change the Work Environment 11
E. Enhance the Producer/Customer Relationships 8
F. Manage Time 5
G. Manage Variation 8
H. Design Systems to Avoid Mistakes 4
I. Focus on the Product/Service 8
All 70 change concepts are listed and described in the second

part of this chapter.
Change Concepts
Example: College students need access to accurate and

timely information on their accounts payable with the
university they are attending.
The goals of Student Account Services are to first satisfy

student account information needs electronically, then by
phone, and finally, if necessary, in person. This
approach enables the university to improve both
customer service quality and employee productivity.
A q u a l i t y i m p r o ve me n t t e a m a n a l yz e d
t h e t o t a l n u m be r o f c a l l s a n d Month Abandoned Calls
c o r r e s p o n d i n g a b a n d o n e d c a l l s , wh i c h
we r e a t a n a l l - t i me h i g h , t h r o u g h t h e c a l l January 132
c e n t e r. T h e t e a m s t u d i e d t h e l i s t o f 7 0
change concepts and concluded that the February 150
13th change concept, schedule into
March 146
m u l t i p l e p r o c e s s e s , c o u l d b e h e l p f u l i n
r e d u c i n g t h e p e r c e n ta g e o f a b a n d o n e d April 166
calls.
T h e t e a m d e ve l o ped t h i s c h a n g e May 141
c o n c e p t i n t o h i r i n g i n e xp e n s i ve June 139
u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t a s s i s t a n t s wh o
c o u l d a n s we r b a s i c p h o n e q u e s ti o n s a n d July 173
perform triage for complex inquiries. If
a n i n q u i r y r e q u i r e d a h i g h e r l e ve l o f August 35
a c c o u n t e xp e r t i s e t h a n t h a t p o s s e s s e d
by the student assistant, the assistant September 29
wo u l d f o r wa r d t h e c a l l t o a f u l l - t i me October 31
c u s t o me r r e p r es ent at i ve . T h e c h a n g e
c o n c e p t wa s p u t i n t o p l a c e i n A u g u s t , November 22
and the number of abandoned calls
d r o p p e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y. December 19
L i n e g r a p h o f a b a n don ed c a l l s p e r m o n t h
How to Use Change Concepts
The change concepts presented here are not specific

enough to be applied directly to making improvements.
Rather, the concept must be considered within the context
of a particular situation and then turned into an idea for a
process improvement. The idea needs to be specific
enough to describe how the change can be developed,
tested, and implemented in the particular situation. When
describing the change concepts, we tried to be consistent
in the degree of specificity or generality of the concepts.
Sometimes, a new idea seems at first to be a new change
concept; but often, upon further reflection, it is seen to be
an application of one of the existing change concepts.
The primary purpose of this discussion is to provide help

to individuals and teams who are trying to answer the
question: What change can we make (in the Xs) that will
result in improvement of our problematic process (the
CTQ)? Change concepts can serve to provoke a new idea
for an individual or team. A team leader can choose one
or more of the 70 change concepts and then the team can
explore some ideas for possible application of this
concept to a step in the problematic process (X). The list
of ideas should be recorded. After the generation of ideas
is complete, the ideas can be discussed and critiqued.
Any of the ideas that show promise can be further
explored by the team to obtain a specific idea for a
change to a step in the process, or an X.
Some of the change concepts appear to offer conflicting

advice for developing changes. For example, concept 25
reduce choice of features and concept 63 mass
customize appear to be aimed in opposite directions.
Change concept 4 reduce controls on the system and
change concept 51 standardization (create a formal
process) also suggest conflicting directions. The
important consideration is the context in which the change
concept is being applied.
Communication Plans
A communication plan is created for a project to identify,

inform, and appease concerns regarding a process
improvement event for the many people affected by it.
Implementing new processes typically involves the need

for employees to change their behaviors. Having a
communication plan allows the team to be proactive in
informing people in the organization as to what is going
on so there are no surprises and so no one is caught off
guard when it is time to implement solutions.
Example: A communication plan.
# Event/Communication Participants/Audience Medium Frequency When Lead Scheduled? Status Notes
1 General announcement All staff in Department of Email and fax blast Once TBD AVP, BH n/a TBD Draft
memo to staff Behavioral Health communication to
inform staff of
project, sent by AVP
and CEO
2 Weekly email to All project stakeholders Email Weekly Every Friday Black Belt n/a Ongoing Black Belt to
stakeholders delegate to team
member
3 Meetings with opinion Opinion leaders Face to face Once TBD Black Belt N TBD Identify opinion
leaders leaders and work
with them to
promote the project
4 Poster placed in clinic All staff in Department of Printed poster Once TBD Communications N TBD Need to create and
lunch room Behavioral Health Director place poster in clinic
lunch room
5 Presentation at All physicians in Face to face Once TBD Black Belt N TBD Need to create
physician staff meeting Department of presentation and
Behavioral Health schedule time to
present
6 Update hospital intranet All staff in Department of Intranet website Once TBD Black Belt N TBD Create content and
site Behavioral Health meet with
webmaster to post
to intranet
How to Do Communication Plans
Some possible questions to consider are:

Does everyone in the organization understand process improvement?
Who do we need to communicate to?
How will people be affected by the process improvement project, and
how can we alleviate their potential concerns?
Who is committed (not just supportive) to the project from top
management?
What does the project mean for individual employees?
What is expected from various stakeholders with respect to the
project?
What are the potential benefits and risks/costs of the project?
What is the timeline for the project?
What resources will be required for the project?
Communication Plan Outline
# Event/Communication Participants/Audience Medium Frequency When Lead Scheduled? Status Notes
6
Takeaways from This Chapter
A f l o wc h a r t i s a t o o l u s e d t o d e f i n e a n d d o c u m e n t a p r o c e s s .
Vo i c e o f t h e C u s t o me r a n a l ys i s i n vo l ve s s u r ve yi n g s t a k e h o l d e r s o f a p r o c e s s t o
u n d e r s t a n d t h e i r n e e d s a n d wa n t s .
A S I P O C a n a l ys i s i s a t o o l f o r i d e n t i f yi n g t h e S u p p l i e r s a n d t h e i r I n p u ts i n t o a
p r o c e s s , t h e h i g h l e ve l s t e p s o f a P r o c e s s , t h e O u t p u t s o f t h e p r o c e s s , a n d t h e
C u s t o me r s e g me n t s i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e o u t p u t s .
A n o p e r a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n p u t s c o m mu n i c a b l e m e a n i n g i n t o wo r d s .
F M E A i d e n t i f i e s , e s t i ma t e s , p r i o r i t i z e s , a n d r e d u c e s r i s k a m o n g t h e X s f o r a p r o j e c t .
C h e c k s h e e t s a r e u s e d f o r c o l l e c ti n g o r g a t h e r i n g d a t a i n a l o g i c a l f o r ma t .
B r a i n s t o r mi n g i s a p r o c e s s u s e d t o e l i c i t a l a r g e n u m b e r o f i d e a s f r o m a g r o u p o f
people in a brief amount of time.
A n a ff i n i t y d i a g r a m i s a t o o l u s e d b y t e a ms t o o r g a n i z e a n d c o n s o l i d a t e a s u b s t a n t i a l
a n d u n o r g a n i z e d a m o u n t o f ve r b a l , p i c t o r i a l , a n d / o r a u d i o d a t a r e l a t i n g t o a p r o b l e m.
A C & E d i a g r am o r g ani z es t h e p o t e n t i a l c a u s e s o f a p r o b l e m.
P a r e t o d i a g r a m s i d e n t i f y a n d p r i o r i t i z e i s s u e s f o r p r o b l e m.
A Gantt chart is a simple scheduling tool.
C h a n g e c o n c e p t s h e l p d e ve l o p s o l u t i o n s t h a t l e a d t o i m p r o ve m e n t i n p r o c e s s e s.
A communication plan identifies and appeases human concerns regarding a project.

Six Sigma - Chapter 6

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originalbeschreibung:

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Six Sigma - Chapter 6

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

A GUIDE TO

SIX SIGMA AND

What Is the Objective of This Chapter?

CTQ is an acronym for Critical to Quality characteristic. It

Process flowcharts Process

Flowchart Symbols and Functions

Decision symbol A diamond is the symbol that denotes a decision point in

Successful flowcharting efforts have the commitment

The employees who work in the process, and the

Voice of the Customer (VoC)

Stakeholders can include customers, employees,

There are typically four stages when conducting the VoC

How to Do a Voice of the Customer ( VoC) Analysis

How to Define/Segment the Market

The first thing we need to do is figure out from whom are

The simplest method for segmenting a market is to study

Some of the steps involved in planning the VoC are the

This step involves conducting the interviews to collect

How to Organize and Interpret the Data for a VoC

The last step involves organizing and interpreting all the

Example: Voice of the Customer Analysis for Patient No

Plan the VoC

Next up was planning the VoC. The team decided to

Example: Voice of the Customer Analysis for Patient No

The team decided that they would take a judgment

Example: Voice of the Customer Analysis for Patient No

The process expert assigned one of the team members

Example: Voice of the Customer Analysis for Patient No

Assigning Interviews to Team Members

The process expert then assigned interviews to different

Example: Voice of the Customer Analysis for Patient No

Record their answers in bullet point form to make the data

Note: The number one (1) indicates the thematic group

Everyone else seems to miss appointments and they

Tough to predict who will no show and who wont. (1)

Selected Market Affinity Diagram Theme

Nurses I have physicians giving me crap for times they

Sometimes I am super busy, sometimes its

I hear patients complaining that they had to

Physicians I am the most expensive resource and half the

Finance office It definitely has a financial impact, and with the

They are directly affecting our bottom line. (1)

We need to figure out how to decrease them

Example: Voice of the Customer Analysis for Patient No

The team identified two CTQs via the VoC interviews:

A SIPOC analysis is a simple tool for identifying the

How to Do a SIPOC Analysis

Team members identify relevant suppliers by asking the

How to Do a SIPOC Analysis

Team members identify relevant inputs by asking the

How to Do a SIPOC Analysis

Team members create a high level flowchart of the

How to Do a SIPOC Analysis

Team members identify outputs of the process by asking

How to Do a SIPOC Analysis

Team members identify relevant customers (market

SUPPLIERS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS CUSTOMERS

(Providers of (Resources (Deliverables (Stakeholders

Process Owner: Assistant Vice President of Outpatient Services

SUPPLIERS INPUTS PROCESS OUTPUTS CUSTOMERS

(deliverables from the (stakeholders who

Problems, such as endless bickering and ill-will, can

Example: A firm produces washers. One of the critical