PROCESS DECISION

PROGRAM CHART

NIKHIL CHACKO
24 A
 WHAT IS A PROCESS DECISION
PROGRAM CHART?

● The process decision program chart (PDPC) is

defined as a new management planning tool that
systematically identifies what might go wrong in
a plan under development.
● Countermeasures are developed to prevent or
offset those problems.
● By using PDPC, you can either revise the plan to
avoid the problems or be ready with the best
response when a problem occurs.
 WHEN TO USE A PDPC?

 Before implementing a plan, especially when the

plan is large and complex

 When the plan must be completed on schedule

 When the price of failure is high

Advantages
Helps users determine preventative actions and
countermeasures for potential problems.

Disadvantages
Only identifies and addresses transparent problems.
 PDPC PROCEDURE

 Obtain or develop a tree diagram of the proposed plan.

This should be a high-level diagram showing the
objective, a second level of main activities, and a third
level of broadly defined tasks to accomplish the main
activities.
 For each task on the third level, brainstorm what could go
wrong.
 Review all the potential problems and eliminate any that
are improbable or whose consequences would be
insignificant. Show the problems as a fourth level linked
to the tasks.
 For each potential problem, brainstorm possible
countermeasures. These might be actions or changes to the
plan that would prevent the problem, or actions that would
remedy it once it occurred. Show the countermeasures as a
fifth level, outlined in clouds or jagged lines.
 Decide how practical each countermeasure is. Use criteria
such as cost, time required, ease of implementation, and
effectiveness. Mark impractical countermeasures with an X
and practical ones with an O.
 PDPC Example

Example
 A dress production team at a clothes manufacturer was
improving the cutting-out process in order to minimize
material wastage. They decided to use PDPC on the work
breakdown structure to identify potential problems and
ways of avoiding them.
 As the most expensive element is the material itself, they
defined a significant risk as, 'Anything that might cause the
cut cloth to be ruined', and viable countermeasures as,
'Anything that will reduce the risk, and which costs less
than 100 pieces of cloth' .
 The resulting PDPC is shown above. As a result of this, the
cutting was tested on cheaper material, resulting in the
material clamp being redesigned to prevent drag, a start
notch provided for the cutter and the general area being
inspected for sharp corners to minimize snag problems.

 The cutting operator was involved in the PDPC process and

the subsequent tests, resulting in him/her fully
understanding the process. The final cutting process
thereafter ran very smoothly with very little error.