AffinityDiagram(affinitychart,KJmethod) Description Theaffinitydiagramorganizesalargenumberofideasintotheirnaturalrelationships.Thismethodtapsa teamscreativityandintuition.Itwascreatedinthe1960sbyJapaneseanthropologistJiroKawakita.

WhentoUseanAffinityDiagram

Whenyouareconfrontedwithmanyfactsorideasinapparentchaos Whenissuesseemtoolargeandcomplextograsp Whengroupconsensusisnecessary

Typicalsituationsare:

Afterabrainstormingexercise Whenanalyzingverbaldata,suchassurveyresults.

AffinityDiagramProcedure Materialsneeded:stickynotesorcards,markingpens,largeworksurface(wall,table,orfloor). 1. Recordeachideawithamarkingpenonaseparatestickynoteorcard.(Duringabrainstormingsession, writedirectlyontostickynotesorcardsifyoususpectyouwillbefollowingthebrainstormwithan affinitydiagram.)Randomlyspreadnotesonalargeworksurfacesoallnotesarevisibletoeveryone. Theentireteamgathersaroundthenotesandparticipatesinthenextsteps. 2. Itisveryimportantthatnoonetalkduringthisstep.Lookforideasthatseemtoberelatedinsomeway. Placethemsidebyside.Repeatuntilallnotesaregrouped.Itsokaytohavelonersthatdontseemto fitagroup.Itsallrighttomoveanotesomeoneelsehasalreadymoved.Ifanoteseemstobelongin twogroups,makeasecondnote. 3. Youcantalknow.Participantscandiscusstheshapeofthechart,anysurprisingpatterns,andespecially reasonsformovingcontroversialnotes.Afewmorechangesmaybemade.Whenideasaregrouped, selectaheadingforeachgroup.Lookforanoteineachgroupingthatcapturesthemeaningofthe group.Placeitatthetopofthegroup.Ifthereisnosuchnote,writeone.Oftenitisusefultowriteor highlightthisnoteinadifferentcolor. 4. Combinegroupsintosupergroupsifappropriate. (AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

Brainstorming Description Brainstormingisamethodforgeneratingalargenumberofcreativeideasinashortperiodoftime. WhentoUseBrainstorming

Whenabroadrangeofoptionsisdesired. Whencreative,originalideasaredesired. Whenparticipationoftheentiregroupisdesired.

BrainstormingProcedure Materialsneeded:flipchart,markingpens,tapeandblankwallspace. 1. Reviewtherulesofbrainstormingwiththeentiregroup: o Nocriticism,noevaluation,nodiscussionofideas. o Therearenostupidideas.Thewilderthebetter. o Allideasarerecorded. o Piggybackingisencouraged:combining,modifying,expandingothersideas. 2. Reviewthetopicorproblemtobediscussed.Oftenitisbestphrasedasawhy,how,orwhat question.Makesureeveryoneunderstandsthesubjectofthebrainstorm. 3. Allowaminuteortwoofsilenceforeveryonetothinkaboutthequestion. 4. Invitepeopletocallouttheirideas.Recordallideas,inwordsascloseaspossibletothoseusedbythe contributor.Nodiscussionorevaluationofanykindispermitted. 5. Continuetogenerateandrecordideasuntilseveralminutessilenceproducesnomore. (AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

StepladderTechnique Description TheStepladderTechniqueisasimpletoolthatmanageshowmembersenterthedecisionmakinggroup. DevelopedbyStevenRogelberg,JanetBarnesFarrellandCharlesLowein1992,itencouragesallmembersto contributeonanindividuallevelBEFOREbeinginfluencedbyanyoneelse.Thisresultsinawidervarietyofideas, preventspeoplefrom"hiding"withinthegroup,andithelpspeopleavoidbeing"steppedon"oroverpowered bystronger,loudergroupmembers. WhentoUsetheStepladderTechnique Whenseekingawidervarietyofideas Allowsshy,quietpeopletopresenttheirideasbeforeothergroupmemberscaninfluencethem Allowseveryonetohearmanydifferentviewpointsbeforereachingafinaldecision. StepladderTechniqueProcedure TheStepladderTechniquehasfivebasicsteps.Here'showitworks. Step1:Beforegettingtogetherasagroup,presentthetaskorproblemtoallmembers.Giveeveryone sufficienttimetothinkaboutwhatneedstobedoneandtoformtheirownopinionsonhowtobest accomplishthetaskorsolvetheproblem. Step2:Formacoregroupoftwomembers.Havethemdiscusstheproblem. Step3:Addathirdgroupmembertothecoregroup.Thethirdmemberpresentsideastothefirsttwo membersBEFOREhearingtheideasthathavealreadybeendiscussed.Afterallthreemembershavelaid outtheirsolutionsandideas,theydiscusstheiroptionstogether. Step4:Repeatthesameprocessbyaddingafourthmember,andsoon,tothegroup.Allowtimefor discussionaftereachadditionalmemberhaspresentedhisorherideas. Step5:Reachafinaldecisiononlyafterallmembershavebeenbroughtinandpresentedtheirideas. (AdaptedfromJamesManktelowsbookMindTools,PublishedbyMindToolsLtd)

FishboneDiagram(CauseandEffectDiagram,IshikawaDiagram) Description Thefishbonediagramidentifiesmanypossiblecausesforaneffectorproblem.Itcanbeusedtostructurea brainstormingsession.Itimmediatelysortsideasintousefulcategories. WhentoUseaFishboneDiagram

Whenidentifyingpossiblecausesforaproblem. Especiallywhenateamsthinkingtendstofallintoruts.

FishboneDiagramProcedure Materialsneeded:flipchartorwhiteboard,markingpens. 1. Agreeonaproblemstatement(effect).Writeitatthecenterrightoftheflipchartorwhiteboard.Drawa boxarounditanddrawahorizontalarrowrunningtoit. 2. Brainstormthemajorcategoriesofcausesoftheproblem.Ifthisisdifficultusegenericheadings: o Methods o Machines(equipment) o People(manpower) o Materials o Measurement o Environment 3. Writethecategoriesofcausesasbranchesfromthemainarrow. 4. Brainstormallthepossiblecausesoftheproblem.Ask:Whydoesthishappen?Aseachideaisgiven, thefacilitatorwritesitasabranchfromtheappropriatecategory.Causescanbewritteninseveral placesiftheyrelatetoseveralcategories. 5. Againaskwhydoesthishappen?abouteachcause.Writesubcausesbranchingoffthecauses. ContinuetoaskWhy?andgeneratedeeperlevelsofcauses.Layersofbranchesindicatecausal relationships. 6. Whenthegrouprunsoutofideas,focusattentiontoplacesonthechartwhereideasarefew. 7. (AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

ForceFieldAnalysis Description ForceFieldAnalysisisausefultechniqueforlookingatalltheforcesforandagainstadecision.Ineffect,itisa specializedmethodofweighingprosandcons. WhentoUseaForceFieldAnalysis Whentryingtounderstandingthepressuresforandagainstchange Whenitiscriticaltostrengthentheforcessupportingadecision,andreducetheimpactofoppositionto it.

ForceFieldAnalysisProcedure 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Describethecurrentsituation Describethedesiredsituation Identifywherethecurrentsituationwillgoifnoactionistaken Listalltheforcesdrivingchangetowardthedesiredsituation Listalltheforcesresistingchangetowardthedesiredsituation Discussandinterrogatealloftheforces:aretheyvalid?cantheybechanged?whicharethecritical ones? Allocateascoretoeachoftheforcesusinganumericalscalee.g.1=extremelyweakand10=extremely strong Charttheforcesbylisting(tostrengthscale)thedrivingforcesontheleftandrestrainingforcesonthe right. Determinewhetherchangeisviableandprogresscanoccur Discusshowthechangecanbeaffectedbydecreasingthestrengthoftherestrainingforcesorby increasingthestrengthofdrivingforces. Keepinmindthatincreasingthedrivingforcesordecreasingtherestrainingforcesmayincreaseor decreaseotherforcesorevencreatenewones. (Basedon"KurtLewin'sarticle,Contributionandasummaryofmethodologyinanalyzingchange)

RelationsDiagram(interrelationshipdiagramordigraph,networkdiagram) Variation:matrixrelationsdiagram Description Therelationsdiagramshowscauseandeffectrelationships.Justasimportantly,theprocessofcreatinga relationsdiagramhelpsagroupanalyzethenaturallinksbetweendifferentaspectsofacomplexsituation. WhentoUseaRelationsDiagram

Whentryingtounderstandlinksbetweenideasorcauseandeffectrelationships,suchaswhentryingto identifyanareaofgreatestimpactforimprovement. Whenacomplexissueisbeinganalyzedforcauses. Whenacomplexsolutionisbeingimplemented. Aftergeneratinganaffinitydiagram,causeandeffectdiagramortreediagram,tomorecompletely exploretherelationsofideas.

RelationsDiagramBasicProcedure Materialsneeded:stickynotesorcards,largepapersurface(newsprintortwoflipchartpagestapedtogether), markingpens,tape. 1. Writeastatementdefiningtheissuethattherelationsdiagramwillexplore.Writeitonacardorsticky noteandplaceitatthetopoftheworksurface. 2. Brainstormideasabouttheissueandwritethemoncardsornotes.Ifanothertoolhasprecededthis one,taketheideasfromtheaffinitydiagram,themostdetailedrowofthetreediagramorthefinal branchesonthefishbonediagram.Youmaywanttousetheseideasasstartingpointsandbrainstorm additionalideas. 3. Placeoneideaatatimeontheworksurfaceandask:Isthisidearelatedtoanyothers?Placeideas thatarerelatednearthefirst.Leavespacebetweencardstoallowfordrawingarrowslater.Repeatuntil allcardsareontheworksurface. 4. Foreachidea,ask,Doesthisideacauseorinfluenceanyotheridea?Drawarrowsfromeachideato theonesitcausesorinfluences.Repeatthequestionforeveryidea. 5. Analyzethediagram: o Countthearrowsinandoutforeachidea.Writethecountsatthebottomofeachbox.Theones withthemostarrowsarethekeyideas. o Notewhichideashaveprimarilyoutgoing(from)arrows.Thesearebasiccauses. o Notewhichideashaveprimarilyincoming(to)arrows.Thesearefinaleffectsthatalsomaybe criticaltoaddress. Besuretocheckwhetherideaswithfewerarrowsalsoarekeyideas.Thenumberofarrowsisonlyanindicator, notanabsoluterule.Drawboldlinesaroundthekeyideas. (AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

ScatterDiagram(scatterplot,XYgraph) Description Thescatterdiagramgraphspairsofnumericaldata,withonevariableoneachaxis,tolookforarelationship betweenthem.Ifthevariablesarecorrelated,thepointswillfallalongalineorcurve.Thebetterthe correlation,thetighterthepointswillhugtheline. WhentoUseaScatterDiagram

Whenyouhavepairednumericaldata. Whenyourdependentvariablemayhavemultiplevaluesforeachvalueofyourindependentvariable. Whentryingtodeterminewhetherthetwovariablesarerelated,suchas o Whentryingtoidentifypotentialrootcausesofproblems. o Afterbrainstormingcausesandeffectsusingafishbonediagram,todetermineobjectively whetheraparticularcauseandeffectarerelated. o Whendeterminingwhethertwoeffectsthatappeartoberelatedbothoccurwiththesame cause. o Whentestingforautocorrelationbeforeconstructingacontrolchart.

ScatterDiagramProcedure 1. Collectpairsofdatawherearelationshipissuspected. 2. Drawagraphwiththeindependentvariableonthehorizontalaxisandthedependentvariableonthe verticalaxis.Foreachpairofdata,putadotorasymbolwherethexaxisvalueintersectstheyaxis value.(Iftwodotsfalltogether,putthemsidebyside,touching,sothatyoucanseeboth.) 3. Lookatthepatternofpointstoseeifarelationshipisobvious.Ifthedataclearlyformalineoracurve, youmaystop.Thevariablesarecorrelated.Youmaywishtouseregressionorcorrelationanalysisnow. Otherwise,completesteps4through7. 4. Dividepointsonthegraphintofourquadrants.IfthereareXpointsonthegraph, o CountX/2pointsfromtoptobottomanddrawahorizontalline. o CountX/2pointsfromlefttorightanddrawaverticalline. o Ifnumberofpointsisodd,drawthelinethroughthemiddlepoint. 5. Countthepointsineachquadrant.Donotcountpointsonaline. 6. Addthediagonallyoppositequadrants.Findthesmallersumandthetotalofpointsinallquadrants. A=pointsinupperleft+pointsinlowerright B=pointsinupperright+pointsinlowerleft Q=thesmallerofAandB N=A+B 7. LookupthelimitforNonthetrendtesttable. o IfQislessthanthelimit,thetwovariablesarerelated. o IfQisgreaterthanorequaltothelimit,thepatterncouldhaveoccurredfromrandomchance. (AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

SixThinkingHats Description "SixThinkingHats"isapowerfultechniquethathelpsyoulookatimportantdecisionsfromanumberof differentperspectives.Ithelpsyoumakebetterdecisionsbypushingyoutomoveoutsideyourhabitualwaysof thinking.Assuch,ithelpsyouunderstandthefullcomplexityofadecision,andspotissuesandopportunities whichyoumightotherwisenotnotice. WhentoUseSixThinkingHats Whenneedforevaluatingadecisionfrommanypointsofview

SixThinkingHatsProcedure TouseSixThinkingHatstoimprovethequalityofyourdecisionmaking,lookatthedecision"wearing"eachof thethinkinghatsinturn.Each"ThinkingHat"isadifferentstyleofthinking.Theseareexplainedbelow:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

WhiteHat:Withthisthinkinghat,youfocusonthedataavailable.Lookattheinformationyouhave, andseewhatyoucanlearnfromit.Lookforgapsinyourknowledge,andeithertrytofillthemortake accountofthem.Thisiswhereyouanalyzepasttrends,andtrytoextrapolatefromhistoricaldata. RedHat:Wearingtheredhat,youlookatthedecisionusingintuition,gutreaction,andemotion.Also trytothinkhowotherpeoplewillreactemotionally,andtrytounderstandtheintuitiveresponsesof peoplewhodonotfullyknowyourreasoning. BlackHat:Whenusingblackhatthinking,lookatthingspessimistically,cautiouslyanddefensively.Try toseewhyideasandapproachesmightnotwork.Thisisimportantbecauseithighlightstheweakpoints inaplanorcourseofaction.Itallowsyoutoeliminatethem,alteryourapproach,orprepare contingencyplanstocounterproblemsthatarise. BlackHatthinkinghelpstomakeyourplanstougherandmoreresilient.Itcanalsohelpyoutospotfatal flawsandrisksbeforeyouembarkonacourseofaction.BlackHatthinkingisoneoftherealbenefitsof thistechnique,asmanysuccessfulpeoplegetsousedtothinkingpositivelythatoftentheycannotsee problemsinadvance,leavingthemunderpreparedfordifficulties. YellowHat:Theyellowhathelpsyoutothinkpositively.Itistheoptimisticviewpointthathelpsyouto seeallthebenefitsofthedecisionandthevalueinit,andspottheopportunitiesthatarisefromit. YellowHatthinkinghelpsyoutokeepgoingwheneverythinglooksgloomyanddifficult. GreenHat:TheGreenHatstandsforcreativity.Thisiswhereyoucandevelopcreativesolutionstoa problem.Itisafreewheelingwayofthinking,inwhichthereislittlecriticismofideas.Awholerangeof creativitytoolscanhelpyouhere. BlueHat:TheBlueHatstandsforprocesscontrol.Thisisthehatwornbypeoplechairingmeetings. Whenrunningintodifficultiesbecauseideasarerunningdry,theymaydirectactivityintoGreenHat thinking.Whencontingencyplansareneeded,theywillaskforBlackHatthinking,andsoon.

YoucanuseSixThinkingHatsinmeetingsoronyourown.Inmeetingsithasthebenefitofdefusingthe disagreementsthatcanhappenwhenpeoplewithdifferentthinkingstylesdiscussthesameproblem.Asimilar approachistolookatproblemsfromthepointofviewofdifferentprofessionals(e.g.doctors,architects,sales directors)ordifferentcustomers. (AdaptedfromEdwarddeBonosbook,6ThinkingHats,publishedbyBackBayBooks). 8

 SWOTAnalysis Description SWOTAnalysisisapowerfultechniqueforunderstandingyourStrengthsandWeaknesses,andforlookingatthe OpportunitiesandThreatsyouface. WhentoUseSWOT Whenneedtoeasilyuncoveropportunitiesthatyouarewellplacedtoexploit Whenitscriticaltounderstandtheweaknessesofyourbusinessinordertomanageandeliminate threatsthatwouldotherwisecatchyouunaware. Whentheresaneedtocraftastrategythathelpsyoudistinguishyourselffromyourcompetitors,so thatyoucancompetesuccessfullyinyourmarket.

SWOTProcedure TocarryoutaSWOTAnalysis,answerthefollowingquestions: Strengths:

Whatadvantagesdoesyourcompanyhave? Whatdoyoudobetterthananyoneelse? Whatuniqueorlowestcostresourcesdoyouhaveaccessto? Whatdopeopleinyourmarketseeasyourstrengths? Whatfactorsmeanthatyou"getthesale"?

Considerthisfromaninternalperspective,andfromthepointofviewofyourcustomersandpeopleinyour market.Berealistic:It'sfartooeasytofallpreyto"notinventedheresyndrome".(Ifyouarehavingany difficultywiththis,trywritingdownalistofyourcharacteristics.Someofthesewillhopefullybestrengths!) Inlookingatyourstrengths,thinkabouttheminrelationtoyourcompetitorsforexample,ifallyour competitorsprovidehighqualityproducts,thenahighqualityproductionprocessisnotastrengthinthe market,itisanecessity. Weaknesses:

Whatcouldyouimprove? Whatshouldyouavoid? Whatarepeopleinyourmarketlikelytoseeasweaknesses? Whatfactorsloseyousales?

Again,considerthisfromaninternalandexternalbasis:Dootherpeopleseemtoperceiveweaknessesthatyou donotsee?Areyourcompetitorsdoinganybetterthanyou?Itisbesttoberealisticnow,andfaceany unpleasanttruthsassoonaspossible. Opportunities: 9

Wherearethegoodopportunitiesfacingyou? Whataretheinterestingtrendsyouareawareof?

Usefulopportunitiescancomefromsuchthingsas:

Changesintechnologyandmarketsonbothabroadandnarrowscale Changesingovernmentpolicyrelatedtoyourfield Changesinsocialpatterns,populationprofiles,lifestylechanges,etc. Localevents

Ausefulapproachforlookingatopportunitiesistolookatyourstrengthsandaskyourselfwhethertheseopen upanyopportunities. Alternatively,lookatyourweaknessesandaskyourselfwhetheryoucouldcreateopportunitiesbyeliminating them. Threats:

Whatobstaclesdoyouface? Whatisyourcompetitiondoingthatyoushouldbeworriedabout? Aretherequiredspecificationsforyourjob,productsorserviceschanging? Ischangingtechnologythreateningyourposition? Doyouhavebaddebtorcashflowproblems? Couldanyofyourweaknessesseriouslythreatenyourbusiness?

Carryingoutthisanalysiswilloftenbeilluminatingbothintermsofpointingoutwhatneedstobedone,andin puttingproblemsintoperspective. Strengthsandweaknessesareofteninternaltoyourorganization.Opportunitiesandthreatsoftenrelateto externalfactors.ForthisreasontheSWOTAnalysisissometimescalledInternalExternalAnalysisandtheSWOT MatrixissometimescalledanIEMatrixAnalysisTool. YoucanalsoapplySWOTAnalysistoyourcompetitors.Asyoudothis,you'llstarttoseehowandwhereyou shouldcompeteagainstthem. (AdaptedfromJamesManktelowsbookMindTools,PublishedbyMindToolsLtd)

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TreeDiagram(systematicdiagram,treeanalysis,analyticaltree,hierarchydiagram) Description Thetreediagramstartswithoneitemthatbranchesintotwoormore,eachofwhichbranchintotwoormore, andsoon.Itlookslikeatree,withtrunkandmultiplebranches. Itisusedtobreakdownbroadcategoriesintofinerandfinerlevelsofdetail.Developingthetreediagramhelps youmoveyourthinkingstepbystepfromgeneralitiestospecifics. WhentoUseaTreeDiagram

Whenanissueisknownorbeingaddressedinbroadgeneralitiesandyoumustmovetospecificdetails, suchaswhendevelopinglogicalstepstoachieveanobjective. Whendevelopingactionstocarryoutasolutionorotherplan. Whenanalyzingprocessesindetail. Whenprobingfortherootcauseofaproblem. Whenevaluatingimplementationissuesforseveralpotentialsolutions. Afteranaffinitydiagramorrelationsdiagramhasuncoveredkeyissues. Asacommunicationtool,toexplaindetailstoothers.

TreeDiagramProcedure 1. Developastatementofthegoal,project,plan,problemorwhateverisbeingstudied.Writeitatthetop (foraverticaltree)orfarleft(forahorizontaltree)ofyourworksurface. 2. Askaquestionthatwillleadyoutothenextlevelofdetail.Forexample: o Foragoal,actionplanorworkbreakdownstructure:Whattasksmustbedonetoaccomplish this?orHowcanthisbeaccomplished? o Forrootcauseanalysis:Whatcausesthis?orWhydoesthishappen? o Forgozintochart:Whatarethecomponents?(GozintoliterallycomesfromthephraseWhat goesintoit? Brainstormallpossibleanswers.Ifanaffinitydiagramorrelationshipdiagramhasbeendonepreviously, ideasmaybetakenfromthere.Writeeachideainalinebelow(foraverticaltree)ortotherightof(for ahorizontaltree)thefirststatement.Showlinksbetweenthetierswitharrows. 3. Doanecessaryandsufficientcheck.Arealltheitemsatthislevelnecessaryfortheoneonthelevel above?Ifalltheitemsatthislevelwerepresentoraccomplished,wouldtheybesufficientfortheone onthelevelabove? 4. Eachofthenewideastatementsnowbecomesthesubject:agoal,objectiveorproblemstatement.For eachone,askthequestionagaintouncoverthenextlevelofdetail.Createanothertierofstatements andshowtherelationshipstotheprevioustierofideaswitharrows.Doanecessaryandsufficient checkforeachsetofitems. 5. Continuetoturneachnewideaintoasubjectstatementandaskthequestion.Donotstopuntilyou reachfundamentalelements:specificactionsthatcanbecarriedout,componentsthatarenotdivisible, rootcauses. 6. Doanecessaryandsufficientcheckoftheentirediagram.Arealltheitemsnecessaryforthe objective?Ifalltheitemswerepresentoraccomplished,wouldtheybesufficientfortheobjective? 11

(AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

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Cost/BenefitAnalysis(CBA) Description Youmayhavebeenintenselycreativeingeneratingsolutionstoaproblem,andrigorousinyourselectionofthe bestoneavailable.However,thissolutionmaystillnotbeworthimplementing,asyoumayinvestalotoftime andmoneyinsolvingaproblemthatisnotworthyofthiseffort. WhentoUseCBA Whencostisafactorinwhetherornottoproceedwithaproject

CBAProcedure CostBenefitAnalysisorcbaisarelativelysimpleandwidelyusedtechniquefordecidingwhethertomakea change.Asitsnamesuggests,yousimplyaddupthevalueofthebenefitsofacourseofaction,andsubtractthe costsassociatedwithit. Costsareeitheroneoff,ormaybeongoing.Benefitsaremostoftenreceivedovertime.Webuildthiseffectof timeintoouranalysisbycalculatingapaybackperiod.Thisisthetimeittakesforthebenefitsofachangeto repayitscosts.Manycompanieslookforpaybackonprojectsoveraspecifiedperiodoftimee.g.threeyears. Initssimpleform,costbenefitanalysisiscarriedoutusingonlyfinancialcostsandfinancialbenefits.For example,asimplecostbenefitratioforaroadschemewouldmeasurethecostofbuildingtheroad,and subtractthisfromtheeconomicbenefitofimprovingtransportlinks.Itwouldnotmeasureeitherthecostof environmentaldamageorthebenefitofquickerandeasiertraveltowork. Amoresophisticatedapproachtobuildingacostbenefitmodelsistotrytoputafinancialvalueonintangible costsandbenefits.Thiscanbehighlysubjectiveis,forexample,ahistoricwatermeadowworth$25,000,oris itworth$500,000becauseifitsenvironmentalimportance?Whatisthevalueofstressfreetraveltoworkinthe morning? Theseareallquestionsthatpeoplehavetoanswer,andanswersthatpeoplehavetodefend. (AdaptedfromRichardBrealeyandStewartMyersbookPrinciplesofCorporateFinancepublishedbyMcGraw Hill)

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DotsTechnique(Multivoting,NGTvoting,nominalprioritization) Description DotsTechniquenarrowsalargelistofpossibilitiestoasmallerlistofthetopprioritiesortoafinalselection. DotsTechniqueispreferabletostraightvotingbecauseitallowsanitemthatisfavoredbyall,butnotthetop choiceofany,torisetothetop. WhentoUseDotsTechnique

Afterbrainstormingorsomeotherexpansiontoolhasbeenusedtogeneratealonglistofpossibilities. Whenthelistmustbenarroweddown,and. Whenthedecisionmustbemadebygroupjudgment.

DotsTechniqueProcedure Materialsneeded:flipchartorwhiteboard,markingpens,coloredstickondots.
1. 2. 3.

4.

5.

Displaythelistofoptions.Combineduplicateitems.Affinitydiagramscanbeusefultoorganizelarge numbersofideasandeliminateduplicationandoverlap.Listreductionmayalsobeuseful. Number(orletter)allitems. Decidehowmanyitemsmustbeonthefinalreducedlist.Decidealsohowmanychoiceseachmember willvotefor.Usually,fivechoicesareallowed.Thelongertheoriginallist,themorevoteswillbe allowed,upto10. Workingindividually,eachmembersticksfivedots(orwhatevernumberofchoicesisallowed)onthe itemsheorshethinksmostimportant.(Variationsincludeallowingdifferentcolordotstobeworth moreweightthanothers,orallowingapersontoputmorethanonedotonaparticularitemifheorshe feelsthatitisextremelyimportant) Tallyvotesandseewhichitemsareviewedasmostimportant (AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

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NominalGroupTechnique(NGT) Description Nominalgrouptechnique(NGT)isastructuredmethodforgroupbrainstormingthatencouragescontributions fromeveryone. WhentoUseNominalGroupTechnique

Whensomegroupmembersaremuchmorevocalthanothers. Whensomegroupmembersthinkbetterinsilence. Whenthereisconcernaboutsomemembersnotparticipating. Whenthegroupdoesnoteasilygeneratequantitiesofideas. Whenallorsomegroupmembersarenewtotheteam. Whentheissueiscontroversialorthereisheatedconflict.

NominalGroupTechniqueProcedure Materialsneeded:paperandpenorpencilforeachindividual,flipchart,markingpens,tape. 1. Statethesubjectofthebrainstorming.Clarifythestatementasneededuntileveryoneunderstandsit. 2. Eachteammembersilentlythinksofandwritesdownasmanyideasaspossibleinasetperiodoftime (5to10minutes). 3. Eachmemberinturnstatesaloudoneidea.Facilitatorrecordsitontheflipchart. o Nodiscussionisallowed,notevenquestionsforclarification. o Ideasgivendonotneedtobefromtheteammemberswrittenlist.Indeed,astimegoeson, manyideaswillnotbe. o Amembermaypasshisorherturn,andmaythenaddanideaonasubsequentturn. Continuearoundthegroupuntilallmemberspassorforanagreeduponlengthoftime. 4. Discusseachideainturn.Wordingmaybechangedonlywhentheideasoriginatoragrees.Ideasmaybe strickenfromthelistonlybyunanimousagreement.Discussionmayclarifymeaning,explainlogicor analysis,raiseandanswerquestions,orstateagreementordisagreement. 5. Prioritizetheideasusingmultivotingorlistreduction. (AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

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ParetoAnalysis(Paretodiagram,ParetoChart) Description AParetochartisabargraph.Thelengthsofthebarsrepresentfrequencyorcost(timeormoney),andare arrangedwithlongestbarsontheleftandtheshortesttotheright.Inthiswaythechartvisuallydepictswhich situationsaremoresignificant. WhentoUseaParetoChart

Whenanalyzingdataaboutthefrequencyofproblemsorcausesinaprocess. Whentherearemanyproblemsorcausesandyouwanttofocusonthemostsignificant. Whenanalyzingbroadcausesbylookingattheirspecificcomponents. Whencommunicatingwithothersaboutyourdata.

ParetoChartProcedure 1. Decidewhatcategoriesyouwillusetogroupitems. 2. Decidewhatmeasurementisappropriate.Commonmeasurementsarefrequency,quantity,costand time. 3. DecidewhatperiodoftimetheParetochartwillcover:Oneworkcycle?Onefullday?Aweek? 4. Collectthedata,recordingthecategoryeachtime.(Orassembledatathatalreadyexist.) 5. Subtotalthemeasurementsforeachcategory. 6. Determinetheappropriatescaleforthemeasurementsyouhavecollected.Themaximumvaluewillbe thelargestsubtotalfromstep5.(Ifyouwilldooptionalsteps8and9below,themaximumvaluewillbe thesumofallsubtotalsfromstep5.)Markthescaleontheleftsideofthechart. 7. Constructandlabelbarsforeachcategory.Placethetallestatthefarleft,thenthenexttallesttoits rightandsoon.Iftherearemanycategorieswithsmallmeasurements,theycanbegroupedasother. Steps8and9areoptionalbutareusefulforanalysisandcommunication. 8. Calculatethepercentageforeachcategory:thesubtotalforthatcategorydividedbythetotalforall categories.Drawarightverticalaxisandlabelitwithpercentages.Besurethetwoscalesmatch:For example,theleftmeasurementthatcorrespondstoonehalfshouldbeexactlyopposite50%onthe rightscale. 9. Calculateanddrawcumulativesums:Addthesubtotalsforthefirstandsecondcategories,andplacea dotabovethesecondbarindicatingthatsum.Tothatsumaddthesubtotalforthethirdcategory,and placeadotabovethethirdbarforthatnewsum.Continuetheprocessforallthebars.Connectthe dots,startingatthetopofthefirstbar.Thelastdotshouldreach100percentontherightscale. (AdaptedfromNancyR.TaguesbookTheQualityToolbox,PublishedbyASQQualityPress)

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PMI(Plus/Minus/Interesting) Description PMIisavaluableimprovementtothe'weighingprosandcons'techniqueusedforcenturies. WhentoUseaPMI Whenselectingacourseofactionfromarangeofoptions Whenevaluatingwhetherwecanactuallyimprovethesituation(itmayactuallybebesttodonothing!)

PMIProcedure Inthecolumnunderneath'Plus',writedownallthepositiveresultsoftakingtheaction.Underneath'Minus' writedownallthenegativeeffects.Inthe'Interesting'columnwritedowntheimplicationsandpossible outcomesoftakingtheaction,whetherpositive,negative,oruncertain. Bythisstageitmayalreadybeobviouswhetherornotyoushouldimplementthedecision.Ifitisnot,consider eachofthepointsyouhavewrittendownandassignapositiveornegativescoretoitappropriately.Thescores youassignmaybequitesubjective. Onceyouhavedonethis,addupthescore.Astronglypositivescoreshowsthatanactionshouldbetaken,a stronglynegativescorethatitshouldbeavoided. (ExcerptedfromJamesManktelowsbookMindTools,PublishedbyMindToolsLtd)

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