1. Relations diagram
2. Tree diagram
3. Arrow diagram
4. Affinity diagram
5. Matrix diagram
6. Matrix data analysis diagram
7. Process decision programme chart.
These tools, unlike SPC tools are qualitative tools. Most of these tools do not
involve the use of numerical data. As the names suggest they are diagrams
and charts which arrange available information in a visual form that helps
managers in making sound decisions. Like all management tools these are
judgmental tools. Managers are often called upon to make decisions based
on their judgement with help of incomplete information or on subjective
issues. Such decisions require discussions among members of cross
functional teams. Team work and techniques like brainstorming are very
essential for best results with such tools.
2 Relations Diagram
Purpose
Structure
Diagram 1
Diagram 2
These two diagrams have shown how the structure of relations diagram is
extremely flexible. The shape depends on the nature and extent of
interrelations between various causes. The team is free to arrange the
rectangles with causes in any convenient shape. If need be, the shape is
recast with rearrangement of the causes for ease of connecting the
rectangles.
Procedure
1. Decide the effect or the problem for which causes are to be found.
Write is in the centre of the flip chart or a board and enclose it in a dark
bordered rectangle. Discuss the subject and confirm the effect.
2. Brainstorm to identify the immediate causes for the effect first. Enter
these in rectangles around the central dark rectangle. Take care to
place causes likely to be related to one another in adjacent positions.
It is quite possible that the locations of the causes may have to be
changed as one progresses. Hence a white board is preferable to a
flip chart for this exercise. If a flip chart is used, the causes may be
written on post-it pads and stuck on the chart so that their location can
be changed easily.
3. Connect these immediate causes to the effect by connecting the
rectangles of the causes to that of the effect with a line with an arrow
pointing towards the effect. Explore the cause and effect relationship
among the immediate causes and connect them, keeping in mind that
the arrow always points to an effect.
4. Taking each of these immediate causes as an effect, brainstorm to find
causes for them one by one. The key question for identifying causes is
why ?. Keep asking the question till the root causes are identified for
the immediate, secondary and tertiary causes.
5. Explore the relationship between all the causes and connect the
rectangles as in step-3. Show as many relations among different
causes as possible. A large number of routes leading to the same root
causes provides an indication that the root cause may be an important
contributor to the problem.
6. Brainstorm to find the more important root causes and more prominent
links leading to the effect. Mark these by making the rectangles and
the connecting lines darker.
7. If necessary, rearrange the rectangles in such a way that the
connecting lines are short and the diagram compact.
8. Provide a suitable title to the diagram.
Applications
Unsatisf. Dissatisf.
Work Env. Compensation
3 Affinity Diagram
Purpose
Procedure
The structure and the procedure for affinity diagram would have shown how
simple the tool is. Its simplicity makes it easy to combine it with other tools
and put it to a wide variety of applications. For instance, it can be combined
with a cause-and-effect diagram or a relations diagram to identify and regroup
causes for a problem or it can be combined with a tree diagram to categorise
possible solutions. Thus it can assist in problem solving. It can be used to
group customer requirements in a complex product and can help one to
design a product with characteristics and features that would satisfy and
delight customers. It can be used to categorise actions in an implementation
plan leading to a rationalised distribution of responsibility. In fact the tool can
be used to break up any complex problem or task into smaller more easily
manageable bits. Someone has asked a question - How do you eat a whale
? which has an obvious answer -A mouthful at a time. Another similar set
of a question and an answer is - How to eat an elephant - slice by slice.
Well affinity diagram is a tool that helps to break up a whale into convenient
mouthfuls or an elephant into manageable slices. Its simplicity makes it a
very widely applicable tool.
Creating Values
a. Create vision
b. Quality policy
c. Pers. Commit
d. Pers. Involve
e. Value system
f. Mission state
Creating Culture Strategic Planning
p Transformation b Select elements
s Reward & Recog. c Long-tern goals
t Recog. Functions f Priorities
x Employee Partic. y Self Assessment
dd Celebrations z Imp. Objectives
cc Direction
Communication Training
e Quality policy k All employees
m Commitment w Identify needs
aa Goals & objectives bb Need based
gg Success stories hh Evaluate
ii Improve
Organisation Implementation
g Supportive Org. j Project Teams
h Infrastructure q Proj. progress
i Resources r Remove obstacles
u Division/Loc. v Progress at Div.
Committees /Loc.
ee Revise plans
Purpose
The purpose of the tree diagram is to explore ways and means to achieve an
objective, develop a list of alternate means to reach the desired situation in a
sequential order and to present them in a visual form.
Procedure
This tool like other tools in the new seven is a group tool. A brainstorming
session is necessary to collect a large number of ideas for the means to
achieve the objective. The rules of brainstorming should be observed to get
the best results from the tool. The steps in the procedure to develop a tree
diagram are :
The most important application of the tree diagram is for devising solutions for
problems. It helps one to develop a systematic step by step strategy to
achieve an objective. It is also useful in monitoring the implementation of
solutions by taking care of accomplishment of means at different levels.
Improve Open
Health Clinic
Medical Medical
Degree College
Pass Expert
Entrance Coaching
Nearer to home
Personal Family problems
Large financial commitments
Purpose
The purpose of a matrix diagram is to explore the existence and the extent of
relations between individual items in two sets of factors or features or
characteristics and express them in a symbolic form that is easy to
understand. The purpose for which the tool is most frequently used is to
understand the relation between customer expectations as expressed by the
customers and product characteristics as designed, manufactured and tested
by the manufacturer.
Procedure
1. Decide the two sets of factors for which relations are required to be
clarified. Call the set of the main factors features and the set of factors
dependent on it counterpart characteristics or characteristics.
2. Divide the features into primary, secondary and tertiary features.
3. Divide the characteristics into primary, secondary and tertiary
characteristics.
4. Place the features vertically on the left hand side of the matrix and
characteristics horizontally on top of the matrix.
5. Enter the importance of the features on the column after that for the
tertiary features.
6. In the main body of the matrix, place symbols at the squares denoting the
relationship between the feature and the characteristic meeting at the
intersection. The symbols to be used are :
- Strong relationship
z
- Medium relationship
{
- Weak relationship
In case there is no relation between the concerned feature and
characteristic, leave the square blank to indicate no relation. The
relationship should be based on data available with the team or on the
results of a brainstorming session which must be confirmed by
collecting necessary data.
There is no limit to the use of the tool. The unlimited possibility of the
application of the tool is proved by a couple of unusual examples. A book on
QC tools written by Japanese authors gives an example where the tool was
used to describe the relations between male and female members of the staff
in an office. A recent article in a magazine brought out by an NBFC (Non
Banking Finance Company) for the benefit of investors used the matrix
diagram to depict the vulnerability of different industries. The diagram
provides relation between 24 industries from Aluminium and Automobiles to
tyres and yarn with half a dozen parameters such as over-capacity, demand
recession, cheap imports etc. The matrix had symbols indicating high,
moderate, slight or no vulnerability of the industry on that parameter. The
only difference is that the symbols used were not the same as those
conventionally used in a matrix diagram.
Procedure
The procedure for creating a matrix data analysis diagram consists of the
following steps :
Applications
The most common application of matrix data analysis diagram is to decide the
desired product characteristics of a new product based on the analysis of
product characteristics of similar products in the market and the intended
positioning of the new product. For instance the characteristics of a toilet
Characteristics P Physical Tests Formula
Col 1
Visual
Appearance
Cla. 1
Perceived
Perf. 2
Str. 2
Cop. 3
Lather
Dense 2
Functional
Dur. 1
Clean
3
Hair
Effect
Shiny
2
Hair
No
3
Tang
Eyes 3
Misc.
Safe
Hair 3
Key : - Strong - Medium - Weak
Example of Matrix Diagram Shampoo Features and characteristics
Target
Primary Secondary Tertiary Importance W X Y Z
Value
A Visual Colour 1 5 4 5 4 3
p Clarity 1 4 3 4 5 4
p Perceived Perfume 2 5 5 3 2 4
e Strength 2 5 4 4 4 3
F Lather Copious 3 4 3 4 4 5
u Dense 2 5 5 3 4 4
n Durable 1 4 3 3 5 2
t Shiny Hair 2 5 5 2 4 5
i No Tangles 3 4 3 4 3 5
M Safe On Eyes 3 5 4 5 5 4
i
s On Hair 3 5 5 4 3 2
c.
Analysis of the data can also be used to identify the strongest characteristics
of an existing product to decide its promotional inputs. The tool can also be
used to study the causes of customer complaints. It can also be used to
determine process parameters to achieve desired product characteristics.
The tool can be very useful in compiling data obtained on the analysis of
competitive products with a view to develop a product better than the
competition or to devise a marketing strategy for the product based on its
strengths.
Procedure
Steps 2 and 4 require totally different type of thinking and hence the team
must be prepared to think on appropriate lines. One needs to put on different
thinking hats while brainstorming steps 2 and 4 and the facilitator must
inform all members about it. As suggested by Dr. Edward De Bono in his
book Six Thinking Hats the correct thinking hats for steps 2 and 4 are black
and yellow which respectively encourage negative logical and positive
logical thinking.
Applications
The tool has the widest range of applications as it can be used for a range of
activities from simple ones like a game of bridge or reaching railway station or
airport in time to catch a train or a plane to complex processes or projects. In
fact if can be applied to all processes to ensure their success by
systematically minimising the untoward effect of unexpected adverse
occurrences. Through the process of brainstorming for possible adverse
occurrences and for measures to counter them, one assures the success of
the process even if such events do occur. The tool can be used to prevent
problems by identifying opportunities for error and devising measures to avoid
failure. It can be used during the implementation of solutions for predicting
resistance and for planning measures to overcome the resistance.
Get A Steady
Job
Early
Demise
Get Advice on
Portfolio
Life
Insurance
Provide Secure
Future
Purpose
Procedure
X
Y
where X is the earliest time by which the event can be completed and
Y is the latest time by which the event should be completed.
8. Give a title to the diagram.
As the calculation of the time indications is extremely important in the
construction of an arrow diagram it is necessary that we understand the
procedure well. Let us understand the concept through diagram 13.
4 5 6 12 13
1 1 2
1 1 1 1
1 2 3 7 10 11 14 15
2 2 3 4 2 5 2
1 1
8 9
1
Arrow Diagram - Structure
With Time Required for Steps Expressed in Hours
Diagram 13
Let us calculate the time the events can be reached earliest by adding time for
the step to the time of the earlier event starting with zero time at the start i.e.
event-1. Where there are two streams one has to take the time for the longer
or the critical path. The time to be put on the top half of the rectangle for the
15 event nodes are given in table 3.
For event node 7, we get two values. As the time for node 6 is 5 hours and
Event Node 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
No.
Time (Hours) 0 2 4 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 13 14 16 18 20
step from 6 to 7 takes one hour, the time for 7 would be 6 hours. But time for
node 3 is 4 hours and the step from 3 to 7 takes 3 hours, the time for node 7
comes to 7 hours. The earliest both streams get ready is 7 hours and hence
one has to take 7 hours as the time for node 7. The same principle has been
applied for calculating the time for nodes 10 and 14.
Now let us see how to calculate the time to be put on the bottom half of the
rectangle or the time by which the event must be reached to ensure
completion of the project on time. In this case one has to start with event 15
as 20 hours and calculate the time for the event by reducing the time taken for
the step. Step from event 14 to 15 takes 2 hours. To complete the project at
20 hours, it is essential that one reaches event 14 by 18 hours. In this way
we get the time by which the events must be accomplished. These are given
in table 4.
Event Node 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 1 1 1 1 1 1
No. 0 1 2 3 4 5
Time (Hours) 0 2 4 4 5 5 7 9 1 1 1 1 1 1 2
0 1 3 5 7 8 0
In this case too, we get two values for some nodes. For instance for node 11,
we get 14 hours if we consider the step form event 12 to 11 and 13 hours if
we consider the step from event 14 to 11. Here the lower of the two values
has to be taken. The same is true for events 7 and 2. If we combine the
values given in tables 3 and 4, we get the time indication for all the event
nodes as shown in table 5
Time (Top) 0 2 4 3 4 5 7 8 9 11 13 14 16 18 20
Time (Bottom) 0 2 4 4 5 6 7 9 10 11 13 15 17 18 20
The time indication for alternative nodes is shown on the arrow diagram as
shown for event nodes 6 and 9 in diagram 14 a & b respectively.
5
5 6
1 6 10
1
1
7
8 9 9
a 1
10
Diagram 14
A close look at the table shows that the time for all the events on the critical
path, events 1, 2, 3, 7, 10, 11, 14 and 15, remains the same on both the top
and the bottom halves of the rectangle. Where there is a difference between
the two, there is a slack and the individual has a choice to schedule the steps
within the limits of the two.
Applications