Analytical and Decision Making Techniques Flashcards
1) Affinity Diagram
aka Mind Mapping. A tool for visually organizing ideas or data to identify patterns or themes
2) Brain Storming
a process whereby a team generates an exhaustive list of ideas for how to deal with a problem or exploit an opportunity
3) Cause and Effect Diagram
aka Fishbone Diagram. Visually maps out the main problem and categorizes contributing factors (such as people, methods, equipment, and materials) to reveal underlying causes of problems
4) Cost/Benefit Analysis
a decision-making tool that compares the costs and benefits of a project or action
5) Critical Path Analysis
a project management technique used to identify the sequence of essential tasks that determine the minimum completion time for a project. Identifies he longest chain of dependent tasks.
6) Delphi Technique
a forecasting method that gathers expert opinions through a series of anonymous questionnaires. Experts provide insights on a specific issue in rounds, with feedback from each round shared to refine responses. This process continues until a consensus is reached.
7) Flow Chart
a pictorial representation of steps and decision points in a process
8) Force Field Analysis
a process to identify restraining forces and driving forces that will impact a situation
9) Gantt Chart
a project management tool that displays tasks on a timeline, showing when each task starts and ends
10) Historgram
a bar graph that shows values of measurement data over time
11) Pareto Chart
a bar graph that displays individual contributions to a total, often used to identify and prioritize problems or causes in quality control. helps highlight the “80/20 rule,” indicating that a small number of causes typically contribute to a large percentage of the problems.
12) Nominal Group Technique
a structured group decision-making process that encourages participation from all members while minimizing the influence of dominant individuals. Participants independently generate ideas and write them down, followed by sharing these ideas in a round-robin fashion. Each idea is discussed for clarification, and then members privately rank or vote on the options.
13) PESTD Analysis
External Environment Analysis that looks at Political, Economic, Social, Technological and Demographic factors.
14) Scatter Diagrams
a graphical representation that displays the relationship between two quantitative variables. the dependant variable (y axis) and the independent variable (x axis)
15) SWOT Analysis
an assessment of an organizations internal strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats in the marketplace.
