Define: 7M Tools/& Management Tools Flashcards
7M Tools/7 Management Tools
- Known for Qualitative data analysis.
- Use for planning and managing operations effectively.
- Basic purpose of 7M tools is to guide the managers in planning, analysis, and decision making
- Belongs to Operation Research and Japan’s Total Quality Management philosophy
7M Tools List
- Affinity Diagram
- Activity Network Diagram
- Process Decision Program Chart (PDPC)
- Prioritization Matrices
- Matrix Diagram
- Tree Diagram
- Interrelationship Digraph
Why 7M Tools/ 7 Management Tools?
- Total Quality Control requires not only quantitative data but also qualitative data
- Voice of the customer (VOC) provides both quantitative and qualitative data. The basic purpose of 7M Tools is to analyze qualitative data and apply suitable methods to arrive at an improvement plan.
- Each of the 7M tools applies in operation reach, value engineering, and other fields
- 7M Tools help to plan and manage various management operations effectively
Affinity Diagrams
-Good technique for identifying and displaying potential root causes for unfamiliar problems
-Used to organize facts and data on an unfamiliar subject
-Helps you organize ideas into meaningful categories by recognizing common groupings, helps you reduce large amounts of data into a smaller set
Steps:
1. Gather ideas
2. Organize
3. Label groupings
4. Create an action plan
Key words: post its, private
Tree Diagram
-Helps you break down big concepts into progressively greater detail, ideal is to systematically breaking down a concept into its constituent pieces
- Progress from left to right with the highest order items/most important concepts on the left.
- You start with the “whys” and progress to the “hows”
- Helpful tool to outline details relating to a problem, idea, process, or a plan
- A management tool that depicts the hierarchy of tasks and subtasks needed to complete an objective. The finished diagram bears a resemblance to a tree.
Interrelationship Digraph (Network Diagram)
- A management tool that depicts the relationship among factors in a complex situation; also called “interrelationship diagram” or “relations diagram.”
- Best deployed in groups for the purpose of brainstorming ideas
- Often uses inputs from other tools like a Fishbone Diagram or Affinity Diagram to define the drivers and outcomes in a process
- Helps you see relations and influence between several concepts even if those concepts are very different.
- You can also use it to identify critical issues and key drivers of a problem
- The difference between diagraph and diagram is that a diagraph is a graph emphasizing direction. A diagram can be any image outlining a plan or how something works.
- Interrelationship Digraphs will provide the team with more avenues to explore critical x factors. X Factors are any variables that cause something to occur.
Process Decision Program Charts (PDPC)
- Documents steps to completing a process and impact analysis
- Used to identify potential events and contingencies for an implementation plan
- A type of tree diagram used for the systematic analysis of a process to identify process risks and countermeasures to take to avoid or mitigate those risks. Also see “tree diagram.”
Steps:
- Start with a tree diagram of your process
- Brainstorm issues that could occur while performing these tasks
- Cross off issues that are unlikely to happen
- Identify countermeasures for the likeliest issues
Matrix Diagram (Matrix Chart)
- Matrix chart is a planning and decision-making tool that is useful in various applications, primarily to assess the relations between two or more groups. Cause and Effect Matrix and QFD use the Matrix Diagram.
- Project management tool that assists in the investigation of relationships
- Displays relationships within a single group of amongst two, three, or four groups
- Determine the problem causes
- Assigning the resources based on skills and requirements
- Comparing the consequence of alternative solutions
- Identifying the opportunity for improvements
- Analysis of requirement fulfillment
Example: House of Quality in a Quality Function Deployment (QFD)
Types of Matrix Diagrams
The selection of a matrix chart depends on the number of elements or groups to compare. Common matrix diagrams:
- L-Type
- T-Type
- X-Type
- Y-Type
L-Type Matrix Diagram
- L-Type Matrix Chart is the most basic and widely used matrix chart to compare only two data sets. It is a form of upside-down L.
- L-Type Matrix chart is a two-dimensional table (one element on the X-axis and another on Y-axis) used to compare only two sets of data or compare relationships within one group.
T -Type Matrix Diagram
- T-Type matrix is a two-L type matrix chart joined by a single list. While L-type matrix compares the two data sets, T-type matrix compares the two data sets with the third primary list.
- The T-type matrix diagram compares the two data sets with one main list (i.e third data set).
X Type Matrix Diagram
- X- type matrix chart is an extension to the T-type matrix chart to include one more data set.
- X-type matrix chart typically shows the significant relationships of four data sets. Compare the relationship between the adjacent groups.
Y Type Matrix Diagram
- Y- type matrix chart compares the relationship between three groups of data sets.
- In T- type matrix chart, we are not comparing the two groups listed in the Y-axis, whereas in the Y-type matrix chart comparing the three strongly groups in a circular form.
Prioritization Matrix (Priority Matrix)
-Help you to work out and negotiate priorities for a project
Activity Network Diagram
- Graphically depicts your project timeline
- The primary intent is to create a flow chart showing the necessary tasks for a project in sequence order
Identify Critical Tasks
Identify bottle necks
Identify time tables.
Determine which activities are to be performed
Determine when activities must be performed
Determine in what order activities must be performed
Steps:
- List all of the tasks in the project
- Put in chronological order
- Label Optimistic, Pessimistic, and Most Likely times
- Calculate the Critical Path
- Review and look for efficiencies
