The SS Toolkit
The author details some of the various tools and techniques used in SS. He categorizes them according to purpose, but is rather brief in describing each one - suggesting that readers turn to other books or the Web to get more information (this is a primer after all).
GENERATING IDEAS AND ORGANIZING INFORMATION
Brainstorming is a process for being creative and coming up with a lot of random ideas. There are various techniques for doing this, none of which the author describes.
Affinity Diagramming takes ideas developed in brainstorming and groups them into categories.
A Structure Tree takes ideas developed in brainstorming and arranges them hierarchically, looking for what "fits"
Multi-Voting enables team members to evaluate brainstormed ideas, and "vote" for a fixed number to weed out the list.
Process Mapping (SIPOC) is a way of investigating existing processes: identifying the supplier, input, process, output, and customer. It can be done in varying degrees of granularity.
Flowcharting shows the details of a process - the specific tasks involved and their logical interrelation. As with process mapping, it can be done in varying degrees of granularity.
Fishbone Diagrams (also called cause-and-effect or Ishikawa diagrams) brainstorm potential causes of a problem - and of each cause, it asks what might have caused or contributed to that. This helps in getting to the granular details.
DATA GATHERING
Sampling is a method of gathering a smaller number of items (objects, people) to get a sense of the larger problem - it's common in statistics.
Operational Definitions are granular descriptions about specific phenomena. Example, if one measures "time waiting in line," when does one stop and start measuring?
Voice of the Customer is a method for gathering customer feedback from various sources for consideration.
Spreadsheets are used to gather information into tables. No idea why he felt the need to describe this, but maybe there's someone who's never heard of Excel.
Measurement Systems Analysis (MSA) "covers a variety of methods used to make sure that measures are accurate and reliable." The author provides no additional information.
PROCESS AND DATA ANALYSIS
Process-Flow Analysis involves examining a process to identify redundancies, missed handoffs, unnecessary choke points, and other inefficiencies.
Value-Added Analysis looks at each step in a process and determines whether it adds value to the process, with an eye toward eliminating activities that produce no value at all, or whose value is not proportionate to their cost.
There are also a handful of information graphics that can be useful:
- Pareto Chart - breaks down a group and compares them from largest to smallest contributors, seeking the "80%" point
- Histograms - are bar charts arranged according to a metric that shows the distribution
- Trend Chart - Shows how things are changing over time
- Scatter plot - shows a correlation between two factors
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS
The author doesn't go into detail, but describes the general categories of statistical analysis tools:
Test of significance indicate whether factors are meaningful (Chi-square, t-test, ANOVA).
Correlation attempts to determine whether there is a relationship between factors - they can be as simple as a scatter plot or as complex as regression analysis.
Design of Experiments is a method for conducting controlled comparisons that test multiple characteristics under differing conditions.
IMPLEMENTATION AND PROCESS MANAGEMENT
Project management tools such as timelines and Gantt charts are still necessary. SS focuses on indentifying solutions, but does not address planning, budgeting, scheduling, or other tasks necessary to implement those solutions.
Contingency Analysis is a separate process that consists of brainstorming to identify places where a proposed solution can go wrong. Also called "Potential Problem Analysis" or "Failure Mode Analysis."
Stakeholder Analysis determines all the people and groups who will be affected in any way, seeks to understand their perspective, predicts their reactions, and forms a strategy for obtaining their cooperation.
Force Field Diagram lists the factors that will drive a change and those that will attempt to push back against it. Like stakeholder analysis, this is used to build support for a decision.
Process Documentation is the "last and most important element of the control step" - and yet the author gives it only a passing mention.
Scorecards and Dashboards are a popular method of using an array of information graphics to summarize key metrics pertaining to a project to provide an at-a-glance indication of progress.