Quality Management

Tools

Prof. Haroon Chughtai

1
New Quality Management
Tools
• Affinity Diagrams
• Interrelationship Diagrams
• Tree Diagrams
• Matrix Diagrams
• Matrix Data Analysis
• Process Decision Program Charts
• Arrow Diagrams

2
Affinity
Diagrams
• Organizes a large amount of verbal data related to a broad problem or
subject
• Ideas, opinions, facts
• Usage example: Establishing a new QC policy
• Steps:
• Gather a large number of ideas
• Put individual ideas on cards or sticky notes
• As a team, group the ideas according to natural “affinity” or relationship to each
other
• These natural groups become “strategic factors”

3
Affinity Diagrams –
Contd.
• Your team has been brainstorming to develop a list of ideas to incorporate into the vision. They
have come up with the following list. Develop an affinity diagram and name each strategic factor.
• Low product maintenance • Low production costs

• Satisfied employees • Innovative product features

• Courteous order entry • High return on investment

• Low prices •Constant technology
innovation
• Quick delivery
• Growth in shareholder value • High quality

• Teamwork • Motivated employees

• Unique products
• Responsive technical support
• Small, lightweight designs
• Personal employee growth

4
Interrelationship
Diagrams
• Identifies and explores causal relationships among related concepts or ideas.
Can address problems with a complex network of causes and effects.
• Identifies key drivers and bottlenecks
• Usage examples: design steps to counter market complaints, or reform
administrative departments
• Steps:
• Write each concept or idea on a piece of paper in a circular pattern (allow room
between
concepts)
• Number them to make comparison process easier to track
• Use pairwise comparisons (1-2, 1-3, 1-4…2-3, 2,4…3,4)
• If there is a relationship draw arrow to effect
• If there is no relationship leave blank
• The can be no 2-way relationships
5
Interrelationship Diagrams – Contd.
• Use the strategic factors derived from your affinity diagram to
develop an interrelationship diagram. If you were unsuccessful
in developing your own strategic factors use the following:
• Customer Value
• Work Environment
• Customer Service
• ROI
• Technology
• Product Innovation

6
Tree
Diagrams
• Expands a purpose into the tasks required to accomplish it.
• Usage examples: deploy a quality plan, or develop objectives, policies and
implementation steps.
• Steps:
• Work from left to right
• Start with the purpose to be accomplished
• Generate the high level targets or goals that must be completed to accomplish the purpose
• Link each goal to the purpose (these are the first branches of the tree)
• Expand on each target to identify and define subordinate tasks to accomplish each target
• Link each to their target
• Continue expansion process until final level is implementable.
• Review logic of completed tree (perhaps with larger group)

7
Tree Diagrams – Contd.
• Refer to the key strategic factors (primary driver or key bottleneck)
identified from your interrelationship diagram – this will be your purpose.
Refer to ideas associated with that factor on your affinity diagram – these
will be your primary target or goals. Develop a tree diagram including
this information, and expand it into several next level strategies to meet
these targets.
• If you are unable to gather the required information, use “Customer
Service” as your purpose, and “improving the order entry process”,
“reducing delivery time” and “improving technical support” as your
primary goals.

8
Tree Diagrams – Contd.
Key Strategic Factor Goals Strategies

9
Matrix
Diagrams
• S.M.A.R.T. Plan Matrices
• Technique for structuring the task details when planning the implementation of a project.
• May use the final output of a tree diagram
• For each implementable task:
• Specific (activity or task)
• Measurable (outcome or process)
• Assignment (who will perform)
• Resources (what is needed)
• Time (anticipated duration)
• Predecessors (what must must be done first)
• Consensus should be reached among all parties on the SMART matrix
• Correlation Matrices
• Shows the relationship between one list of variables and another. Relationships are usually based
on experience.
• Such a matrix forms the body of a “house of quality”

10
Matrix Diagram –
Contd.
Actions Improve Improve Develop
Work Manufacturing New
Goals Environment Technology Products  = Strong relationship

Cost  = Medium relationship

Effectiveness    = Weak relationship

High Quality  
Shareholder
Value  

11
 Specific Measurable Assignment Resources Time Predecessors
(Weeks)
A Evaluate Deliverable Steve 8 hours 1 -
Needs
B Schedule Deliverable Doug 4 hours 1 -
Training
C Evaluate Deliverable Morgan 10 hrs, 2 A
copies of
Software software
D Training Deliverable Doug 20 hrs, 3 C
Materials software

manuals
E Purchase Deliverable Ted 2 hours 2 C
F Install # systems Ted 50 hours 2 E
G Train # trained Doug 20 hours 1 B, D, F

Users

12
Matrix Data
Analysis
• Arranges a large array of numbers so that they may be visualized and
comprehended easily
• Usage example: evaluate the desired quality level from the results of
a market survey
• Steps:
• Begin with numerical matrix relating goals or requirements to actions or
performance
• Assign weights to each goal or requirement
• Subjective
• Objective (principle component analysis)
• Calculate weighted importance of actions or performance level

13
Matrix Data Analysis -
Example
Requirement Importance Best Own Weighted
Weight Competitor Evaluation Gap
Evaluation
Price .2 6 7
Speed of .3 7 6

Delivery
Reliability .4 5 6
Customizability .1 8 7

14
Process Decision Program
Charts
• Maps out all contingencies when moving from statement of purpose
to its realization
• Usage example: establishing an implementation plan for
improvement project
• Steps:
• Another form of a tree diagram
• First level: purpose
• Second level: activities to be undertaken
• Third level: steps in these activities
• Fourth level: what ifs? (contingencies)
• Fifth level: countermeasures (contingency plans)

15
Arrow
Diagrams
• Also utilized by PERT and CPM, establishes the most suitable daily plan. It
is a network of lines that connects all of the elements related to plan
execution.
• Steps: (working on the nodes)
• All of your activities that have no predecessors can be placed along the left of the page
• Activities that immediately follow are drawn to the right of the first activities
• Arrows are drawn from each activity to all those activities that immediately follow that
activity
• Continue adding activities until the process is finished
• Time estimates can be easily added to schedule and control the project

16
17