Management and Planning

1. There are seven management and planning tools commonly used in policy deployment. Read about hoshin kanri from the Gemba Research website (be sure top click on the more detailed topics on the left hand side bar). What are the seven "new" tools? Which of these tools are familiar? Which ones are new to you? Find more information on a tool of your choice and apply it at your place of business.

The 7 "New Tools" identified on the Gemba Research website include the following:

1. Matrix diagram

2. Relationship diagram

3. Process decision program charts

4. Activity network diagrams

5. Radar charts

6. Tree diagrams

7. Affinity diagrams

The tools that are familiar to us include matrix diagram, relationship diagram, and tree diagrams. As defined in the American Society for Quality website, matrix diagrams will show the relationship between groups of information, provide information about the relationships, show its strengths and roles and how they are measured. The relationship diagram is a good tool to use after you have applied a tree diagram, which helps to break down broad categories into finer layers of detail. The relationship diagram will then help analyze the links in a complex business situation. (http://www.asq.org/learn-about-quality/new-management-planning-tools/overview/overview.html)

The tools that are new to us include the process decision program charts, activity network diagrams, radar charts, and affinity diagrams.

One of the tools we conducted additional research on was the process decision program charts. PDPC charts are basically risk management tools that are used to identify what could possibly go wrong in a particular plan that is under development. Risks are identified ahead of time and then countermeasures are developed, which removes the problem of having to cope with the unexpected at the last minute. It is most useful for large and complex plans, where the risk of failure is fairly high and where there are tight timelines to be met. It is usually best to use PDPC only on the higher risk areas of a plan as examining every element of the plan could result in limitations on the effort that can be put into each element.

To use a PDPC chart, one should start with a tree diagram of the proposed plan. From there, the PDPC chart is then used to brainstorm what could go wrong with each task identified on the tree diagram, and then weed out those which are less likely to occur. Then, for each problem left on the diagram, proposed solutions should be brainstormed. The solutions might include taking action that might reduce but not totally eliminate the problem such as taking additional actions; or it might include making additional plans so that if the problem does occur, everyone is prepared and the situation is controlled with a minimum amount of cost and disruption to the project. Finally, a determination should then be made as to which solutions are more practical and feasible to implement, should something go wrong.

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