Use of Affinity Diagram as a Quality Planning Tool - Assignment Example

Contents Contents 1 1. Introduction Quality planning involves the identification of quality standards that are crucial for a project as well as determining ways of satisfying the relevant standards. During the planning process, project and quality managers use additional quality planning tools such as affinity diagrams for brainstorming ideas, nominal group techniques for the identification and ranking of major problems that need to be addressed, and flowcharts to assist in the identification of gaps in a workflow that may cause errors or problems. 2. Affinity Diagram 2.1. Description Affinity diagram refers to the visual representation that identifies the core facets of a problem and organizes the groups of information into coherent categories. This method helps one to see all the aspects of a problem in order to figure out those that are related. It highlights patterns and themes that could otherwise go unrecognized, and thus, enabling one to address the problems in a meaningful manner, rather than just as a scattered collection of unrelated issues. It is used in the initial stages of synthesis to generate a more creative way of thinking and reveal new pattern of thoughts (Kolko 45). The construction of the affinity diagram involves listing of all the elements that are related to the problem context (i.e. a word, quote, phrase, photograph or image) on discrete note cards. The designers externalize the data so as to create affinity elements through contextual inquiry sessions or interviews onto individual note cards. The cards are physically repositioned on the board, with related ideas placed in proximity to one another, based on their thematic similarity. Since all ideas have been fundamentally linked, the affinity diagram is basically an interpretation and a judgment process (Cowley and Domb 171-172). 2.2. Use of affinity diagram as a quality planning tool. 2.2.1. Gathering and organizing information An affinity diagram is an effective tool for gathering and organizing information in an organization so as to get meaningful categories. It enables one to gather, correlate and relate large quantities of information, especially verbal or written comments (Soleimannejed 94). 2.2.2. Organizing team’s thoughts more effectively. When issues are large and complex (such as having many customer requirements or when everything seem chaotic), the affinity diagram helps the team members to organize their thoughts in a most effective way, and thus, breaking out of the old and traditional way of thinking. The organization of information is done by using a more organic and creative approach, and thus, understanding the user’s needs during the analysis (Soleimannejed 94). 2.2.3. Shows relationships between items and groups. An affinity diagram helps the managers to naturally group various ideas and customer’s requirements according to their similarities. Gathered information such as customers’ needs, wants, opinions and ideas are broken down and analyzed in order to identify natural relationships between them (Cowley and Domb 170). 2.2.4. States and examines an issue in broad terms. The affinity diagram generates numerous ideas within a shorter time, unlike in the verbal brainstorming process. It also provides some anonymity for contentious or difficult issues hence arriving at a suitable outcome. The grouping of ideas leads to group agreement thus providing a collective ownership of results in the implementation process (Soleimannejed 94). 2.2.5. Avoids arguments on what is right or wrong. The process of affinity diagram takes into consideration all ideas presented. It focuses on collective agreement by grouping the important ideas and facing away the less important ideas without making anyone feel demeaned or less important in the process. The breakthrough thinking leads the team members in a new direction by paying special attention to the important subtleties of the grouping (Cowley and Domb 170). 3. Nominal group technique. 3.1. Description This is a structured process where everyone is involved in group brainstorming so as to arrive into a consensus by evaluating and ranking the ideas that they generate. This technique facilitates discussion by stimulating creative contributions of everyone, and thus, uncovering their divergent view points. This method leaves the team members satisfied for having their voices heard (Koksalan and Zionts 295). The technique has six major steps that include developing a problem statement, generation of ideas through writing, gathering and recording of ideas, discussion and clarification of ideas, developing priorities, and counting votes for the selection of the most important ideas (Koksalan and Zionts 296). 3.1.1. Developing a problem statement The facilitator of the group members articulates the question in which the members will agree upon as being the best in starting the discussion. He provides the question in written form and then reads in to ensure that everyone understands it. 3.1.2. Generation of ideas through writing The facilitator instructs each individual to silently generate suitable ideas, thoughts or answers on paper. 3.1.3. Gathering and recording of ideas The facilitator records every idea, thought or answer generated by the members. New ideas are welcome and revision of the earlier contribution allowed on request. 3.1.4. Discussion and clarification of ideas The facilitator leads the group members in discussing and clarifying each idea while considering those that are similar. The facilitator then makes a clear and concise list of ideas. 3.1.5. Developing priorities The compiled list of ideas assists the members to list top (5-8) priority ideas in the order of importance. 3.1.6. Counting votes for the selection of the most important ideas The facilitator counts the total votes for each idea and ranks them in order of priority. 3.2. Illustration on the use of nominal group technique An example to illustrate the use of nominal group technique is in the identification of major challenges that affect mankind in the new millennium by 5 participants (A, B, C, D, and E). The problems and issues identified are listed down and they include globalization, rapid changes in technology, cultural diversity, increasing world population, depletion of energy resources, emergence of artificial intelligence, power of money and social problems. These participants develop their list of priorities and the facilitator determines the absolute weights for each idea. The table below indicates various ideas, their absolute weight as determined through voting and their ranking. Idea Absolute weight Rank Globalization 24 1 Rapid changes in technology 14 3 Cultural diversity 7 4 Increasing world population 6 5 Depletion of energy resources 2 8 Power of money 4 7 Social problems 16 2 Emergence of artificial intelligence 5 6 From the ranking, the major challenges identified include globalization, social problems, rapid changes in technology, cultural diversity etc. 4. Flowcharting 4.1. Description Flowcharting involves the use of charts in or diagrams to depict relationships between various elements of a project. Flowcharts are valuable for quality control in an organization since they can help one to anticipate when and where a problem may occur. The checkpoints can be evaluated and tested to assess the quality of a given process before the starting the next step. This helps to identify the point at which quality starts to break down for corrective actions to be applied to the system in ensuring quality is achieved as expected. They are completed by using a series of symbols that have specific meanings and are interconnected by arrows (Balestracci and Barlow 33). 4.2. Uses of flowcharting in quality management 4.2.1. Describing current operations Flow charts provide the opportunity for the individuals involved in a particular process to describe the current operations in a precise visual way. Flowcharts are necessary for the documentation of the current processes, which could be useful for the training of the employees in an organization. In early stages of a project, flowcharts assist in understanding the current processes and customer/supplier relationship so that they can perform the processes in a way that they meet their needs (Balestracci and Barlow 33). 4.2.2. Assist in the improvement and standardization of the current processes Flowcharts help not only in establishing whether people are doing the best job or not, but also for the improvement and standardization of these processes. It gives each individual a new perspective on the complexity and variation of the process. This assists greatly in reducing problems that may arise due to human variations in the individual processes (Dhunna 190). 4.2.3. Assist in eliminating inconsistencies Flowcharting assist in creating a common understanding among the work teams so as to eliminate inconsistencies in work that are rooted in the lack of process documentation and inadequate training (Balestracci and Barlow 34). 4.2.4. Data collection Flowcharting provides motivation for the identification of the most effective leverage points for data collection. They answer questions both on how the current processes work and how they should work, which are essential for the improvement of the project. These answers minimize the human variations and define more specific objectives so as to allow a more efficient data collection (Dhunna 190). 5. A flow chart to identify gaps in workflow The flow chart below can help to identify gaps in the workflow that could cause problems and errors in the process of improving workforce productivity in an organization. No Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Yes Yes No Yes Yes No 6. Conclusion The planning tools assist managers to control the quality of their projects. There are various tools and techniques used where affinity diagrams, nominal group techniques and flowcharting are necessary. Affinity diagrams are used in the identification of the core facets of a given problem and organizing the information into more meaningful categories. Nominal group techniques allows individual to identify the main problems or key issues by considering each person’s idea. The ideas are ranked to identify the most important ones. Flowcharts are also necessary for establishing a point where quality starts to diminish by evaluating and assessing every process in the organization. Effective use of these tools enable managers to control the quality in various projects of the organization. 7. Work Cited Balestracci, and Barlow Jeanine. Quality Improvement: Practical Applications for Medical Group Practice. New York: Medical Group Management Assn., 1996. Print. Cowley and Domb Ellen. Beyond Strategic Vision: Effective Corporate Action with Hoshin Planning. Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000. Print. Dhunna, Mukesh J. Information Technology in Business Management. California: Laximi Publications, Ltd., 2010. Print. Koksalan, and Zionts, Stanly. Multiple criteria decision making in the new millennium: Proceedings of the fifteenth International Conference on Multiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM), Ankara, Turkey, July 10-14, 2000. New York, NY: Springer, 2001. Print. Kolko, Jon. Thoughts on Interaction Design. New York: Elsevier, 2011. Print. Soleimannejed, Fred. Six Sigma, Basic Steps & Implementation. London: Author House, 2004. Print. Read More