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Process improvement method selector
A process improvement method selector helps a team pick how to work a problem before it starts, so a quick fix does not get a six-month project and a customer complaint does not get a one-hour 5 Whys. This template asks eight questions about one problem: what kind of problem it is, whether a customer complained, whether the cause is known, how much data there is, how many departments it crosses, how big the gap is, whether it has happened before and how urgent it is. An example decision rule made for this template, read from the top, suggests a method, and a matrix shows when each method fits, the typical team and duration and the template on this site to start with. The methods are the six that the process improvement methodologies guide on this site lists (lean, kaizen, PDCA, 5 Whys, TQM and Six Sigma) plus three problem-solving formats: A3, 8D and just do it. Page 1 is the selector; page 2 has three worked examples, what the answers mean and how to use it. The Excel version takes 50 problems, works out the suggested method and the template for each with plain formulas, flags rows that are not fully answered and choices that differ from the rule, and counts problems by method. The rule is an example, not a standard: the team makes the choice.
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
When to use it
When to use a method selector
- When a new problem comes in and the team is unsure whether it needs a quick fix, a 5 Whys, an A3 or a full project.
- To agree a common way to choose methods across a site, so similar problems get similar treatment.
- When reviewing a list of open problems, to check that each has a method that fits its size and its data.
- When training new team leads or engineers in the main improvement methods and when each one fits.
How to fill it in
- 1
Write the problem
What is wrong, where and how big, in one line. One problem per selector.
- 2
Answer the eight questions with the people who know it
Tick one answer per question. If the team cannot agree whether the cause is known, treat it as suspected or unknown.
- 3
Go down the rule
Stop at the first rule that matches and note its method. Contain first if the urgency is Today or a customer complained, whatever the method.
- 4
Check the method's row
Read when it fits, the typical team and the typical duration. If the method does not fit what you know about the problem, pick another and write down why.
- 5
Start with the template
Open the template named in the matrix and start. Come back to the selector if what you learn changes the answers, such as a cause that turns out to be unknown.
What's on the selector
The eight questions to ask about a problem before choosing a method
On the sheet each question has two to five answers to tick, such as known, suspected or unknown for the cause. An example decision rule made for this template turns the answers into a suggested method; the team makes the final choice.
Eight questions about the problem
Answer them for one problem, with the people who know it
- 1What kind of problem is it mostly?
- 2Has a customer complained or asked for a report?
- 3Do you know what causes it?
- 4How much measured data is there about it?
- 5How many teams or departments does it cross?
- 6How big is the gap to where it should be?
- 7Has the problem happened before?
- 8How soon must the effect stop?
A filled-in example
Illustrative, not a benchmarkAn example: three problems at one plant, answered with the people who know them (illustrative).
- Problem 1: a customer returned 40 housings with a missing clip, the second return this quarter. Customer complaint is Yes, so rule 1 suggests an 8D report, and the parts at the dock and in transit are contained first.
- Problem 2: the seal leak rate on the filling line varies by shift and by batch. Defects or variation, plenty of data (six months of leak test results on every unit) and an unknown cause: rule 4 suggests Six Sigma (DMAIC), starting with the DMAIC project charter.
- Problem 3: orders wait about six days between machining and assembly. Waste or flow across many departments with a large gap: rule 5 suggests lean, starting with the value stream map template.
- In the Excel version the three rows give one problem each for 8D report, Six Sigma (DMAIC) and Lean (value stream), with one to contain first.
The quality engineer opened an 8D with containment the same day, the process engineer chartered a DMAIC project on the leak rate, and the operations manager booked a value stream mapping session for the order flow.
Common mistakes
Using the favorite method for everything
A team trained in one method tends to use it on every problem. A DMAIC project on an obvious fix wastes months, and a 5 Whys on a variation problem with several causes guesses.
Skipping containment
When a customer is affected or the effect must stop today, contain it first. The method is for the permanent fix.
Treating the rule as a decision
The rule is an example made for this template, not a standard. Read the method's row, then decide, and write down why when the team picks a different method.
Not changing method when the facts change
A just do it that does not work means the cause was not known. Move the problem to a 5 Whys, an A3 or a project instead of trying more fixes.
Download the template
Free to use: print it, copy it and edit it for your team. Enter your name and work email once to download.
Run this template in LeanSuite
In LeanSuite each improvement project picks a type and a method, with A3, DMAIC, PDCA, PDSA and just-do-it ready to use or your own such as 8D, then follows that method's phases, with due dates set per method and root cause sections such as 5 Whys built in.
In the lean glossary
Free tools
FAQ
Process improvement method selector: common questions
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