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Yokoten: Sharing of Best Practices
Also known as Horizontal Deployment and Sideways Expansion. Variants include Suggestion System. A Best Practice is that practice that has been proved to produce the best results consistently. It is the best-known way of doing something and has the potential to be replicated internally and externally. Best practices normally represent creative solutions to common and everyday problems.…
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Relationship Mapping
A Relationship Map is a visual display that shows the relationships between individual items. It allows to see and analyze the logical links between the different elements of any situation. A simple example of a relationship map is your network of personal and social relations. Another example is what is called the Interrelationship Digraph which…
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Fishbone Diagram
Also known as Ishikawa Diagram, Cause and Effect Diagram and Fishbone Analysis. Variants include Tree Diagram. A fishbone diagram is one of the various tools that can be used to perform a cause-and-effect analysis. It provides a structured way to identify and organize the potential causes of a problem (or effect). It allows to establish and…
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SWOT Analysis
Also known as Situational Analysis and TOWS. Variants include Porter’s Five Forces Analysis and 5C Analysis. SWOT analysis is a structured planning tool for reviewing and assessing the position and health of an organization. It allows the organization to look deeply within itself to understand the factors that influence its ability to achieve its goals.…
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The Three Common Types of Flowcharts
Also known as Flow Diagram, Activity Flowchart, Process Diagram. Variants include Process Sequence Chart. A flowchart is a visual representation tool that illustrates the flow of a business process and the interconnections between its activities. It allows to break up any process into individual activities and see how they fit together. The simplicity of flowcharts…
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Mind Mapping: A Visual Approach to Organize Ideas and Thoughts
Also known as Idea Mapping, Spider Diagram and Spray Diagram. Variants include Concept Mapping and Unified Modeling Language. Consider the last time when you took notes during a meeting or interview. You may have felt overwhelmed due to the multitude of ideas and actions to be addressed. You may even have worried that you would…
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Affinity Diagram
Also known as Affinity Mapping, Affinity Grouping, and KJ Analysis. Variants include Theming Technique and Classification Analysis. An affinity diagram is a grouping method for classifying items together into meaningful categories. It is often used to capture and group the output of brainstorming and problem-solving meetings in order to provide better understanding of the topic…
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How-How Diagrams: A Practical Approach to Problem Resolution
Also known as How-How Analysis and Value Driver Analysis. Once a business problem is identified, it is important to find a solution that will permanently solve the problem. Oftentimes, you have to get to the root cause of the problem to understand why it’s happening, and this is where Six Sigma methodologies can be beneficial.…
Continuous Improvement Toolkit
Effective Tools for Business and Life!