Many managers nowadays try to resolve work-related issues while they are sitting in their office or in the meeting room. Attempting to resolve problems in this way without visiting the actual place and without seeing what’s really happening is not necessarily a successful approach. This article will be highlighting one the most inexpensive data collection methods as well as one of the simplest and most powerful Lean techniques.
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A Mind Map is a tool that is used to visually organize ideas, thoughts and information. It is a collection of words, arrows and drawings that are organized together around a single topic or problem. Ideas can be collected through brainstorming or other group activities before they are consolidated into a single map. A mind map has many applications in personal, professional and educational situations.
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A Focus Group is a meeting that is conducted to obtain feedback on a particular topic from the point of view of a targeted participants. It is a type of interview that is made to a homogeneous group of people to collect their perception, opinions, feelings, ideas, and attitudes towards something. It provides an opportunity to share ideas and obtain an in-depth qualitative feedback through open questions and group dialogue.
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An interview is a technique used to understand the experiences of others (customers, employees, etc.). It takes the form of a conversation between the interviewer and the interviewee. It is often conducted in an informal and natural way where the respondent can freely express his/her opinion in his/her own words. Although interviews can be used to obtain almost any information, information is still based on personal opinion and not based on facts. Read more »
A survey is a data collection method used to gather information from a selected group of people. It is used to collect written or verbal information in an organized and objective manner. A survey involves all aspects of the research process including: survey design and construction, data collection planning, data collecting, data processing and response analysis. The most common methods used to conduct surveys are questionnaires, interviews, focus groups and observations.
A questionnaire is a tool often used in research and statistical studies to collect and record information about a particular issue of interest. It is used to gather qualitative and quantitative information from respondents and consists of a set of written questions. It allows to capture a large amount of information in a short period of time from a large number of individuals without spending much effort. Questionnaires are a relatively inexpensive ways to collect data, and results are easy to analyze.
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Check sheets are manual data collection forms used to collect data in real time at the location where the data is generated. They can be used on a temporary basis (for example during a project) or be established for routine activities. They enable faster capturing and compiling of data, allow the data to be recorded in a consistent manner, and enable capturing essential contextual and descriptive information that otherwise may be overlooked or forgotten. Read more »
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 discussed. It allows to classify a large number of thoughts for further review and analysis. It is also known as KJ Analysis and Affinity Mapping.
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