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Observation and Gemba Walks
Also known as the Go See Technique, and Going to the Gemba. Variants include Management by Walking Around (MBWA). 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…
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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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Focus Groups
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…
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Interviews
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…
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Questionnaires
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…
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Check Sheets
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…
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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…