The main reason behind the data collection plan is to provide a focused approach to data collection for any given study or project. It helps specifying the objective of the data collection, what data do we need, how are we going to collect it, and who is going to collect it. The goal is to answer questions such as whether the process is stable and capable, and whether the measurement system is accurate and capable.

This template comes in two different variations, one that is basic and another that is more detailed. The detailed template allows to record more information and can be used by Six Sigma practitioners. Both require that you first specify the objectives of the data collection and identify the main study variables.

This template is a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that you can use and modify to meet your specific needs. For example, you may want to add additional columns if you need to collect more variables. Please help us to make this template better by providing us with your comments or suggestions.