Defining Creative Process Solutions

Designing the best lean Six Sigma process improvements is not always a cut and dry process. While data gathered during the initial evaluation efforts identifies opportunities for improvement, creating a solution to deliver the improvement involves creativity as well as technical skills. Process improvement teams benefit from the use of methods and tools that jumpstart 'out of the box' thinking and lead to innovative process solutions. The use of brainstorming techniques and Affinity diagramming are particularly useful.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a team effort that involves listing all responses made to a particular question or issue. The beauty of this technique is that no editing is performed; ideas are listed without weighing the pros and cons. As a result, one idea typically leads to another in an exercise of free association.

In reference to discovering lean Six Sigma solutions to process issues, brainstorming is a useful technique for unleashing innovation. It is a particularly useful technique for creating a starting point from which workable solutions may be refined.

For the best results, the process improvement team should follow a few guidelines for brainstorming:

  1. Agree upon the issue at hand before opening up the session for ideas.
  2. Allow some time for team members to make brief notes before starting.
  3. Begin brainstorming by soliciting responses in a set order from around the room, and then invite responses in any order.
  4. Encourage quantity of responses, and the piggybacking of ideas.
  5. Discourage editing and judgment of all ideas that are offered.
  6. Record ideas exactly as said, and clarify only when the team is finished.
  7. Continue as long as possible, and allow last minute ideas.
  8. Pair down the list by eliminating any duplicates or ideas that do not pertain to the issue under consideration.

Brainstorming sessions are useful in defining possible lean Six Sigma improvements, but analysis and refinement of the ideas is necessary before a final decision may be reached. Of the many useful quality improvement tools, affinity diagramming is an effective means of sorting the raw list that results from brainstorming.

Affinity Diagram

Affinity diagramming identifies meaningful groups or categories within an unorganized list. The key to using this method is to avoid assigning or labeling the categories before starting. Instead, the grouping should emerge instinctively.

Used after a brainstorming session, affinity diagramming organizes random ideas in a meaningful manner. It can be very helpful in clarifying ideas and building unity within the lean Six Sigma improvement team.

Creating an affinity diagram involves sorting through the original list and moving them into related sets. For maximum creativity, the team should :

  • Quickly categorize ideas that feel related.
  • Avoid defining the criteria of categorization.
  • Clarify any ideas that were generated.
  • Place ideas into in more than category if it feels appropriate.
  • Consider whether small groups belong within a larger group.
  • Consider whether larger sets should be divided
  • Assign titles to each category when all ideas have been sorted.