TABLE OF CONTENTS Several applicable tools are available in the literature to eliminate obvious causes of variation in the performance of the selected project, therefore only flow charting, business metrics, the cause-and-effect diagram, and FMEA and FMECA (failure mode, effects, and criticality analysis) will be discussed in this section.
Flow charting is a quality improvement tool specifically used for process analysis, understanding, presentation, and improvement. Flow charts tend to provide users with a common language or reference point for a project or process. A flow chart has several definitions:
A flow chart is a pictorial representation of a process in which all the steps of the process are presented.
A flow chart is a planning and analysis tool. It is a graphic of the steps in a work process.
A flow chart is a formalized graphic representation of a work or process, programming logic sequence, or similar formalized procedure.
Uses of process mapping (a special-case flow chart described in Chapter 2, Define) may be summarized. Uses include:
To visualize how an entire process works
To define and analyze processes, e.g., "What is the registration process for entering freshmen students at the University of New Haven?" or "How can an invoice be created?"
To build a step-by-step picture of the process for analysis, to identify the critical points, bottlenecks, and problem areas in a process or for communication purposes, e.g., "Is it possible to shorten the length of time it takes for a student...
