7 Management and Planning Tools - LSS Glossary

The 7 Management and Planning Tools, also known as the New Seven Tools or TQC2, are a set of problem-solving and quality management tools developed and promoted by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE). These tools are designed to help organizations improve their performance and competitiveness by identifying and solving problems, and implementing solutions for improvement.

7 Management and Planning Tools:

Affinity Diagram

A tool used to organize and categorize a large number of ideas, observations or suggestions in order to identify the underlying problems and relationships. It helps to group related ideas and separate unrelated ones. It is particularly useful for brainstorming sessions, as it allows team members to share their different perspectives and ideas about the problem.

Interrelationship Digraph

A tool used to understand the relationship between different factors that contribute to a problem. It helps to identify cause-and-effect relationships and to understand how different factors are connected. It is particularly useful for understanding the relationship between multiple causes and multiple effects.

Tree Diagram

A tool used to break down a complex problem into smaller, more manageable parts. It helps to identify the different components of a problem and to understand how they are connected. It is particularly useful for understanding the relationship between a problem and its possible causes.

Prioritisation Matrix

A tool used to prioritize different ideas or solutions based on a set of criteria. It helps to evaluate different ideas or solutions and to identify which one is the best fit for the problem at hand. It is particularly useful for choosing between different solutions that have different trade-offs.

Matrix Diagram

A tool used to evaluate the relationship between different factors or variables. It helps to identify the relationship between different elements of a problem and to understand how they are connected. It is particularly useful for identifying the relationship between different variables and how they influence one another.

PDPC

A tool used to understand the process of a problem by identifying its purpose, data, people, and their interactions. It helps to understand how the process works, who is involved and what data is used to complete the process. It’s useful in understanding the process in its entirety and it’s working in different scenarios.

Activity Network Diagram

A tool used to plan and organise the activities required to solve a problem. AND helps to identify the different activities that need to be completed. It also tells the order in which they need to be completed, and the dependencies between them. It is particularly useful for planning and organising projects with many different tasks and dependencies.

Applications and Usage

JUSE emphasizes on the importance of using these tools not only to solve immediate problems but also to continuously monitor and improve the process. This leads to an overall improvement in quality and performance, and also a culture of continuous improvement in the organization.

These tools are widely used in various industries and manufacturing processes. They can be applied to both products and services. These tools are also considered as simple and easy to understand and use. They can be used in combination to provide a comprehensive and structured approach to problem-solving and improvement. By breaking down the problem into smaller, more manageable parts, teams can work together to find effective solutions and ultimately improve the overall process and performance.

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Conclusion

The 7 Management and Planning Tools (New Seven Tools or TQC2) are a set of problem-solving and quality management tools developed and promoted by JUSE. These tools are designed to help organizations identify and solve problems, and implement solutions for improvement in various industries and manufacturing processes, and can be applied to both products and services. JUSE emphasises on the importance of using these tools for continuous monitoring and improvement of the process, to achieve overall improvement in quality and performance, and also a culture of continuous improvement in the organisation.

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Sachin Naik

Passionate about improving processes and systems | Lean Six Sigma practitioner, trainer and coach for 14+ years consulting giant corporations and fortune 500 companies on Operational Excellence | Start-up enthusiast | Change Management and Design Thinking student | Love to ride and drive