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About this lesson

A Lean Six Sigma Black Belt will often chair the stage gate review meetings for Lean Six Sigma projects. In those meetings, the Black Belt needs to ensure the work of the phase was done and the tools were used effectively. This lesson reviews the normal deliverables due at the Analyze stage gate review. It also includes hints and tips for identifying problems to be avoided during that phase.

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Analyze Stage Deliverables.docx
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Quick reference

Analyze Stage Deliverables

The Analyze stage is the third stage of a Lean Six Sigma project. The deliverables from this stage clarify the root causes of the problem that was described in the problem statement.

When to use

The Analyze stage deliverables should be reviewed and approved at the Analyze stage gate review meeting.

Instructions

Throughout the Analzye stage, the Lean Six Sigma team is investigating the problem to identify all the root causes. The causes are normally consolidated onto a prioritized list that is reviewed during the Analyze stage gate review. This list will first list any special cause root causes followed by a prioritized list of the common cause factors that contribute to the problem. With respect to the process map or value stream map, the analysis will be able to isolate the process steps with waste and inefficiency. The final result of the Analyze stage review is agreement on the list of causes that will be addressed going into the Improve stage.

The Define stage identified the Big Y of the Y = f(x) equation. The Measure stage captured the list of “x” factors. Now in the Analyze stage, the analysis will determine how these “x” factors combine to create the “Y” response. Essentially, this stage defines the “f” functional relationships. Also, at this time the equation can be used to help setting a reasonable performance target for improvement. 

The major challenge in this stage is the team and stakeholders racing to solutions before they have finished the analysis. The team wants to solve the problem and they are anxious to do so. As a Black Belt, you will need to manage the process to ensure they don’t jump to a solution before they have identified the true root causes. This early jump normally leads to an ineffective solution. Ensure the team is methodical about completing the analysis. Question you often must work through during the gate review meeting:

  • What analysis was used to determine the root cause(s)? Is that the right analytical tool and what is the accuracy of the result?
  • Are they a special cause or common cause? Is it a one-of-a-kind unusual event, or inherent in the process design and management?
  • Are these all the primary causes of the defect? Did you check all the hypothesized root causes, or did you stop at the first one?

Hints & tips

  • Don’t get lost and overwhelmed by the data. Start with some visualization – they will often highlight areas of focus.
  • If you find a special cause, remove it, collect more data and determine if the common cause factors are also contributing to the problem.
  • Based upon the analysis, you may find that you need to collect additional data to pursue a hypothesis. This is normal. I often go through two or three rounds of data collection and analysis to isolate and understand the root causes.
  • When doing an analysis of the value stream map, be tough on value added time. Process operators and managers often want to claim time that is associated with how they manage the process. This is not value added to the customer. Challenge these items – they will often lead to a different and better way to manage the process.
  • Watch out for the tendency to declare success prematurely. Check for all the root causes, not just the first one. When you have the full list, you may be able to create a solution that addresses multiple problems at once and not address them in isolation.
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  • 00:04 Hi, this is Ray Sheen.
  • 00:06 I wanna summarize this section by discussing the Analyze stage deliverables,
  • 00:10 and some of the challenges that you may encounter while those are being developed.
  • 00:14 Let's start by looking at the gate reviews and
  • 00:17 what is required to get through them successfully.
  • 00:20 Now the focus of this gate review is to present the list of root causes that
  • 00:24 contribute to the problem or defect.
  • 00:27 Now, this list is supported by analysis, so
  • 00:30 it's not a topic to be debated, rather it's a list to be explained.
  • 00:35 This means that our critical takeaway is the list in a prioritized order.
  • 00:40 Which root causes are the major contributors to the problem?
  • 00:44 Since this list has been prioritized and you have data that supports every item on
  • 00:48 the list, the only questions to be decided at the meeting is that how many and
  • 00:52 which ones of the root causes will be addressed in the next phase?
  • 00:56 This is essentially a time and
  • 00:58 money question that the stakeholders need to decide.
  • 01:01 The biggest risk that you need to watch out for
  • 01:03 at this gate review is instant engineering on the part of the stakeholders
  • 01:07 who may want to jump to a solution.
  • 01:09 At this gate, all we are determining is the prioritized list of root causes and
  • 01:14 a decision on how many to address.
  • 01:16 In the next stage, we will create the solution
  • 01:19 that we'll demonstrate actually addresses the root cause.
  • 01:22 As you prepare for this gate review, you need to ask these questions
  • 01:26 to be certain the team has thoroughly done the work of the Analyze stage.
  • 01:30 What analysis was used to determine the root causes.
  • 01:33 How strong was the analytical proof of the cause, the p value of a hypothesis test or
  • 01:38 the summary and ratios of a value stream map?
  • 01:42 Are these special causes or common causes?
  • 01:44 This will often have a major impact on the nature of the improvement.
  • 01:47 So stakeholders need to know if the process must change or
  • 01:51 if they are putting a control around it.
  • 01:53 Are these all the primary causes of the defect?
  • 01:56 Do these root causes account for the magnitude and
  • 01:59 timing of the problem or defect?
  • 02:01 You don't wanna stop at the first one that you've found, but
  • 02:04 you want to identify all the major contributing causes.
  • 02:08 Of course, you don't want to hold a gate review if you're not ready.
  • 02:11 So let's look at the typical criteria for
  • 02:13 what needs to be done in order to have a successful gate review.
  • 02:17 Based upon the analysis of the value stream map and your understanding of
  • 02:20 the magnitude of the common cause and special cause valuation, you can finally
  • 02:25 put a realistic measurable target for improvement in front of the stakeholders.
  • 02:29 You can hopefully eliminate the special causes, but there will always be some
  • 02:33 level of common cause variation and this is the time to acknowledge that level.
  • 02:38 If the data indicates that there's a special cause, you have identified it.
  • 02:42 And of course, for the common causes,
  • 02:43 you have determined the level of normal variation in the current process.
  • 02:48 Also the process map and
  • 02:50 value stream map have been analyzed to identify the process flow problems.
  • 02:54 This means the waste in the system and how it contributes to the problems.
  • 02:58 This waste is one of the common cause problems in the process.
  • 03:02 With the analysis, the team can now put together a relationship
  • 03:06 of the input x-factors that leads to the process big Y.
  • 03:11 That means you have characterized the function, and
  • 03:13 now you can state the Y = F(x) relationship.
  • 03:16 So let's wrap this up.
  • 03:18 The primary thing to show at the gate review is the prioritized list of root
  • 03:21 causes.
  • 03:23 The top of the list will be the special causes.
  • 03:25 After that, you should prioritize the common causes
  • 03:28 based upon the impact they have on the customers CTQs.
  • 03:33 Once again I'll give you a few tips and hints
  • 03:35 to help you get through this stage and have a successful stage review meeting.
  • 03:40 First use data visualization to help you with the analysis.
  • 03:43 These are a better way to communicate with stakeholders
  • 03:46 than with statistical measures.
  • 03:47 That doesn't mean you don't do the statistics also.
  • 03:50 Just let the visualizations guide your work.
  • 03:53 Look for special causes first, find them and eliminate them.
  • 03:56 Then do another set of measurements, so
  • 03:58 you can determine the real common cause variation.
  • 04:01 Special causes can mess up that analysis.
  • 04:04 So eliminate those, then look for common cause.
  • 04:07 It's likely that you will need to go through several rounds of analysis and
  • 04:11 data collection.
  • 04:12 After eliminating special causes, you need to collect more data and
  • 04:16 when doing your analysis you often find that aspects of the process that you
  • 04:20 didn't think would be an issue but now has become suspect.
  • 04:23 Once again, more data is needed.
  • 04:26 Be tough when considering the amount of value added time in a process.
  • 04:31 The process operators and managers tend to inflate this number
  • 04:35 because they know how much work they have to do to run the process.
  • 04:39 But often most of that is to accommodate process weaknesses.
  • 04:43 Only count the time that is actually contributing
  • 04:46 to customer value added characteristics.
  • 04:49 It's easy to fall into the trap of declaring victory as soon
  • 04:52 as you find a major contributing cause, especially if it's a special cause.
  • 04:57 Keep checking to make sure you understand all of the contributors to the problem,
  • 05:01 including any common causes.
  • 05:04 As a Lean Six Sigma black belt,
  • 05:06 it's your job to make sure that all of the critical root causes have been identified.
  • 05:10 The solution won't be effective if you solve the wrong problem.

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