Lean Six Sigma For Dummies. Martin Brenig-Jones
the objectives of the “big process” or overall system.
© Martin Brenig-Jones and Jo Dowdall
FIGURE 3-2: Identifying your internal customers.
All too often, departments work in a vacuum, doing their own thing without regard for its impact on the end-to-end process. They may have their own targets, measures and priorities, for example. Possibly, the end-to-end process or value stream isn’t even known; each team or department involved works as though their step in the process is independent of any others. In reality, the end-to-end process is a series of interdependent steps, and the overall system is made up of a series of processes.
Internal customers and suppliers must understand their relationship and how their different roles contribute to “the bigger picture.” If they don’t, the external customers will receive poor service or product — the very people who should be viewed as the most important because they’re paying the organization for the services or products they provide.
Even if you’re not directly dealing with the external customer, you’re quite likely to be dealing with someone who is. So, understanding the bigger picture is important, and meeting the requirements of your internal customers could well be the key to successfully meeting the external customers’ CTQs. Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is helpful here. QFD establishes a clear link between each process requirement and the end customer, making it easier for each employee to see the role that they play in meeting customer requirements. We cover QFD in Chapter 14.
Getting a High-Level Picture
To really understand how the work gets done, and to identify just who the internal and external customers are, you need to draw a picture of the process. These pictures are known as process or Value Stream Maps (covered in detail in Chapter 5). Avoid going into fine detail at this stage, as too much information can be distracting. Keep it simple and “high level.”
Resist the temptation of capturing what “should” happen and capture what actually “does” happen. You might be surprised about the differences between the two. It’s important to create a safe environment where people feel comfortable talking about what actually happens (warts and all) without fear of punishment. If you don’t discuss the “warts,” you could miss the opportunity to tackle them.
It is possible to map processes at several levels. Right at the top of an organization are some very high-level processes that describe what the organization does, such as “business development.” These Level 1 processes break down into a number of sub-processes that describe how that work is undertaken. Level 2 and 3 processes gradually increase the amount of detail. You could then develop Level 4 or 5 processes that cover the step-by-step procedural tasks and elements.
Our example in Figure 3-3 has “business development” at Level 1 and shows the various sub-processes down to Level 3.
© Martin Brenig-Jones and Jo Dowdall
FIGURE 3-3: Process levels.
Drawing a high-level process map
Welcome to the Invasion of the SIPOCs! SIPOCs might sound like creatures from a sci-fi movie, but they’re far friendlier and more useful than that. A SIPOC is a high-level process map that provides a framework to help you understand your process and its customers and suppliers better. It encourages you to think about what needs to be measured in the process to help understand performance and opportunities for improvement (covered in Chapters 7 and 8). Figure 3-4 shows the SIPOC model. SIPOC stands for:
Suppliers: The people, departments or organizations that provide you with the “inputs” needed to operate the process. When they send you an enquiry or order form, the external customer is also included as a supplier in your process as they are providing an input! Suppliers also include regulatory bodies providing information, and companies providing you with equipment or raw materials.
Inputs: Forms or information, equipment or raw materials, or even the people you need to carry out the work. For people, the supplier may be the human resources department or an employment agency.
Process: In the SIPOC diagram, the P presents a picture of the process steps at a relatively high level, usually Levels 2 or 3, as shown in Figure 3-3.
Outputs: A list of the things that your process provides to the internal and external customers. Your outputs will become inputs to their processes.
Customers: The different internal and external customers who’ll receive your various process outputs.
© Martin Brenig-Jones and Jo Dowdall
FIGURE 3-4: The SIPOC model.
The SIPOC model identifies your customers and the outputs they need, presents a high-level process map, usually comprising four to seven steps, identifies your suppliers and confirms your input requirements from them.
Some people refer to the SIPOC as a COPIS, because when they create the diagram, they start with the customer on the right-hand side of the model before listing the outputs that go to them.
In previous editions of this Dummies book, we have demonstrated the SIPOC technique using the COPIS method, starting with the customer and working backwards. In this version, we’ll show you how we start with the process and work outwards from the center. In truth, there are lots of different ways you can create your SIPOC. One reason for starting with the process is that we find it easier to identify all of the outputs and the customers who received them once we have defined what the process steps are. You might like to practice different methods and find the one that works best for you.
The best way to create your SIPOC diagram is to gather your team around a large sheet of paper or online collaboration tool and follow these steps. After starting with the process, it doesn’t really matter whether you work to the left (inputs) or right (outputs) as long as you capture them. (Figure 3-5 provides an example of how it might look).
1 Set out all the steps in the process.Use sticky notes (or virtual sticky notes) to construct a high-level picture of the process. Typically it involves four to seven steps. Don’t go beyond this; otherwise, you’ll be dealing with too much detail too soon. (Chapter 5 covers process and Value Stream Mapping in detail.)In Figure 3-5, the start and stop points are represented with the oval shapes, the process steps with the rectangular boxes, and points in the process involving questions with the diamond shapes. Diamonds are decision points, such as, for example, showing the need to do something different if you’re dealing with product A or product B, or where different authority levels may