SPS 2.0

1 Copyright © 2012 Tata Consultancy Services Limited

Structured Problem Solving (SPS)

August 14, 2012

2

Is there a better approach to work?

"Here is Edward Bear, coming downstairs, bump,

bump, bump, on the back of his head, behind

Christopher Robin. It is, as far as he knows, the

only way of coming downstairs, but

sometimes he feels that there really is another

way,

if only he could stop bumping for a moment and

think of it “

- From “ Winnie the Pooh”

- By A A Milne

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Why SPS?

Eliminate Defects/Errors and Common Problems

– We need to eliminate the errors and problems at the source - do we really need to?

– Let us do a little exercise in two teams to find out

Improve Critical Metrics

– We need to improve on critical metrics on a continuous basis

Provide Helping Tools

– We need to use techniques to address above two

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The Inspection Exercise

Count the number of times alphabet “f” appears in the following text:

The necessity of training farm hands for the first class farms in the fatherly handling of

farm live stock is foremost in the eyes of the farm owners. Since the forefathers of the

farm owners trained the farm hands for first class farms in the fatherly handling of farm

live stock, the farm owners felt they should carry on with the family tradition of training

farm hands of the first class farmers in the fatherly handling of farm live stock because

they believe it is the basis of good fundamental farm management.

Reality of Escaping Defects :

No matter how good your inspection and test processes are, the more defects you create, the more defects escape to the customer.

5

Examples of Some Critical Metrics

Can you think of any metrics relevant to your process?

Productivity

SLA Compliance

Resource Utilization

Turn around time

Response time

Resolution time

First time right

On time delivery

Application of SPS can improve performance quickly for any of these metrics

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SPS Roadmap

Phase Steps Tools

Define Capture Voice of Customer (VOC) VOC to Critical to Quality (CTQ) Flow

Simple project charter preparation Problem statement

Goal statement

Explore Understand current performance level Basic statistics

Understand current performance

Analyze improvement metric

Identify stratification factors

Bar charts, Pie chart, Trend chart

Pareto Analysis, Histogram, Scatter Diagram

Improve Analyze process/sub-process Flow diagram

Identify root causes Fishbone (brainstorming)

Identify solutions Brain storming (brainstorming)

Sustain Ensuring Sustenance Standard Operating Process (SOP), Control Plan

Control Charts (optional)

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DEFINE

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Voice of Customer (VOC)

Definition

“Voice of Customer" is the term used to describe the stated

and unstated needs or requirements of the customer for our

product/service or process

Example1

“I called a renowned Insurance Company yesterday. I got

their phone number after several attempts. They put me on

hold for a long time and then I had to go through several

menus. I could not get the item which I wanted in any of the

options. After listening to the music for a long time the

operator told me I need to meet them in person.”

Example2

“Code deliveries contain too many defects”

What does my customer need?

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Critical To Quality (CTQ)

Critical to Quality (CTQ) is the key measurable characteristic of a product or process

whose performance standards must be met in order to satisfy the customer.

While determining the CTQ, it is absolutely critical to

Understand VOC

Interpret the VOC correctly while transforming it to a CTQ

Translate the VOC to CTQ from the customer‟s perspective

Example

On-hold time at call center

Service cycle time

What is critical to the quality of the process?

…according to your customer!

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Identify Customer Needs

The Specific Need Statement leads directly to defining the CTQ

From High-Level VOC to Specific Needs

Customer

Satisfaction

I am always kept on

hold for a long time

I get my bill at

different times of the

month

Service/Quality

Issue

Functionality

Want to talk to the

right person quickly

Accuracy

Consistent month bill

Specific Needs

Statement

Customer gets to the

correct person in a

short time

Customer bill

received same day of

the month

Project Y Output

Characteristic

On hold time

On time receipt of

bills

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Team Charter

A Charter is a document that provides purpose and goals for an improvement team

A Charter

Clarifies what are the team expectations

Maintains focus of the team

Ensures the team is aligned with organizational goals and priorities

Transfers the project from the champion to the improvement team

Example

On-hold time at call center

Service cycle time

Assure that the reasons for undertaking the project are clearly stated and justified and that the plan for improvement is well defined

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Five Major Elements of a Charter

Business Case

– How is this project linked to the business goals

– What financial benefits are expected and where will they come from

Problem and Goal Statements

– Problem Statement indicates the pain area of the process or product. It also

quantifies the problem

– The Goal Statement defines the goals or improvement objective for the project. It

quantifies the target of the project

Project Scope

– Process dimensions, what „is‟ and „is not‟ included

Milestones

– A detailed plan of key steps and timelines to complete the project

Team Roles and Responsibilities

– Roles of team members and their responsibilities during project execution

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Business Case - Example

Example

The Futura Mobile company provides mobile services to subscribers across the country.

The services offered by Futura include a range of attractive features offered under two

schemes; pre-paid and billing. Billing depends on subscription towards a particular feature

being offered.

Since the last 2 quarters there has been an increase in the billing service subscribers by

20%. This has increased billing errors from 5% to 30% resulting in huge rework effort and

customer dissatisfaction.

Reducing errors in billing would help reduce rework, saving $50,000 per quarter

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Problem Statement - Example

Poor Example

The billing errors are too high in mobile bills.

Improved Example

For the last six months (When), it has been observed that billing errors in mobile bills for

Futura (a mobile provider company) (Where) has been increasing with growing number of

users.

The billing errors (What) has increased from about 5 % to 30% (extent). This negatively

impacts the productivity of the employees and customer satisfaction. (impact or

consequence).

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The Goal Statement

Definition of improvement the team is seeking to

accomplish

Starts with a verb (Reduce, Eliminate, Control, Increase)

Tends to start broadly - Eventually should include

measurable target and completion date

Should follow the “SMART” rule

Example1 - Reduce the billing error from 30% to 5% in the

next 4 months

Example2 - Reduce ProWeb response time to 5 seconds in

the next 3 months

SMART Goal Statement -

Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant Time bound

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Activity

Activity - Critique Project Objectives

Critique the project objectives below by checking to see if each one has the five

recommended parts

Improve customer satisfaction index to an average of 90%.

Decrease the number of accidents in the Stillwater facility by 1st October.

Reduce the cycle time taken to procure Grade A materials from 21 days to 10

days by 1st January.

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Project Scope and Milestones

The Project Scope must address

What process will the team focus on?

What are the boundaries of the process we are to improve?

Start point? Stop point?

What (if anything) is out-of-bounds for the team?

Milestones provide realistic target completion dates of different phases of your project.

Milestones should be

Aggressive - Do not miss the „Window of Opportunity

Realistic - Do not force yourself into „Band-Aid‟ solutions

START

Boundary Boundary

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Project Charter - An Example

The Internal IT Infrastructure Services (IS) team focuses on services to all

associates in TCS. IS includes Hardware, Software, Collaboration and

Messaging tools. Global Helpdesk (GHD) is available to help users for

resolution of issues related to IS. Tickets are submitted by users in the category

„Internal IT Services‟ in GHD, available off the Ultimatix portal. Tickets are

resolved by Level 1 (L1) generic solution providers or Level 2 (L2) specialized

solution providers. After the resolution of an issue, the IS support team

'resolves' the ticket. In case the user feels that the resolution is incomplete or

he/she needs more clarity on the solution, the user „reopens‟ the ticket.

All Reopened Tickets are considered as defects which involve rework for the

solution providers in Internal IT IS. The % of reopened tickets is 3.89% (Nov

„09) at L1 (Internal IT) and 13.41% (Jun „10) at L2 Messaging. This project aims

at reducing % of reopened ticket to < 2% at L1 (Internal IT) and < 10% at L2

Messaging.

This improvement will result in reduced % of Reopened Tickets thereby

improving the overall customer experience and reducing efforts of the L1

generic solution providers and L2 messaging teams.

Business Case (Including High Level Benefit Analysis)

Reopened Ticket count for L1 (Internal IT Services)

and L2 Messaging

In Scope

The % of Reopened Tickets for L1 (Internal IT Services) is 3.89% (Nov „09) and for L2 Messaging is 13.41% (Jun „10). Reopened

Tickets indicate customer dissatisfaction and results in rework for the solution providers in Internal IT IS. If this improvement initiative is

not implemented, the % of Reopened Tickets may continue to be high.

Specific Problem Statement

Reopened Ticket count for other Support Groups

and levels like Resident Engineer (RE), IAM, Level 3

(L3) Messaging.

Out of Scope

To reduce the % of reopened tickets resolved by

* L1 (Internal IT Services) team from 3.89% (Nov ‟09)

to < 2%

* L2 Messaging team from 13.41% (Jun ‟10) to <

10%

by end of March 2011

Specific Goal Statement

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Project Charter - An Example

Roles & Responsibilities General Information Tollgate Review Dates

Internal IT Services

Project Lead (GB/BB):

Project Coach

(BB/MBB):

Project Sponsor:

Team Members:

Tollgate Date Signoff (xx/xx/xx)

Contact Information for Project Lead:

Define

Measure

Analyze

Improve

Control

Industry/Function: Nirupama Nagaraj

Shashank Kulkarni

Neha Agrawal

Amit Jain

Parimal Bhatia

[email protected]

Sep 2009 Shashank Kulkarni

Oct 2009 Shashank Kulkarni

Nov 2009 Shashank Kulkarni

Dec 2009 Shashank Kulkarni

Mar 2011 Amit Jain

Big Y:

Customer satisfaction

Reduce rework

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Case Study - Project Charter

Exercise - Prepare a Project Charter (20 minutes)

(This must include Business Case, Problem and Goal Statements, Project Scope, Team

Roles and Responsibilities and Milestones for the Specified Project)

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EXPLORE

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Performance Measurement

How to measure Baseline (current) Performance level?

Concept of

Mean

Median

Mode

Standard Deviation

Range

Central Tendency

Variation

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Measures of Central Tendency

Mean

The average data point value within a data set. It is normally denoted by X (for sample)

or μ (for population).

Mean = Number Of Values

Summation Of All Values

Mathematically X

n

i =1

xi

=

n

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Measures of Central Tendency

Median

The middle value when the measurements are arranged in order of magnitude (ascending

or descending)

Mode

The value or data point which has maximum frequency of occurrence

Median = ( n / 2 )nd Value + (n / 2 + 1 )th Value

2

; When n is even

[(n+1) / 2 ) ]nd Value ; When n is odd Median =

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Performance Measurement

Measures of Spread

Range

It is the difference between the highest value and the lowest value.

R= Max. value - Min. Value

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Measures of Spread

Standard Deviation

It is the square root of the average of the squared differences between data points and

the mean. It is denoted with the Greek letter σ (sigma).

If X1, X2, ........ ...... Xn are individual values and X is the Mean

i = 1

n

n (Xi - X)2

= σ

Verify with the formula - STDEVP (Data Range)

(X1-X)2 + (X2 -X)2 + ......... (Xn - X)2

n

= σ

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Types of Data

Data Type

Discrete Continuous

Binary Ordered Categories Count

Classified into

one of two

categories

Example

True or False

Defect or No

defect

Ranking of

ratings

Example

Employee

satisfaction rating

Counted

discretely

Example

No. of defects in

a product

Measured on a

continuum or scale

,expressed by whole

number or fraction

Example:

Cycle Time (in

hours) to generate a

report

How does the customer measure your process?

Expressed by the whole

number

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Which data type do we choose?

As far as possible, we must choose a continuous measure for the Project Y metric.

Although, collecting data for continuous measures can be tedious, time consuming and

expensive, continuous data measures are preferred over discrete data measures

because they provide more information about the process.

The more continuous we can make the data, the more it will tell us about our process

Project Y Discrete Y Measure Continuous Y Measure

Time to Procure Units procured within specs Actual procurement time for each unit

Delivery Time Number Late Actual time deviated from target

Customer Satisfaction Yes/No Questions Rating 1-100

(Insurance) Policies lost due to Price Number Lost Difference from Competition

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Develop Data Collection Forms

Data Collection Forms help to standardize both the data that is collected as well as the

data collection process

Elements of Data Collection Form

Description of what data is being collected

Places to put the data

Room for comments

Room to keep track of segmentation factors

Always keep in mind the following

Make the form simple to use and understand

Include only information you intend to use

Pilot the data collection form

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Data Collection Form - Example

CR Schedule Slippage

Sr. No CR # Request

Date

Completion Date

Expected Actual

Schedule

Slippage

(days)

CR Type Severity

User

Group

Skill level

of Team

Frequency of Measurement - Every CR this month

Purpose - For Schedule Slippage Analysis

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Data Display - Graphs and Charts

Graphs and charts are pictorial representation of the data, making it easy to spot trends

and comparisons among different groups of data

The common types of graphs and charts are

Line graphs - To depict change or variation over time.

Bar charts - To compare quantities between persons, regions, time intervals etc

Pie charts - To show percentages or proportions of different components of a specific

item

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Graphs Examples

5.6

4.9

6.2

7.1

4.3 4.6

5.2 4.9

6.3

4.8

33.5

44.5

55.5

66.5

77.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

% E

rro

rs

Week Number

80 70

60

75 68

76

0102030405060708090

WS 1 WS 2 WS 3 WS 4 WS 5 WS 6Av

g.

Pro

du

cti

on

Work Stream

11

5

10

21

2 3

10

4 3

13

20

14

11

6 8

13

20

15 15

11

0

5

10

15

20

25

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

% R

eje

cti

on

Week Number

263 285 201

435

133

375 321 307 294 348

244 336

221

257

275

422

281 317 299

358

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

NA

Ns C

od

ed

Week Number

Weekly % Errors Work Stream based Average Production

Weekly Reject comparison for WS 1 & 2 Comparison of WS 1 & 2 production

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Example Pie Chart

A 42%

B 27%

C 13%

D 6%

E 4%

F 3%

G 5%

Watch maker analyzing

Problem

A - Glass Broken

B - Movement Stoppage

C - Mvt. Trouble

D - Defective Dial

E - Regulation

F - Stem Loose

G - Others

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Scatter Diagram

A tool for finding relationship between Cause & Effect of a problem. Generally used in

either Define or Explore Phase.

If two types of data, x and y, are related in that x increases or decreases with y, a

correlation exists between them.

A scatter diagram is a chart that expresses the relationship between two such data types.

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Scatter Diagram - Example

Car Speed Vs Mileage……

Which Car is likely to give more mileage?

All factors remaining same (use the same car) - does mileage depend on speed ?

15

20

25

30

35

40

25 35 45 55 65 75

Mileag

e (

km

/Lit

)

Speed (km/h)

If y increases with x, then x and y are

positively correlated

If y decreases as x increases, then the two

types of data are negatively correlated

If no significant relationship is apparent

between x and y, then the two data types

are not correlated

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Histogram

What is a Histogram?

A Histogram is a variation of a bar chart in which data values are grouped together and

put into different classes.

This grouping allows you see how frequently data in each class occur in the data set.

Higher bars represent more data values in a class.

Lower bars represent fewer data values in a class.

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Histogram - A Sample

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Applying Histogram

A Histogram can be used

To display large amounts of data values in a relatively simple chart form

To tell relative frequency of occurrence.

To easily see the distribution of the data.

To see if there is variation in the data.

To make future predictions based on the data.

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Summary of Charts

Data Type Chart Type

Continuous

Line Chart/Run Chart

Scatter plot

Histogram

Discrete

Bar Chart

Pie Chart

Pareto

Ready - Reckoner to select the Graph/Chart

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Process Flow Diagram

What is Process Flow Diagram?

A Process Flow Diagram is a schematic representation of a process.

It is in the form of a diagram that uses graphic symbols to depict the nature and flow of

the steps in a process.

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Why Use Process Flow Diagram

AS-IS Process

To document the logical flow of the process for better understanding of the process.

To document the process for standardisation and unambiguous communication.

To depict intricate relationships between cross functional responsibilities and decision making

Start

Add Ingredients Ingredients SOP

Boil

Boil Time >

5 Min?

Filter

End

N

Y

Search for ingredients

and pots

Activity can be removed

by fixing location for tea

making pots and required

ingredients

Bring ingredients and

pots near to oven

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IMPROVE

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Truth of Life

Let’s Face It

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle

awakens. He has only one thought

on his mind - To be able to run faster

than the fastest lion. If he cannot,

then he will be eaten.

Every morning in Africa a lion awakens. He has only one thought on his mind: To be able

to run faster than the slowest gazelle. If he cannot, he will die of hunger.

Whether you choose to be a gazelle or a lion is of no consequence. It is enough to know

that with the rising of the sun, you must run. And you must run faster than you did

yesterday or you will die.

This is the race of life.“

- African Proverb

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How to find better ways?

The following tools can be used in the improvement phase:

Brainstorming

Cause and Effect Diagram (Covered earlier in PDCA)

5-Why Technique

Benchmarking

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Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a creative process for generating several solution ideas in a short

period of time.

Benefits

Significantly involves team members and key stakeholders

Provides for more creative solutions

Allows for synergy; building on the ideas of others

Prevents team from initially „settling‟ on only one solution

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Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a technique where a group of people get to generate ideas. The basic

guidelines for Brainstorming are

Understand the exact issue, topic, or business area that is being focused on

Allow silent time to think

Allow individuals to complete their thoughts

Collect as many ideas as possible

Do not discuss or evaluate ideas

Document ideas

Build on existing ideas

Be precise when stating an idea

Organize, categorize, and evaluate ideas only after the session is completed

Do not dominate the session

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Brainstorming

Modified Brainstorming

Channeling - An approach to generate a broad range of ideas (several channels) as well

as in large quantities (as many ideas per channel)

Analogy - An approach where the team brainstorms related or analogous issue which

helps unblock people‟s thinking to ensure complete information. Ideas on the analogy are

then translated to the real situation.

Anti-Solution - An approach where the team is asked to think of scenarios in which a

particular option/solution is not available or is assumed that it couldnot be implemented.

The team comes up with ideas as alternatives or the effects of not having the solution.

Brainwriting - An approach where team members list their ideas on a piece of paper.

This removes bias of an experienced or a senior individual in the group.

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Five Whys Technique

“Five Whys” Technique helps to drill deeper to identify potential root causes by asking “Why”

repeatedly at the drilled down levels.

Example

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Act Now..

For want of a nail a shoe was lost,

For want of a shoe a horse was lost,

For want of a horse a rider was lost,

For want of a rider an army was lost,

For want of an army a battle was lost,

For want of a battle the war was lost

For want of the war the kingdom was lost,

and all for the want of a little horseshoe nail.

Find out the root cause and fix up the problem. You do not know what you may lose in future if you

don‟t fix it now …

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Benchmarking

Definition

Benchmarking is the process of continually searching for the best methods, practices and

processes, and either adopting or adapting their good features and implementing them to

become the “best of the best”

Why do we Benchmark?

To identify, establish and achieve standards of excellence based on the realities of the

market.

To measure our products, services and practices against our toughest competitors.

World

Class

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SUSTAIN

52

SOP

What is SOP?

Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is a set of written instructions that document a routine

or repetitive activity followed by an organization.

SOP provides the information to perform the job properly and facilitates consistency in the

quality and integrity of a product or end-result.

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SOP

What is SOP?

Details the regularly recurring work processes.

Documents the way the activities are to be performed

Is specific to the organization whose activities are described.

Minimizes the opportunities for miscommunication and can address safety concerns.

Assists the organization in maintaining their quality control and quality assurance

processes

Is made available to the work areas of the individuals performing the task

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Control Plan

A Control plan is

A summary of all of the control activities for the process

A method of identifying gaps in the control system

An end output of the Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA)

A long term control strategy that ensures that the improvements will remain effective and

in-control

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Control Plan

Control Plan Template

Process

Step

What's

Controlled

Spec Limits/

Requirements

How

measured

Sample

Size Freq.

Who

measures Record

Reaction

plan SOP

A comprehensive, documented

control plan is very important to

maintain improved process controls

Can you think of a Control Plan for the Game?

Please see the next page for help.

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Support different situations by Different Tools

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Sample Case Studies

1. Reduction in salary related tickets raised in

GHD

2. Reduction in transport cost for Wellspring

centre

Thank You