How do you define your process scope? I often use a traditional Six Sigma tool called the SIPOC (or COPIS). As Wikipedia will quickly tell you, this is an acronym for Suppliers, Inputs, Process, Outputs, and Customers. This is a very useful approach for defining the scope of a business process, and can also be applied to any function or role within an organization. In my opinion, this tool is underutilized in continuous improvement methodologies and can go beyond initial scope definition.
There are many articles and videos that will show you how to create a SIPOC. My goal here is to share some of the ways you can use a SIPOC to add value for your business:
- As a first step to define a new process, or one that’s poorly understood. The SIPOC forces you to focus on your customer’s needs at the highest level, and how you can effectively deliver a product or service that provides the greatest customer value. This first pass can help guide more detailed process design and mapping efforts.
- To summarize a complex process for executive presentation, or for stakeholder alignment. Often we have a tacit understanding of what a business process means, but others may make different assumptions. Documenting a one-page SIPOC instantly clarifies the purpose, activities, and critical components for a successful process.
- To gain clarity on management roles and responsibilities. In complex organizations, there is often confusion about how teams should interact. Each team or function can define its own SIPOC in relation to the rest of the organization. An enterprise-level SIPOC can help the leadership team visualize how the pieces fit together.
- To prepare for a new system implementation. It’s common to design enterprise IT systems around the current inputs and outputs, however the project team also needs to know who uses the information, who provides it, and why. The SIPOC promotes a common definition of data and how it should flow through different user groups.
- As a tool for identifying continuous improvement opportunities. An initial SIPOC exercise can reveal disconnects between inputs and outputs, suppliers and customers. This approach can highlight where your process may be broken, where waste exists, and any lack of clarity or alignment. It serves as a foundation for longer-term improvements.
As a consultant, I often use a SIPOC at the beginning of an engagement. It helps give me a sense of process health and maturity, key stakeholders, and the degree of alignment across the organization. Even for a common process like sales origination, it can be surprising how much the process varies across team members, and how little the participants understand each other’s needs and contributions. If you’re working with a difficult process, I highly recommend the SIPOC as a first step to gain clarity.
How have you used the SIPOC approach in your projects and initiatives? Do you have additional examples of how to use it, or how not to? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.
I really like the series of articles you've authored here Amber...and the emphasis you've placed on structuring the key elements of any process into these proven models as the first steps to improvement through an understanding of reality rather than the typical first instinct to jump directly into solution generation and then trial/error on these relatively random solutions.