Solution selection matrix
Once you come up with a few process solution it’s time to figure out which one are the most interesting to implement. The reality of any project, and that includes Lean Six Sigma ones, is that budgets are limited, and there is only so much improvement that can be done. So while we may have come up with 20 different improvement strategies, and they all could bring a good return, there is only so much time and money we can spend, so we have to decide which solutions we will implement.
The tool in very straightforward. We list all the solutions that we came up with, and start grading them based on criteria that we decide is important, based on our knowledge of the company and the project to be looked at. This can be made as complex or as simple as you want to make it. There is no standard template for the tool. You have to decide what is important for the company and for the project in order to do this task.
The benefits of a solution selection matrix is that it mainly minimized the potential for wasting resources, and increases the rate of success of the implemented options. For any project on a budget and that is supposed to save costs that is important. But, what I think the most important part of this is, is creating a clear and consistent process for decision making. If we’re wrong at least we’re all wrong in the same way.
What do I mean by this? In previous posts, I’ve kept talking about how important it is to have a companywide strategy that cascades down to all departments and teams. Why should a lean six sigma project be any different? We need to all pull in the same direction and implement solutions that are in accordance with the general strategy of the company. A solution selection matrix can support in this by choosing the selection criteria that are the most important to the company to have the largest weight in the decision.
In smaller companies, or companies where the L6S team knows the strategy very clearly a simple Impact versus Effort Matrix can help, where the items with the highest impact and lowest effort should be implemented.
In bigger companies, or where the strategy is not well known it’s better to have a larger amount of criteria to choose from, in order to allow for a more balanced decision making process.
