There are seven basic quality tools in project quality management, also called 7QC tools, which are used to resolve quality-related issues within the framework of the PDCA cycle. The seven basic quality tools are: cause and effect diagrams, flowcharts, checklists, Pareto charts, histograms, control charts, and scatterplots.
(1) A cause-and-effect diagram, in which the problem statement is placed at the head of the fishbone as a starting point to trace the source of the problem back to the actionable root cause. In a problem statement, the problem is usually described as a gap to be filled or a goal to be achieved. Discover the cause by looking at the problem statement and asking "why" until you find an actionable root cause, or list every plausible possibility on every fishbone.
(2) A flow chart showing the sequence of steps and possible branches required in the process of converting one or more inputs into one or more outputs. It shows activities, decision points, branch loops, parallel paths, and overall processing sequence by mapping the process details of the horizontal value chain in the SIPOC model. Flowcharts may be helpful in understanding and estimating the quality cost of a process. The cost of quality is estimated by the logical branches of the workflow and their relative frequencies.
(3) Checklist is a checklist for collecting data. It arranges things in order to efficiently collect useful data about potential quality issues. The use of checklists to collect attribute data is particularly convenient when conducting inspections to identify defects. Data collected with a checklist on the number or consequences of defects is often displayed using a Pareto chart.
(4) Pareto charts, used to identify the few important causes of most problems. The cause categories shown on the horizontal axis, as valid probability distributions, cover 100% of possible observations. The relative frequency of each specific cause on the horizontal axis gradually decreases until "other" is used to cover all other causes not specified. In a Pareto chart, bars are usually arranged by category to measure frequency or consequence.
(5) Histogram is a special form of bar chart used to describe the central tendency, degree of dispersion and the shape of statistical distribution. Unlike control charts, histograms do not account for the effect of time on changes within a distribution.
(6) A control chart is a chart that displays project progress information in real time. A control chart can determine whether a process is in control or out of control. When a process is in control, all variables generated by the process are caused by random events, and the process does not need to be adjusted. When a process is out of control, and the variables generated by the process are caused by non-random events, it is necessary to identify the causes of these non-random events and modify or eliminate them by adjusting the process.
(7) Scatter chart, which can show whether there is a relationship between two variables. The closer the data points on a diagonal line are, the closer the correlation between the two variables is.
These seven basic quality management tools, also known as "old seven tools", can be abbreviated as "cause and effect diagrams, flow charts, histograms, checklists, scatter plots, Pare Totograms, control charts. For more knowledge points and related exam questions over the years, please look for conciseness in the application treasure. If you are busy with projects and have thought about soft exams, you need conciseness!
(1) A cause-and-effect diagram, in which the problem statement is placed at the head of the fishbone as a starting point to trace the source of the problem back to the actionable root cause. In a problem statement, the problem is usually described as a gap to be filled or a goal to be achieved. Discover the cause by looking at the problem statement and asking "why" until you find an actionable root cause, or list every plausible possibility on every fishbone.
(2) A flow chart showing the sequence of steps and possible branches required in the process of converting one or more inputs into one or more outputs. It shows activities, decision points, branch loops, parallel paths, and overall processing sequence by mapping the process details of the horizontal value chain in the SIPOC model. Flowcharts may be helpful in understanding and estimating the quality cost of a process. The cost of quality is estimated by the logical branches of the workflow and their relative frequencies.
(3) Checklist is a checklist for collecting data. It arranges things in order to efficiently collect useful data about potential quality issues. The use of checklists to collect attribute data is particularly convenient when conducting inspections to identify defects. Data collected with a checklist on the number or consequences of defects is often displayed using a Pareto chart.
(4) Pareto charts, used to identify the few important causes of most problems. The cause categories shown on the horizontal axis, as valid probability distributions, cover 100% of possible observations. The relative frequency of each specific cause on the horizontal axis gradually decreases until "other" is used to cover all other causes not specified. In a Pareto chart, bars are usually arranged by category to measure frequency or consequence.
(5) Histogram is a special form of bar chart used to describe the central tendency, degree of dispersion and the shape of statistical distribution. Unlike control charts, histograms do not account for the effect of time on changes within a distribution.
(6) A control chart is a chart that displays project progress information in real time. A control chart can determine whether a process is in control or out of control. When a process is in control, all variables generated by the process are caused by random events, and the process does not need to be adjusted. When a process is out of control, and the variables generated by the process are caused by non-random events, it is necessary to identify the causes of these non-random events and modify or eliminate them by adjusting the process.
(7) Scatter chart, which can show whether there is a relationship between two variables. The closer the data points on a diagonal line are, the closer the correlation between the two variables is.
These seven basic quality management tools, also known as "old seven tools", can be abbreviated as "cause and effect diagrams, flow charts, histograms, checklists, scatter plots, Pare Totograms, control charts. For more knowledge points and related exam questions over the years, please look for conciseness in the application treasure. If you are busy with projects and have thought about soft exams, you need conciseness!