Many of us know about the voice of the customer work, but have you considered that the brainstorming actions in the measure phase is really collecting the voice of the business?

This act is called Wisdom of the Organization in Breyfogle’s Integrated Enterprise Excellence system for good reason. This step is the last effort to complete the list of causes to address in the Analyze Phase.

If you have only been taught to do brainstorming a list of causes and then prioritize them in a Cause and effect matrix then you are missing opportunities. I want to share a couple of non-traditional paths through this activity that I find useful.

First is to reduce the brainstorming list through group voting as the first effort to focus on the critical causes. A round 1 vote where all members vote yes or no on each cause will quickly drop the less serious ones. If you have more than 10 or so left, go to a round 2 vote where every member gets 5 to 7 votes. They pick their favorites and then the top voted items continue on to the prioritization matrix. A variant of the round 2 vote is to give every team member 5-7 stickers and have them sticker their choices. I guess this is not really non-traditional, since quality circles were using these rules 20 years ago.

Another option is the tree diagram. It is also called a why-why diagram or a fault tree diagram. I first saw it in Root Cause Analysis training many years ago. I find it to be the most efficient method to develop causes in a process or system that is well known and understood. Where you start with the problem and build branches to the first set of high level causes. Then create branches from each of those causes. This method supports a concept that every cause could be an effect of a earlier cause. A simple example of this can be done for my car wont start

When you use this tool only the bottom (or right) most causes are taken into analyze. You stop the why-why questioning when each branch results in an actionable cause. A cause that can be evaluated or tested for its existence and impact on the project problem. I find this tool faster than many other tools and its results are quite good.

Another method could be Affinity Diagraming. This is a creativity tool used often in strategic planning when you believe the group knows what to do. (Not my favorite for strategic planning) This tool is great when you have no direction or too much scope and you need to focus effort. Read about it for the rules, but here is a simple description. Everyone on the team lists their causes and writes them on post-it notes. The notes are randomly placed on a big table. The group (without talking) arranges notes that are similar (have an affinity for each other) together. The effort runs until there are 2-4 main groups of notes. This can take time, usually over an hour. Then the team divides up, with people assigned to take each group and derive out of it the unifying theme and then write a paragraph describing it. These groups are like causes that you will address.

Process map comparisons is another favorite. In a project I like to create at least 3 process maps. One is based on the published documents that I create before I view the process operating. A second is created as I watch the process be executed. A third process map is created with my team as a group. I have done a fourth with the process managers at times. After the team process map is complete, I pull out all the other process maps and discuss the differences. Every difference is a cause that will be on my list for assessing with the brainstorming.

Well there are a few thoughts on capturing the voice of the business. Give them a try.

Rick.