Objectives

Analyze a quality concern and present findings.

Describe a quality issue within a process.

Identify how this quality issue aligns with the goals and objectives of your organization.

Use three quality tools (chart or diagrams only) to further analyze the problem. See examples below:

Use a quality tool to define the root cause of the problem, such as a fishbone diagram,

A flow chart can be used to determine the current process,

Prioritize and display the problem using a Pareto chart in order to help make the decision on which problem should be addressed first.

Using the quality improvement tools, analyze the data and present your conclusions.

Be sure to site and/or provide sources of information, i.e. a survey or report.

The idea is to show understanding of the concepts and the ability to apply the quality tools discussed in the reading material, refer to the syllabus for additional criteria.

Best Practices for Success

Length: It is meant to be a formal paper, however, it is not meant to be a long paper. Covering the objectives will suffice. You can expect the body (text only) to be 1 to 2 pages. This does not include diagrams / charts, they can be attached at the end, if you'd like.

Topic: You can use a situation at work, school, volunteer, or even home life. Below are some example of quality topics to analyze, including topics from previous classes:

Improving your morning routine so it will be more efficient

Improving payment processes at work that takes a long time

Improving the process of getting everyone in a company to schedule availability for training

Improving the logistics of a manufacturing process at work by changing the layout

Improving the flow in a home kitchen by reorganizing

Overcoming barriers to sticking to a fitness routine

Quality Tools: You need to create the three diagrams/charts from the variety of quality tools. You could use a flow chart to map out the current process, a fishbone can be used to identify the root cause, take a survey of a root cause and then chart them in a Pareto diagram, use a quality checklist, use already generated data to create control chart, etc. Be sure to site where the data metrics came from. Also, you can hand-draw them if you are not very familiar with programs like Excel or PowerPoint, although, I prefer for you to attempt to create them on the computer for the experience.

Special Note: If you write about your employer, you do not have to go into specifics the company, if you do not wish to do so. Also, make sure that if you use data that you have permission! You will be turning it in to just me, but I don't want anyone getting in trouble. Many students have received permission, analyzed the process, and actually presented it to management and had the processes approved for work.