RCA
The acronym RCA stands for this
What is root cause analysis?
This creative technique helps teams generate many ideas in a short amount of time, encourages participation from everyone, and builds on each other’s thinking to unlock new solutions.
What is brainstorming?
Lean focuses on reducing this, while Six Sigma aims to reduce variation.
What is waste?
This describes what problem you are trying to solve.
What is a problem statement?
This visual tool is commonly used to track improvement over time.
What is a Run chart?
Developed by Ishikawa, another term for this diagram
What is a Fishbone diagram or Cause and Effect diagram?
This brainstorming tool groups similar ideas into categories or themes.
What is an Affinity Diagram?
In the 8 Wastes of Lean (WASTEFUL), this type of waste occurs when team members are not used to their full potential.
What is underutilized talent?
This term means “the real place” and refers to observing work where it actually happens.
What is a Gemba Walk?
This type of chart helps identify the most common causes or categories contributing to a problem, based on the 80/20 rule.
What is a Pareto chart?
The number of times one typically asks 'why'
What is 5?
This matrix helps prioritize ideas based on effort and impact.
What is the Action Priority Matrix (or Impact Effort Matrix or PICK Chart, or 2 by 2)?
This improvement approach focuses on reducing variation and defects in a process—and is often described as allowing no more than 3.4 defects per million opportunities
What is Six Sigma?
Capturing this helps ensure improvement efforts align with what customers truly need and want.
What is Voice of the Customer (VOC)?
Scheduling a well-care visit is an example of this type of metric, while completed visits are an example of this other type. Together, they show leading vs. lagging performance.
What are process (leading) and outcome (lagging) metrics?
This is entered into the head of the fish
What is the problem statement?
In an Action Priority Matrix, ideas are plotted by impact and effort. Name the four resulting categories used to guide decision-making.
What are Quick Wins, Major Projects, Fill-ins, and Thankless Tasks? (also acceptable, Possible, Implement, Challenge, Kill)
In Lean, this type of waste can include “swivel chair” tasks—like manually entering the same data into multiple systems—causing delays and extra effort moving information between tools.
What is transportation?
This visual tool depicts each step in a workflow or process, helping teams identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
What is a process map? (or workflow, or flowchart)
This measure of central tendency is used in run charts instead of an average.
What is the median?
These are the 6 categories typically used when creating a fishbone diagram
What are:
People/Manpower; Machine; Measures; Mother Nature/Environment; Methods/Process; Materials?
To evaluate the impact and effort of an improvement project, teams often consider multiple factors beyond just the idea itself. Name three common criteria used to assess whether a project is worth pursuing.
What are any three of the following: cost, development stage, alignment with strategic goals, timeline, significance, measurability, or barriers?
This Japanese Lean concept is not one of the 8 Wastes, but acts like a hidden force that saps productivity by overloading people, equipment, or processes—leading to exhaustion, burnout, and increased errors. Think: exhausted staff, overtaxed machines, or convoluted workflows.
What is Muri?
Besides the project lead and team members, this role is accountable for the project’s success and must provide active, visible support throughout the improvement effort.
Who is the executive sponsor?
These 3 elements are required in a run chart.
What are the median (to detect shifts), a goal line (to compare against a target), and annotations (to explain changes or interventions)?