Many quality characteristics, especially those related to innovation, customer needs, and product development issues upstream, are not easily quantifiable.
Most problems that must be solved by managers and staff use verbal data.
The seven new tools of QC (N7), developed by the Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers (JUSE), were devised to aid in organizing, analyzing, and interpreting qualitative and worded data. These tools were subsequently modified and adapted to American industrial practices by Goal/QPC to a similar set of management and planning tools, called the Seven Management and Planning Tools (7 MP Tools): affinity diagram, interrelationship diagraph (I.D.), tree diagram, prioritization matrices, matrix diagram, process decision program chart (PDPC), and activity network diagram.
The 7 MP tools are by and large qualitative and preventive; B7 tools, on the other hand, are essentially quantitative and diagnostic.
An affinity diagram is a set of ideas about the topic in question that are grouped based on their similarity. It is a problem-solving tool for chaotic, difficult, complex problems.
An interrelationship diagraph (I.D.) is a tool that helps explore and identify causal relationships between various ideas. It is thus an extension of an affinity diagram and is often drawn after an affinity diagram has been constructed.
The tree diagram is a technique to identify the most important, appropriate, and effective means of attaining a given set of objectives. It charts various paths in increasingly unfolding details to achieve a principal objective and other related goals.
Prioritization matrices prioritize tasks, issues, or product characteristics based on known weighted criteria using a combination of tree and matrix diagram techniques.
A matrix diagram displays complex relationships involving two or more sets of ideas. A number of forms have been used, but L-shaped is the most common.
A PDPC is like a tree diagram that seeks to identify all the things that can possibly go wrong. It also specifies necessary countermeasures to prevent or correct them.
An activity network diagram is essentially a combination of Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM). It also includes other network diagrams such as node diagram, activity on node diagram (AON), and precedence diagram (PDM). This tool is used to plan the most appropriate schedule for a complex task when the task at hand is a familiar one.
