Glossary Terms

Process measures

Measures related to individual steps as well as to the total process; predictors of output measures.

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Process redesign

Method of restructuring process flow elements eliminating handoffs, rework loops, inspection points, and other non-value-adding activities; typically means “clean slate” design of a business segment and accommodates major changes or yields exponential improvements (similar to reengineering). See also Process Improvement; Reenigneering

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Project rationale or “Business Case”

Broad statement defining area of concern or opportunity, including impact/benefit of potential improvements, or risk of not improving a process; links to business strategies, the customer, and/or company values. Provided by business leaders to an improvement team and used to develop problem statement and Project Charter.

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Proportion defective

Fraction of units with defects; number of defective units divided by the total number of units; translate the decimal figure to a percentage. See also Defects; Defective

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Preliminary plan

Used when developing milestones for team activities related to process improvement; includes key tasks, target completion dates, responsibilities, potential problems, obstacles and contingencies, and communication strategies.

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Quality

A broad concept and/or discipline involving degree of excellence; a distinguished attribute or nature; conformance to specifications; measurable standards of comparison so that applications can be consistently directed toward business goals.

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Quality assurance, or QA

Discipline (or department) of maintaining product or service conformance to customer specifications; primary tools are inspection and SPC.

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Quality council

Leadership group guiding the implementation of quality or Six Sigma within an organization; establishes, reviews, and supports the progress of quality improvement teams.

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Random sampling

Method that allows each item or person chosen to be measured is selected completely by chance.

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Reengineering

Design or redesign of business; similar to Process Redesign, though in practice usually at a much larger scale or scope.

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Repeatability

Measurement stability concept in which a single person gets the same results each time he/she measures and collects data; necessary to ensure data consistency and stability. See also Reproducibility.

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Reproducibility

Measurement stability concept in which different people get the same results when they measure and collect data using the same methods; necessary to ensure data consistency and stability. See also Repeatability.

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Revision plans

A mechanism (process) for updating processes, procedures, and documentation.

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Rework loop

Any instance in a process when the thing moving through the process has to be corrected by returning it to a previous step or person/organization in the process; adds time, costs, and potential for confusion and more defects. See also Non-Value-Adding Activities.

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Rolled throughput yield or RTY

The cumulative calculation of defects through multiple steps in a process; total input units, less the number of errors in the first process step number of items “rolled through” that step; to get a percentage, take the number of items coming through the process correctly divided by the number of total units going into the […]

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Run chart, or time plot

Measurement display tool showing variation in a factor over time; indicates trends, patterns, and instances of special causes of variation. see also Control Chart; Special Cause; Variation.

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Sampling

Using a smaller group to represent the whole; foundation of statistics which can save time, money, and effort; allows for more meaningful data; can improve accuracy of measurement system.

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Sampling bias

When data can be prejudiced in one way or another and do not represent the whole.

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Scatter plot or diagram

Graph used to show relationship-or correlation-between two factors or variables. See also Correlation Coefficient.

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Scope

Defines the boundaries of the process or the Process Improvement project; clarifies specifically where opportunities for improvement reside (start- and end-points); defines where and what to measure and analyze; needs to be within the sphere of influence and control of the team working on the project-the broader the scope, the more complex and time-consuming the […]

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