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TOC and Lean both are usefull waste management methods. But TOc focuses more on identifying and removing waste that impacts output. Where as in Lean all types of waste is managed including the ones not impacting output. Example of traffic jams in Hinjewadi IT park : TOC will identify the bottleneck spots and will fix them to ensure smooth traffic. Where as Lean will also fix the bottleneck areas but it will also look at the whole root for any possible blockages and will remove them even if they were not the main ones causing the overall traffic.

GMD is mainly preferred over other shopping tools when project involves multiple goals or benefits for different stakeholders. Hence GMD helps in aligning them in a visual structure to understand the flow or priorities. It is also useful when interrelation between stakeholders and their goals needs to be planned in initial stages. Key Elements of GMD: 1. Defining individual goals clearly against each stakeholders. 2. Stack these goals and benefits in a sequence to ensure they are positively influence next goal in the project. 3. Show actions and processes to achieve each goals. 4. GMD is updated regularly as the project progresses.

Focused Group Discussion (FGD) is a type of qualitative research method in which generally a small group of about 5 to 10 people with different skillet or knowledge discuss a specific topic in a controlled conversation. A professional moderator facilitates the discussion to ensure its controlled so right insights and outcome is derived from the FGD. Some if the challenges with FGD is in challange to control the discussion in productive outcome oriented direction as it has tendancy to go wrong direction if dominant participants is too aggressive. It can also be difficult to find right participants as it can be time consuming. Another challange is measure the outcomes as it is mainly based on verbal insights or assumptions. FGD is mainly used as initial brainstorming sessions with relevant stakeholders in Define and Analysis phase of DMAIC. But it can also be used in other phases to extent a certain topic. It can also be used in Control phase to discuss outcome and gather feedback etc.

BOSCARD is an acronym for Background, Objectives, Scope, Constraints, Assumptions, Risks, and Deliverables. It is more particular ans organised way of presenting a project planning. It is mainly used to gain quick agreements from stakeholders. Whereas Project Charter is more of standard formal document used to gain approval from relevant stakeholders before the project is initiated. Project charter precisely includes information about cost & efforts involved to complete the project plus it must include the measurable benefits. It also includes key stakeholders to make decisions and to get their approvals. BOSCARD is mainly used for quick and simple projects where as Project Charter is suitable only for complex projects.

In Critical Path Method (CPM), float is basically maximum buffer time allowed in the project's planned scheduled without impacting the outcome. Its also called slack meaning no activity time. There are two types of float, Free float which is the buffer or slack time between the scheduled actions and there is Total float which is the total buffer time allowed. Project lead can prioritise the critical tasks to ensure zero or minimum float so there is no impact out final outcome and timeline. This way less critical tasks which may have extra float time can be utilise if there are any delays in top priority tasks. This way if there is any slack in task completion, it can be adjusted.

Pareto analysis is used to plot total % of contributing factors which impact all the outcomes. And 80/20 rule in Pareto basically a standard assumption that 20% of the contributing factors impact 80% of the outcomes. This is just a standard assumption though the rate may vary a little but in most cases it's very close. So 80/20 Pareto rule helps focus on top priorities to focus on to gain maximum outcomes.

Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) is a maintenance method that mainly focuses on reliability and sustainability of the equipment used in production by maintaining to get longer time production. Top Pillars of TPM: Equipment Quality checks. Proactive maintenance. Planned service maintenance. Predictive parts maintenance. Production maintenance. Learning and improvement. TQM Is Total Quality Management which is more production outcome & customer experience focused. TQM is mainly focused to improve quality and productivity while TPM is to improve cost of production by improving equipment longevity.

Availability is one of the 3 parameters along with Performance and Quality in OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) calculation. Availability is calculated as : Actual Time / Planned Time. Availability can be miscalculated by not considering Forecasting time accurately. Not considering planned outages/downtime in the forecasting. Ignoring known factors that may cause unplanned outages and downtime. To avoid this, include all the factors that impacts planned or unplanned outages. Also ensure to consider historical data for similar sequence which will help in forecasting. E.g.: Suppose a contact center operates for 70 hours a week. But in a given week it has 5 hours of planned outages due to some system upgrade. And it also 1 hour of unplanned outage due to some breakdown in systems. So Availability should be calculated as Availability = (70- 5-1) / 70 = 64/70 = 0.9142 = 91% . So actual availability is 9% less than planned one.

Scoping: To understand the level of LSS requirement, number of functions it needs to roll out, budget and resources requirements. E.g. In a contact center check requirement for LSS in BUs like WFM, Quality, MIS, Operations, Training etc. Then understand how many YB, GB or BB level champions required. Take all the details and make a proposal. Leadership Approval & Commitment: Present the business case for requirement of LSS methodology rollout to the leadership. Get approval for required budget, resources & senior management commitment to help drive. E.g. Get budget approval for LSS training at required level from YB to BB. Set expectations on number of projects etc. Set expectations to commit for regular meetings and governance of the whole roll out. Planning: Another assessment to understand the rollout level of requirements and then plan further by creating actions with timelines. E.g. Create LSS champions, Create suitable training programs, set project selection plans, create an R&R program etc Communication: Roll out comms to explain the coms across the organisation, so everyone is on board. E.g. Email comms to explain the plan followed by briefings to explain it further and to encourage people to participate. Delivery: Train the champions first on LSS. High level meets with all the champions to understand respective processes and gather data. Recognise all improvement opportunities and follow selection criteria to finalise projects. Try to combine or assign multiple YBs under a GB and multiple GBs under a BB projects that way it's a collective effort which should further help create that LSS culture across the board. Create a feedback mechanism from all stakeholders. Set regular rhythms for continuous improvement opportunities so it's and habitual in future. Closure: Conduct post implementation review to measure success. Understand improvements required in the roll out & support required. Create SOP for L&D and final handover.

Cause & Effect Matrix is one of the tools used in DMAIC methodology of for improvements. Generally in its Analysis phase to understand the impact of each variable input has on outcomes. So each inputs are treated as a possible Cause and impact on output is considered Effect. Cause & Effect Diagram is a graphical representation of initial due diligence to categories them in different parts thus forming a tree or fishbone like structure leading to the outcome. As opposed to Cause & Effect Matrix which actually helps in priorities the focus areas. Example: Below table shows some of the Cause as the reason for higher Transfer rates Where as Transfer Rate itself is the Effect. Cause Effect Root Cause Transfer Impact Priority Incorrect IVR Routing 15% 3 Associate Ownership 40% 1 Associate Limited Access 5% 5 Associate Lack of Knowledge 30% 3 Too many options in IVR 10% 4