Q 503. What are the different types of project artifacts as per Project Management Book of Knowledge? Which of these are relevant for a DMAIC project? In which phases of DMAIC are they likely to be created? 

 

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Let’s understand what an ARTIFACT is.

In project management, artifacts relate to documents, templates, outputs, or a specific deliverable. Which will be created by the project’s manager/members. Also, artifacts are related to the work of managing the project, not the output of the project.

There are 9 types of artifacts as per PMBOK, which are:

1. Strategy artifacts (Relates to strategy and project initiation)

Documents that are developed at the start of the project, normally don’t change in between. A few examples are,

·        Business case

·        Project vision statement

·        Project charter

·        Roadmap

 

2. Logs and registers

It relates to the various project management logs (records) and registers, we normally use as a part of the daily management of the project process. This category represents a set of endlessly evolving documents. They will be updated regularly and throughout the project. Eg,

·        Assumption log

·        Risk register

·        Backlog (see, agile project artifacts are relevant too)

·        Stakeholder register

 

3. Plans (Relates to the different types of plans formed)

These plans are developed to help us to run the project. All these can either be in one document or separate documents. (Which includes written documents, visual drawings, and flow charts)

·        Communication management plan

·        Project release plan (Phase by Phase)

·        Work scope management plan

·        Iteration plan

·        Testing or validation plan

·        Quality plan and process

·        Logistics plan

4. Hierarchy charts (Describes the relationships between various parts of the project) such as,

·        (WBS) Work breakdown structure

·        Product breakdown structure

·        Organizational breakdown structure

·        Risk breakdown structure Etc,.

5. Baselines (Created and monitored throughout the project, which represent approved versions of the plan) Eg,

·        Budget

·        Milestone schedule

·        Scope baseline

·        Performance measurement baseline

6. Visual data and information (Types of visual data we might have on the projects are,)

The point of having visual data sources is that they make it easier to understand the information. Normally these visuals will be created after we complete a data analysis which helps us absorb the information.

·        Cycle time chart

·        Project dashboard

·        Flow charts

·        Gantt charts

·        Requirement’s traceability matrix

·        Velocity chart

·        S-curve

7. Reports (Some of the typical reports produced on a project are,)

·        Quality report

·        Risk report

·        Status report and update

·        Formal records for stakeholders (highlight report for a sponsor or an update to the PMO)

8. Agreements and contracts

Agreements and contracts on the project are known as internal and external. (Agreement related to the procurement of material or service is known as external. The agreement made within the departments is known as internal.) Eg,

·        MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)

·        Fixed price contract

·        Cost-reimbursable contract

·        Time and materials contract for delivery

·        Indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract

·        Any other type of legally binding agreement

9. Other (Artifacts that don’t easily fit into the above category such as, )

• Requirements
• Team charter
• Bidding documents, etc.,

 

Project management artifacts by phases,

Though the documents created are used and updated throughout the project life cycle, the idea of project management artifacts by phase may not be really accurate. However, we can create and align them under the most relevant project phase, where the artifacts are heavily used.

In my view most of the artifacts are relevant to the DMAIC project, the below-mentioned table shows the alignment of artifacts with respect to the appropriate project phase and its alignment.

 

In general project	Typical artifacts	In DMAIC project
Initiation	Business case	Define
	Project vision statement
	Project charter
	Roadmap
	Team charter
Planning	Assumption log	Define, Measure & Analyse
	Risk register
	Issue register
	Change log
	Stakeholder register
	Comms management plan
	Release plan
	Scope management plan
	Test plan
	Quality plan
	Logistics plan
	Work breakdown structure
	Product breakdown structure
	Organizational breakdown structure
	Risk breakdown structure
	Budget baseline
	Milestone schedule baseline
	Scope baseline
	Performance measurement baseline
	Gantt chart
	Requirements and requirements traceability matrix
Execution	Dashboard	Improve
	Flow charts or process maps as needed
	MOU, contracts, and agreements
Monitoring	Quality report	Control
	Risk report
	Status report
	Ad hoc stakeholder reports
Closure	Project closure document	Sharing
	Handover documents

 

Project Artifacts:

Any documents, templates, output or some specific deliverable which is relating to the project is called Project artifacts

There are nine types of artifacts

1. Strategy – Any document that relates to strategy of the project and project initiation such as Business case, project charter, roadmaps, timelines etc.
2. Logs and registers – Any documents that is used for the managing the daily/ monthly activity of any project such as the risk register, error log, time sheet etc.
3. Plans – Any document that relates to the plan of the project such as Scope plan, quality plan, logistic plan etc.
4. Hierarchy charts – Document the relates to the organizational structure of the specific project such as Organizational chart, Risk management chart, escalation details etc.
5. Baselines – Any baseline that is created in the project such as the SLA baselining of the process.
6. Visual data and information – Any data that is used to visually represent the progress in the project, flow of the process etc. Example is Flowchart, dashboard etc.
7. Reports – Any report that is shared relating to the project such as the quality report, risk report, status report etc.
8. Agreements and contracts – Any documents that relates to the contract commitment and agreements of the process such as Cost reimbursable contract, time and material contracts etc.
9. Other – Any artifacts that don’t fall under the above category such as the team charter .

Project Phase	Artifacts
Initiation	·        Business case ·        Vision ·        Project Charter ·        Roadmap/ Time lines ·        Team charter
Planning	·        Risk register ·        Stakeholder register ·        Quality plan ·        Organizational breakdown structure ·        Scope baseline ·        Performance measurement baseline ·        Gantt charts
Execution	·        Dashboards ·        Flow charts
Monitoring and Control	·        Quality reports ·        Risk reports ·        Status reports
Closure	·        Project closure document ·        Handover document

 

 

PMP		DMAIC		Comparision
Project phase	Typical artifacts	Project phase	Typical artifacts
Initiation	Business case	Define phase	Project Charter	PMP uses various documents in the initiation phase DMAIC model uses a Project charter which covers business case, vision and team details along with emphasis on dollar saving or impact it would make for that specific project project.
	Project vision statement		Value Stream Map	VSM help us understand the entire process and understand the current process v/s future state that we anticipate it to be
	Project charter
	Roadmap
	Team charter
Planning	Assumption log	Measure	Process Maps Capability Analysis Pareto chart	PMP may have a list of artefacts to be created but for DMAIC project the artefacts list is fairly simple. During the planning stage of PMP and Measure stage of DMAIC we create documents to record the activities performed, ability of the process to meet the client standard and record any variations
	Risk register
	Issue register
	Change log
	Stakeholder register
	Comms management plan
	Release plan
	Scope management plan
	Test plan
	Quality plan
	Logistics plan
	Work breakdown structure	Analyse & Improve	Root Cause Analysis Failure Mode and Effect analysis Variation charts Kaizen events	The data gathers in the measure phase to used for further analysis to identify the main causes and assess any risk that could be mitigated or accounted for. We will aslo use the data to assess the level of variations in the X that we have which can be tracked through variation charts, and other data points dereived from baseline studies
	Product breakdown structure
	Organizational breakdown structure
	Risk breakdown structure
	Budget baseline
	Milestone schedule baseline
	Scope baseline
	Performance measurement baseline
	Gantt chart
	Requirements and requirements traceability matrix
Execution	Dashboard
	Flow charts or process maps as needed
	MOU, contracts and agreements (but could be earlier in the life cycle depending on the type of vendor)
Monitoring and Control	Quality report	Control	Control plan 5 S Poka Yoke Handover documents	The control plan works hand in hand with the quality and risk reports that are shared during the Monitring phase of PMP. A step further to DMAIC will be how do we address these and pu the necessary contrls on place to sustain consistent performance. Once the process is capable and stable the project is decomissioned and handover to the relevant stakeholder is initiated.
	Risk report
	Status report
	Ad hoc stakeholder reports
Closure	Project closure document
	Handover documents

 

Project artifacts can be classified into nine types as specified below

1.       Strategy: strategic artifacts are related to planning and strategizing, and feature during project initiation

2.       Logs / Register: This category of artifacts covers all the documents involved in charting the day-to-day management of the project

3.       Plans: This category of artifacts deals in the various forms of plans produced which help managers to run the project and guide it in its normal course with the effective ways

4.       Hierarchy Charts: This category of artifacts plan a relationship role between the different parts and variables of a project and break down a project into smaller, self-contained units and view for effortless monitoring and management

5.       Baselines: This category of artifacts is the approved versions of what we plan or forecast. under ideal circumstances these act as the benchmarks and can be created or updated as major changes take place within the project or as it migrates from one phase to another

6.       Visual Data and information: This category of artifacts is an umbrella that covers every other artifact that is visually presented, unlike the traditionally “written” document

7.       Reports: This category of artifacts generate several reports by manually or by automation to act on the findings of the reports. Most commonly reports are Quality report, Risk assessment report, Status report and Progress report

8.       Agreements and contracts:  This category of artifacts are involved in activities like purchases, outsourcing tasks and accessing services. drawn up agreements and contracts are Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Fixed price contract, Time and materials contract,

The indefinite-delivery and indefinite-quantity contract

9.       Other: This catefory of artifacts is the final category and a miscellaneous bucket. It contains an assortment of project elements and Some of these may not regularly feature in standard project management practices but could be specific to the needs of a project.

A project book of knowledge creates multiple documentation based on a project based on stakeholders and requirements. Some of the commonly used artifacts are

Strategic Documents- This is initial documentation of a project has vision and mission-related documents from Charter to baseline

Registers & Log : These documents are important for a Project manager to track all progress and changes of the project.

Communication Plan: Some Project store Management plan a separate track, but widely used on the ground is a communication plan, to track the availability of each stakeholder and establish constant communication

Hierarchical Diagram: This break the structure from top to bottom related to project from Project, Risk, Organisation, Product etc

SOW or Agreement and Contract: Where all project contractual document

Dashboard & Reports: It has all project reports and a Dashboard

Based on the project artifact is further broken down further from the above broad category to have Product release, Baseline, Cost plan etc.

DMAIC can be a subset of Project Management to accelerate a project or improve quality scores, so artifacts from PMBOK are part of DMAIC. Project management and DMAIC the define phase have a very similar approach to defining. Project charter, team charter and project road map, Voice of the customer, Project goal. These some similar available in the Strategy artifacts

Baseline, Requirement document, and Risk log can be part of the Measure phase, Any risk management artifice can also be used in Analyse & Improve phase. All tracking Artifacts like RACI and issue logs will also be part of the Control phase.

Tollgate review on all phases of DMAIC is followed by all project management in communication plan artifacts.

Artifacts in Project Management

Background and importance

Project Management involves extensive planning, execution and effective communication within teams and with stakeholders. Documentation holds the soul of any effective project management skill. Artifacts are the documents that provide relevant information to project that may be Vision and Need for project, from Business case, VOC, VOB, VOP, VOE to Scope, Specification and Stages of project along with timelines, expected impact, templates, analysis reports, etc. All these elements are of high importance for the team and all related parties to the project keep referring back to artifacts during various stages of project. Management can do a comparison between planned and actual status, take corrective actions, be proactive in taking decisions and enhance effective and efficient closer of the project.

Type of Artifacts

There are 9 different types of Artifacts known and extensively used in project management.

1)   Strategy Artifact

Client expectation, Need of the project, Scope and Metrics, Charter etc are documents created at the beginning of the project. These documents basically define the objective of running a project. Stakeholder’s agreement, commitment and sign off for investment is generally initiated with these set of documents. This artifact is vital as it allows the team to refer back to Strategy decided in the beginning and allows them to course correct the execution plan to deliver the desired result.

DMAIC – prepared mostly in Define stage but is referred back at each stage.

2)   Communication Plan

Most of the projects will have their focus around ARMI and Communication. Starting with the core team responsible to participate / deliver to sponsors, champion and aligned Quality team, the frequency, content and medium of communication varies. A well lay out plan and shared with the interested team improves credibility, expectation, transparency and ensures accountability.

DMAIC - prepared mostly in Define stage but is referred back at each stage.

3)   Logs and Register

Projects has dependency of various types of data gathering and its analysis. This is important for team to focus on the identification of relevant potential aspects and create an action plan to improve the performance. A project manager should always keep a record of all data analysis and records used and mentioned during decision making and execution.  Risk, Assumptions, Historical output data, Stakeholder feedback etc all should be documented in form of a standard register.

DMAIC – Mostly prepared during measure and analysis phase but is quite relevant in Improve and control stages

4)   General Plans

Ensuring in time progress and expected outcome is Project Manager’s core responsibility. Usually, manager will prepare multiple plans aligned with the core vision and committed objective. Example logistics, accuracy, iteration and exception handling, UAT results etc all should have an exclusive plan. This allows focus and continuity to the project progress.

DMAIC – most used in Improve phase but often is important in all phases including Measure to Control.

5)   Reports

Periodic report submission is an integral part of stakeholder and team management. A summary view on how project is progressing against target, influences the authority to take decisions and ensure success to the project. Investments, Quality, Risk etc are some of the examples that gets officially submitted as record for stakeholders.

DMAIC: Created in all stages of the project mostly from Measure stage

 

6)   Organization Hierarchy Charts

Depending on the scope, landscape and characteristics, a relationship exists between various process, departments, products, teams and stakeholders. A well-defined representation via a chart shows the value flow and inter dependency between various parties. This also helps to establish an Escalation channel, ownership of process breakdown and associated risk. 

DMAIC – Most often prepared in Define stage but it keeps getting updated and at different layers during every stage of the project.

 

7)   Visual Dashboarding and information

Day wise performance, month on month comparison, inter operator level performance etc all are considered to be live documents. The visual representation of performance and status is an easy way to communicate all teams on how progress is compared to defined targets. An excellent tool for Operations as well as stakeholders, enables GENBA and documented response and explanations serves in Root cause analysis and appraisals.

DMAIC – Improve and Control stage has most relevance but can also be leveraged for various stages of Analyse phase.

 

8)   Baseline

Baseline is the defined set and approved version of how the project should perform. Budget allocation and usage, man power deployment, timelines to milestone and performance are some examples where Baseline is used extensively. Baselines can get updated as the project progresses during each stage of the project starting with Define stage.

DMAIC – used in all stages of the project but Improve and Control stages has most focus and attraction as it facilitates a performance comparison for team and stakeholders.

 

9)   Agreement and contracts

Depending on project, the various binding and agreed clauses in an agreement are documented. The only one assurance cover or guard that both the service provider and investor to a project may have to resolve the dispute in the eyes of law. Price, delivery time, material quality and reimbursement contracts are various example of agreement that stakeholders get into either before or during the course of project.

DMAIC – Often the generic agreements are signed off during Define / Pre-define stage of projects but dependent on the outcome and progress, agreements can be made between the interested parties. Measure and Analyse phases would witness most the real time document.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A quick summary of Artifacts adaption in DMAIC

 

	Define	Measure	Analyse	Improve	Control
Strategy	P	R	M	R	R
Communication	P	M	M	M	M
Log and Register	P	P	P	P	P
General Plans	P	P	P	M	R
Reports	R	P	P	P	P
Hierarchy Charts	P	M	M	M	M
Dashboards	R	P	R	P	M
Baseline	P	R	M	R	R
Agreements	P	R	M	P	P

 

P – Prepared, Maintained and Referred, M – Maintained and Referred, R – Referred mostly

The chart is a directionally generic recommendation and with the assumption that all the artifacts can be prepared and maintained during any stage of DMAIC and need be.

 

A project/design artifact is the attestation a company produces that defines and supports a design's process. Artifacts generally relate to design operation and include documents, labors, specific deliverables, goals and templates. They help align systems with the objects of an organization, address the requirements of stakeholders and define a team’s prospects. Basic Artifacts include charters, client analyses and business cases. Management may frequently modernize artifacts to reflect changes in the compass of a design.

 

 10 design artifact types

 

 

 1. Strategy Artifacts

 Strategy Artifacts addresses attestation that relates to a project's inauguration. Creating these artifacts is generally the first step of a design, as they help guide a crew's work moving forward. These artifacts frequently remain the same throughout an entire design. Common strategy artifacts include design proposals, charters, vision statements and roadmaps. These documents define crucial rudiments of a design similar as its description, compass, resources, schedule and liabilities.

These artifacts are created in Define phase of a DMAIC project.

 

 2. Communication plan

 An effective squad working on a design frequently creates a communication plan to agree on appropriate and effective ways to convey significant information. For illustration, they can develop strategies to communicate effectively about discussions, issues, document reviews, access to deliverables and the status of a design. A group generally creates their communication plan at the startup of a design/project.

This plan is again used mostly in Define phase of a DMAIC project.

 

3. Logs and registers

This artifact relate to design operation logs and registers that project group members dissect daily, as it helps them to measure a design's process and determine their tasks for a particular day. Logs and registers include risk registers, supposition logs, backlogs and stakeholder registers.

This part is used in Measure phase mostly.

 

 4. Release specifications

 A project team uses release specifications to test raw particulars , units in development and end products. These specifications allow a group to measure the showing of a product before its use or release. Release specifications generally include vision statements and evaluation criteria, while vision statements frequently include the contract between a inventor and a buyer. Evaluation criteria refers to the conditions operation labor force may use to determine whether a design met its pretensions.

This is again used Measure phase mostly.

 

5. General plans

Another important design artifact is plans that directors develop to determine how they can optimally insure a design's progression and effectiveness. This artifact may be in one or several documents and include both textual and visual rudiments. You may encounter general plans related to logistics, quality, releases, compass operation, replication and tests while working on a design.

Analyse phase is where this is mostly utilized.

 

 6. Reports

 Effective design operation also frequently involves a series of reports. Some typical reports may cover the quality, status and pitfalls of a design. Another piece of attestation that you may include in this order of design vestiges is formal records for stakeholder use.

Analyse and Improve phase is where these reports are being used.

 

7. Grading charts

 Grading/Hierarchy maps describe the connections between different corridor of a design in detailed sections. They include breakdown structures of work processes, association, products and pitfalls. Depending on the design you are completing, a head may produce variety of options of each breakdown at a slow or fast pace or forget certain Grading maps. You might consider evolving on these vestiges constantly.

These are associated with Define, Improve and Control phases.

 

 8. Visual data and information

 This order refers to anything that a director might not consider to be a traditional document. This includes inflow maps, dashboards, traceability matrices and velocity maps. Visual data sources can make it easier for a group to understand information about a design. A project manager may provide visual information sources after they complete data analysis and use tools to modernize them automatically.

This step is utilized in Control phase.

 

 9. Baseline

 These represent approved performances of the plan to which they relate. For instance,  these include budgets, scope , corner schedules and performance dimension . A project manager generally creates and updates these metrics throughout a design's duration.

Again, this is mainly used during Control phase.

 

10. Agreements and contracts

 This order refers to any fairly binding agreements that apply to a design. Some systems include contracts, while others may not bear the use of these types of documents. Fixed price contracts, time and refund contracts and cost payment contracts are all common agreements you might encounter while working on a design.

This is applicable to Define and maybe measure phase.

 

The 5 Phases for Project Artifacts are as follows, 

• Initiating 
• Planning
• Executing
• Monitor and Closing 
• Closing

 

Here is a brief breakdown. 

 

Project Artifacts :

     Project Artifacts are any written documents that an organization produces documents to outline and support a project’s workflow. They can include documents plan design code and even meeting notes.

   One of the most important things about project artifacts is that they can be used to track the progress of the project this is especially useful if there are multiple people working on a project by having a centralized location for all the project artifacts. It is easy to what has been done and what skill needs to be done another advantage using a project they can help in problem-solving.

    If something goes wrong with the project the artifacts can be used to help identify the source of the problem. This can then be used to fix the problem and hopefully prevent it from happening again in the future. They also support stakeholder requirements, establish expectations and align the project with organizational goals.

 Since the majority of artifacts are live project documents most of them need to be constantly updated.   The project artifacts outline the activities necessary to produce a deliverable.

Different Types of Artifacts as per Project Management Book Knowledge

1)            Strategy Artifacts:- 

          Strategy artifacts Include the business case and feasibility study, the Vision statement and project chatters, and the cost-benefit analysis. The strategy artifacts were created before the work began. This artifacts do not change as the work progresses.

 

2)      Register and Log

             In this category, we find artifacts such as the stakeholder register the backlog the issue log and risk register. A project manager can use these artifacts to evaluate how far along a project is and decide which task need to be completed on given workday with their assistance, during the project life cycle these logs will undergoes numerous modifications.  

 

3)     Release Requirement

          Testing Prototype development unit and finished product are made easier for project team tasks to the release to requirements.

            Release requirement include vision statements assessment standards develop budget agreement etc.

4)     Management Plan

           Plans are essential artifacts of the project that manager produce to carry out the work , monitor the progress and successfully complete the project. This document may include one or more artifacts that combine textual and visual components. The project plan includes risk management plan, communication management plan, resource management , Scope management plan, procurement management plan etc.

 

5)      Hierarchical Diagram

          The Link between various projects components such as a the risk breakdown, structural organization and work breakdown structure is described using hierarchy chart

 

6)     Baseline

         The project cannot move forward without baseline which are version of the plan that have already been approved. The milestones. Plan cost base line scheduled baseline & scope base line as well as another performance assessment base line are all included with project base lines.

 

7)     Communication Plans

           A communication strategy is developed by a project team while they are working on a project determine the most effective ways to delivers information as an illustration they can revise

 Strategy for effective communication regards conferences issues, documental views access to deliverable at current standing of project.

 

8)     Visual Information

            The category includes any charts and documents that contains graphs this include various visualization such as flow chart, dash board requirement traceability, matrices and velocity chart.

           When use appropriately visual data source can make process of communicative information much simpler following the data analysis a project manager may produce visual information use method to update data automatically.

9)       Reports :-

    Project management evolved dealing with a lots of reports. Reports include status risk quality reports and formal records for stakeholders

 

10)       Contracts & Agreements

       A project can have multiple procurement contracts and agreements for instance purchase order for the acquisition of consumable procurement contracts for the acquisition of services or the sub-contracting of work etc. You might be required to sign a contract when hiring staff or experts. Examples of contracts & agreements include a most reimbursable and fixed-price contract with a time and materials agreements a contract with a legally binding clause and many others. Other artifacts that fall under this category are user stores team chatter bid paper etc project

 

Phases Project Artifacts

 

Initiation Phase: - Important artifacts in initiation phase are the project chatter and shareholder register.

 

Planning Phase Artifacts:  Includes various project management plan and other project management documents throughout the project life cycle these documents serve as a road map for the project team to follow as they carry out the work monitor and control it and so on.

 

Execution phase:  Actual work is carried out in this phase, spend most of the funds and time in this phase

 

Monitoring Control Phase: - track is crucial to monitoring a project, it help take corrective and preventive actions if required.

 

 Closing Phase:-   In this phase deliverable is delivered the project is closed lesion learned organizational processes are updated and the project team is released, You can improve the efficiency of your project management by using artifacts of the project the line documents can be utilized for various purpose.

               

 

Which of these are relevant for DMAIC Project?

DMAIC projects are data-driven projects, DMAIC projects are mostly related to company project failure or Company Pain. Project Artifacts contain data that help to understand project failure and the heavy costs involved. DAMIC provides an optimal solution by data analysis. Strategic Artifacts help to understand and set the project Goal, Register log help to understand what defect has been produced and passed from the manage plant final checker.

 

 

 

Which phases of DMAIC are they likely to be created?

 

 Since DMAIC is the problem-solving methodology or tool we can use any point in time when stuck up with a bigger problem. Preferred to use at the time of goal seating initiation phase.

 

Project artifacts is a documentation for any project in an organization for the project management containing the details of project charter, business case, communication plan, logs and registers, reports, hierarchy charts, dashboard, visual data, information, agreement and contracts etc.

Project Artifact is any document ,model or design related to management of project. It is a living document which required to reflect changes in project management. They are created to track changes in project so that information can be retrieved at any time of the project.

There are 9 types of Project artifacts:

 

1. Strategy - Business Case, Vision statement, Project roadmap, Project charters

2.Logs & Register- Change registers, Change control

3.Plans- Scope management, Test Plans

4.Hierarchy charts- RACI Matrics

5.Baseline- Milestones,Performance Measures

6.Visual data information- Dashboards, Flow charts.

7.Reports- Risk Reports, Quality reports

8.Agreements and Contracts- AMCs, Supplier contracts

9.Miscelleneous 

 

As per DMAIC we have identified key Project artifacts as below phase wise:

 

1. Define Phase- 

•Project Charter

•Project Scoping- Through SIPOC

•Process flow diagram/Swim Lane Map

•Financial Validation Sheet

•VOC/CTQ/COQ/COPQ/KANO analysis sheet

 

2. Measure Phase:

•Data Collection Plan

•Stratification sheets

•Base line data validation/Trend

•Gap Assessment Vs Target

•Data Analysis Sheet

•Base Data Validations

•Measurement System Analysis Plan and Results

•Metrics' Tracker

 

3. Analyse Phase: 

•Cause - Effect Matrix

•List of Quick Wins

•Cause Prioritization Matrix

•Statistical Test Plan and Results

•Lean Waste Assessment

•Kaizen Tracker Sheet 

•Co-relation/Multiple Regression /Result

 

4. Improve Phase:

•Verification of Root cause

•Action Plan preparation with milestones (TCD/SPOC)

•FMEA/Change Control

•Re-design of Severity and Detection Scale

•Before / After Solution Statistical Validation (where data available)

•Before / After Solution Physical/Photo Validation (where data not available)

•Engineering study/Pilot result

•Cost-Benefit analysis

 

5. Control Phase:

•Poka-Yoke Assessment

•Statistical Process Control

•SPC charts

•Control Plan/SOP Update/Training Plan

•Communication

•Learning

•Renforcement

•Updated Project Report- Benefits consolidation

•Project and Presentation Deliverables Tracking Sheet

What are Project Artifacts -

 

Artifacts are documents related to project management since project management requires complete documentation of deliverables and projects. These documents integrate projects with business goals, handle client and sponsor criteria, and define expectations for your team members.

They are living in certain ways, which implies artefacts are subject to change and are formally updated. They exist for a reason: to disseminate project-related information. 

 

These documents are created by teams to explain and support the work they are undertaking. On the other hand, deliverables, documentation, and templates are all terms that may be used to describe artefacts. 

 

The word mostly applies to the project documentation you provide that clarifies and supports the job you are performing. Artifacts are always related to the task of managing the project, not the product you are producing as the project's output. For an example, a new app is a project deliverable, but a project closing document is an artefact.

 

What are the different types of artifacts - 

• Strategy - Documentation pertaining to strategy and project beginning falls under this category. 

  For an example - Business Case | Project Vision Statement | Project Charter | Roadmap

  These documents are created at the beginning of the project and are often fixed. This category refers to the project's high-level strategy material and isn't something you'd need to update frequently after it's finished.
   

• Logs and registers - This category is related to the numerous project management logs and registers that we use to manage the process on a daily basis. 

  For an example - Assumption log | Risk register | Backlog | Stakeholder register
  These documents are a collection of documents that are constantly changing. Throughout the process, they will be updated. 
   

• Plans - Plans of various kinds are included in the third category of project artefacts. Which includes:

   - Comms management plan
   - Release plan
   - Scope management plan
   - Iteration plan
   - Test plan
   - Quality plan
   - Logistics plan
  They can either be contained in a single document or be spread across several, and they are created to assist you in determining how to manage the project. 
   

• Hierarchy charts - The hierarchy charts come next. These explain the connections between different project components.

   - Work breakdown structure
   - Product breakdown structure
   - Organizational breakdown structure
   - Risk breakdown structure
   

  In essence, they provide high level information that is broken down into specific pieces. These are often gradually developed as you go through the project, allowing you to return to them and make any necessary changes.
   

• Baselines - Throughout the project, baselines are established. They serve as official iterations of the corresponding plans. Here are few examples:

   - Budget
   - Milestone schedule
   - Scope baseline
   - Performance measurement baseline
  As the project develops and significant changes take place, baselines will be established and updated.
   

• Visual data and information - The following list of possible forms of visual data for projects.

   - Cycle time chart
   - Dashboard
   - Flow chart
   - Gantt chart
   - Requirements traceability matrix
   - Velocity chart
   - S-curve

  The ideal case scenario is that you have the ability to update them automatically. You'll normally make them after you complete some type of data analysis to assist you assimilate the information.
   

• Reports - There appear to be a lot of reports involved in project management. Here are a few examples of common project reports:

   - Quality report
   - Risk report
   - Status report

   

• Agreements and contracts - Although you might not have contracts or agreements pertaining to your project, you might have internal agreements with other departments. Few examples are - 

   - MOU (Memorandum of Understanding)
   - Fixed price contract
   - Cost reimbursable contract
   - Time and materials contract
   - Indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract
   - Any other type of legally-binding agreement
   

• Other – a bucket category for anything else. Here are some artefacts that are difficult to place in any other category.

   - Requirements
   - Team charter
   - User stories
   - Bid documents
   

We can use these project management artifacts in different phases of a DMAIC project - 

 

Below table shows few artifacts which can be used in the different phases of DMAIC project

 

 

 

About Project Artifact 
You make something called an artefact. Artifacts are outputs, documents, templates, or a particular deliverable that are related to project management.
Type of project Artifact present 
1. strategic artifacts 
•    Business case
•    Project roadmap
•    Project charter
•    Project vision statement
2.logs and registers 
•    Risk register
•    Backlog
•    Assumption log
•    Stakeholder register

3. plans 
•    Communications management plan
•    Scope management plan
•    Release plan
•    Test plan
•    Iteration plan
•    Logistics plan

4. hierarchy charts 
•    Work breakdown structure
•    Risk breakdown structure
•    Organizational breakdown structure
•    Product breakdown structure

5.baselines 
•    Scope baseline
•    Budget
•    Performance measurement baseline
•    Milestone schedule

6. visual data and information
•    Flowcharts
•    Gantt chart
•    Dashboard
•    S-curve
•    Cycle time chart

7.reports
•    Quality report
•    Risk assessment report
•    Status report
•    Progress report

8. agreements and contracts
•    Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
•    Fixed price contract
•    Time and materials contract
•    The indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract

Project management artifacts Phase wise 
1. Originating. 
2. Initiating.
3. Planning. 
4. Controlling, monitoring, and executing.
5. Project status.
6.Closing

It is heartening to see so many published answers all with the same central thought process that PMBOK artifacts are relevant across various DMAIC phases.

 

We have joint winners for this question - Shraddha Sequeira and Soji Sam. Excellent answers from both of them, specially highlighting the fact that the PMBOK phase wise deliverables might not be match as is with the five phases of DMAIC. 

 

Answer from Ashish Kumar Sharma is also a must read as well for the table that has been put together for Prepared, Maintained and Referred (one might have a difference in opinion about the positioning of P, M and R. However, it is a great way to visualize the relevance of artifacts with DMAIC lifecycle).