Page 210 - Six Sigma Demystified

190 Six SigMa DemystifieD

An affinity can be used anywhere you are trying to generate ideas and reduce
those ideas to a few manageable issues.

Methodology

Start with a general problem or issue that needs to be addressed. State this as
the problem, objective, or goal in a simple phrase, such as, “Develop a success-
ful Six Sigma program,” as shown in Figure F.1.
Have each team member write down one to three issues that contribute to the
problem or prevent you from meeting the objective. Challenge team members to
think of different issues that affect the problem or other problems that feed into it.
Remember that this is a brainstorming process, which means that every idea, even
the seemingly ludicrous, should be included, and criticism is not allowed. The
emphasis here is on getting as many ideas out as possible. Include both general ideas
and nitpicky items. This all-inclusive method can lead to the discovery of problems
that may not have been mentioned otherwise. Each idea should be written down
(exactly as it was suggested) onto a separate card (Post-it notes are sometimes
used), represented in Figure F.1 in the lowest (rightmost) level by the software.

Figure F.1 Example of an affinity diagram showing groupings of issues
using green Belt xL/Mindgenius software.