Identify a Problem or Opportunity for Improvement

• What is the gap between your intended and your actual performance?
  

Define the Current State

• What current data do you have? Which suppliers can provide more data? Does the data clearly define the scope of the problem?
  

Perform a Cause Analysis

• What might be the cause of the problem? How can you verify what you hypothesize as the root cause(s)?
  

Find the Best Solution

• What are the benchmarks and best practices for this problem? What solutions will address the root cause(s)? What solutions have already been tried?
  

Agree on an Action Plan

• How will we implement this treatment? Do you want to implement globally, pilot at one site, or phase in the plan. What training is needed to make it successful?
  

Agree on a Monitoring Plan

• How will we know if it was effective? What results are you going to watch? How frequently will you compile results to keep the project on target?
  

Analyze the Results

• What happened? Did you close the gap? How will you control the improvement? When will the process be considered “under control”? Who will monitor the results over time? How often?