CLBB key terms

A process-improvement approach that combines Lean's focus on removing waste and speeding flow with Six Sigma's statistical focus on reducing variation and defects.

A five-phase improvement cycle-Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, Control-used to solve problems where the cause is unknown and results must be sustained.

Any activity that consumes resources without adding value for the customer, commonly grouped into eight categories such as overproduction, waiting, transport, and defects.

A philosophy of continuous, incremental improvement carried out by the people who do the work, often through small rapid changes rather than large one-time projects.

A workplace-organization method with five steps-sort, set in order, shine, standardize, sustain-that reduces searching, clutter, and errors before deeper process work begins.

A diagram showing the sequence of process steps, information flows, inventories, and delay times needed to deliver a product or service, used to expose non-value-adding activity.

A measurable customer requirement translated from vague customer language into specific, verifiable performance characteristics that a process must satisfy.

Structured collection of customer needs, expectations, and complaints through interviews, surveys, and observation, forming the input for translating requirements into measurable specifications.

A short authorizing document that states the problem, goal, scope, business case, team, milestones, and constraints for an improvement project.

A concise description of a gap between current and desired performance, stating what, where, when, and how much without naming a cause or a solution.

A goal written to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, so progress and completion can be judged objectively.

A high-level view of a process showing its suppliers, inputs, process steps, outputs, and customers, used to agree on scope before detailed mapping.

A flowchart of the steps, decisions, and handoffs in a process, used to reveal rework loops, unnecessary steps, and ownership gaps.

A process map arranged in lanes by role or department so handoffs, delays, and accountability between functions are easy to see.

Identification of the people and groups affected by or able to influence a project, along with their interests, influence, and needed engagement.

A table assigning each task or decision to those responsible, accountable, consulted, and informed, clarifying roles and preventing duplicated or missing ownership.

The typical progression of a team through forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning, each calling for different leadership emphasis.

Guiding a group meeting or workshop so objectives are met, all voices contribute, and the team reaches decisions without the leader dictating content.

The structured activities used to prepare people for a process change, address resistance, build sponsorship, and make new ways of working stick.

A shorthand stating that an outcome (Y) is a function of one or more process inputs (x), which directs attention to controlling inputs rather than inspecting outputs.

A study that quantifies how much observed variation comes from the measurement system itself, covering repeatability, reproducibility, bias, linearity, and stability.

A repeatability and reproducibility study estimating variation from the measuring device and from operators, usually expressed as a percentage of total or tolerance variation.

A study of how consistently appraisers make categorical judgments, such as pass/fail or defect type, comparing each appraiser with themselves and with a reference standard.

A document specifying what data to gather, operational definitions, data type, sampling method, sample size, location, timing, and who records it.

A precise, unambiguous description of how a characteristic is measured or judged, so different people classify the same item the same way.

The rules for selecting which items to measure, including sample size, frequency, and method such as random, stratified, or systematic selection.

The principle that sample means tend toward a normal distribution as sample size grows, regardless of the shape of the underlying population distribution.

A comparison of process spread and centering against specification limits, summarized by indices such as Cp and Cpk for stable, normally distributed processes.

The upper and lower bounds on a characteristic set by the customer or design, which are distinct from the control limits calculated from process data.

A time-ordered plot of a process measure with statistically derived limits that separates common-cause variation from signals of special-cause variation.

The routine, inherent variation produced by the design of a stable process, which is reduced only by changing the system itself.

Irregular variation traceable to an identifiable event, input, or disturbance outside the normal process, signaled by rule violations on a control chart.

A statistical procedure that weighs sample evidence against a stated null hypothesis, producing a p-value used to decide whether an observed difference is likely real.

The probability of observing data at least as extreme as the sample result if the null hypothesis were true; small values suggest the null is inconsistent with the data.

Concluding that a real difference or effect exists when it does not, often called a false alarm, with probability denoted by alpha.

Failing to detect a real difference or effect that exists, often called a miss, with probability denoted by beta; its complement is statistical power.

The number of observations needed to detect an effect of practical interest with acceptable risk of Type I and Type II errors.

A set of techniques, such as the five whys, cause-and-effect diagrams, and stratification, used to find the underlying reasons a problem occurs rather than its symptoms.

A cause-and-effect diagram that organizes possible causes of a problem into branches, often people, method, machine, material, measurement, and environment.

A group technique for generating many candidate ideas or causes quickly, deferring judgment so quantity and variety come before evaluation.

A structured group method in which members write ideas silently, share them, then rank or vote, reducing dominance and anchoring effects in idea selection.

A planned set of runs that deliberately varies input factors together so their individual and interacting effects on a response can be estimated efficiently.

A small-scale trial of a proposed change run under controlled conditions to confirm expected benefits and surface problems before full deployment.

A repeating loop of plan, do, check, and act that structures iterative testing and adjustment of improvements.

A mistake-proofing device or design feature that prevents an error from being made or makes an error immediately obvious before it passes downstream.

Documented, current best method for a task, including sequence, timing, and key quality points, forming the baseline against which further improvement is measured.

A document listing the process steps, measures, monitoring methods, frequencies, response plans, and owners used to keep an improved process in control.

Placing performance information, status, and standards where the work happens so deviations are noticed immediately without asking or searching.

A relationship stating that average work-in-process equals average arrival rate multiplied by average time in the system, used to reason about queues and lead time.

A way of classifying customer needs as basic, performance, or delighter, based on how satisfaction responds to the presence or absence of a feature.