Define
The Define domain establishes whether a project is worth doing and exactly what problem it will solve. ICGB questions test your ability to turn a vague complaint into a scoped, measurable charter with validated voice of the customer (VOC) and a defensible baseline.
Charter essentials
- Problem statement: describes the gap - where, when, and how large - without naming a cause or solution.
- Goal statement: SMART, naming the metric, baseline, target, and deadline.
- Business case: links the gap to cost of poor quality or strategic need.
- Scope: process start and stop points, included and excluded areas.
- Team: sponsor or champion, process owner, Green Belt, and subject-matter experts.
VOC to CTQ
VOC statements become needs, then critical-to-quality requirements with operational definitions and specifications. A CTQ that cannot be measured is not a CTQ.
SIPOC
Suppliers, Inputs, Process (five to seven steps), Outputs, Customers. It sets boundaries and identifies who receives the output.
Worked example
A call center says “customers are unhappy.” Define converts this to: “From January to March, 22% of inbound retail calls abandoned before answer, against a 5% target.” The CTQ is abandon rate, measured as abandoned calls divided by offered calls. Scope is inbound retail calls; B2B is excluded. SIPOC shows customers are retail callers. Reasoning: the statement now has a metric, baseline, target, time frame, and boundary, so the team can test causes rather than debate opinions.
Traps
- Smuggling a solution into the problem statement (“replace the phone system”).
- No baseline, so improvement cannot be proven.
- Scope so broad that the project cannot finish.
- Confusing the sponsor (funds and removes barriers) with the process owner (runs the process after handoff).