SOUTHEAST

UNIVERSITY
Department of Textile
Engineering
Assignment
Course Code : QTex 4021
Course Tittle : Textile Quality Managements
Assignment On : Software Used In IE And
System / Process

Submitted To : Mr. Muzahidur Rahman

Chowdhury (Lecturer)

Submitted By
Name : MD. Yeasin Arafat Omi
ID : 2017000400014
Batch : 34th
Section : Gmt (1)

Submission Date :07/10/2020

Hubstaff
What is Hubstaff?
Hubstaff is a time tracking software that allows you to monitor employee
activities during work hours. Hubstaff allows your employees to track
time through its desktop app. Employees can choose when they want to
record their time. Once the app is running, it monitors which websites
and applications your team is viewing, their screen activity, and how
much time they spend at their desktop. It then gathers all this data and
creates individual reports for all your employees. Your team members
can also track how much time they spent on a particular task or project.
Hubstaff adds the time logged in by various employees and tells you
how much time it took to complete the entire project. It also automatically
creates an invoice using this information and allows you to bill your
clients based on the hours spent.

Key Features of Hubstaff

Lets understand a few features of hubstaff in detail and see how they are
useful in monitoring your staff.

Employee Monitoring Features

What exactly are your employees doing during work hours? These
features help you understand your team’s work habits and their activities
during office hours.

1. Application and Website Monitoring

Do you know what websites your team uses at work?
Around 67% of employees use social media regularly during work hours.
As a result, your team loses 13% of productive hours every day.
When your employees begin tracking their time, Hubstaff tracks their
website and application activity too. The software also displays what
percentage of their time they spend on each application or website. You
can even view the specific URLs your employees accessed during the
day.

Clicking on these URLs allows you to view screenshots of the website.

You can access the website to find out whether an employee was
wasting time while working on the project.
This feature allows you to identify which employees procrastinate during
work.
2. Screenshot Monitoring
You can’t always check whether your employees are away or are at their
desk. In the case of remote teams, there is no quick way of finding out
whether your employees are working or are running personal errands
during work hours.
The employee monitoring tool allows you take screenshots of your
employees screen every 10 minutes. The screenshot feature allows you
to view your entire team’s screen on one page.

Before using this feature, inform your employees that the app would
regularly take screenshots of their work.
If they are concerned about safety or displaying sensitive information,
you can enable the screenshot blur option. The blur allows you to see
whether the employee is active without revealing the contents of the
page.
Your employees can even view their own screenshots to understand
what information is being shared.
Once your employees know they are being monitored, they would focus
more on their work during office hours.

3. Activity Levels Monitoring

You can’t always lurk around your employees’ desks to ensure that they
are doing their work. If you spend a lot of time looking at their screens
while they are working, you might lose their trust.
Hubstaff automatically monitors employee activity based on keystrokes
and mouse movement. In the span of 10 minutes, the software monitors
every second and calculates how many seconds the user was inactive
(no keyboard or mouse movement) and compares to how many seconds
the user was using the mouse or keyboard. This comparison determines
the activity level. If your employees show an activity level of 60% – 94%,
they are on the right track. Activity levels below 60% indicates that your
employee maybe distracted at work or slow in making decisions.
You can view your entire team’s activity level at one glance without
visiting their workstation. You can also see how many people are
working on a particular project at any given time. As a result, you spend
less time monitoring your employees and more time focusing on your
own deliverables.

4. Weekly Work Limit Monitoring

Are some of your team members working overtime?
Most of us believe that the more hours we work, the more productive we
will be. However, numerous studies have indicated that working more
than 50 hours a week causes fatigue and can actually be
counterproductive. It is recommend to limit your work week 40-45 hours,
as it can boost your team’s productivity levels by 25%! You can set the
maximum number of hours that your employees can log for an entire
week. The time tracking tool stops recording work time when the
employee has exceeded their maximum hours.
If there is a project which has a fixed deadline, you can always edit the
time limit for a certain employee. This system works well, because it
does not incentivize your employees to put in excessive hours.
Moreover, your employees will appreciate this feature as it does not
track them during hours when they are not working.

5. Employee Location Monitoring

While managing a remote team it is complicated to track where your
employees are located at any given time. They could be working from
home or the neighbourhood cafe. They could also be on a lunch break
and may not be available for the project status update that you decided
to set up.
Hubstaff’s iOS and Android app has a location monitoring feature that
tracks your remote employee’s location during work hours. It can
estimate how much time your employees spend on commuting, doing
personal stuff, or working from a specific location. Based on their
location and activities, you can figure out the ideal time to communicate
with your remote employees and also whether they are using working
hours productively. Do keep in mind that your employees may not want
their every move to monitored and documented. This feature maybe
perceived as too intrusive by your remote team. It is recommended to
inform your employees about their feature before they install the iOS
app.

6. Project Status Monitoring

Hubstaff provides reports which summarize what work each employee
has done during a week. It’s hard to keep track of individual employee’s
progress, and this is a quick way of doing so.
The team dashboard displays each team member’s working hours and
summarizes the tasks and projects completed in the past 7 days. The
dashboard also shows which member is currently online and displays
their activity levels over the past week.
The team dashboard allows you to see the status of the project at a
glance, which can help you choose your strategies based on your team’s
performance.
 

Project Billing and Invoicing Features

How much time do you spend on managing your company’s finances?
Hubstaff’s billing and invoicing features help you to manage your
accounts, salaries and finances easily so you can spend more time on
getting things done rather than on transactional activities.

1. Timesheet Management
Most small and medium businesses do not have a dedicated system to
monitor check-in or check-out timings and there’s no effective way to
account for the time spent at work. Certain employees may misuse this
by logging in with fraudulent timings.
The timesheet software automatically logs the first activity (mouse
movement or button press) and the last activity of the day. You can
manually pause and resume the system for breaks.

You can glance through your team’s daily or weekly timesheets which
can be linked to the automatic payroll system.

2. Payroll Management
Tracking each employee’s working hours and salaries with excel sheets
and then individually transferring their payments can take up a lot of your
time.
The payroll software calculates your consultants’ payouts based on the
hours logged by the system. You can then link up their paypal accounts
and set up a suitable time frame (weekly, monthly, etc.) for transferring
the payments.
Your team gets paid based on the amount of hours of work they spent
on their project and not by how much time they spent in office. Of
course, in case of employees who get a fixed salary, this feature is
optional and can be disabled.

3. Invoice Management
Creating invoices for your clients can be incredibly time consuming. You
have to sum up and aggregate the time spent on each project by several
employees every time.
Hubstaff’s invoice maker software, tracks the time taken to complete a
project. Then it generates an invoice based on the hours spent for
various tasks within the project. You can bill your clients based on hourly
rates or your fixed rates from the ‘Invoice’ tab. The software allows you
to modify the invoice by adding tax rates and discounts. You can then
send the invoice in any format (pdf, html, doc) to your clients. Once the
invoice is sent, you can see when your clients have viewed the invoice.
When you receive the payment from your clients, the software records
the invoice as ‘paid’ or ‘partially paid’. This semi-automatic feature
reduces time spent on sending and tracking invoices. This gives you so
much more time to focus on more complex tasks that really need your
personal attention.

Additional Features
1. Customized Employee Settings
Other time tracking tools, allow you to set fixed rules for all your
employees. However, each team member would be working on different
kinds of tasks which can’t be managed well with universal settings.
For example – The ‘Idle Timeout’ setting chooses when the inactivity
warning kicks in. Tasks that require careful and meticulous decisions
such as creating a marketing strategy would require the ‘idle timeout’ to
be higher than other tasks. You can customize settings for every user
based on certain requirements from the ‘Admin Settings Tab’. The
features you can modify from these settings include screenshot
frequency, weekly limits, inactivity timer, modify time activity, etc.
You can increase or decrease the monitoring settings for individual users
based on the nature of their responsibilities. Tweaking these settings for
specific employees helps fine tune your team’s productivity.

2. Client Access To Project Progress

How often do you update your clients with a progress report?
Sometimes there can be disconnect between the client and the
company, as the clients don’t know whether you are working on their
project on time.
Hubstaff allows you to add clients to monitor the project activity using the
‘Members’ tab. There is no limit to how many clients or viewers you can
add. Showing internal processes in your business improves your
organization’s transparency which improves trust and
even loyalty among clients.

Cross Platform Features

You can view your team’s progress from anywhere, even after working
hours using Hubstaff’s android and iOS apps. Data from mobile apps are
regularly synced with PC application through the cloud.

1. Desktop Application
While most of Hubstaff’s settings and features can be utilized on the web
version, its desktop application is essential. The lightweight desktop
client allows you to manually start and stop tracking time for various
projects. Your team members can switch time tracking from one project
to another. The desktop application can be utilized for Mac, PC, Linux
and Chromebook. You can also track time from your browser using
Hubstaff’s chrome extension.
2. Mobile App
As mentioned earlier, Hubstaff’s mobile app allows you to track your
employee’s GPS locations. Your team members can also track time for
various offline tasks such as phone calls, meetings, etc.
The app dashboard receives real-time reports that enable you to review
timesheets, view who’s currently working and change admin settings
from your phone. The information is synced to the Hubstaff through the
cloud.
The iOS and Android versions off the app also supports management
software integrations such as Basecamp and Quickbooks.

It’s Simpler with Time Doctor

Tracking your team’s work is a lot simpler with Time Doctor than
Hubstaff. Time Doctor is also more oriented towards helping your team
become more productive rather than just track them. It’s features
encourage employees to build more productive habits.

MeisterTask
What is MeisterTask

MeisterTask is a cloud-hosted platform for task and project management. It

is built to give project administrators complete command and control over
all stages and details of their projects. It provides project monitoring
capabilities for managers as well as collaboration features for team
members to boost productivity and speed up completion of projects.

MeisterTask offers several project managements tools such as Kanban

dashboards, reporting, automation, and integration. It works and connects
with third party apps like Dropbox, Google Drive, and BitBucket, among
others, to provide you an extended and flexible platform. It is intuitive and
easy to use, and allows for quick implementation from whatever connected
device.

The MeisterTask Interface

In MeisterTask, you create projects, which house tasks. Projects can be
shared or private. The general setup is that of a kanban board. People
use kanban boards in different ways and for different purposes.
Generally speaking, however, these help teams see what tasks must be
done, who is doing them, and what stage they're at. Kanban boards can
be used for project management, but they are more commonly used to
manage ongoing work. What's the difference, you ask?
A project has a start date, end date, and deliverable. For example,
building a website is a project. At the end of the project, you have a
completed and launched website. Putting content on a website is
ongoing work. Your personal to-do list is ongoing work. There is no fixed
date on which it stops, and there is no single completed deliverable. In
my opinion, MeisterTask is better suited for managing ongoing work than
projects, because it lacks some features that are specific to project
management.
In MeisterTask, you create vertical columns and name them whatever you
want. A typical setup, however, is for each column to represent some stage in
a workflow, such as To Do, Doing, Done. Then, you create tasks, represented
as cards, in the columns and move them from one column to another as
appropriate.
MeisterTask gives you a homepage, where you see a list of all your projects
on the left, plus two columns to the right summarizing important information.
You can drag and drop the projects to reorder them. The first column, My
Tasks, shows tasks assigned to you that are due today and this week, plus
any that are unscheduled. You can change the filter on this list to show tasks
listed alphabetically instead of by day. This column has a personal checklist at
the top where you can jot down anything you want; or you can hide it. The
second column is a list of recent notifications grouped by day.
Similar to Trello, MeisterTask uses a lot of visual cues. When you upload a file
to a task, a thumbnail of it shows up on the card in the column view, and
there's no option to hide it like there is in Trello. Tags are color coded and also
show up in the card view. Icons for due date, comments, and other card
details appear as well, making the board look busier when there's more
activity.

MeisterTask Features
From the homepage, you click on a project to enter it and build it out by
adding tasks and team members. If you're migrating to MeisterTask
from Asana or Trello, you can import your task lists from those apps.
Tasks and their attendant details are the meat of the service. Each task
can have notes (similar to a description), a checklist, an assignee,
followers, attachments, comments from you and your collaborators, tags,
and a due date and time. Recurring tasks are not available, but a
representative said they're in the works.
In MeisterTask's checklist items, you can't drill down to the same level of
detail that you can in Asana. If you find you need to add more detail to a
checklist item in MeisterTask, you can convert it to a task.

MeisterTask gives you a good number of features, but they're not all
enabled by default. A time-tracking widget, for example, lets you record
time spent on each task, but you have to dive into the Project Properties
to enable it. It's under Power-Ups. Once you enable time-tracking, a
timer appears in the top right of every task, and a number of other places
—your homepage, the upper right of the project board, in the column
view. It's all over the place! Plus, it's an active timer, so you can see it
ticking away.
Another Power-Up feature is Task Relationships, also known as task
dependencies. Enable it and you can show that one task cannot be
completed until a prior one is done.
One feature definitely worth exploring if you use MeisterTask is
Automations. MeisterTask lets you create a rule so that one action
automatically triggers another. The simplest case is to set a rule so that
when a task is moved to the Done column, it automatically gets archived.
Other automations you can create involve time tracking, sending an
email, updating tags, and updating the status of a task. Automations are
lovely conveniences that take some of the busywork out of task
management.

Reports and Deeper Features

MeisterTask comes with reports, which it calls Statistics. The app graphs
the number of tasks completed, the number of new tasks created, and
other trends so that you can see how they fluctuate over time. The
reports are clear and easy to access, but they don't give you a wealth of
information. They show how many tasks the team has completed, which
individuals completed the most tasks, a calendar of upcoming due dates,
and so forth.

Similar to Others
MeisterTask reminds me a lot of Trello. They're both kanban board apps
that rely on plentiful visual cues and color. They even use some of the
same terminology. MeisterTask is a good tool that could be better if it
added some missing kanban features and made some of its existing
features easier to find and enabled by default.
Trello's selling point is that it's supremely friendly tool, making it a
wonderful choice when you need to collaborate with a variety of people.
There are better kanban apps, however, with our top picks being PCMag
Editors' Choices, Asana and LeanKit.

Moday.com
What is Moday.com?
Monday.com is a cloud-based project management software that simplifies
the way teams manage workloads and communicate.
The solution features color-coded boards that allow users to quickly check
which projects are in progress, which tasks are finished and where team
members are stuck. These boards are also organized in a way that
conveys due-dates and the relationships between assignments.
Users can choose to view the board based on Status, Text, Person,
Timeline, or Date. This allows project managers to easily find users who
are over/underworked and balance out workloads. All team communication
takes place on each board to help eliminate confusion.

Features
Centralized management with boards – With monday.com, everything is
managed with a board. This is color-coded and visually organized to help
you see who’s working on a task, project, mission and to-do and where
they are in the process. For example, team members can put a “Stuck,”
“Working on it” or “Done” status on each task.
Pulses for organized communication – All communication on
monday.com takes place within the context of a board. Rows, called
“pulses”, are added to the relevant board and can include comments and
file attachments. Users can send messages to specific people or the entire
team. Notifications for pulses take place in real time via the desktop and
mobile apps.
Visual organization – With meaningful colors and board placement,
managers can glance to understand how each project and team member is
progressing. This helps to ensure that all deadlines will be met and that
new assignments are properly delegated/assigned.
Invite clients – Clients can be invited as guests to view a certain board
and see the progress of their project at any time.
Advanced search – Search through images, updates, projects and
assignments with no date limit.
Timeline – Timeline is monday.com’s version of Gantt charts and is ideal
for tracking tasks or projects that span over multiple days or for teams with
multiple workloads. If there’s a delay with a project or task, users can easily
drag and drop timeline bars to extend the due dates. Users can also view
multiple timelines on a single timeline board.

Target Market
monday.com serves a wide range of industries and company sizes. Here’s a list
of ten notable customers:
 Discovery Channel
 Rendered
 Adidas
 Fiverr
 Uber
 Yuka
 Composite Approach
 Samsung
 Wix
 WeWork

Implementation/Integration
monday.com is a cloud-based software. To start using it, you simply need to
enter your work email. From here, you begin a 14-day free trial without needing
to enter credit card information until the end of the trial. You can upgrade,
downgrade or cancel your account at any time.

Customer Service & Support

monday.com offers email and phone support for the U.S. and has many featured
articles and guides for users to explore in their own time.

monday.com also offers daily webinars users can register for. These include:

 A basic walkthrough of the software every Monday-Thursday.

 Coffee Talks (live Q&As) with customer success representatives each
Monday and Thursday.
 Other scheduled webinars, i.e., All Things Admin, Project
Management Methodologies, etc.

Pricing
monday.com has four pricing tiers. The prices below are available for companies
with two, five, 10, 15, 25, 50, 100 and 200 users. For example, for the Basic
Plan, five users cost $39 per month, whereas 100 users cost $799 per month.
Companies with over 200 users must contact monday.com for a quote.

The Basic plan’s features include:

 5 GB of storage
 One-week activity log
  Over 20 column types
 iOS and Android apps
 Unlimited free viewers
 Unlimited boards
 One board per dashboard
 Two-factor authentication
 Self-service knowledge base
 24/7 support
The Standard plan’s features include:

 Everything from the Basic plan

 50 GB of storage
 Unlimited activity logs
 Advanced search
 Map/Calendar/Timeline view
 Forms customization
 External integrations
 Share boards with four guests
 Three boards per dashboard
 250 automated actions per month
The Pro plan’s features include:

 Everything from the Standard plan

 Unlimited storage
 Unlimited guests
 Time tracking
 Chart view
 Formula column
 Custom tags
 Private boards
 10 boards per dashboard
 25,000 automated actions per month
 Google authentication
The Enterprise plan’s features include:

 Everything in the Pro plan

 25 boards per dashboard
 100,000 automated actions per month
 Single sign-on
 Audit logs
 Session management
 HIPAA compliance
 Advanced account permissions

Shortcomings
The Basic plan is missing many important features that are typically included in
every paid level, like private messaging, an advanced search and integrations.

Many users also complain that the user interface (UI) appears too cluttered with
numerous assignments or when there are various comments on a board.
Screenshots
About
monday.com was founded in 2012 and launched as an independent startup in
2014. The goal of this software is to transform the way teams work together.
monday.com’s mission is to help teams build a culture of transparency.
Workfront
What is Workfront?
Workfront is the first modern work management platform to orchestrate all
your work in one place. With Workfront, leaders and teams gain the power
to streamline requests, plan and prioritize projects, manage processes,
digitally review assets, and report on work. Eliminate silos, increase
productivity, easily gather important information, collaborate with
stakeholders, and work efficiently by combining your work in one solution.
Workfront is built for people, helping them do their best work. To learn
more, visit www.workfront.com or follow us on Twitter @Workfront_Inc.
Plans and Pricing
Your organization can gain access to the Workfront system by signing up to
a paid monthly subscription plan. Four different tiers of Workfront
membership are available: Team, Pro, Business and Enterprise.

You’ll have to purchase a Workfront licence for each individual you want to
have a Workfront user account. It’s worth noting that some Workfront plans
are only available if you purchase a minimum number of licences.

Your Workfront installation will be customized according to the unique

needs of your organization. Because of this, definite Workfront pricing
information is only available if you request a quote. However, Workfront
customers report that pricing starts at around $30 per month per user.

The Team plan is designed to meet the needs of a small group of workers
and is the most restricted in terms of features. For example, it doesn’t
support automated work order approval or IP address whitelisting.
Meanwhile, the top-end Enterprise option gives you the ability to securely
submit your documents to external auditors.

Workfront packages come with varying amounts of storage space, ranging

from 2GB to 60GB of data per user. If your employees need to manipulate
multimedia files or access a large library of documents, you will likely
require one of the more expensive plans.
Features
Workfront offers a robust work management system that simplifies the
difficult task of running a complex business operation. You can use
Workfront to keep track of your organization’s available resources and the
demands placed upon it. Even better, Workfront can automatically find the
most efficient way for you to distribute work using AI technology that
assigns tasks based on priority and skill requirements.

Customizable project templates and Gantt charts are provided, which

together make it easy to create a suitable work plan for new projects that
can be adjusted as new variables come into play. In addition, Workfront
users can communicate through a combination of messages, meetings and
post-it notes to ensure that everyone is on the same page.

And those are just the core features. Workfront is also notable for the long
list of third-party programs and services it is compatible with. There are full
integration options for more than 15 different applications including Slack,
G Suite, and Adobe Creative Crowd. These enable a range of new
functions, such as assigning Workfront tasks directly from your email inbox.
Workfront Fusion
Things get even broader with Workfront Fusion. This serves as a digital
bridge connecting your Workfront environment to over 150 different
programs. You can use Workfront Fusion to create logic-based rules so
that Workfront responds in real-time to changes in other business
applications.

Workfront Library
If your organization regularly needs to produce high-quality digital or print
content, you may find a use in the Workfront Library. Here, you can take
control over your digital assets,  e.g. logos and templates, and distribute
them across your enterprise to anyone that needs access.

The Workfront Library makes use of enterprise-grade search technology,

allowing you to use content meta-data to find the assets quickly. Every
individual requires access to different pieces of content, so Workfront
allows them to customize their own library folders and mark content as ‘in-
progress’ when it’s not ready for distribution.

Interface and In Use

Everything begins with the Workfront Dashboard which individuals can
customize with information like live project reports. From the dashboard,
you can quickly navigate to other areas of Workfront, such as integration
menus and Gantt charts.

The Workfront looks a little old-school compared to other contemporary

project management platforms. You’ll find plenty of grey elements, and
pages sometimes contain so much information that there’s a risk first-time
users could be overwhelmed by the complexity of the interface.

However, once your team is trained on the Workfront interface, its function-
over-form design will really start to provide benefits. Accessing important
workflow management screens will take virtually no time as soon as you
know where shortcuts are located.

It’s also possible to manage tasks, review work requests and collaborate
using Workfront’s Android and iOS apps. The Workfront mobile interface is
streamlined and easy-to-navigate. Some users may even prefer it to the
standard version as its sleek and intuitive design makes it easy to stay on
task.
Support
When you subscribe, Workfront support staff will tailor your system to the
goals and requirements of your organization. Workfront will also provide
training materials to your staff through webinars and other educational
material.

When it comes to post-installation technical assistance, organizations

signed up to Team or Pro plans are only able to make support requests
during working hours, and it can take up to four hours for a response. 
Business and Enterprise users, on the other hand, can talk to Workfront
staff around the clock and are guaranteed a one-hour response time to
tickets.

The Competition
The marketplace for project management software is crowded, so there are
plenty of alternatives to Workfront worth considering before you sign up.
Zoho Projects, for example, is significantly cheaper than Workfront and has
many of the same core features like Gantt charts and demand
management tools. However, Workfront is more flexible than Zoho Projects
when it comes to integrations with third-party applications.
ProjectManager.com

What is ProjectManager.com?
Trusted by teams in over 100 countries, ProjectManager.com is a full-
featured project planning software that is fully integrated with Google Apps,
Microsoft Word, Excel and Project. From planning to scheduling and
assigning tasks, tracking progress and reporting, ProjectManager.com
provides a full suite of tools for you to meet your project goals and manage
your team. ProjectManager.com has free file storage, client logins,
unlimited projects and includes everything you need to manage your
projects, available anytime, anywhere you need it.

Features, Benefits, Product Strengths

 Plan and Manage Tasks – With ProjectManager, you can plan and
schedule projects with a variety of tools. And you can collaborate easily
with the rest of the team as you create your project plans, regardless of
the size of the project or the method you want to use. It is easy to
create interactive Gantt charts online. Add new tasks and due dates in
its online spreadsheet. Adjust start and end dates with drag-and-drop
feature. Collaborate with your team by attaching comments, files, and
other documents directly on the task line. The Gantt chart is also
integrated with other tools, such as real-time project dashboards. You
can easily manage your tasks in a personal task lists that span across
all projects. Update them, share, or collaborate with others, using your
web browser, mobile phone, or in your Gmail.
 Collaborate and Manage Teams – The online project management
software allows you and your team to chat or create discussion groups.
Teams can collaborate at the task level, or discuss by projects, by
department, or by topic. You can update or get updates from the team
using the web app, mobile or tablet app. Multiple views such as the
Gantt chart, Kanban board, and list view enables you and your team to
work in your preferred style. From a single page, you can also view
resource allocation and workload distribution. It is also integrated with
 timesheets, so you do not need to switch back and forth, to and from
another application.

 Time Tracking, Reports, Integrations, and more – ProjectManager

tracks your and your team’s time throughout the software. So, whether
you are using the task list, the Gantt chart or the dashboard, you will
always know the time spent on tasks. Timesheets can be submitted by
the team online, and you will get an alert that it is ready for your
approval, which you can do in one click. It has several reporting tools,
such as a real-time dashboard that can track tasks, teams and projects
in one view. You can also generate project reports quickly by choosing
from a list that includes project status, tasks, timesheets, workload or
expenses, among others. You can also customize by filtering the
projects and data columns. Report across all projects, then print, export
or share them in a variety of file formats. The latest release also
includes easy-to-use project templates for a quick start, improved
import functionality, and the ability to include tags on reports. It also
integrates with over 1000 business apps such as MS Office, Google
Apps, Dropbox, Slack, Salesforce, QuickBooks, Jira, Zendesk, and
many more.
Pricing
ProjectManager.com offers three paid plans. The Personal plan at $15 per
user per month allows you to manage work with task lists, Kanban boards,
and Gantt charts. The Team plan at $20 per user per month includes all
features in Personal, with features to manage skills and teams. The
Business plan at $25 per user per month allows you to manage your
business with all features, including reports, dashboards, timetracking,
timesheets, expense and budgeting, resource management, import and
export capabilities, unlimited file storage, and priority customer support and
training. A 30-day free trial period is offered.

Social Network Presence

 Facebook
 LinkedIn
 Twitter
Target Market
ProjectManager.com online project management software can be used by
teams and companies of all sizes. It is ideal for businesses in the IT
service, development, construction, manufacturing, marketing, and other
enterprises that need to keep track of their projects, as well as keep them
on track.
Supported Language
English

Some of their Clients

Clients include NASA, E&J Gallo Winery, US Post Office, Bank of America,
Volvo, UN, Ralph Lauren, Avis, and the University of Washington.
Testimonials
Chris Neilson stated that ProjectManager gives him the ability to track the
hours of his team and see where they are profitable. It gives him the
information he needs, right down to the task level.

Jamie Walsworth described the PM software as easy to use, even for

someone with no training. He stated that he simply logged in
ProjectManager and began using it. For him, it was very self-explanatory
and user-friendly.

Brett Harnett described ProjectManager as a robust software, has fantastic

features, and is easy to use. Moreover, it is reliable and available all the
time.

Why ProjectManager
ProjectManager.com is an application that helps project professionals
manage their projects with ease and with the best user experience. It
continues to update its application with features that are more useful and
relevant to today’s business requirements. And the company also is
continually being recognized by the industries it serves, such as Inc.’s 5000
list for 2019, as well as The Austin Business Journal’s Fast 50, the fastest
growing companies to watch in Central Texas.

Company Info
ProjectManager.com is a SaaS product of Project Manager Online Ltd, a
privately held computer software company with office in Austin, TX, USA. It
was launched in 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand, founded and is led by
CEO Jason Westland. The company is made up of talented staff who are
experts in both project management and online business. Since its launch,
it has achieved very high growth rates, has been recognized as one of the
fastest growing companies, adopted by a wide variety of industries, used in
over 100 countries, and has received several top awards. The company
remains committed in helping project managers keep their projects on
track.
 Control Chart
What is Control Chart
The control chart is a graph used to study how a process changes over
time. Data are plotted in time order. A control chart always has a central
line for the average, an upper line for the upper control limit, and a lower
line for the lower control limit. These lines are determined from historical
data. By comparing current data to these lines, you can draw conclusions
about whether the process variation is consistent (in control) or is
unpredictable (out of control, affected by special causes of variation). This
versatile data collection and analysis tool can be used by a variety of
industries and is considered one of the seven basic quality tools.

Control charts for variable data are used in pairs. The top chart monitors
the average, or the centering of the distribution of data from the process.
The bottom chart monitors the range, or the width of the distribution. If your
data were shots in target practice, the average is where the shots are
clustering, and the range is how tightly they are clustered. Control charts
for attribute data are used singly.

When To Use A Control Chart

 When controlling ongoing processes by finding and correcting
problems as they occur
 When predicting the expected range of outcomes from a process
 When determining whether a process is stable (in statistical control)
 When analyzing patterns of process variation from special causes
(non-routine events) or common causes (built into the process)
 When determining whether your quality improvement project should
aim to prevent specific problems or to make fundamental changes to the
process 
 Basic Procedure
1. Choose the appropriate control chart for your data.
2. Determine the appropriate time period for collecting and plotting data.
3. Collect data, construct your chart and analyze the data.
4. Look for "out-of-control signals" on the control chart. When one is
identified, mark it on the chart and investigate the cause. Document how
you investigated, what you learned, the cause and how it was corrected.

Out-of-control signals
o A single point outside the control limits. In Figure 1, point
sixteen is above the UCL (upper control limit).
o Two out of three successive points are on the same side of the
centerline and farther than 2 σ from it. In Figure 1, point 4 sends that
signal.
o Four out of five successive points are on the same side of the
centerline and farther than 1 σ from it. In Figure 1, point 11 sends that
signal.
o A run of eight in a row are on the same side of the centerline.
Or 10 out of 11, 12 out of 14, or 16 out of 20. In Figure 1, point 21 is
eighth in a row above the centerline.
o Obvious consistent or persistent patterns that suggest
something unusual about your data and your process.

Figure 1 Control Chart: Out-of-Control Signals

5. Continue to plot data as they are generated. As each new data
point is plotted, check for new out-of-control signals.
6. When you start a new control chart, the process may be out of
control. If so, the control limits calculated from the first 20 points are
conditional limits. When you have at least 20 sequential points from a
period when the process is operating in control, recalculate control
limits.

THE 8 CONTROL CHART RULES

If a process is in statistical control, most of the points will be near the

average, some will be closer to the control limits and no points will be
beyond the control limits.  The 8 control chart rules listed in Table 1 give
you indications that there are special causes of variation present.    Again,
these represent patterns.

Table 1: Control Chart Rules

Rule Rule Name Pattern

1 Beyond One or more points beyond the
Limits control limits
2 Zone A 2 out of 3 consecutive points in
Zone A or beyond
3 Zone B 4 out of 5 consecutive points in
Zone B or beyond
4 Zone C 7 or more consecutive points on one
side of the average (in Zone C or
beyond)
5 Trend 7 consecutive points trending up or
trending down
6 Mixture 8 consecutive points with no points
in Zone C
7 Stratification 15 consecutive points in Zone C
 8 Over-control 14 consecutive points alternating up
and down
It should be noted that the numbers can be different depending upon the
source.  For example, some sources will use 8 consecutive points on one
side of the average (Zone C test) instead of the 7 shown in the table
above.  But they are all very similar.  Figures 3 through 5 illustrate the
patterns.  Figure 3 shows the patterns for Rules 1 to 4. 

Figure 3: Zone Tests (Rules 1 to 4)

Rules 1 (points beyond the control limits) and 2 (zone A test) represent
sudden, large shifts from the average.  These are often fleeting – a one-
time occurrence of a special cause – like the flat tire when driving to
work.   

Rules 3 (zone B) and 4 (Zone C) represent smaller shifts that are

maintained over time.  A change in raw material could cause these smaller
shifts.  The key is that the shifts are maintained over time – at least over a
longer time frame than Rules 1 and 2. 
Figure 4 shows Rules 5 and 6.  Rule 5 (trending up or trending down)
represents a process that is trending in one direction.  For example, tool
wearing could cause this type of trend.  Rule 6 (mixture) occurs when you
have more than one process present and are sampling each process by
itself.   Hence the mixture term.   For example, you might be taking data
from four different shifts.  Shifts 1 and 2 operate at a different average than
shifts 3 and 4.  The control chart could have shifts 1 and 2 in zone B or
beyond above the average and shifts 3 and 4 in zone B below the average
– with nothing in zone C.

Figure 4: Rules 5 and 6

Figure 5 shows rules 7 and 8.   Rule 7 (stratification) also occurs when you
have multiple processes but you are including all the processes in a
subgroup.  This can lead to the data “hugging” the average – all the points
in zone C with no points beyond zone C.  Rule 8 (over-control) is often due
to over adjustment.  This is often called “tampering” with the process. 
Adjusting a process that is in statistical control actually increases the
process variation.    For example, an operator is trying to hit a certain
value.  If the result is above that value, the operator makes an adjustment
to lower the value.  If the result is below that value, the operator makes an
adjust to raise the value.  This results in a saw-tooth pattern.

Figure 5: Rules 7 and 8

Rules 6 and 7, in particular, often occur because of the way the data are
subgrouped.  Rational subgrouping is an important part of setting up an
effective control chart.   A previous publication demonstrates how mixture
and stratification can occur based on the subgrouping selected.

These rules represent different situations – patterns = on a control chart.  It

should be noted that not all rules apply to all types of control charts.  Table
2 summaries the rules by the type of pattern.

Table 2: Rules by Type of Pattern

Pattern Description Rules

Large shifts from the 1, 2
average
Small shifts from the 3, 4
 average
Trends 5
Mixtures 6
Stratifications 7
Over-control 8
 

POSSIBLE CAUSES BY PATTERN

It is difficult to list possible causes for each pattern because special causes
(just like common causes) are very dependent on the type of process. 
Manufacturing processes have different issues that service processes. 
Different types of control chart look at different sources of variation.  Still, it
is helpful to show some possible causes by pattern description.  Table 3
attempts to do this based on the type of pattern.

Table 3: Possible Causes by Pattern

Pattern Rules Possible Causes

Description
Large shifts from 1, 2 New person doing the job
the average
Wrong setup
Measurement error
Process step skipped
Process step not completed
Power failure
Equipment breakdown
Small shifts from 3, 4 Raw material change
the average
Change in work instruction
 Different measurement
device/calibration
Different shift
Person gains greater skills in
doing the job
Change in maintenance
program
Change in setup procedure
Trends 5 Tooling wear
Temperature effects (cooling,
heating)
Mixtures 6 More than one process
present (e.g. shifts, machines,
raw material.)
Stratifications 7 More than one process
present (e.g. shifts, machines,
raw materials)
Over-control 8 Tampering by operator
Alternating raw materials
 

Table 3 provides some guidance on what you should be thinking about as

you try to find the reasons for special causes.  For example, if Rule 1 or
Rule 2 is violated, you should be asking “what in this process could cause a
large shift from the average?”.  Or if Rule 6 occurs, you should be asking
“what in this process could cause there to be more than one process
present?”  These type of questions can help guide brainstorming sessions
to find the reasons for the special cause of variation.   The type of pattern
can guide your analysis of the out of control point.
Topsis Method
What is Topsis Method?
It is a method of compensatory aggregation that compares a set of
alternatives by identifying weights for each criterion, normalising scores for
each criterion and calculating the geometric distance between each
alternative and the ideal alternative, which is the best score in each
criterion. An assumption of TOPSIS is that the criteria
are monotonically increasing or decreasing. Normalisation is usually
required as the parameters or criteria are often of incongruous dimensions
in multi-criteria problems. Compensatory methods such as TOPSIS allow
trade-offs between criteria, where a poor result in one criterion can be
negated by a good result in another criterion. This provides a more realistic
form of modelling than non-compensatory methods, which include or
exclude alternative solutions based on hard cut-offs. [7] An example of
application on nuclear power plants is provided in.

The classical TOPSIS method

In the classical TOPSIS method we assume that the ratings of alternatives
and weights are represented by numerical data and the problem is solved
by a single decision maker. Complexity arises when there are more than
one decision makers because the preferred solution must be agreed on by
interest groups who usually have different goals. The classical TOPSIS
algorithm for a single decision maker and for group decision making is
systematically described in Section 2.1 and Section 2.2, respectively.

The classical TOPSIS method for a single decision makes

Calculate the normalized decision matrix.
This step transforms various attribute dimensions into non-dimensional
attributes which allows comparisons across criteria. Because various
criteria are usually measured in various units, the scores in the evaluation
matrix Xhave to be transformed to a normalized scale. The normalization of
values can be carried out by one of the several known standardized
formulas.Some of the most frequently used methods of calculating the
normalized value ijnare the following:
Step 4. Determine the positive ideal and negative ideal solutions.
Identify the positive ideal alternative (extreme performance on each
criterion) and identify the negative ideal alternative (reverse extreme
performance on each criterion). The ideal positive solution is the solution
that maximizes the benefit criteria and minimizes the cost criteria whereas
the negative ideal solution maximizes the cost criteria and minimizes the
benefit criteria. Positive ideal solution +A has the form:
where I is associated with benefit criteria and J with the cost criteria,i=1,...,
m; j = 1, ... , n
Step 5. Calculate the separation measures from the positive ideal
solution and the negative ideal solution.
In the TOPSIS method a number of distance metrics can be applied *. The
separation of each alternative from the positive ideal solution is given as

The separation of each alternative from the negative ideal solution is given
as

Where 1≥p. For 2=p we have the most used traditional n-dimensional
Euclidean metric.
Step 6. Calculate the relative closeness to the positive ideal solution.
The relative closeness of the i-th alternative A j with respect to A+ is defined
as

Step7.Rank the preference order or select the alternative closest to 1.

A set of alternatives now can be ranked by the descending order of the
value of .

Genetic Algorithm
Introduction to Optimization
Optimization is the process of making something better. In any process, we
have a set of inputs and a set of outputs as shown in the following figure.
Optimization refers to finding the values of inputs in such a way that we get
the “best” output values. The definition of “best” varies from problem to
problem, but in mathematical terms, it refers to maximizing or minimizing
one or more objective functions, by varying the input parameters.
The set of all possible solutions or values which the inputs can take make
up the search space. In this search space, lies a point or a set of points
which gives the optimal solution. The aim of optimization is to find that point
or set of points in the search space.

What are Genetic Algorithms?

Nature has always been a great source of inspiration to all mankind.
Genetic Algorithms (GAs) are search based algorithms based on the
concepts of natural selection and genetics. GAs are a subset of a much
larger branch of computation known as Evolutionary Computation.
GAs were developed by John Holland and his students and colleagues at
the University of Michigan, most notably David E. Goldberg and has since
been tried on various optimization problems with a high degree of success.
In GAs, we have a pool or a population of possible solutions to the given
problem. These solutions then undergo recombination and mutation (like in
natural genetics), producing new children, and the process is repeated over
various generations. Each individual (or candidate solution) is assigned a
fitness value (based on its objective function value) and the fitter individuals
are given a higher chance to mate and yield more “fitter” individuals. This is
in line with the Darwinian Theory of “Survival of the Fittest”.
In this way we keep “evolving” better individuals or solutions over
generations, till we reach a stopping criterion.
Genetic Algorithms are sufficiently randomized in nature, but they perform
much better than random local search (in which we just try various random
solutions, keeping track of the best so far), as they exploit historical
information as well.

Advantages of GAs
GAs have various advantages which have made them immensely popular.
These include −
Does not require any derivative information (which may not be available for
many real-world problems).
Is faster and more efficient as compared to the traditional methods.
Has very good parallel capabilities.
Optimizes both continuous and discrete functions and also multi-objective
problems.
Provides a list of “good” solutions and not just a single solution.
Always gets an answer to the problem, which gets better over the time.
Useful when the search space is very large and there are a large number of
parameters involved.

Limitations of GAs
Like any technique, GAs also suffer from a few limitations. These include −
GAs are not suited for all problems, especially problems which are simple
and for which derivative information is available.
Fitness value is calculated repeatedly which might be computationally
expensive for some problems.
Being stochastic, there are no guarantees on the optimality or the quality of
the solution.
If not implemented properly, the GA may not converge to the optimal
solution.

GA – Motivation
Genetic Algorithms have the ability to deliver a “good-enough” solution
“fast-enough”. This makes genetic algorithms attractive for use in solving
optimization problems. The reasons why GAs are needed are as follows −

Solving Difficult Problems

In computer science, there is a large set of problems, which are NP-Hard.
What this essentially means is that, even the most powerful computing
systems take a very long time (even years!) to solve that problem. In such
a scenario, GAs prove to be an efficient tool to provide usable near-optimal
solutions in a short amount of time.

Failure of Gradient Based Methods

Traditional calculus based methods work by starting at a random point and
by moving in the direction of the gradient, till we reach the top of the hill.
This technique is efficient and works very well for single-peaked objective
functions like the cost function in linear regression. But, in most real-world
situations, we have a very complex problem called as landscapes, which
are made of many peaks and many valleys, which causes such methods to
fail, as they suffer from an inherent tendency of getting stuck at the local
optima as shown in the following figure.
A genetic algorithm is a search heuristic that is inspired by Charles
Darwin’s theory of natural evolution. This algorithm reflects the process of
natural selection where the fittest individuals are selected for reproduction in
order to produce offspring of the next generation.
Notion of Natural Selection
The process of natural selection starts with the selection of fittest individuals
from a population. They produce offspring which inherit the characteristics
of the parents and will be added to the next generation. If parents have
better fitness, their offspring will be better than parents and have a better
chance at surviving. This process keeps on iterating and at the end, a
generation with the fittest individuals will be found.
This notion can be applied for a search problem. We consider a set of
solutions for a problem and select the set of best ones out of them.
Five phases are considered in a genetic algorithm.
Initial population
Fitness function
Selection
Crossover
Mutation
Initial Population
The process begins with a set of individuals which is called a Population.
Each individual is a solution to the problem you want to solve.
An individual is characterized by a set of parameters (variables) known
as Genes. Genes are joined into a string to form a Chromosome (solution).
In a genetic algorithm, the set of genes of an individual is represented using
a string, in terms of an alphabet. Usually, binary values are used (string of
1s and 0s). We say that we encode the genes in a chromosome.

Population, Chromosomes and Genes

Fitness Function
The fitness function determines how fit an individual is (the ability of an
individual to compete with other individuals). It gives a fitness score to
each individual. The probability that an individual will be selected for
reproduction is based on its fitness score.
Selection
The idea of selection phase is to select the fittest individuals and let them
pass their genes to the next generation.
Two pairs of individuals (parents) are selected based on their fitness
scores. Individuals with high fitness have more chance to be selected for
reproduction.

Crossover
Crossover is the most significant phase in a genetic algorithm. For each
pair of parents to be mated, a crossover point is chosen at random from
within the genes.
For example, consider the crossover point to be 3 as shown below.

Crossover point
Offspring are created by exchanging the genes of parents among
themselves until the crossover point is reached.
Exchanging genes among parents
The new offspring are added to the population.

New offspring

Mutation
In certain new offspring formed, some of their genes can be subjected to
a mutation with a low random probability. This implies that some of the bits
in the bit string can be flipped.

Mutation: Before and After

Mutation occurs to maintain diversity within the population and prevent
premature convergence.

Termination
The algorithm terminates if the population has converged (does not produce
offspring which are significantly different from the previous generation).
Then it is said that the genetic algorithm has provided a set of solutions to
our problem.
Risk matrix
What is a risk matrix?
A risk matrix (also called a risk diagram) visualizes risks in a diagram. In
the diagram, the risks are divided depending on their likelihood and their
effects or the extent of damage, so that the worst case scenario can be
determined at a glance.
In this sense, the risk matrix should be seen as a result of the risk analysis
and risk evaluation and is therefore an important component of your project
and risk management.

Advantages of the risk matrix

The risk matrix:

 Identifies the gravest project risks.

 Creates and presents the risk situation with minimal effort (e.g. as an
Excel diagram).
 Presents the risk situation visually and comprehensively.
 Presents the risk situation simply for everyone because no prior
knowledge is required to
understand it.
 Assesses the efficiency of your risk measures.

How to Use the Risk Assessment

The Risk Assessment Values are determined by multiplying the scores for the
Probability and Severity values together. The higher the risk assessment, the greater
the overall risk for the project. This method helps balance the weight of severity and
probability, as you can see in the following chart that displays the default risk
assessment values:
Setting Control Measures for Risk Mitigation
After you’ve evaluated the risks of a project, you can prioritize which risk
controls to implement first.

All risk mitigation activities should be clearly defined; objective, not

subjective; and have specific, measurable outcomes.

Hazard identification and risk management should be processes of

continuous improvement. Your organization’s risks may change over time,
so you should periodically review and update your risk matrix.

Risk management tools can save health and safety professionals valuable

time and resources.

Check out our hazards product information page to learn more how the

IndustrySafe software can assist you in tracking, reporting and analyzing
your risks.
Risk Assessments for Coronavirus (COVID-19)
As the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic continues to impact daily
operations throughout the globe, EHS managers have been tasked with
taking important measures to protect the health and safety of their
workforce. 

One of the ways in which EHS professionals can identify which workers are
at greatest risk of being exposed to the virus is through following risk
assessment processes.

In the agency’s guidance on preparing workplaces for COVID-19, the

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has categorized job
functions into four risk exposure levels. We’ve fleshed out these four
divisions in the following paragraphs.  When you’re determining what
probability values would be useful to set for your risk matrix, it’s a good
idea to use these 4 categories as a starting point. 

Very High Exposure Risk

According to OSHA, workers with a very high probability of exposure
include:

 Healthcare workers (e.g., doctors, nurses, dentists, paramedics,

emergency medical technicians) performing aerosol-generating
procedures (e.g., intubation, cough induction procedures,
bronchoscopies, some dental procedures and exams, or invasive
specimen collection) on known or suspected COVID-19 patients. 

 Healthcare or laboratory personnel collecting or handling specimens

from known or suspected patients.

 Morgue workers performing autopsies, which generally involve

aerosol-generating procedures, on the bodies of people who are
known to have, or suspected of having, COVID-19 at the time of their
death. 
High Exposure Risk
Workers with a high probability of exposure include:

 Healthcare delivery and support staff (e.g., doctors, nurses, and other
hospital staff who must enter patients’ rooms) exposed to known or
suspected COVID-19 patients. (Note: when such workers perform
aerosol-generating procedures, their exposure risk level becomes
very high.) 

 Medical transport workers (e.g., ambulance vehicle operators)

moving known or suspected COVID-19 patients in enclosed vehicles. 

 Mortuary workers involved in preparing (e.g., for burial or cremation)

the bodies of people who are known to have, or suspected of having,
COVID-19 at the time of their death.

Medium Exposure Risk

 Medium exposure risk jobs include those that require frequent and/or
close contact with (i.e., within 6 feet of) people who may be infected
with COVID-19, but who are not known or suspected patients.

 In areas where there is ongoing community transmission, workers in

this category may have contact with the general public (e.g., in
schools, high-population-density work environments, and some high-
volume retail settings).

 In areas without ongoing community transmission, workers in this risk

group may have frequent contact with travelers who may return
from international locations with widespread COVID-19 transmission.

Lower Exposure Risk

Lower exposure risk jobs are those that do not require contact with people
known to be, or suspected of being, infected nor frequent close contact with
(i.e., within 6 feet of) the general public. Workers in this category have
minimal occupational contact with the public and other coworkers.
Severity of COVID-19
At this stage, it’s difficult to predict the effects that the virus may have upon
an individual. Thus far, epidemiological evidence suggests that COVID-19
manifests as a non-severe disease in most cases. However, according to
the most recent data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC), some groups are at higher risk of becoming severely ill
from the virus. When determining values for the Severity component of
your matrix, these groups should be categorized into the value assigned
the highest number of points. Your other severity values may vary
depending on the demographics of your workforce.

Risk of Becoming Severely Ill

Groups at risk of becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 include:

 People aged 65 years and older

 People who live in a nursing home or long-term care facility

 People with chronic lung disease or moderate to severe asthma

 People who have heart disease with complications

 People who are immunocompromised. Many conditions can cause a

person to be immunocompromised, including cancer treatment, bone
marrow or organ transplantation, immune deficiencies, poorly
controlled HIV or AIDS, and prolonged use of corticosteroids and
other immune-weakening medications.

 People of any age with severe obesity or certain underlying medical

conditions, particularly if not well controlled, such as those with
diabetes, renal failure, or liver disease

People who are pregnant should be monitored since they are known to be
at risk with severe viral illness. However, to date data on COVID-19 has not
shown increased risk.
Controls to Prevent Exposure to Coronavirus (COVID-
19)
Once you've completed your risk assessments, you can begin to put
controls in place to mitigate exposures as best as possible. 

OSHA has put together guidance for workplaces on the appropriate

engineering and administrative controls, as well as personal protective
equipment (PPE) for workers with lower, medium, and high exposure risks.
We've also put together a few tips on how EHS managers can
develop plans to deal with the virus in the workplace. 
Spaghetti Diagram
What Is A Spaghetti Diagram?
A spaghetti diagram is defined as a visual representation using a
continuous flow line tracing the path of an item or activity through a
process. As a process analysis tool, the continuous flow line enables
process teams to identify redundancies in the work flow and opportunities
to expedite process flow.

For example, areas where many walkways overlap are causes of

congestion and delay. Waiting is one of the eight wastes of lean, because it
is considered "unnecessary motion." The spaghetti diagram helps highlight
major intersection points such as these that may not be noticed otherwise.

Spaghetti Diagram Example

The diagram in the figure below reflects a study done by a health
department administrative office. The intent of the study was to identify
ways to shorten the walking time from one activity to another for frequently
performed tasks.

Improving staff collaboration was a secondary benefit of creating the

spaghetti diagram. The health department quality improvement coordinator
facilitated a brainstorming session to identify areas of congestion and
wasted movement among the office personnel. Focusing on a common
goal brought the team closer together while highlighting the purpose for
placement of some work areas. The spaghetti diagram helped the team
see how they might rearrange work areas for optimum efficiency.
 Spaghetti Diagram Example

How to draw a spaghetti Diagram?

1. Plot the physical process flow (Layout) on a paper by approximately
scaling down the distance between tasks and desks.
2. Now, team up the actual workers who use the system and ask them
to draw
a. The flow of materials, papers
b. The walking pattern of people
c. Waiting time and stoppages at different points
3. All these should be drawn in different colors to distinguish the exact
problem.
4. The lines should be redrawn for every trip or every movement. The
thicker the line, the more complex the process is. Care should be taken
not to miss minute tasks, small trips and repeated motions.
The completed diagram looks like a real ‘Spaghetti’. It reveals all the

inefficiencies of a layout in contributing towards a LEAN process.

How to use the diagram to improve the layout?
The most connected tasks should be placed as much as close to each
other, as they are the most frequently used paths. The paths with longest
distance and longest waiting time also should be relocated to reduce the
distance.
Most of the solutions will appear when the tasks are arranged in ‘C’ shape,
‘U’ shape, Rectangular or Circular shape. Depending of the workflow, user
can change and choose the appropriate shape. User can also arrive at a
customized shape based on his requirement.
Project managers and Lean Six Sigma Experts should assist the team in
arriving at an appropriate design. Then the team should simulate the
process with the new layout, track the new paths, walking patterns, and
waiting times and make necessary corrections.

Spaghetti Diagram for a Restaurant Kitchen

Assume a restaurant that cooks various types of food and serves based on
orders taken. The management made a simple C shaped layout that makes
all parts of the kitchen easily accessible to the chefs. But during peak hours
however efficient and fast the chefs worked, there was a delay in the order
delivery time. Often ingredients were confused and used in different dishes
than intended, leading to customer dissatisfaction. Chefs felt unhappy and
tired that irrespective of genuine efforts and mastery in cooking, the
management was not happy and they felt every day was very hectic.
The management decided to use LEAN and process improvement
techniques. One of the suggestions from the Process Excellence experts
was to draw a Spaghetti diagram. The actual Spaghetti diagram of the
order cooking process looked like this.
 Figure 1: Spaghetti Diagram
After seeing the Spaghetti Diagram, the team analyzed various
combinations of process flow and arrived at the below Workflow.

Figure 2: Lean Workflow – A fixed spaghetti diagram

Now it no longer looks like a Spaghetti diagram.
Benefits of a Spaghetti Diagram
Spaghetti Diagram helps in the following ways:
 It identifies inefficiencies in Area/Work layout.
 It helps in identifying the wastes of transportation, motion.
 It helps in reducing the Non value Added time spent in identifying
missed products, confusion in order of processing items etc.
 It helps to improve the efficiency and reduce the fatigue of employees
due to unnecessary movements.
 It identifies and works on the areas of Occupational safety.
Thus Spaghetti Diagram helps in marching towards a LEAN process.
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