Quality Alphabets

Let’s Learn Quality Tools & Techniques

A to Z Definitions
Advance Product Quality A structured process for defining and implementing the steps necessary to ensure the
Planning (APQP) quality of a new product.

Brainstorming is a group discussion session that consists of encouraging a voluntary

Brainstorming generation of a large volume of creative and new ideas by all the participants. It is
usually led by a facilitator. Some of the common ground rules are - no idea is a bad idea,
all ideas are welcome, no evaluation of ideas (it is only collection of ideas).
Cost of Quality (COQ) The total cost of all activities related to the quality of a product or service, including
prevention, appraisal, and failure costs.
PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) Cycle is an iterative methodology used for continuous product
and/or process improvements. It is specifically useful for testing improvements on a
Deming Cycle
smaller scale before full scale implementation. It is also known as Deming circle,
Shewhart cycle and PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act).
It's a team-oriented problem-solving approach which is widely used in the automotive
Eight Disciplines (8D)
industries.
Failure Mode Effect Analysis Failure Mode and Effects Analysis, a tool used to identify potential failure modes in a
(FMEA) process and assess the risk associated with each failure mode.
It is the type of Measurement System Analysis (MSA) that is used to quantify how well
Gage R & R
a variable (continuous) measurement system is working.
House of Quality also called as Quality Function Deployment, a tool used to translate
House Of Quality customer requirements into specific design and production requirements.

Fishbone Diagram (Ishikawa Diagram or Cause and Effect Diagram) is a graphical tool to
Ishikawa Diagram depict the potential causes for a specific problem/event/issue. Potential causes are
identified as an outcome of the brainstorming activity.
Juran or Quality Trilogy is a quality management approach consists of three processes -
Quality Planning, Quality Control, Quality Improvement. It enables the organizations to
Juran Trilogy
move from the traditional focus on quality control to a more holistic approach to quality
management.
A product development theory which categorizes customer requirements with respect to
Kano Model product features into below five segments - Basic (must be quality), Performance (one
dimensional quality), Excitement (attractive quality), Indifferent, Reverse
Lean Six Sigma is a combination of tools, techniques, and best practices from both Lean
Lean Six Sigma and Six Sigma philosophies with an objective to simultaneously improve both Efficiency
and Effectiveness of a process.
A tool used to evaluate the accuracy and precision of measurement systems. The five
Measurement System Analysis
parameters to evaluate during MSA are resolution, bias, linearity, stability, precision
(MSA)
(repeatability and reproducibility)

A set of rules to detect the presence of special causes or non-random behaviours in the
Nelson Rules
process. These are commonly used to check for process stability in Statistical Process
(Control Chart Rules)
Control (SPC).
A data point or an observation that is located far from the rest of the data points.
Outliers may be an outcome of variability in measurement or due to an experimental
Outlier
error. All outliers need to be investigated and corrected as presence of outliers can lead
to incorrect statistical analysis.

Balaji L R
 Quality Alphabets
Let’s Learn Quality Tools & Techniques

A to Z Definitions
Production Part Approval Process, a standardized process for obtaining approval of new
Production Part Approval
Process (PPAP) or modified production parts and processes

A participatory management method in which a group of workers who do the same work,
Quality Circles meet regularly to identify, analyse, and solve the problems that they face in their daily
work. It is a small group (usually comprising of up to 12 people) led by a supervisor or a
team lead.

A problem-solving method which is used to identify the root causes for an issue or a
problem. A cause is called a root cause if it is actionable and if actioned will prevent the
Root Cause Analysis (RCA)
recurrence of the issue. 5-Why, Fishbone Analysis and Affinity Diagrams are some of
the common tools used in RCA.

Statistical Process Control Statistical Process Control, a method of using statistical analysis to monitor and control
(SPC) a process to ensure it is operating within specified limits.
Total Quality Management Total Quality Management, a management philosophy focused on continuous improvement
(TQM) and customer satisfaction.
Uncertainty The parameter, associated with the result of a measurement, that characterizes the
(Of measurement) dispersion of the values that could reasonably be attributed to the measurand.
Voice of the Customer, a term used to refer to the needs and requirements of
Voice Of Customer (VOC)
customers as they relate to a product or service.
A tool used to identify the root cause of a problem by repeatedly asking the question
Why-Why Analysis
'Why'.
Mean and Range (X-bar & R Chart) is a pair of control charts primarily used in Statistical
X Bar & R Chart Process Control (SPC) for variable (or continuous) metric when samples are collected at
regular intervals from a process.

A graphical representation of the cycle times at each process step. It is a stacked bar
chart that represents the average cycle time of each task at a process step (a step is
Yamazumi Chart comprised of multiple tasks) irrespective whether that task is performed by a machine
or an operator. These task cycle times are usually further classified as Value Add,
Essential Non-Value Add and Non-Value Add.
A management tool that aims at reduction of defects in a process / product through
prevention. It was conceived by Philip Crosby in the early 1960s. It is a quest for
Zero Defect perfection to improve quality and uses the concept of “doing it right the first time” to
avoid costly and time-consuming rectifications.

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