The intention of this section is to provide all the continuous improvement tools in a poster format that is easy to print and share. These posters are great tools for training, sharing and posting, and can also be distributed as hand-outs during continuous improvement workshops.

1. CITOOLKIT
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Continuous
Improvement Posters
PowerPoint Widescreen Format

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A3 THINKING
Hints
• The name A3 is derived from the
international A3 paper size.
• No special software is needed to
use the A3 approach.
• You just need an A3 sheet, a pencil
and an eraser as you will need to
erase and rewrite many times.
A3 Seven Stages Model
1. Background – Identify the business reason for
choosing the problem or opportunity.
2. Current situation – Document the current state.
3. Target – Define the desired future state
4. Analysis – Dig into the problem and understand why
it’s happening.
5. Countermeasures – Brainstorm and evaluate possible
countermeasures based on the conducted analysis.
6. Implementation Plan – Develop a workable plan to
implement the countermeasures.
7. Follow-up – Evaluate the implemented plan and the
achievement of outcomes.
Definition
• A logical and structured approach for
problem solving.
• Adopted by Lean organizations around
the world and developed as part of the
Toyota Production System.
• A3 thinking is built around the PDCA
philosophy.
Uses
• Used in problem solving, planning and
decision making.
• Used as a storytelling method to
communicate improvement projects.
Benefits
• Provides a structured and consistent
approach to process improvement.
• Develops and maintains a culture for
continuous improvement.
• Promotes collaboration, knowledge
sharing and innovation.
1. 5.
2. 6.
3.
4. 7.
A3 SEVEN STAGES MODEL
1. Problem
Definition
3. Action Plan
2. Cause
Analysis
4. Results
A3 FOUR STAGES MODEL
Make sure you use visuals
and graphs in the A3 report as
they are more effective than text
in communicating ideas.
17
in
–
43.18
cm
11 in – 27.94 cm

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AFFINITY DIAGRAM
Hints When Constructing the Diagram
• Eliminate duplicate items and the
items that are not worth keeping.
• Add arrows between items and
groups to show relationships.
• In case an interview is to be
conducted and information is to
be provided verbally, make sure to
record the actual spoken words.
How to Construct an Affinity Diagram?
• With your team, present the topic
or define the problem clearly.
• Give your team sticky-notes then
ask them to write one idea or
response per sticky-note.
• Collect the sticky notes and stick
them randomly on the wall.
• Lead the participants to group the
ideas and label the categories.
Definition
• A grouping method for classifying
items together into meaningful
categories.
• Also called KJ Analysis & Affinity Map.
When is it Used?
• During brainstorming sessions.
• During problem-solving sessions.
• Can be used to organize the voice of
the customer.
• Can be used at any stage in research
and in verbatim analysis.
Benefits
• Helps organize ideas and information
and see how they are connected.
• Helps identifies the characteristics
that distinguish each category.
• Helps bringing out the best ideas and
leads to better results (team-based).
EXAMPLE
COLLECT GROUP
1st
2nd
3rd
LABEL
There should be no discussion or
evaluation of ideas until the final
affinity diagram is complete.
3 Basic Steps
Training at
all levels
Convey
change
vision
Quick
wins
Implementation
Empower
-ment
Encourage
personal
develop
It may take
long to
change
Some
will never
change
Change Obstacles
Paradigms
A blaming
culture
Change
resistance
Planning
A change
agent
Sense of
urgency
A vision to
change
Leadership
A change
plan

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BENCHMARKING
Performance Metrics
• Identifying performance metrics before starting
the benchmarking activity is important to ensure a
focused, relevant, and measurable approach.
• Typical performance metrics often include:
Defect level Customer satisfaction
Cycle time Service response time
Cost per unit Return on investment
Benchmarking Types
• Internal Benchmarking - Uses top-performing units
within a company as examples for improvement.
• External Benchmarking - Provides a broader
perspective and enables companies to stay
competitive and adopt innovative practices.
External benchmarking can further be categorized as:
• Competitive - When comparing performance with
direct industry competitors.
• Collaborative - Carrying out the benchmarking
exercise with other entities collaboratively.
• World-class - Comparing with industry leaders.
Definition
• A systematic approach for measuring
products, services, processes, and
performance against high-performing
organizations or other entities to
understand and adopt their successful
strategies and practices.
Benefits
• Gains insights into the operations of
outstanding companies.
• Identifies specific best practices to
implement them internally.
• Helps in establishing quantitative
improvement goals.
What to Benchmark?
• Strategies.
• Operations, functions and processes.
• Products and services.
• Performance (incl. financial metrics).
Some types of benchmarking are
not limited to a particular industry,
which means that one can consider
other industries during the study.
Professional
Researchers
Academic
Research
Consulting
Firms
Industry Reports
and Publications
Financial
Reports
Online
Databases &
Platforms
EXAMPLES OF DATA SOURCES
Benchmark 1
Benchmark 2
Benchmark 3
Performance
COMPETITIVE BENCHMARKING

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YOKOTEN - BEST PRACTICE SHARING
Best Practice Template Elements
1. The initial condition or problem.
2. The solution to the problem
3. The benefits obtained after implementation.
Other information can also be included such as the
most closely related process, before and after photos,
relevant diagrams, and the name of the person who
should be contacted for more information.
Two Perspectives
Yokoten is a two-way exchange of best practice
information between two entities:
1. Entities can develop, document and share their
own best practices and innovative ideas.
2. Entities can also learn from other successful
entities by adopting their best practices and
integrating them into their processes without the
need to reinvent the wheel.
Note: It is not enough to copy best practices exactly as
they are. Teams must adapt and improve the practices
to fit their own needs.
Definition
• Yokoten is a Japanese word that
means best practice sharing across
functions and businesses to improve
processes and performance.
Uses
• Sharing practices and ideas related to
processes, products and services.
• Sharing practices and ideas related to
working conditions, health and safety,
and organization culture.
• Sharing failures and lessons learned.
Benefits
• Duplicates the success and directly
impacts the bottom line of the
business.
• Promotes involvement and
participation of employees in their
areas.
The use of technology encourages
documenting, submitting and
sharing best practices between
teams, departments, and divisions.
Develop, document
and share internal
best practices
Get access to and
implement external
best practices
BEST PRACTICE
TITLE PROCESS
PROBLEM SOLUTION
BEFORE PHOTO AFTER PHOTO
BENEFITS AREA

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BOX PLOT
Example of How to Compare Between Multiple Data Sets
‘A’ appears to have higher median and higher variability
than ‘B’.
Basic Structure
• A box plot is made up of a box and two whiskers.
• The data is plotted in such away that the bottom 25% and the top 25% of the
data points are represented by the two whiskers, whereas the middle 50% of the
data points are represented by the box.
Definition
• A graphical representation for the
frequency of numeric data values.
• Also referred to as a Box-and-
Whisker Plot as it displays the data
in a box-and-whiskers format.
Uses
• To explore and present the data in
an easy and understandable
manner.
• When comparing central tendency
and variation between multiple
data sets.
Applications
• Box plots are widely used in
statistics, process improvement,
scientific research, economics,
and in social and human sciences.
Box plots are ideal to
represent moderate to
large amount of data.
The size of the box plot
can vary significantly if
the data size is small.
*
Outlier
Median
Interquartile Range
Minimum value Lower quartile Upper quartile
Box Whisker
●
5.0 5.2 5.4 5.6 5.8 6.0 6.2
A
B

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