Help Manual

Contents






Sigma Magic Help Version 15

Cause & Effect Matrix

Overview

C & E (Cause & Effect) Matrix can be used to prioritize the potential causes and determine the top-few causes to focus on. This matrix is typically used when you want to focus on the most important potential causes - typically after you have done a brainstorming session to identify a comprehensive list of all possible potential causes.

This tool can be added to your active workbook by clicking on Project and then selecting Cause and Effect > C&E Matrix.

Inputs

Click on Analysis Setup to open the menu options for this tool.

Setup

A sample screenshot of the setup menu is shown below.
inputs
1
Rating Scale: Specify the rating scale you would like to use for the Cause & Effect matrix. The available options are:
OptionDescription
1-5Use a 1-5 scale for the rating matrix
1-10Use a 1-10 scale for the rating matrix.
1,3,9Use a 1-3-9 scale for the rating matrix. This is the default setting.
2
Num Causes: Specify the number of causes you want to use in your analysis. This information is used to format the worksheet and determines the number of rows in your input table.
3
Num Effects: The number of effects or columns to include in the analysis. This information is used to reformat the worksheet and only display the columns as required by the analysis.
4
Num Causes to Highlight: The number of causes to highlight in the analysis. The top ranked causes are highlighted by this analysis.
5
View Example: Click on this button to open the example file. You can view the example to get an idea of how to fill out this tool or you can use the example as a starting point and modify it to meet your project needs.
6
Help Button: Click on this button to open the help file for this topic.
7
Cancel Button: Click on this button to cancel all changes and exit this dialog box.
8
OK Button: Click on this button to save all changes and compute analysis results.

Worksheet

Enter the following information on the worksheet:
  • Enter the row number and all the potential causes. These causes typically would come from a fishbone diagram.
  • Enter the evaluation criteria or the effects. These are usually the primary and secondary metrics for your project.
  • Enter an importance rating for each of these effects on a scale of 1-10.
  • Rate each input (cause) for each of the output indicators (effects) on a forced ranking scale of 0-1-3-5-9. The forced ranking scale ensures that there are greater differences in the output scores between causes.

Charts

If you click on the Charts button, you will see the following dialog box. Charts
1
Title: The system will automatically pick a title for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own title you can specify a title for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
2
Sub Title: The system will automatically pick a subtitle for your chart. However, if you would like to override that with your own subtitle you can specify a subtitle for your chart here. Note that this input is optional.
3
X Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the x-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
4
Y Label: The system will automatically pick a label for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your own label for the y-axis you can specify a different label here. Note that this input is optional.
5
X Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the x-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the x-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum x-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum x-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the x-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is currently disabled and you will not be able to change this setting.
6
Y Axis: The system will automatically pick a scale for the y-axis. However, if you would like to override that with your values for the y-axis, you can specify them here. The format for this input is to specify the minimum, increment, and maximum values separated by a semi-colon. For example, if you specify 10;20 then the minimum y-axis scale is set at 10 and the maximum y-axis scale is set at 20. If you specify 10;2;20, then, in addition to minimum and maximum values, the y-axis increment is set at 2. Note that this input is optional.
7
Horizontal Lines: If you want to add a few extra horizontal reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 12;15 then two horizontal lines are plotted at Y = 12 and Y = 15 respectively. Note that this input is optional.
8
Vertical Lines: If you want to add a few extra vertical reference lines on top of your chart you can specify the values here. The format for this input is numeric values separated by semi-colon. For example, if you specify 2;5 then two vertical lines are plotted at X = 2 and X = 5 respectively. Note that this input is optional.

Verify

If you click on the Verify button, the software will perform some checks on the data you have entered. A sample screenshot of the dialog box is shown in the figure below. Verify The objective of this analysis as well as any checks that are performed is listed in this dialog box. For example, the software may check if you have correctly specified the input options and entered the required data on the worksheet. The results of the analysis checks are listed on the right. If the checks are passed, then they are shown as a green-colored checkmark. If the verification checks fail, then they are shown as a red-colored cross. If the verification checks result in a warning, they are shown in the orange color exclamation mark and finally, any checks that are required to be performed by the user are shown as blue info icons.

Outputs

Click on Compute Outputs to update the output calculations. A sample screenshot of the worksheet is shown below. outputs The C & E matrix outputs are displayed on the output area of the worksheet and a Pareto chart of the output scores is also displayed. A summary of the analysis is also listed in the conclusion box.

You can use the 80-20 rule to select the vital few potential causes that impact the output metrics. The total score indicates which Key Process Input Variable (KPIV) input ranks higher and hence is more important compared to the other inputs. Use the Pareto chart to select the most important inputs that contribute the most to the output metric.

Notes

Here are a few pointers regarding this analysis:
  • This analysis is based on team perception which may not be a reality, so unless you validate your causes with data you cannot call them root causes.

Examples

Following examples can be found in the Examples folder.
  • Use the Cause & Effect matrix to determine the ranked list of potential causes for why the sales are low? (CE Matrix 1.xlsm)